The Other Lodge

Back In The Business

(A/N : your outfit)

It's the first day of dad in Riverdale and he already asks me to meet him in his office so we can discuss his new quest.

I'm not stressed about it because I know I dominate my subject. I know Riverdale like I know NY and I have enough information on the Southside to let my dad decide of the rest.

Before I enter the office, I check on Ronnie to see if she is here but as always she is gone. Honestly it's for the better, her and dad didn't seem in a mood to talk yesterday.

I knock on the door and open it.

"Come in mija." He says looking at some papers.

"Thanks." I walk to his desk and sit in front of him. "So?"

"Tell me everything, starting with the next place we need to buy." He looks at me closely.

"I'm going to be honest. For the longest time, I thought of Southside High, it's a school where criminality is the basic activity. Easy to close, easy to buy for a low price."

"But?" He stares at me thoughtfully.

"But since yesterday something came into my mind." He seems interesting. "After what happened to Fred Andrews, Pop's will not be considered as the cool and secure place of the town. We should wait for him to be at his worse and then offer to buy the restaurant so he can continue to work as our employee."

"Brillant..." He thinks. "I will make sure Pop's is willing to sold before the end of the week."

He notes something on his papers.

"So Pop's, then Southside High." He recapitulates.

"Yes, then I thought about the Sunnyside Trailer Park, it's weird but if you want to control the entire Southside you need to control this place." He nods. "And obviously when you have it all, you are going after the Whyte Wyrm."

"I'll manage it. Thanks for the ideas, they are actually very good. Anything else?"

"Oh yeah, I did researches on the Southside and I found some people you might want to have on your side."

"That's my daughter" He smirks. "Give me names mija."

"Well Penny Peabody aka the Snake Charmer. She is a lawyer and a drug queenpin, she works in the back of a tattoo parlor. She is a Serpent but she prefers money to loyalty..."

"Seems like an interesting person to pay" he whispers while taking notes.

"Then Tall Boy, one of the Serpents' leaders, I think he can help to intrude the Serpents."

"Clever." My dad smiles.

"Thanks. And to finish, if you want to sprinkle everything with a bit of chaos, I can propose you a war between the Serpents and the Ghoulies or a war between the North and the South. This last hypothesis can happen by itself now but you can maybe accelerate it."

"Thank you mija, you can go back to your normal life now." He smiles. "I heard you have a girlfriend."

"I do." I say unsure of what will be the continuation of this talk.

"Does she make you happy?" He wonders.

"She does, really."

"Fine. I hope it will continue this way. You know I don't really trust the Blossoms but now that Clifford is out of the picture, they can be useful." He says.

"I'm not going to use my girlfriend for your business dad I hope you know that." I warn him.

"I know and that's actually all I need. Keep her far away from our business okay?" He stands up and walks to me.

"This, I can do."

He smiles and cups my cheek.

"You're a grown girl now. I trust you mija. Enjoy your free time, I'll need you soon."

He walks back to his desk and I exit the office.

Later that day

"So this is your new house?" I ask and Cheryl smiles at me widely.

"Yes, welcome to Thistlehouse babe." She kisses me and leads me inside.

"At least it's not as gloomy as Thornhill but you guys have a thing for weird places." I chuckle and she hits my shoulder.

"Don't criticize my choice baby." She warns me playfully.

We sit on the couch and she takes my hand.

"So tell me, how is it, at home, since your father is back?" She softly wonders.

"Tensed... Mum tries to be perfect, Ronnie doesn't want to talk to dad and I'm in the middle conflicted between the joy of seeing my dad again and the guilt of letting him hurt Ronnie this way." I sigh loudly.

"Oh babe" she cuddles me. "You should try not to take everything on you for once. Live your life, enjoy your youth because someday you will wake up and everything will be different." She stops for a bit. "Your brother will be dead and your dad will be the murderer..." she whispers.

I feel like shit. I should have known Cheryl was not good yet. I kiss her head and we stay in this same position for the afternoon, relaxing in each other's embraces.

This night

I am back from Thistlehouse and I just enter my room when Ronnie makes her presence felt.

"You come home late...." she whispers not wanting to wake up mum and dad.

"Yes Cheryl needs me, between her brother, her dad and now her mum... it's a hard time for her."

"I understand it's just I need you too and I can't face our parents alone for the moment." She says practically ashamed.

"Oh Ronnie..." I walk to her and hug her. "I'm here I swear you can count on me."

"I don't know what I will do without you big sister." She sobs on my shoulder.

I caress her hair and propose a cuddle in my bed like when we were younger. She accepts gladly and we fall asleep together.

Why am I always the one being caught in the crossfire?