Braking Hard (Riverdale-Jughead Jones)

19

"That was the door, I'll grab it." Cheryl spoke as I lay back in bed feeling utterly helpless. "Awww honey! More flowers!" She squealed as she opened the door to see a basket of flowers on the step.

Dotted in various places around the trailer I had Orchids from Veronica, Sunflowers from Betty, Carnations from both Kevin and Archie, and a big fancy bouquet of roses and lily's from Cheryl herself.

She brought the basket over and I took it, rifling through the assorted flower petals to find a small card, signed from Josie McCoy.

I smiled and thanked Cheryl, asking her to put them on the worktop by the bathroom.

"Oh that's gorgeous." She said in appreciation, stepping back to look at the basket.

I nodded in agreement and began to stand, avoiding the flowers surrounding me and clambering out of bed.

"Resting!" Cheryl snapped and I raised a finger for her to calm down.

"The doctor recommended light walks as part of my recovery, remember. I'm just going to walk to the yard and back, it's only 5 minutes." Cheryl crossed her arms and I sighed. "I promise I'm not fixing any bikes. I just want to see the place. That's all!" I argued, waiting for Cheryl to give in and finally allow it.

So I set off, my body enjoying the freedom of actually being outside for once, and began my short walk to Cogs and Gears.

As I turned the corner, the yard came into sight and I instantly found myself frowning at the lack of bustle the yard contained. As I reached the gate I popped in and spotted Mary.

"Hey, are we not too busy?" I asked, coming up to her.

"Oh Ali, well. Look I didn't really want to have to tell you. We've been loosing customers since you were attacked. We still have the regulars of course," She said, hinting at the serpents. "But a lot of people are staying away."

My chest twinged as I look around and sigh. If I didn't get customers, then I didn't get money. And not having money resulted in letting people go, and I really didn't want to have to do that.

"We need to figure out a way to get the customers back." I sighed. Leaning against a white ford.

"I need to. You need to go home and rest." Mary protested, almost shoving me out of the yard.

I chuckled and gave in, starting the walk back to my trailer.

As I reached Sunnyside, I saw a police car parked opposite my trailer and my brows furrowed in confusion. I pushed the door open to see Cheryl and the Sheriff sat opposite each other on the sofas, with a mug each in their hands.

"Ali, the Sheriff here wanted to ask you a few more questions." Cheryl told me, before standing and letting my climb over and onto the seat next to her.

"Go on Sheriff." I said, plopping my butt down on the sofa next to Cheryl.

"Well, actually it's more like we want to show you a few pictures. We got a couple hits with your description and we wanted to know if you recognised any of them?" He asked, pulling a plastic wallet with several photos inside out of his jacket.

"Of course. I'll try my best." I told him, my eyes flickering down to where he had began laying out the photos.

I let myself look over the photos when my eyes got caught on one in particular. My hands were shaking slightly as I pointed at it.

"This one?" The Sheriff asked, picking up the photo.

"Definitely. It was him." I pushed out of my mouth. "Who is he?"

"He's got a lot on his record. Drug possession, petty theft and also armed robbery and dangerous driving. His name is Jared King."

My heart stopped.

"My name is Garret King."

"You have a brother?"

"His name's Jared. He's older, and he's not really part of the family anymore."

"Why?"

"He's been in a prison a few times, not for good things. He's not really a nice guy so we don't keep in contact with him."

I choked and instantly stood, trying to push past Cheryl to the bathroom.

"Woah, Ali, are you ok?" She asked in alarm, standing to let me past. I shook my head quickly as I ran towards the bathroom.

As I splashed some water on my face, I heard Cheryl asking the Sheriff to leave, and I took a deep breath before exiting.

"I'm sorry." I whispered as she locked eyes with me. "I know his name. His brother works for me." I told her, breaking our eye contact.

"It's ok. Come sit with me." She offered, patting the single bed she had just pulled out.

"Look Cheryl-" I started as I sat next to her, but I stopped once I noticed she was beginning to tear up.

"I'm so sorry Ali. For everything that happened to you!" She began, wiping her eyes furiously.

"It's ok, now stop crying, you don't need to." I told her, nudging her shoulder as I did.

"We need to sort this out Ali. We need to catch this freak." She told me, grabbing my hand.

"Honestly, sort yourself out. I'm not good with tears." I chuckled, watching as drips of water fell from Cheryl's eyes.

"I'm just, so sorry!" She bawled, letting me gently take her into my arms and comfort her.

"It's fine Cheryl. It wasn't your fault."

"No but I can't help but think, if we hadn't ignored you, you might've had a friend to tell and to help you through it." She looked up at me, her mascara dribbling everywhere and I smiled slightly.

"What do you think you're doing now Cheryl? It may be slightly late, but it's still incredible to have a friend like you."