𝓛𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓱𝓮𝓻 𝓑𝓸𝓾𝓷𝓭

𝓈𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃

"Mija." A word that sounds sweet to one, is just a cruel mockery to another. A simple sweet calling no one could think of hurting so badly when said to the wrong daughter.

+ + + + 

It was early in the morning when Nellie found herself staring at the blank ceiling of her room. In the shower, in the bathroom next door, the water finally stopped running. She could hear Sweet Pea walking around the small room, knocking over a few bottles on his way to the door. His grunt followed. 

She stayed in the comfort of her warm bed for just a few moments, giving Sweet Pea enough time to get dressed in the adjoined room. 

The sound of her turning the doorknob, disturbed the cozy morning as Sweet Pea quickly glanced back at her. His bare, muscled back was obviously displayed to Nellie as she stood frozen in the doorstep. Her own bare legs shivered in the sudden gush of cold air. 

For a second, the two strangers looked at each other. 

Sweet Pea's eyes roamed over Nellie's short, tangled hair, over the crease in her cheek from sleeping, to the baggy shirt of his brother hanging around her frail figure. His eyes remained locked on her smooth, bronzed legs. 

Unaware of his observation, Nellie couldn't bring herself to avert her eyes from the tanned back of the Serpent in the living room. Only clad in a pair of pale pantalons, his bare chest was exposed to her view. 

With a cough, Sweet Pea pulled his gaze away and focused on the dark blue polo in his hands. The movement was enough for Nellie to return to reality.

"I'll quickly shower and then I'll go looking for a job," she explained, reaching for the doorknob.

"You don't want to come to school with me?" Sweet Pea said, a grin displayed on his handsome face after he pulled the polo over his head. 

Nellie looked at him, puzzled. "You look rather fancy for school," she remarked, crossing her arms in front of her chest and leaning against the doorframe. 

Sweet Pea chuckled. All the stress the sheriff had brought last night seemed to have disappeared. Apparently that Toni had successfully managed to calm his nerves, Nellie thought as she chewed on the side of her lip. 

"Long story short, we're the goodwill case of Riverdale High. Our own school was deemed unfit by the mayor," Sweet Pea said, a joyful shimmer in his eyes. "But it's good, at least Riverdale High provides us a bit more comfort than Southside High did. The computers work and the teachers don't try to sell drugs to their students." He continued shaking his head. A small smile was a ghost on his fine lips. 

"But is it enough to convince you to come along?" he said, raising his gaze to meet with Nellie's. Although she did not know him, the way he looked at her so intently stirred something inside her. The beating of her heart was louder than the alarm in her head that should warn her for danger. 

The sudden eye contact had Nellie rooted to her spot. Mimicking his easy laugh, she shook her head. "I haven't been to school in months. I am starting to believe education is not everything," 

A frown banished Sweet Pea's carefree look. Before he could ask anything and dig further into the misery that had been Nellie's life the last couple of months, Nellie straightened.

"You better hurry, or you'll be late," she remarked, quickly heading into the still humid bathroom. 

As soon as she heard the front door shut close, she let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. The hot water running down was barely enough to still her squirmish nerves. 

After making certain to shut the door to the trailer firmly behind her, Nellie squinted into the pale morning light. A fog was embracing the other trailers in the park. Sweet Pea's motorcycle was gone, but in front of the other trailers most of them were still huddled together. 

Not really having an idea of where to go, Nellie walked onto the dirt walk that made a path between the trailers until she reached the asphalted road. A lone bus stop caught her attention. Huddling the large sweater of Sweet Pea's brother, she observed the timetable, sighing in relief when the next bus to Riverdale's Center would arrive in a few minutes. 

She looked at the phone in her hand. Four missed calls from Poppy, the only friend from New York who was still caring enough to try to call her after she left. Only, Nellie couldn't bring herself to involve Poppy into her mess. If the girl would know in how much financial trouble Nellie had found herself in or how she struggled to continue each day, Poppy would go to enormous lengths to help her friend. Help Nellie could never repay. So instead of pressing the vibrant green telephone on her screen, Nellie firmly blocked the incoming call. 

She paid for her bus ticket with a few loose coins in the pockets of her jeans. It didn't take long until the streets grew denser and more people went on about their business. In front of what she assumed was the city hall, Nellie descended. 

In daylight the city of Riverdale nearly looked normal. But Nellie knew better. As she researched her father's location in a library in New York, she had stumbled upon many articles showing disconcerting news from the small town. A high school student who was brutally murdered by his father was only the beginning. A serial killer who sowed terror had shown up merely a few months later. The inhabitants of the town had had their fare share of strange circumstances. 

Nellie didn't quite know where to place the decapitated statue Sweet Pea and the sheriff were talking about last night in the midst of the town. 

It also left her wondering why, of all places, Hiram Lodge had chosen Riverdale as his home. He could've stayed in New York where she knew he lived a luxurious life in a modern penthouse. But instead, Hiram Lodge had searched the discretion of a drab town a few miles away. 

The entire day, Nellie strolled past shop displays and restaurants, asking the employees for a job. But no one could help her. No one wanted to hire a teenager in an oversized sweater.

Frustrated, she stalked out of the last shop she had entered. A sudden rush of panic washed over her. If she didn't find a job, she couldn't leave Riverdale. Hell, she couldn't even repay F.P. and Sweet Pea for her housing. Feeling a headache rising, she pressed her hand against her forehead. 

"Mija!" 

The simple sweet calling could only belong to one man. Nellie raised her eyes, looking for the source of a nickname she hadn't heard out of the confined space of her New York apartment or the lobby of the Pembrooke.

But when her eyes landed on the man, her heart squeezed shut. Darting into his embrace was the other daughter, a girl dressed in the finest clothing. 

Shame reddened Nellie's cheeks as she unconsciously tugged at the sleeves of her oversized, borrowed sweater. 

Pecking Hiram Lodge on the cheek, the daughter purred her own calling, "Daddy," 

A speck of disgust turned Nellie's stomach upside down. Never had she called the man "daddy", she had never been allowed to. Unable to look away from the small reunion, sounds deafened around her. She saw Hiram Lodge complimenting his daughter, to which the girl clasped her hands together and looked from underneath thick, curly lashes. 

They walked into the building on the other side of the street. Although her mind screamed at her, advised her not to follow, Nellie impulsively followed, crossing the street without looking.  

At the luxurious glass doors, she hesitated. She could see Hiram and the girl, arms linked, walking into a bar. Before she could decide against her instinct to follow, the doors smoothly glided open. 

"Welcome to the Five Seasons," a soft voice announced, but Nellie no longer heard anything as she headed straight to the door Hiram had disappeared into.