the town with darkness | bughead

ch. 22 | bound to hurt

Jughead came to slowly. The first things he noticed was the throbbing pain in his head that signalled a pretty nasty concussion and the fact that he was cold. He groaned softly, pushing back the nausea that always came hand in hand with being knocked out and that was when he realised there was gag tied around his mouth. He just about jumped right out of the chair he was in and that was when he felt the ropes holding him in place. Opening his eyes just brought more dull blackness with a newfound blindfold restricting his vision. His breathing quickened and grew more shallow and he could hear his heart pounding in his ears. He needed to calm himself down. He had no idea where he was or who had taken him and then tied him to a freaking chair.

"Are you coming back to us, Mr Jones?" a calm, gravelly voice to his right spoke, making Jughead flinch and whip his head to the side, making him feel even more ill.

Jughead's breath hitched in his throat as he heard the sound of measured, deliberate footsteps moving from his right hand side to in front of him. The man in front of him just stood there for a moment. A knot formed in the pit of his stomach and he swallowed thickly. He heard the rustle of fabric and then strong fingers grabbed the edges of the blindfold and pulled it off making Jughead gasp at the rapid movement. He blinked a few times, clearing his vision and then looked up to see Clifford Blossom.

"Hello Jughead," Clifford said menacingly.

"He's not answering his phone," Betty said worriedly, her cellphone stuck to her ear, hearing Jughead's voicemail for the fourth time.

"He hasn't texted me back," Archie said, looking up from his own phone.

Their parents were currently in a huddle further down the hallway from them and Betty was completely freaking out, thankful her mother's view was blocked by Sheriff Keller's tall frame.

"We need to find him, now, make sure he doesn't do anything," Betty said.

"Did any of you drive here?" Veronica asked.

"I didn't, but my Mom did and I have a spare key," Betty replied, her eyes lighting up. "Let's go."

Betty, Archie and Veronica snuck away down the school hallway and out to the carpark. Betty scanned the lot and pressed the 'unlock' button on the key fob, taking off at a run when she saw the indicator lights flash on and off as the car unlocked. Archie and Veronica were hot on her heels and the three of them piled into the car.

"Where should we go? The trailer park?" Veronica suggested.

"My place?" Archie added.

Betty stopped for a moment, drumming her fingers on the steering wheel, thinking. "Let's go to the trailer park and check in on your place on the way."

"Sounds like a plan," Archie said.

Betty set her jaw and aimed the headlights at the street.

"You're probably wondering what you're doing here," Clifford Blossom said. "I'm sure you know that I would never willingly want to associate with a Jones."

Despite his current situation, Jughead couldn't help rolling his eyes at Clifford. Clifford noticed, huffed out a short laugh before backhanding Jughead across the face. Jughead gasped, frowning as the backhanded slap brought his concussion back to the fore, his world tilting slightly.

"It would do you well to show just a little respect to the person who has you tied to a chair, don't you think?" Clifford stated, wiping his hands on a silk handkerchief. "Now, as I was saying, you need to be taught a lesson."

That sentence sent a chill down Jughead's spine and he looked up at Clifford nervously.

"I know exactly what kind of 'lessons' your father has been laying down and I suppose this is going to be in a similar vein," Clifford continued, his voice growing dark.