Finding Love ➸ Bughead

prologue ♡

Betty sat quietly by herself at The Register, reading her favorite book, "Forever." She would wave at the exiting customers of the newspaper business, and they'd shake their heads at her or pretend she didn't exist; she'd wish them a good day anyway. What went around came around, and if she spread enough cheer despite the emptiness of her heart every morning and night, she hoped someday her family could catch a break.

The sun had set three hours ago, but Betty decided to stay another shift anyway. Sometimes more customers came at night than in the morning, and despite her exhaustion, Betty would stay up. It was her family's place, and she wanted to help fix their reputation. On a rare occasion, a generous person would walk in and donate to Betty's college fund. She would silently rejoice whenever this occurred. With her dad in prison, there was one less person to work; therefore she had to work more shifts and money was scarce.

Betty waited for more customers to arrive, reading her book to keep her occupied. There weren't many folks out that night. It was very late, most people would have been asleep by then. But she told herself to be patient. She didn't have much of a home to go to anymore. Her mom's mental state was not in the best condition, and the only thing she had the energy to do would be to argue with Betty.

The streets were quiet until Betty spotted three figures walking side by side down Spring Garden. It was dark, and Betty couldn't see good without light, but she noticed that they wore identical black robes that hid their faces and their hands. She caught brief glances of their sandaled feet as they scraped across the sidewalk.

Silently they filed into the building, looking down and concealing their faces. They didn't look like they had wallets, or pockets, but Betty glanced up from her book and gave them a polite smile anyway. "Are you here to buy a newspaper?"

The men didn't stop. Like giant birds, they extended their arms and swept over her, catching her in the fabric of their robes. Betty held on tightly to her book and her phone as the silk wrapped around her, swallowing her. She tried to fight her way out.

"What are you doing? What's going—?"

Betty gasped as something sharp drove into her lower back. The blade twisted, sending an intense ripple of pain up her right side. Her arms went limp. Her book she had almost finished fell to the ground, and her phone shattered on the sidewalk with blood smeared across the screen. When she tried to cry out, more fabric was stuffed in her mouth. A pool of her blood formed on the pavement as she was half carried, half dragged away.