skin and bone ; riverdale ♡

twenty one ♡

The second the school bell rings signalling the end of the school day, Betty and I go straight to see Cheryl at Thistlehouse.

Betty and I walk up to the daunting house together, surprised to see that Cheryl is already sitting out front sunbathing.

"Well, if it isn't my best friend and my sweet cousin." Cheryl smiles up at us from where she's relaxing on a sun lounger. "To what do I owe this unannounced pleasure?"

"I just wanted to see how you were doing." Betty says.

I push my best friend's Giuseppe Zanotti clad feet over, sitting down at the end of the lounger.

"I'm compartmentalizing." Cheryl replies, putting her book down. "But I also see right through you, Invisible Woman."

Cheryl slides her sunglasses off her face as Betty speaks, "I'm writing an article. On jingle jangle inundating Riverdale."

I raise an eyebrow at Betty as Cheryl picks her book up, uninterested.

"Have you ever heard of the Sugarman?" I ask Cheryl, getting straight to the point.

"Yeah, of course." Cheryl replies making Betty and I both look at her in shock.

"What?" We both ask in unison.

"As children, Mother told us tales of how Daddy was friends with the so called Sugarman. And if we were bad, he'd sneak into our rooms at night, steal us from our beds, whisk us away, nevermore to be seen." Cheryl says.

"What kind of bedtime stories did your mother tell you?" I scoff. "That's horrifying."

"Cheryl," Betty ignores my comments, getting back to the subject at hand. "Is it possible that this man maybe worked for your father's drug business?"

"Dear God, Betty. Is there no memory, however traumatic, you won't defile?" Cheryl pastes on an over exaggerated smile.

"I'm just trying to get to the truth." Betty says.

"I've told you the truth." Cheryl pretty much barks at Betty. "The Sugarman was a poison confection spun by mother to scare children. Like the Sandman or Krampus. Now, fly away, little bird."

"I'll catch up with you later." I tell Betty as she leaves.

As soon as Betty leaves, I turn the redhead next to me, "I'm sorry about this morning. If you don't want to press charges, we shouldn't have pushed you."

"It's fine." Cheryl replies, a small smile gracing her lips.

"How are you doing?" I ask, genuinely.

"Honestly," Cheryl trails off before taking a deep breath. "I've been better. But I'm just thankful that you and the Pussycats saved me before anything went too far."

"I'm sorry, Cher." I gulp. "And I'm sorry about Betty. This, um, article, is really important to her."

Cheryl sighs, sitting up properly, "I'll try and speak to my mom. I can't make any promises, though."

"Cher, you don't have to-"

"I want to. It's the least I can do after you saved me." Cheryl smiles. "Now, let's get inside and get something to eat. I'm starving."

My stomach twists slightly, the thought of food both nauseating and tempting.

"Um, I'm not really hungry." I tell the redhead, following her as she picks up her book and heads indoors.

"You're never hungry these days." Cheryl rolls her eyes. "If you don't watch out, you're going to be nothing but skin and bone."

"You're so dramatic." I scoff.