2 weeks later...
"Good morning, Elizabeth!".
My mother's shrill of a greeting echoes through my room ringing in my ears unbearably painfully. The door flung open, my mother on the other side, hands placed authoritatively on her hips with a smirk on her face.
"Um... Good morning to you too, I guess.", I stammered out, bewildered. "Why are you so cheery, dare I ask?".
"You wouldn't dare, child. You don't have the guts too, and even if you did, you would be thrown off the face of the earth if you ever managed to gather the confidence too. But that's besides the point.". Her heels clicked, chills running down my spines when she sat at the foot of the bed. Her eyes glimmered, blazing as mine made contact. Her smile never fell, never faltered for a modicum of a second.
"Pretty sure that's not how it works.", I mumbled under my breath, not thinking through the possible consequences I would be faced to endure in such an event that she'd heard.
She scowled her typical uniform frown, nostrils flaring, her chest rising greatly while she took deep breaths to regain false composure. She didn't even bother to force another grin to her face.
"You have been a sack of shit lately. Did you know that, Betty? You're useless. You're a burden. You're a monster, intolerable to be around all the time. What is the matter with you?".
I scoffed, throwing my hands up in the air out of anger much to my own surprise. I'd never stood up to my mother in such an outward, visible manner prior to that moment. "Mom, I'm so sorry that you don't think I'm good enough, that you think I'm a slut or a failure of a student. I hate to break it to you, but I'm really not! I haven't done anything wrong!".
Her wicked grin returned, and it made my blood run cold. What reason could she possibly have to smile? I stood up to her! Why would she be smirking in such a way? It truly terrified me.
"You're right, Elizabeth. You're 100% correct, as you always are.".
"What? But-".
"I think you deserve a reward, don't you? A cookie maybe? No... No, I have a much, MUCH better idea.".
I stared, gaping in disbelief and doubt, confused. It seems I had good reason to feel that way.
The floorboards in the hall thumped, a burly, muscular man appearing at my door. His face bore no expression, his gaze cold and harsh. His eyes scanned over me, his eyebrows raising after he'd finished as if to exhibit his approval. His glance shifted to my mom, who now wore a bright smile on her face, her posture upright and uptight.
I didn't like the man or the way he looked at me. I didn't like how they looked at each other.
"M-Mom? W-Who's this?", I inquired shakily. Her head whipped back, smiling warmly at me. She played a cruel game.
"This is- actually, you don't need to know his name. It won't matter. You two are going to spend the day together as your... reward. He's been ordered by myself to... well, you'll see.". She chuckled, standing up and strutting out of the room, handing the man five one hundred dollar bills while delivering a pat on the shoulder. He made his way towards the bed after slamming the door shut with his foot.
"W-What are you doing? W-What's going on? Why-".
"Shut up, princess. You listen to me, understand? You can scream, you can cry, you can beg, but I promise you that you have NO control now!", he shouted, gripping my wrists tightly with one of his hands. The other worked hastily to remove my clothing while I waited and shouted in protest.
"S-STOP! PLEASE STOP!! PLEASE-".
~~
"STOP IT! PLEASE!".
I shot up, sweat trickling down my forehead as my body trembled. Tears had already formed in my eyes, falling onto Jughead's arm that held my stomach. I still sat between his legs as he laid against the arm of the sofa, the crickets chirping outside to accompany the lone lamp light in the corner of the living room.
I felt my sharp fingernails grasp onto my hair, pulling it profusely as I began to rock back and forth, gasping for a single breath of air to rid my flow of tears. I bit my lip to still it, which was a rather futile attempt. I began to quake more vigorously, but I hardly noticed until I felt an outside source tighten my stomach.
"H-Hey Betty. Shhhh, it's okay! I've got you, it's okay! You're okay!", he assured persistently, turning me around and holding me firmly to his chest as he rubbed my back and removed my hands from my scalp.
"I'm here. It's okay. It's okay. Breathe. Breathe in the lavender. Shhh.".
