Losing you

Chapter 2: Ignorance

The next morning, everyone knew. Everyone was horrified with the fact that a teenager was killed. Everyone was horrified that she was killed. Betty had many supporters, even if people didn't show it often, they had always loved her. They felt safer when she was around, knowing that she investigates everything and everyone somehow put them in peace. They were in shock by the stories in the news about how the girl was floating in a blood pool, in the arms of her beloved one. Many kids missed school that day.

Jughead was lying on her bed. No one had addressed the subject of him being in her room while all of it happened. No one cared. Even not Alice who usually made a big drama out of the fact that he sneaked into her daughter's bedroom for the night to comfort her if she couldn't sleep. No one until now.

FP, Jughead's dad was sitting in Betty's room, on the edge of her bed, looking at his son as he was staring blankly at the white ceiling, her shirt in his arms, tears stopped by that time, because there weren't many left for that particular day. He was trying to get answers, but Jughead didn't even acknowledge his dad being there. He couldn't stop thinking about the fact that he could have been able to save her, if he would've just told her to come back to bed and keep snuggling with him.

"Jug," FP sighed after about an hour of sitting there, feeling just as shaken up as everyone else was. He had known the girl himself, he had seen her smiling so many times when around his own son, he had also seen how she cried because of her mom or friends or when Jughead broke up with her to keep her safe. He had been watching all of that and he couldn't get the picture of Jughead holding her lifeless body in the basement out of his head. How her eyes were still opened, no spark or sadness in them anymore, no soul there anymore.

"Jughead," he said more strictly. "I know you're terrified. And I know you're shocked and mad and angry and sad at everyone at the moment. I'm also acknowledging that it's too early to talk about it, but if we want to catch whoever did this to Betty, you need to answer my questions, son."

Jughead's head turned to look at him with wide glassy eyes, tears surrounding his green hurt eyes as he sat up slowly to face his dad. "It's Hal," he just said, voice stodgy from the screaming.

"Did you see him?" FP asked immediately, looking alert.

Jug shook his head. "It's Hal," he just said again. voice breaking like FP had never heard before.

So he kept asking. "How can you be sure?"

"We..." Jug gulped, letting his face wrinkle up in saying that word. We.  But he kept on going, knowing he had to answer soon enough. "We investigated. We have so much proof, you wouldn't even believe. Just there's this one thing we couldn't figure out, but now it's clear."

"And that is?"

"He didn't have motives...  But he didn't have to have them. He's just a coldblooded killer. He doesn't care about anything or anyone in this world," Jug explained, voice full of hatred.

FP sighed. "Do you really think he could kill his own daughter?"

"He did. Betty went downstairs and there was a gunshot immediately. He didn't even think twice." The beanie wearing boy's voice broke when he spelled out her name. And he felt awful for being so weak.

"And his motive?" FP encouraged, knowing Jughead would cry any minute and then he wouldn't get any answers, because he was embarrassed to cry in front of his dad.

"We got too close to him. He killed her cat a day before that."

"What?" FP asked in shock. "Boy, I need to tell me everything you know."

Jughead shook his head, making eye contact with him finally. "I can't at the moment, dad. Please don't make me," he begged, tears in his eyes. He took a deep breath, turning his head away and tried to make his tears disappear by wiping them away, but it only made him cry more again, so in a few seconds he was back to sobbing and ignoring FP.