Second Chances [Sweet Pea x OC]

Chapter 42

I leaned back against the door as it clicked shut. The house was quiet, but considering how late it was, that made sense. At least, I assumed it was late. Maybe it was early. Whatever time it was, I needed to bandage my arm if nothing else.

Making my way to the kitchen, I flipped on the lights before grabbing the First Aid kit, dropping it on the counter as a jolt of pain shot down my arm. Struggling to get my jacket off, I heard the stairs creaking.

"Abigail?" Sweet Pea asked, appearing at the other end of the hall. "What the hell happened tonight? I got home and the cops were swarming the place next door but none of you were there."

"JB's safe, Kurtz is dead," I said simply. "Shot by the Gargoyle King or one of his crew."

"Did you bring her here with you? Where's everyone else?" he asked, looking around as he joined me in the kitchen.

I shook my head. "No, she's next door with Jughead. FP's either at the hospital or at the jail by now, and Gladys will probably be at the hospital for the next few days."

Sweet Pea's eyes widened in surprise. It seemed like word of what had gone down tonight hadn't spread yet. "What is with tonight?" he muttered, pulling the white box to him, ignoring the red streaks my fingers had left on it. "How bad is it?" he asked, nodding to where I was pulling my sleeve free from the blood that had begun to dry.

"Don't worry about it, it's just a graze," I replied. "I should have taken care of this before coming over."

"Let me, it'll be easier this way," Sweet Pea said, brushing my hands away to pull out the bandages. I didn't argue, the adrenaline from tonight beginning to fade and the sleepless nights catching up. "So, you gonna tell me how all of this happened?"

I ran my free hand through my hair, considering where to begin. My mind spun, playing the night out of order and I struggled to make sense of it all. "You remember Ricky, the kid Archie brought here? He's been playing G&G with JB. Somehow he got her out of the way tonight. FP arrested Kurtz who told him and Jughead she'd been kidnapped. We had to play Kurtz's game. If we won, she'd be safe. If we didn't or we killed him, she'd die."

I paused as Sweet Pea swore, looking at me concerned. "Abigail, this isn't just a graze. You have a fucking bullet in your arm. We need to get you to the hospital too."

"No. I can't go in, you know they wouldn't limit it to this," I protested. "Get it out or I'll figure out how to do it myself."

His eyes dropped to my side and back up to my throat where no doubt bruises were already forming. With a resigned sigh he nodded. "You know this is going to hurt even more, right?"

"No shit. Just get it out," I snapped, instantly regretting it. "I"m sorry, Sweet Pea. I just..." What was I? Tired, in pain, irritable. The list could go on.

"Don't worry about it," he replied softly. "I wouldn't be much better if I were in your place. Why don't you keep telling me about tonight? It might help distract you."

I nodded before telling Sweet Pea about the quests we'd had to complete, leading up to being shot in the junkyard. "When we got back, JB said Ricky had left not long ago. He's still out there somewhere," I said, examining the bullet that had been dug out of my arm.

"I should have been there," Sweet Pea said, taking it from me and dropping it back on the counter. "I should have gone with you when you got that call from FP."

"And done what? Landed yourself in jail or the hospital too? Sweet Pea, you've already done what you could, handling that," I protested, gesturing to my arm that he'd cleaned and bandaged. I looked down at my lap, preparing for my next question. "But would you be willing to do one more thing? Would you let me come back?"