Riverdale: The Lost Soul

Birthday

3rd of July

It had been 4 months.
I celebrated my birthday in small circle.

"Happy birthday, Ivy!"
Liz had bought a cake and decorated it with colourful candles. Everybody was gathered in the bunker.
"You're 19, Jones." Florian said as he put down a small present on the table. "Better open this one, Seb picked it out." Sebastian winked at Ivy.
Ivy opened the gift, carefully saving the wrapping paper and found a book.
"Thanks." she got up and hugged the two of them.
Aurelia had brought liquor from the bar.
CJ was wiggling around on his play mat. 
Ivy had made it for him. There were old toys from when Ivy and Mika were young.
"At least your mom left you one good thing." Ivy smiled at him and at the toys.
After the cake, FP and Ivy cleaned out the plates and as they washed the dishes, they talked.
"So, you thought about it?"
"I haven't yet." Ivy said to her brother.
"You can't keep delaying this. He'll need to go somewhere else by April."
Ivy frowned and looked at her brother, wondering how he knew about this dilemma as she hadn't shared it with anyone but Liz.
"Liz told me and I think she's right. CJ can't stay here all his life."
Ivy dropped her plate in the soap and looked him straight in the eye.
"You don't have to worry about him."
"I'm his uncle, he's my responsibility."
"Well, I'm his aunt, I decided to take him in while you were reluctant to do so. You should've played your part when you had the chance. It's too late to come crawling now."
"CJ is an innocent. He's a baby, we can't drag him down with us."
Ivy got more mad with every word they exchanged.
"We're not dragging anyone down with us, he just needs to be protected."
"You don't know what you're doing."
FP said, Ivy getting very angry with her brother now.
"Did you ever care for Mika? Because if you did, you'd know somewhere deep down, she's got a little bit of good. She would do the same for me, she's my sister. I can't abandon CJ like Mika did."

Later that night, CJ was asleep and Ivy and Florian sat at the table, finishing one last piece of cake.
"You had a good birthday?"
Ivy smiled.
"It was the best one I've had in my entire life."
They suddenly heard thumping above them.
"People, out in the woods at this hour?" Florian asked his friend, who mouthed the word 'no'.
They heard the lid open up and they got up from their chairs.
There she was.
Mika.
"Happy birthday." she said, smiling at the two of them, not a charming smile.
They didn't know what to do, so they just sat there, frozen in fear.
"What? Can't I wish my baby sister a happy birthday?"
Ivy, slowly starting to fall out of her trance, moved towards her sister and handed her a plate with cake on it.
"Take this and go."
Florian had moved towards CJ's crib, standing in front of it, protecting it.
Mika smiled once again.
Somehow, Ivy felt at ease when she smiled like that.
"I'm gonna ask you once again, Ivy. Give me my child."
Florian took one step forward and said: "Try and take him then."
Mika chuckled at the boy's attempt to fight her.
"You think you'd win against me?"
Florian retreated.
"Thought so."
"He's staying here."
Ivy said defensively.
Mika pulled out a gun from her pocket and pointed it at the two teenagers.
"Looks like I'm gonna have to do this the hard way."
Ivy and Florian put their hands up in the air, praying she wouldn't kill someone else tonight.
Or worse, that she had already done it.
Mika took CJ in her arms.
"We'll be off now. Happy Birthday Ivy."
She disappeared.
Ivy and Florian took deep breaths and Ivy started crying.
"She's...She's gonna..."
Ivy couldn't finish, as a matter of fact, she didn't want to.
She was scared of what might happen to CJ.