chemistry. | SWEET PEA [1]

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

           

"WAIT, Sheriff Keller did what?" Becca stopped her working, looking up at Sweet Pea, Fangs, and Toni with an unbelieving expression.

"See for yourself," Toni said with a hard expression, handing her a piece of paper.

Becca picked herself up, cleaning her hands on a rag and took the eviction notice from Toni.

"You have fourteen days to vacate?" She looked up from the page to the three of them, "What are you guys going to do?"

"FP's trying to find a way out of it, but..." Toni looked less than hopeful at the prospect.

"It's all because of that stupid head," Sweet Pea crossed his arms angrily, "And this goddamn town for thinking we're always the criminals."

Becca studied the blood red ink on the page. This wasn't fair, and she knew the Sheriff and Mayor McCoy knew that as well. But with her dad and presumably Hiram calling the shots around Riverdale, they could do anything they damn well pleased. Including displacing an entire community.

"There's kids, literal children, that won't have a home in two weeks," Sweet Pea continued in a frustrated voice, "Meanwhile Northsiders care more about the desecration of the statue of a murderer than actual people. Figures as much."

Becca sat the paper down on the counter, letting out a deep breath. No matter what happened or what her father did, she always felt in some way responsible. And especially now with what she knew. She knew if she even tried to broach the subject with her father, she'd get immediately shut down. Becca was starting to feel like she couldn't sit by in this conflict. There was a clear right side to this whole Northside-Southside thing, and it wasn't where she came from.

"I wish I could do something to help you guys," She shook her head, "Every time anyone even mentions the Southside around my family, they suddenly become a raging pit of hatred."

Becca looked up with a worried expression, "Are you guys going to have some place to stay?"

All of them, including Sweet Pea, shook their heads.

"Most of the Southside families can't afford to move out of Riverdale at all," Fangs put in.

Becca sighed, chewing on her bottom lip. This was a hell of a situation they were in now. With nothing to offer, she turned back towards the bike and continued her work. The least she could do now was fix whatever they needed to help them. She glanced over at Sweet Pea, who would be homeless in just fourteen days because of a dumb statue. Maybe she could ask Betty to help, but then again, Becca thought with a knowing expression, Jughead would be on the case.

Her mind drifted back to her father's accounts from last night. Yesterday should have calmed her nerves, but now instead they had escalated. She still wanted to believe her father was doing a good thing, helping with the SoDale project. But now, she wasn't so sure. Becca tried to put these thoughts away until Friday night. Perhaps her and Betty wouldn't find anything, because believe her, she wanted so desperately to be wrong. She was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't realized what she was working on until something suddenly shocked her.

"Ah, fuck," She yanked her hand away from the open circuitry.

The end of some of her fingers were now a bright red and starting to blister from where she had shocked herself.

"Becca, are you okay?" Sweet Pea asked, kneeling down next to her to look at her hand.

"Yeah I'm fine, just wasn't paying attention to where I stuck my hands," She replied, waving him off.