stay away

Part 29

Jughead pov

Mother? Did I just hear correctly that Betty called the strange woman in front of us mother? I'm confused. How is it possible that her mother had anything to do with mine? It was impossible that the two of them knew each other, wasn't it? I looked from the older woman to Betty, who was still standing next to me, her face having lost all color. Her breathing was fast and I knew she would have a panic attack if I didn't do something soon but I had no idea how. The whole situation had overwhelmed me so much that I stood there frozen and looked back and forth between the two of them. The parallels between mother and daughter were clear to see, because Betty looked very much like her mother. The golden hair, the slim but not too thin shape, the eye color I loved so much and last but not least the facial expression, which was almost identical for both of them.

"Betty my baby is it you? You look different." She looked up at Betty from top to bottom. I saw clearly that her mother condemned her for what she was wearing and I immediately noticed how insecure Betty had become, trying to hide from the looks of the people around her. To me this was obviously complete nonsense because Betty was beautiful no matter what she wore and had no need to hide from anyone or be ashamed of what she had. Her mother on the other hand saw it completely different and came several steps towards her before I stood protectively in front of my girlfriend.

"Uhm...and who are you? Get away from my daughter you pervert. Did you hear me?" she hissed angrily, continued to come closer and closer before she was only a few inches away from me.

"I am Jughead, Betty's boyfriend. You shouldn't take another step or it could get ugly. Why are you here?" I asked as I stood in full size in front of Betty's mother and made it clear that she wouldn't be able to get to Betty that quickly.

"I'm here for my beloved daughter and I will free her from your claws. She doesn't belong here, she deserves a much better luxurious life than this. Your mother was kind enough to visit me and tell me what a horrible life my daughter leads in this cruel city. I will take her with me now, so if you will please excuse me." Again she tried to get past me but I still stood in front of her with a broad chest and shielded her from Betty. I threw an angry look at my mother, who stood in the background, grinning and enjoying the spectacle. I had already suspected that my mother was up to something, but I didn't realize she was up to this. She had made it clear in our last conversation how much she detested Betty and the life she was living. Gladys did everything she could to get what she wanted and if that meant that my girlfriend's cruel mother would look for her, she would do that too. But how she knew that the relationship between the two of them was broken, I didn't know exactly but I had a faint idea.

"You won't stop at anything, will you, mother? What do you expect from all this action, that Betty goes with her mother? I don't think so." I said convinced that Betty would never go with her and that she would never leave me. Behind me, I felt Betty take my hand to show me that she agreed with me on everything.

"What do you actually think of me, my dear son? I just wanted to end a family feud and thought I would help a little. I would never hurt your little northside princess." Her voice was dripping with poison and I realized more and more that she didn't accept the relationship between Betty and me. I was afraid she would go over dead bodies to break us apart. What danger did I put Betty in?

"Honey, come on, we have to get out of here, these people are evil." she said it to her daughter and managed to put a hand on Betty's wrist. Out of reflex I immediately grabbed the wrist of the older woman and forced her to let go. She whimpered in pain while cursing.

"Jughead let her go." Betty ordered me in a calm tone while she looked deep into my eyes. Instantly, I loosened my grip and let my hand fall back to my side. Following the evil gaze, her mother was not very enthusiastic about my action.