The Theory Of Chaotic Perfection |BUGHEAD|

Chapter XXVIII - End Of The Line

Alice had many questions. She could not rest that night. Her husband was sleeping sound-fully beside her. She stood up from her bed and made her way downstairs to brew herself a cup of hot tea. Taking out her phone she searched through her contacts. She had to call FP, there was an unsettling thought on her mind.

He grunted into the phone, "can't I have a peaceful evening without you also calling me?"

Alice scoffed, "you sound hurt."

"Surprisingly you are correct for the first time, what do you want Alice?" FP asked.

"Remember when Betty was kidnapped as a baby-"

"This again, Alice, you can't blame the Serpents-"

Alice cut him off, "no, I just want to know why. Why were we targeted?"

FP sighed, "Alice, you and Hal are rich, you do the math."

"It doesn't make sense FP, the doors were all locked, and so were the windows," she shook her head. Suddenly the lights came on and Alice saw Hal standing in the doorway dressed in a robe. She quickly hung up.

He took out a cup from the table and poured himself some tea, sitting down in front of her, "who was that?"

"FP Jones, I was asking him about the night Betty was kidnapped," Alice put down her phone.

Hal looked away annoyed that his wife brought up the subject again, "let's not talk about it, soon enough everything will be okay and Betty will be home."

Alice shook her head, "how do you know Hal? Why are you so confident in everything?"

"Alice," he stood up and hugged her, "let's go to bed."

In the morning Hal left for work, Alice couldn't find peace, she couldn't even find a way to get her daughter out of prison. When she got a call from the local police district Alice was worried, they called her without explaining why she needed to come in. To her absolute shock she found FP Jones locked up instead of her daughter. Waiting for the officers to leave them alone, Alice approached him with a smile.

"Don't gloat, I saved your daughters life," FP said.

Alice crossed her arms, "I am grateful, but where is she?"

"Safe. I am not telling you where she is, you're a terrible mother," he said.

"Excuse me?" Alice was shocked that he had the nerve to say that to her.

"You know what you did," FP turned away from her.

Alice was confused, "and what exactly did I do?"

"You hired Rats people to attack your own daughter, all so my boy could come here and save her and then they can kill him instead," FP yelled at her.

Alice stepped back, she didn't do it, she would never think of putting her daughter in danger.

Betty woke up in Jughead's arms, a place she missed being. The second she got up, Betty heard someone knock on the trailer door. Slowly crawling out of Jughead's grip, she strolled to the door and opened it. Betty smiled at first, but then confusion overtook her features. How could he be here? How did he know she was here? Betty opened the door wider and let him in.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" She asked him.

Hal smiled, "where else would you be?"

He was right, but that still didn't explain anything. She sat down at the kitchen table and he sat down in front of her. He looked the trailer up and down, clearly judging where she was living. Hal turned back to her with a smile that concealed disgust, "why don't you come back home."