The Hoax

Chapter Seven

Watching Betty exit the car and walk up to her front door filled me with such an uncertain feeling. The short drive here, she barely spoke a word. When I laid my hand on hers she was shaking as though she was freezing. Her emerald green eyes glazed over in fear as she looked at me to say goodbye. I've never seen her more fearful then that moment.

"I hope she's okay..." Veronica said, breaking the silence of the car. I looked at her confused, why wouldn't Betty be okay? She noticed my confusion. "About a year ago, I noticed a large deep bruise on Betty's side when I was loaning her a shirt.. when I ask about it she said she had ran into the counter. I let it be but it was too big to be just from a counter and when I pestered her about it she freaked out and asked me to just leave it and never talk about it again..." she explained.

"What do you think it was from?" I asked. She only shrugged.

"I'm not sure... maybe her dad? I know that after Betty's sister got pregnant at 16 he went off the deep end" she explained. Would her father really do that??

"Stop the car... I need to make sure she's okay" I demanded. With wide brown eyes, Veronica informed the driver and the car was soon pulled over. The rain was coming down hard, the breeze beginning to blow colder.

"Jughead.... let me know if she's okay.." she asked. I nodded and was soon off, running back towards the large house we had just drove away from. The rain was not easing, beginning to crash down harder as the day began turning into night. Her house was large, many windows covering the front of it, all closed with curtains. It was a two story house, my guess probably 8 rooms in total. The grass was slowly becoming less green as winter approached, the trees becoming naked.

   Standing in front of the near mansion in my eyes, my first instinct was to just ring the door bell. That's what any normal person would do when visiting a friend. But Veronicas worry about Betty's father filled my gut with worry, knowing that making myself known would not be a good idea. So I did what any weirdo would do and made my way to the side of the house to find her bedroom window. I know, this is creepy. But at this very moment, there isn't anything safer I can think of doing. The memory of Archie Andrews boasting to his friends that his window is straight across from Betty flash through my mind. In an instant I was able to find the only windows parallel of each other. One thing I've learned about Riverdales rich family neighborhoods, they all have a latter mounted on the side of their house. The reason? I have no clue. But at the moment, it works in my favor.

   As quietly as I can I raise the cold, wet metal latter up to the window and begin climbing. Pushing up the double sided window, I climb onto a window seat and land on soft beige carpet. Standing here, I feel weird. I'm in Betty's room, without her permission, without her knowing. I feel as though I'm invading her privacy, but I need to know she's safe.

Taking a seat on the window seat, I stay as quiet as possible, hoping to hear Betty come up the stairs. All I hear is muffled voices and a sound as though someone I kicking a pillow.

"Piece of shit" I hear a deep voice say before the front door is slammed closed and a car speeds off into the distance. The house is silent for a few moments, as though everyone vanished off the face of the earth. You could hear a pin drop in the silence that surrounds me. That is until the sound of small footsteps slowly become louder. They're quiet, definitely the sound of a small human walking on hardwood floor. They stop for a few moments before her white bedroom door slowly opens. In this moment it feels as though everything is in slow motion, waiting to see her beautiful face. But what I see fills me with so much hatred and pain, I feel as though I'm dreaming.

"J-Jughead? What are you doing here?" She stutters as she stares at me with wide eyes. Her blonde hair is ratted, looking as though someone had messed it up on purpose other than herself. Her cheek bone was quickly becoming a dark purple. Her sleeve was stained with a small amount of red near the bottom of her elbow.

"You...... I wanted to make sure you were okay.." I stated as my eyes continued to look her body up and down in horror. I can only imagine what horrors lie beneath her clothes. "Betty... what happened?" I asked as I walked closer to her. She quickly closed the bedroom door and locked it, her breathing heavy.

"You need to leave before he sees you" she stated in a terrified voice.

"Betty, what happened?" I asked again, unknowingly gripping her arm as she tried walking past me. She hissed in pain, causing me to immediately let go. Tears had begun streaming down her previously dried cheeks as she turned towards me. "Did your dad do this?" I asked, harsher than I should have. Her only answer was a small nod. "I'm going to kill him" I blurt before I begin to turn on my heels towards the door. Rage was flowing through my veins, I could only see red.

"No! Jughead, please!" She cried, grabbing my hand. She was still shaking, whether it be from fear or pain I couldn't tell. The moment my eyes met hers, I felt broken. This girl, this strong girl, brought down by the person who's supposed to love her.

"What has he done to you?" I asked. I needed to know, I had to see. Standing to her feet, she slowly and painfully pulled up her shirt to just below her breasts, purple, yellow, black. Bruises covered her entire abdomen, new and old.

"It's been happening for a few years now... ever since my sister got pregnant... it's been getting worse recently..." she explained as she tiredly sat back on the bed. I sat next to her, wanting for nothing but to comfort her.

"Why haven't you left?" I asked.

"I have no where to go. I'm not going to risk anyone else's life by involving them... you never should have found out Jug" she cried. My heart ached, watching her unravel before me. Watching her become so vulnerable. She needs to leave, she can't stay here. She can't stay in this house with that monster.

"Stay with me" I blurted out. Her eyes automatically snapped to mine, the green irises now accompanied by red puffiness.

"No, I can't..." she sighs with a saddened smile. "He'll kill me... and you... if he ever found out. And I could never allow that to happen, Jug" she says as tears stream down her cheeks.

"You're 18... you don't have to stay here" I explain.

"I know.... but I can't leave my mother alone with him." As I sit here, staring at her, I'm scared. I'm scared for this girl next to me. The perfect girl next door, with the perfect house and perfect life, actually living a life of horrors. "Can you just... lay here with me? Please?" She asked through tears. I can only bring myself to nod as I follow her lead. She hurry's her head in my neck as we lay on her large bed. Her breathing quickly becomes soft, her heart rate steady as she sleeps. I lightly rub her shoulder, providing comfort to her as she sleeps.

Laying here with this amazing woman in my arms, this strong woman who takes nobodies shit, this woman who is so broken inside. All I can think about is helping her.

I need to help her escape this house of terror.

_____________________
Hey!!

Poor Betty....

Will Jughead be able to help her??

-Danii LeeAnn