Young love

Chapter Twelve

    Jughead finished unpacking and walked into the living room. Betty was spinning Eve on her finger. He sat in a chair near them and smiled.
    "Juggie!" Eve exclaimed, jumping into his lap.
    "Hi, Princess."
    "Are you coming to my dance?"
    "Yeah."
    Eve smiled and hugged him. "Thank you. Mommy, can I please go play with Aero in my room?"
    "Yes, but no more tug of war."
    Eve nodded and ran off to her room. Betty smiled, sitting back on the couch and Jughead sat next to her. He draped his arm over her shoulder and she leaned into him. She looked up at him and smiled. Their lips moved closer together but before they could touch Cheryl walked in and they quickly pulled apart.
    "Am I interrupting something?" She asked, looking between them.
    They both shook their heads. Cheryl sighed.
    "Betty, you're allowed to move on. I'm not going to say That if he were here bullshit because that's exactly what it is. Bullshit. Because he's not here. It's okay to care for someone else. It's been more than a year." Cheryl said, leaving the room.
    "You okay?" Jughead asked.
    "Yeah, I'm...no, I'm not."
    Jughead hugged her. "Don't listen to her. You don't have to move on. He was the father of your child and the love of your life."
    "No, I want to move on. It's just weird. For so long I expected him to walk through the door. But he won't. I get that now."
    Jughead rubbed her back and she pulled away from his hug. She looked at him for a second before pressing her lips against his gently. He kissed her back and they pulled away, smiling.
    "Betty, " Jughead breathed.
    "Juggie."
    "I don't want to hurt Eve."
    "Me neither, " Betty agreed.
    "Should we talk to her and see if it could work?"
    Betty paused, thinking for a minute. She remembered how Jake would play with Eve after he got home from work, no matter how tired he was, or how bad of a day he had. The same way Jughead did. She nodded and kissed him again.
    They walked into Eve's room and she was laying in her bed, watching tv and cuddling Aero. "Hey princess, your mom and I need to talk to you," Jughead said, sitting down on her bed.
    Eve sat up and Betty sat on the opposite side of her. "You really love Juggie, right?"
    "Yes."
    "How would you like if he and mommy were dating?"
    "You mean like you and daddy?"
    "Yes, kind of."
    "But what about daddy?"
    "Well, mommy loves daddy but he's gone, remember?"
    "I guess." Eve sighed.
    "But if you don't want Juggie and mommy to date then we won't."
    "Would Juggie be like my new daddy?"
    "Well, a little bit. He isn't trying to be daddy, but he would kind of be like a daddy."
    "I like Juggie, but I miss daddy."
    "I know baby, I do too."
    "But Juggie makes you all smiley like daddy did."
    Jughead smiled over at Betty. "But sweetie, what we want to know is if you want him to be like a daddy."
    "Yes, I love him. Does this mean auntie Ronnie is your sister now like auntie Toni?"
    "Well, no." Betty laughed. "We aren't getting married, we're just dating."
    "Oh, okay. Do I have to call him daddy?"
    "No."
    "Okay, why isn't daddy coming back?"
    "Well, someone hurt him and he um..."
    "Did daddy die?"
    "Yeah baby, he did."
    "Oh..." Eve looked down sadly at her feet. "I want him to come back."
    A tear fell down Betty's face. "Me too, but we have so many people who love us I love you. Juggie loves you, and-"
    "But daddy loved us."
    "I know baby, but-"
    "I think what your mommy means is that she knows it hurts and we are all here to help you feel better."
    "I'm excited for Juggie to be my new daddy."
    "Really?" Jughead asked
    "Yes, I love you." She said, hugging him.
    "I love you too princess."
    Betty smiled at them and Eve crawled into Jughead lap, hugging him.