Two Evils // Sweet Pea

Chapter Fourteen

Katherine Lodge stares at herself in the mirror, addressing the dark bags under her eyes, her deep green eyes making them only seem darker. She hadn't much slept that night, not that it was any different from usual. But, this time it wasn't the reoccurring nightmare that had kept her awake. Hiram Lodge, her father and sort-of business partner, had lied to her face. If he was hiding something so small and trivial from her, what else could he be hiding? If he'd been honest, she could've... forgiven him? Could she really? Katherine had worked so hard to show the Serpents that the Lodge's weren't evil; her father had destroyed all of her hard work in seconds. Jughead had been right to question her father and his motives, as usual. Which only irritated her more. Katherine sighs to herself, scrolling through her call log; a two hour phone call holding her attention. If her father wasn't loyal to her, why should she be loyal to him.

'Can we meet?' Kat hovers momentarily over the send button. Would Reggie even want to talk? She'd given him a few days to cool off, but she still didn't know what had caused him to kick off at her. Even at school, he'd ignored her presence. All day she'd try to initiate a conversation, and all day she'd be ignored.
'Busy' is all the reply reads. Whatever had caused this, it was serious. Reggie had never treated her this way. He'd always been there, no matter what.

          She takes a deep breath, typing out another text; this time addressing Fangs.
'Pops later?' Kat sighs. How had it gotten so bad that Fogarty was her only friend?
'Going to the Bijou with Toni @ 5' The Serpent answers almost immediately.
Kat bites her lip, a sinking feeling washing over her, 'Oh, ok.'
'But I'm free anytime before that,' Fangs quickly types back, 'How's 2 sound?'
Kat looks over at the clock currently blinking 11:26. Honestly, she wished it was later.
'Perfect. See you then.'
Katherine smiles slightly, pushing her phone into her back pocket, before exiting her room.

          Dragging her feet across the floor, she trudges into the living room, A Storm of Swords in hand. If she was going to spend the weekend feeling sorry for herself, she was at least going to enjoy A Song of Ice and Fire; even if the third book never failed to make her cry.
She hums a tune, throwing herself onto the sofa. Kat could bag on the Pembroke as much as she wanted, but the sofas were the comfiest sofas she'd ever had the pleasure of sitting on. Kat brings her knees towards her chest, resting her book on her thighs and flicking to where she'd left off. She mutters a quiet ah-ha as she finds her page. Ironically, Kat didn't much like Cat Stark; 'The drums were pounding, pounding, pounding, and her head with them.' She chuckles to herself, she definitely related. The constant lack of sleep caused a constant headache.

"Katherine." Her father's demanding voice beams across the apartment and she can't help but roll her eyes at her father. Even when her father was arrested, she'd never felt such abhor towards him. Of course, she was aware of her father's misdeeds, but he never lied to her. Ever. What had changed?
Kat sighs. Slamming her book shut, she twists her legs, allowing her feet to find the floor. Had he always lied to her?
With a deep breath, the vexed girl drags herself to her father's study, feeling as though she herself had been dragged to the Red Wedding, "Yes, father?"
"Have a seat."
A line appears between her brows. Across from her father sits a young man; early twenties and handsome, by New York mobster standards at least. He stands, politely offering a hand. When she dismisses it, the boy attempts to play it off, using the same hand to brush through his dirty-blonde hair.
"What's going on?" Kat says slowly, making her way to the leather chair.
"I'm going to be honest with you," Hiram clasps his hands in front of him. Kat suppresses a scoff, a certain quote coming to head; they're all liars here, and every one is better than you. "We may have run into some trouble."
Kat watches as her father dances around his words, "By 'we', I assume you mean you, specifically."
An unimpressed look on his face, Hiram continues, "Mija, Archie heard Paul Boucher discussing my assassination."
"What?" Her voice cracks, her face pales, "What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said," Hiram kneels down to his daughters level, "It's taken care of, but we have to be careful."
"Taken care of?" Her heart drops, she knew exactly what 'taken care of' meant in her world. Had she really abandoned the Serpents for much less?
"Which brings us to now," Hiram ignores her question, "The Castillo's have always been a loyal family, which is why I hired their son as, let's say, a guarura, whilst André is away."
"Sebastian," The young man nods, politely extending his hand to Kat once again.
She shakes it firmly this time, still suspicious, "Why do we need a bodyguard if you 'handled' it?"
Hiram furrows his brows, "It's still dangerous, Mija. Poutine may have been the instigator, but the others followed."
"And you're sure this has nothing to do with the Serpents?" Kat takes her father by surprise, "I know you lied to me, father."
"Mija."
"I'm not Veronica," Kat tries to hide the hurt in her voice, "I'm not gullible."
"Mija, I'm sorry but—"
"Everything before the word 'but' is horse shit," Kat interrupts her father, "You told me you'd gone straight."
"Katherine."
"No," She shakes her head dismissively, "I agreed to take an active role on the condition that everything was legal. Hiring someone to decapitate a statue; putting a hit on someone — that's far from legal. What else have you lied about?"
Hiram doesn't answer, still dumbfounded by his daughters outburst.
"I've done nothing but defend you," Kat raises her voice, "To my friends, my peers, the Serpents; even Veronica. I've always defended you. Always. What happened to integrity, the Lodge's sticking together?"
Katherine wipes a tear away. When did she start crying? She stands, heading towards the door.
"Katherine Sofiá Lodge," Hiram raises his voice, "I'm not finished."
She looks at between her father and Sebastian. Huffing, she takes her seat once more; "If you ever lie to me again..."
Although she doesn't finish her sentence, Hiram clearly gets her message.
"Tonight, your mother and I will be hosting a meeting here with the major New York families," He clasps his hands in front of him, "There's been some unrest following Poutine's death — which is why your sister is staying at our lake safe house."
Kat leans back in her chair.
"Veronica knows nothing of the situation, and I expect it to stay that way," Hiram pauses, "Are we clear?"
She grits her teeth; "Crystal."