Falice

Talk

2.19

The drive back to the trailer was silent on FP's part. Jughead on the other hand kept trying to talk sense into him, convince him to go back and help the Cooper women deal with the potential murder, Chic, in their basement. FP refused to take him back. He made it clear they would only help after the women decide what to do with Chic. FP parked the truck and immediately got out heading towards the front door. Jughead had just unbuckled his seat belt when his father was already at the door.

Jughead caught up with him inside. FP was about to step into his room and lock himself in there when Jughead brushed past him. He blocked the doorway and shut the door. "Dad listen to me. Be angry all you want but we need to go back. We can't just leave them like that."

FP was avoiding eye contact. Jughead was expecting him to yell at him or at least look at him but he didn't. Jughead thought he was acting strange. When they argued he would always be yelling back, occasionally pressing him against the wall, but nothing to hurt him. "Are you even listening to me? Enough with the silent treatment." Jughead was getting anxious for him to say something, anything. He was frustrated by the lack of response. He opened the bedroom door and slammed it in his face. He was even surprised that his father didn't scold him for his outburst.

An hour went by and Jughead cooled down. He opened the door and was ready to hopefully talk to him. He walked out the room and caught a glimpse of him from the kitchen. He was on the couch with his head buried in his hands. He didn't go up to him. He watched from the kitchen, unsure if to confront him or not. FP still didn't see him in the room. He was busy bawling his eyes out quietly. Not only learning that he had another son all these years but never getting to meet him struck him emotionally.

Jughead saw the man stand up. He quickly moved to keep him from seeing him. FP walked up to the refrigerator to grab something to drink. Jughead watched him grab a beer and was very tempted to say something to him about it but before he did he saw the look on his face. His eyes were puffy and bloodshot. FP had looked at the bottle in his hand and contemplated on if to drink it or not. He placed it back inside and grabbed a water bottle instead.

"Dad," Jughead softly said.

FP rubs his eyes and walks up to him. He placed the water bottle on the table and put his hands on his son's shoulders. He looked him in the eye for once and took a deep breath before speaking to him. "I'm not losing you too." FP embraced him tightly. Jughead brought his arms out to hug him back. FP let go, grabbed the bottle, and went into his room, shutting the door behind him. He locked himself inside for the rest of the night like he planned to.

The next morning Jughead woke up early to check on him before heading to the Cooper house and walk Betty to school. He saw that the door was still shut. He knocked on the door. "Dad," He jiggled the doorknob and found the door unlocked. He walked in and he wasn't there.

Jughead sighed and went to the Cooper house. He knocked on Betty's door. She opened up surprised. She wasn't expecting him. "Hey how are things here?" He asked curious to know how they were coping.

"Okay. Chic is gone, for good I think. My mom is still trying to get by with what he told us about my brother last night."

"I guess as a parent it kinda hit my dad hard too. You guys losing Charles must have triggered the fact that Jellybean isn't around. I'm thinking about calling up my mom and asking her if Jellybean can come back for a while. We could both really use it." Jughead says. Alice quietly made her way down the stairs when she heard someone at the door. She couldn't help but overhear Charles being brought up. "I don't know why it hit him that hard. He was acting strange."