Second Chances [Sweet Pea x OC]

Chapter 40

"You're not supposed to be back here."

"There are a lot of things I'm not supposed to do but I tend to do them anyway," I replied. "So, are you going to move out of the way or not?"

"Abigail, I'm not letting you into the men's locker room," Keller sighed.

"Why not?" I asked, not backing down. "I highly doubt there's anything in there I haven't seen before."

Keller sighed. "Look, Sweet Pea's getting patched up and showered. I'll tell him you'll be waiting over there," he said, pointing towards the end of the hall.

"All right, I'm going," I replied after a moment, making my way down the hall, back towards the main part of the gym. I could feel Keller's eyes on me as I walked, and I didn't bother looking back, even when I heard the locker room door open and close.

From where I stood in the shadows, I could see the majority of the ring and the match that had already started. Elio stood nearby, cheering on one of the boxers. I hadn't spent a lot of time at the gym watching Sweet Pea and Archie train, but it was enough for me to tell that the guy didn't have much clue about what he was doing. As the bell rang and the crowd somehow managed to get louder than they'd been already, signaling the end of the match, I almost didn't hear the footsteps behind me.

"You're really here," Sweet Pea said.

"I told you I would be," I replied, turning around. "Have I ever lied to you? Wait, don't answer that."

His smile fell before reaching for my hand. "Abigail, you've never lied to me. You just didn't always tell me everything."

"Like that's much better," I muttered.

Sweet Pea sighed, glancing towards the ring where the two were climbing out of the ring. "Hey, let's go in here, out of the way." He pulled me into an office just before Elio led his fighter down the hall, just past where we'd been standing.

Pushing some papers out of the way, I sat on the edge of the desk, watching as Sweet Pea sat in the rickety desk chair. "You should have ice on that," I said, leaning over to run a finger lightly along his jaw where a bruise was already beginning to form. "And your chest too. That was a pretty solid hit." I laughed as he looked at me in surprise. "What, you thought I came all the way out here and didn't watch your match?"

"I don't know, I didn't see you when I was out there," he admitted. "I was afraid you'd changed your mind since you never texted me back last night."

"Sorry, I got here right as your match started, only saw about half of the first round. You've gotten better since the last time I saw you up there."

"Yeah, well, I didn't have much else to do recently, and I tried to avoid being home if I could," Sweet Pea said. "I've missed you."

I sighed, looking down at my lap. "I know, I miss you too. But you're doing better without me around, putting in more hours at Andrews Construction and getting back into boxing at the gym."

"And both of those things are because of you. You need to start giving yourself credit for all the good you've done," Sweet Pea insisted, coming to stand in front of me.

"Good intentions don't mean anything," I said shortly. "If I've learned anything recently, that's it."

"Then forget about all that, think about what you've actually done then. You came back to Riverdale for a second chance, and you've gotten that. The Serpents would have fallen apart without your help and God knows where I'd be right now if you hadn't come back. Screw whatever it was you tried to do that didn't work out."