𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕖𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝕣𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕕𝕒𝕝𝕖

35

A few days after the baby shower was very busy for Arabella's friends. With Archie being bribed into going to a private Blossom event by Cheryl, and Betty spending time with Veronica and... Ethel Muggs for some reason, Arabella spent the day nearly all alone with her thoughts — them mainly being about Jason.

Arabella didn't know exactly what is was about today, but she knew well that her mind would not peel away from him. She just missed him a little more today and it was heartbreaking for her. It was almost as if all her bottled up emotions since his body was found had just popped open — more so than the day at school when she had vomited in the school restroom.

The young Queen rolled out of her bed from being tucked under multiple layers of fuzzy blankets and linens; the cold sting of the mahogany hardwood floors sending a wave of shivers to travel up her spine.

Arabella seemed as if she was ill... like bent-over-the-toilet ill. But she had only slept in that morning after a night of muffled tears; her mother obviously not forcing her to attend school that day.

The girl lugged her body towards her bedroom door to go to the kitchen for something to eat; the faint sound of Sirius' claws tapping the marble of the staircase as the two descended it caused Arabella to smile to herself a little bit as her best friend was now with her.

The kitchen was empty, yet the light was on which confused Arabella. No one in the house would ever forget the lights on, but the realization that she wasn't alone in the mansion struck the young Queen when she saw her mother strut into the kitchen with an empty bowl of, presumably, oatmeal in one hand and her cell phone in the other.

Melanie Queen only realized her daughter was standing in the kitchen after she had placed her bowl in the sink and looked up from her phone.

"Sweetheart, you're awake!" The woman smiled, putting her cell phone away. "How're you feeling?"

The woman walked closer to her daughter; her hand reaching up to check her forehead. Arabella winced a little at how cold her mother's palm was, but the girl it quickly warmed up.

"Physically? I feel fine," the girl shrugged.

"Emotionally?" Her mother asked, removing her hand.

Arabella sighed deeply before looking up at her mother. "I'm drained, Mom."

The older woman nodded understandingly, encouraging her daughter to tell her more about how she was feeling. "Is this about Eric?"

Arabella flinched a little at her ex-boyfriend's name, and she thought about how her feelings were partially about him, but the other part was something she couldn't control. Arabella didn't completely understand how much Jason's death has impacted her life until recently; it hadn't completely kicked in and she hated that she lived in a town where she could still see him around every corner. She just wishes that he was still alive to tease her and Eric about having crushes on each other or to give her piggyback rides during football practice after Eric had given her one to begin their training.

It was the small things that Arabella's heart mourned; especially the memory of right after Archie and Arabella had called their relationship off and she went along with it because that's what he wanted — Jason visited her home to check on her after he had heard the news from Cheryl and they talked for hours about how he isn't the right one for her and how he doesn't deserve her. That, shockingly, was also when Jason told Arabella that Eric had and will always have a huge crush on her — the young Queen wishes that was still true.

"Kind of," Arabella spoke, answering her mother's question. "It's mainly about Jason."

Arabella's mother sighed a sympathetic sigh, knowing how her daughter felt about her loss of her best friend after the woman remembered how she lost her husband, who was also her closest friend, a while back.

"What about him, love?" Melanie wondered. Arabella shifted awkwardly in her stance, moving all of her body weight to her right leg while her mother moved to their metallic refrigerator to retrieve a cold washcloth for Arabella's high temperature.

"I j—I just see him everywhere in this town, mainly because we've been everywhere in this town together... us and Eric."

Melanie listened to her daughter intently, as if she was Arabella's therapist.

"I don't know... I just wish he was here," Arabella mumbled under her breath, looking down at her twiddling thumbs.

Melanie knew exactly how difficult this was for her daughter, and she remember how she coped with her husband's loss — she moved off to New York with Arabella for a few months before returning a new woman who had coped with her husband's sudden death. Immediately, the woman thought, what if I did that again.

"Sweetheart," Melanie said with excitement hinted in her tone of voice, "would you like to comeback to New York with me? I'm going back in a few weeks; maybe you can get your mind off of Riverdale for a bit."

Arabella thick, ebony eyebrows furrowed slightly from brushing the surface of her thoughts about moving to diving deeply.

Arabella? In New York? That's a whole new life up there! Would she go to another school or something? Make new friends? Most importantly, would she want to put in the effort?

She already had a life here... but that life involved Jason when he was alive — and his death.

The weight on her heart was heavy, maybe New York would lessen that.

Arabella tugged at a smile as she looked at her mother.

"I would love to do that."

•••

Hey, y'all !! It's k8 !!

I feel horrible for not updating faster and I apologize.

Here's a little quick yet important decision that Arabella decided to make.

Hope y'all enjoy it and I'm gonna try to post the next chapter soon !!

Love y'all ♥️

- k8