Bugheads Baby

The happenings of war

Betty's pov

I finally though that I had reached a moment in my life where the storm had passed. From here on out it would be smooth sailing. But ever since Jughead proposed, he's been different...distant. He rarely spends time with me or the kids anymore, and when he looks at me he looks at me with pity and apologetically. I don't even remember the last time he kissed me, or even touched me. He now leaves at 3 am in the morning, and most nights he arrives home at 12 am. I know Emily's started to catch on, and I'm mad at Jughead for that. The ring on my finger no longer feels like a promise, but a burden. I want Jughead back. I mean, it's been 8 months since he has proposed, and in that time has felt like we were already divorced. Emily is at school right now, and I enrolled the twins into daycare 4 months ago. It was hard leaving them, but the bar wasn't safe. 

The music is booming around me as the time nears five o'clock. Emily and her friends are staying over tonight becuase it's a Friday, so I assume that they already arrived home. Veronica has been picking up the twins on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays, becuase I'm just swapped right now planning the wedding. A wedding I'm not sure I even want anymore, becuase every time V asks me to go dress shopping, I make up an excuse. But I think subconsciously, with the state Jug and I are in right now, do I really want to marry him?

"Betty, Betty!" Sweet pea yells. "Sorry, did you need something?" I ask zoning back into focus. "You seemed like you were in a coma. Staring into the distance for the past 2 minutes." "Interesting" I say disinterested. "Well, a couples of the serpents and I are going to-" before he finishes my phone buzzes and I look at the screen. The text was from an unknown number. I click on it. A video starts playing. The hair, the noises the body, it's Jughead... and Missy. At first I think this can't be real. It's an old video. But in the background is an analogue clock, showing the date. 7 months ago. Jughead cheated on me with Missy. "Woh Betts, you watching porn at work?" Sweet pea muses. "I didn't take you for that kind of girl." I drop my phone onto the counter and kneel to the floor. I could feel that my eyes were wet, and while my vocal chords moved I couldn't hear anything...feel anything. A crowd swarms me and soon I can't breath. "Move out of the way!" I can hear Jughead yelling. Jughead? When he reaches me he touches his hand to my arm, instead of feeling the usual electricity I would feel, all that's there now is repulsion. "Betty? Baby whats wrong? Where does it hurt? What happened." "Get away from me," I gasp and yell horsely. "Baby-" "Don't 'baby' me!" I yell furiously, "You cheated on me!!" His mouth parts, and the look that comes over his face confirms it all. "You did? Didn't you?" I cry. He tries to move forward towards me, but I push him. He stubbles back a few feet before getting his balance again. I take of the engagement ring, and he begs, "No. Betty please, no. Let me explain." "You had 7 months to explain. And instead, you isolated me. Made me think that I did something wrong. You've barley said a single word to Emily, and haven't even SEEN the twins in two weeks." "We're done." I tell him flatly, "you will never see me again, or my kids." "No you can't leave," he cries, his eyes creating a reflective pool. I place the ring on the table and run out to my car. Jughead stands it front, preventing me from leaving. I look over to Sweet pea, who understands my silent plea and removes Jug from the middle of the road. 

When I arrive home, I can hear Emily and her friends, laughing and having a good time upstairs, and it kills me that I have to ruin this for her. When I enter her room, her smile could just light up the night, and even for a moment warmed my frozen heart. "Bear, I'm so sorry for doing this, but your friends have to go." Her smile leaves and and replaced with a frown. "Why mom?" "I'm sorry," I answer, rejecting her question, "also, pack your suitcase. We're going on a trip." "Mom!" I hear her yell as I shut the door. I feel around my back pocket, and realise I've left my phone in the bar. Using the home phone, I call Veronica and ask her to get the twins here as soon as possible. I know that Jughead would be getting here any moment and this would not go down well. 

5 minutes later, Veronica arrives, and she brings the twins into their room. I have finished packing my suitcase and Maddie's and is halfway through Noah's. "B, I'm so sorry," she sighs, "I'm go to murder that man," she supportively says. "He's not worth it," I tell her. Done. While Veronica carries the twins downstairs, I take the suitcases. Emily comes down later, she's packed and saying goodbye to her friends. I've called them an Uber, and will wait for it to arrive until I leave. I buckle the twins into the car and Veronica stays with me, her arm draped over my shoulder and head in the crook of my neck. Unfortunately, Jughead pulls up, and my heart begin to race a million miles per hour. "Well if it isn't Riverdale's Resident man whore," Veronica says. "Betty, five minutes of your time... Please!" he begs. "I have nothing to say to you," I say flatly. "But I have so much to say to you!" "I don't give a shit!" The Uber pulls up, but none of them get in the car, and instead listen to our fight. "Jughead! Leave!" "No! This is OUR house. We live here together and we're going to live here together forever!" "You're delusional!" I yell. "Betty I love you," he says sweetly. I loose it, and the tears just start to come, "Please don't say that. You've ruined what we have, don't ruin what we had," I say completely benign. 

Driving away from Jughead was hard, especially becuase he pursued closely behind on his motorcycle. Eventually the twins started to cry and Emily whines about their crying. I pulled over on the highway and got out of the car, into the sanctuary of the quiet night. The peace was disrupted by the roar of Jugs motorcycle and my uncontrollable sobs. He runs over, "Betty, baby don't cry." "Everything's falling apart. The twins wont stop crying, Emily's life is chaos, you and I are over, I have no job and no house. And it's all your fault." In a moment of weekness, when he comes around the car, and takes me into his embrace, I hug him back, and despite everything telling me to turn away from him, I get back in the car and agree to talk to him back at the house. 

Once all the kids are asleep, Jug walks over to me with a glass of wine and cautious demeanour. "Just to be clear, I'm hearing you out for the sake of our family." He sighs, "Betty. I'm not going to lie to you... I did do it." "What?" I asked ignorantly. He looked down at his shoes, his thy's were bouncing, and despite the lack of lighting, I could see that his face was pale and tense. He slowly says, "Okay, I  cheated. I'm a bad person. But I just can't be, it's impossible. You're the best girl in the whole universe! And I was-am so excited to marry you. About a month after our engagement I got drunk with the guys at the bar. I drove over to Missy's place, before you say anything, I know that was dangerous and stupid to drive while intoxicated. Anyway, I drove over to her place, to tell her to stay away from you and our kids. I wanted to start a life with you and make sure that Missy wasn't going to ruin it. She invited me inside, and I guess I went in. Becuase the last thing I remember is waking up next to her and feeling disgusting for what I think I did." I sat in silence and absorbed what Jughead said. I didn't know ho to feel. I want to hurt him for cheating on me, but then I also want to forgive him becuase he didn't know what he was doing. "Jughead. Thanks for telling me, but honestly I need some time. I honestly don't know if cheating really is something that we can comeback from. So you can leave the house, or I will and take the kids. But right now I need space." I said what I said and I felt content. 

Weeks went by without us talking. I'd go to work and he'd look at me longingly, but respecting my wishes he gave me space. He got more involved with Emily and the twins, which I was pleased about. When it was time for pay checks, I noticed that there was a large increase in mine. Just over $900 more. He's been staying with Sweet pea, but he clearly wasn't getting much sleep. Relationships are a two way thing, something based in love and trust. Right now, Jughead and I didn't have that. When I open one of the cabinets in the bar, I find an old ordering pad under the sink covered in cobwebs. There was writing on it, and it was defiantly Jughead's handwriting. It was dated the day before he cheated, and titled, 'Wedding Vows Ideas." I contemplated reading on, but the temptation was to great. It read, "Betty. Since I've met you, I have learnt so much, and I have learnt to love and grow with you. Whomever matters to you matters to me. Whomever you love I will love too. Because my heart is open to you, it is open to them too. This relationship with you is a coming together of family as much as you and I. We started 17 years ago or so, and for eternity, our love is something I will refuse to let go. There's a lot to love in that, it makes it all the bigger and better. Two is company, more is more company, love is healthier for growing larger, right? So Betty, you are my one and only, my rock, my life. Though it's cliché, I really don't know, what I would do without you. I love you."