Riverdale - Beneath The Town (English Version)

Chapter 7: In a Lonely Place

What makes a place feel like home? Is it warmth and familiarity? Some idealized, make - believe version of the American dream? Is it love and acceptence? Or is it simple safety? Or none of those things. And it's a place where the captain of the football team is murdered. Or maybe it's just a forgotten closet under a well - trod staircase, where it's just you and the mice and the spiders, like an extra in a Wes Craven movie.

On Thursday at school, we sat in the lounge and I told my friends what happened yesterday. "The Hayles didn't want to involve the police so that no one would know she had run away and get to know anything of her shameful condition", I said in a contemptuous tone of voice and shook my head uncomprehendingly. "Please, what decade is this?!", Veronica said without understanding and I replied that I sometimes asked myself the same thing. "Because Polly knew where Jason's getaway car was, they're afraid people might think she burned it down", I continued talking and looked at Kevin, who was sitting on a chair next to the sofa where Jug and I had taken a seat. "And if it truly was her-", I wanted to keep talking, but Jughead finished my sentence. "... she could be the murderer covering her tracks", he added, looking thoughtfully at the ground as Archie intervened. "Then who burned the car?", he wanted to know and I explained that Sheriff Keller thought it was possible that someone had followed us. "Oh, my God; honestly, guys, we should just move", Veronica now said and I sighed and looked up from my fingernails to the others. "But what if Polly is hurt? What if Jason's killer is after her now?", I asked anxiously and felt Jug putting his arm around me and his hand on my shoulder. I returned his look and put my hand on his and now Betty turned to me. "Maybe you should go to the police after all, even if the Hayles don't want that", she argued and Kevin agreed with her. "Seconded. We can talk to my dad about how he has to be discreet", he said and Jug took his arm off me and looked at him sceptically. "No offense, Kev, but your dad answers to a higher authority than God; the Blossoms. They're the first people he would tell", he objected, and I explained that the Blossoms would then probably just go after Polly out of hate. "How can we help? Tell us, we'll do it", Veronica offered, and I looked thoughtfully at the ground before I answerd her. "Thanks, really. But I think there's nothing we can do at the moment but keep an eye out for her. Just let me know if you hear anything", I requested and at that moment, the bell rang and the break was over. "Did I just notice Riverdale High's very own Holden Caufield put his arm around you?", Veronica wanted to know when we were on our way to math class and also Betty looked at me curiously. "Yeah, um, I think so. You know, so much has happened in the last few days and Jughead was ... well, he was there for me", I replied with a little smile, which my best friend reciprocated. "I'm so happy for you", she said and I looked at her gratefully. "Oh, my God. Swoon! Okay, in that case, if he helped my girl navigate some turbulent waters, then Veronica Lodge, approves", Veronica finally said and I looked at her with a grin. "I'm lucky then", I replied jokingly and overly grateful, and we were standing in front of the room of our math class when Kevin came towards us excitedly. "Have you read that yet?", he asked and we looked at him questioningly. "Cheryl just tweeted #PollyHaylekilledmybrother #nowheretohide #sharpenyourpitchforks", he read aloud and showed us her post. "Oh my God, how much more disturbed can she get?", I murmured to myself, but most of all I was very worried about my sister. "I need to find Polly before the Blossoms do", I explained and gave the mobile back to my friend. "And we'll help you", my best friend said and I nodded gratefully to her. In the afternoon after school was over, some volunteers had come forward to help find Polly. The Hayles were there, too, and we were standing in the woods about roughly between all the places in all directions where we suspected she might have gone. "Okay, so the home is upstate. The getaway car was west on the old Route 40", I explained and pointed in the respective directions while the classmates and Polly's adoptive parents stood in front of me and Jughead and listened carefully. "Closest bus station is east, headed toward Sweetwater. If Polly wanted to leave without being seen, she probably would've left through right-", he said, and I interrupted him so he wouldn't say too much, because Josie was there, too, and she was friends with Cheryl. Least of all, the Blossoms should know about Polly's possible whereabouts. "... right here", I finished his sentence, and we set off, followed by the others. We spread out a bit and called out her name. We passed a small stream and soon came to a clearing when, out of nowhere, the Blossoms appeared with a few policemen, volunteers and dogs and stood in our way. "Darleen Hayle, where is she? Where's Polly?", Penelope Blossom asked, and walked towards her and Mrs. Hayle faced her. "You think if I knew that I would be out here with the... mosquitoes?", she just replied, and now Cheryl stepped forward. The whole Blossom family wore hunting jackets and they looked as if they had dressed themselves up for hours for this search in the woods. "Face facts, Mommy Dearest! Polly killed Jason", she said, and her father, Clifford Blossom, agreed with her. "She escaped from the asylum once. Who's to say she didn't before? Say, the day Jason got murdered?", he said, and Mr. Hayle stepped beside his wife and looked at him disparagingly. "The noose is tightening around your murdering adopted daughter's neck", Cheryl's mother continued with a softly threatening undertone, then looked briefly past Darleen Hayle to me. "I know it; Sheriff Keller knows it", she kept talking and Kevin's dad, who was standing a little behind her, stepped forward. "Hold on, now-", he wanted to say, but Mrs. Blossom didn't pay any attention to him at all. "And I promise you, when we find her - and we will find her - the entire town of Riverdale will know too", she finally ended and I took a deep breath and exchanged a look with Jughead, who was standing beside me. The search continued for a while, but without finding any clue about Polly's whereabouts and towards the end, the Hayles approached me and Darleen Hayle asked me to have a private conversation. "Actually, as you know, we wanted to contain this; but the cat's out of the bag. We're in damage - control mode", she started and I wondered what she was getting at. "The Blossoms have their version of the events, but they don't know the whole story; at least not yet. And that gives us a momentary advantage. That's why John and I will be making an official statement asking people to join the search and notify us and the police if there are any clues. We'd like you to join in and stand right beside us as we announce this", she finally got to the point and I looked at her in a surprised and somewhat suspicious way and thought about it. Of course I wanted my sister to be found soon, but standing next to the Hayles now was something I thought I would regret. It was probably best if I didn't have too much to do with this weird "family". "I'm very sorry, that's a... generous offer", I started and Mrs. Hayle looked at me disparagingly when she knew what my answer would be. "But I don't think I can", I explained, and she objected that, as Polly's sister, I should better show how much she meant to me. "She does; but my answer is no", I just replied and went back to the others. As we approached the residential areas again, I told them what the Hayles wanted and my friends agreed that it would be a stupid idea to stand with them and have me photographed next to them. When we arrived at Riverdale Church, there were already some reporters and a team from a local news station waiting there and the Hayles stood in front of the entrance and put on their show in front of the searchparty. "There's been a swirl of rumors today about our daughter Polly. It is true that we have adopted her, but she is and will always be our daughter. And we're standing here to tell you that the rumors are all false. Yes, Polly was seeking treatment in a private - care facility, and she was under strict observation; even at the time of Jason Blossom's death", Darleen Hayle clarified and then continued. "When she found out about the murder, she was beside herself with grief. You see, my daughter Polly is pregnant with Jason Blossom's baby", she said and a murmur and whisper went through the rows. "Polly wouldn't hurt a fly, let alone the father of her unborn child", Mrs. Hayle ended her speech and I watched Clifford Blossom leave, followed by his wife. Cheryl stopped for a moment and looked at the Hayles in disbelief before she, too, followed her parents. "Polly, darling; if you're watching this, please come home", Mrs. Hayle then turned directly to my sister and the show was over. The search party was disbanded and everyone set off for home. I thanked and said goodbye to my friends, but Jug insisted on walking me home and we arrived when it was already dark. "Thank you for bringing me here, but you didn't have to do that", I said and gave him a smile and he looked at me and reached for my hand to take it in his. "Uh, there's a killer on the loose, remember?", he just said and I looked at him smiling as I answered. "But he was after Jason and it doesn't seem like he has any ambition to kill any more people. And if he should run across me, I'll deal with it", I said and he briefly shook his head, smiling. "All right", he replied and then became serious again. "Besides... isn't this what... ", he started and looked at me and I returned his gaze. "You know, what people like us...", he wanted to continue and it was obviously difficult for him. But I was too curious what would come next to help him and finish the sentence. "Who've gone through what we've gone through, do?", he finally ended and I looked at him smiling and briefly squeezed his hand. "What is it? I mean, besides everything", he asked when I didn't reply and stared at my dad's house in front of us. "It's just... I can't stop thinking about how she wouldn't have left if I hadn't visited her", I explained and looked at him as we continued to walk towards the house. "Scar, the Hayles were the ones lying to her and keeping her in the dark. You did the right thing telling her the truth", he said and I smiled briefly. "Yeah, I know that too, basically, but it just kills me that she now-", I wanted to answer, but at that moment we heard a noise, as if a bird was fluttering up out of a tree, and we stopped as if frozen. Everything inside me tensed up and we looked at each other with big eyes when we heard the sound again. I now released Jug's hand and he grapped my arm and wanted to retain me, but I kept walking towards the entrance of our house and made a gesture that he should follow me. "Polly?", I said her name softly as I crept towards the house and indeed I heard her voice beside the entrance and I now recognised a dark figure between the branches of our large hazel bush planted beside the stairs to our front door. "Scarlett?", she answered my name, and Jug and I went to the shrub and held the branches aside so she could come out of her hiding place. "Oh, my God", I said in relief, and looked up at Jughead, who returned my gaze luckily but surprised. Finally, Polly stood before us and I hugged her happily. "Have you been hiding here all this time?", I asked her incredulously and she explained that she had been waiting here the afternoon after she had found out my address from the phone directory. "Are you all right? Are you... hurt?", I wanted to know, but she shook her head, smiling slightly, and I looked at her with relief. "Okay, let's go in", I said, but she grapped my arm and retained me and looked at me forcefully. "No, your dad mustn't know I'm here", she objected and I looked at her with my head tilted. "I can understand why you don't trust him, but he really is okay. And he will definitely let you stay with us as long as you want without telling anyone", I wanted to clarify, but Polly was not convinced yet. "No offense, Scar, but he lied to you for a long time and I don't want to take any risks", she said and I thought about it for a second and then nodded understandingly. "Let's go to the garage, no one will see us there", I then said and pointed to the canopy next to our house. "Then where do you wanna stay if not here?", Jug finally turned to her and my sister looked down. "I don't know, honestly. I had thought about hiding in the Hayles' attic, but I don't know how to get there unseen", she explained, and I exchanged a look with Jughead and contemplated. "We have a guest room, but I think my dad could find you there. But we also have an attic; you could stay there for now. And I also know how you can get up there", I finally replied, and Polly and Jug looked at me in surprise. "You gave me the idea; the ladder", I then explained to Jug and asked Polly if she would stay there for a few days. "Of course, that would be fantastic", she replied gratefully and I gave her a smile. "Okay, so you wait here until I'm in my room. Then I'll open the window and you climb in via the ladder and we'll hide you in the attic", I said and she nodded approvingly while I looked at Jughead. "Could you wait outside and make sure the ladder doesn't slip?", I asked him and he agreed and we fetched the ladder and put it under my window. "Thanks for bringing me home and for this. I'll text you later", I finally said to Jug and leaned forward to kiss him. I took his face in my hands and he returned the short kiss and looked at me smiling. "Ready, Polly?", I then turned to my sister, who nodded in approval, and I went into the house. My dad had already come home from work and was in the kitchen and I greeted him quickly. "Did you find Polly?", he asked and I shook my head and tried to make a regretful expression. "No, we still don't know where she is", I said resignedly and he turned to me. "I'm really sorry I couldn't be there", he then said and it sounded sincere, but I waved away. "It's okay, it probably wouldn't have helped anyway", I just replied and left the kitchen. Arriving in my room, I opened the window and told Polly to come up. She carefully climbed up the ladder and I helped her to climb through the window into my room. Then I looked down again briefly where Jughead was standing, smiled goodbye to him and closed the window as he, too, set off to go home. I told Polly to be quiet, turned on the flashlight on my cell phone, and went out into the hallway in front of her to see if we could get upstairs undisturbed. I heard my dad downstairs in the kitchen and my sister followed me down the hall to the stairs leading up to the attic. I opened the door and we went into the room. There was a lot of junk and old boxes around, but at least there was some space and my old narrow bed had been put up here when I got the double bed. "It's not a five star hotel, but it could be enough for a few days", I said and Polly followed me into the room. I turned on the light and she looked around for a moment before she turned to me. "I have so much to thank you for, Scarlett", she then said and I shook my head, smiling. "No, you really mustn't. I'd be glad to", I replied and she gave me a short hug. "I'll go downstairs and get you some tea and food and bring you a blanket and pillow to make you a little more comfortable", I explained, leaving her alone in the room to bring the things. After I had also brought up the bedding, I sat down next to her and we could finally talk to each other. "Why did you run away from the home now of all times? We were all very worried", I finally said and she returned my gaze when she replied. "I couldn't wait any longer; for someone who is never gonna show", my sister explained and I looked at the ground and looked at her again as she kept talking. "Jason and I, we had a plan to go to this farm upstate and raise the baby", she continued smilingly and then got serious again. "It's where I still wanna go, but... I don't have any money, I don't have anything", Polly explained, and I wanted to know why she didn't go back to the Hayles without having to hide in their house. "They want me to give the baby up for adoption; they made that very clear. That's not what I want", she replied and I thought about it for a moment. "But everyone knows now that you are pregnant; do you think they could still force you to do it if you don't want to?", I digged deeper and she looked at me forcefully. "You don't know what they'll do. I won't have my baby raised in a home that doesn't want it", Polly explained, and I could understand it and put my hand on hers. "Give me a few days and I'll find something for you where you can live properly", I promised her and she looked at me gratefully.