Family || Sweet Pea [1]

27

Chapter 27 || Penny Peabody Returns

"Alright, order of the Ophidians," Jughead greeted, while I taped up a poster he'd given to me. Apparently, Jughead and Betty were going to find General Pickens' head for Mayor McCoy so she couldn't evict us. I looked up, ready to return to the loving arms of my boyfriend, but instead I was met by the cold eyes of Penny Peabody.

"Jughead and Kitty Jones." She greeted. "Did you really think you'd seen the last of me?"

"What's the Snake Charmer doing here?" Jughead asked. I stepped away from Jughead, wanting nothing more than to be away from the hateful eyes of Penny Peabody.

"Dad?" I asked softly.

"No, I brought her in, to help us." Tall Boy announced.

"We don't need Penny's kind of help." Jughead protested.

"You don't get a say anymore." Tall Boy stated, turning his gaze to me. "Either of you."

"Excuse me?" I asked, shuffling closer to my father.

"Since you broke Serpent law and hurt one of your own kind." Tall Boy finished. My eyes widened as I looked to my dad.

"Dad, I did-"

"Penny was about to tell your dad." Tall Boy cut me off. "Show him, Penny. Show them all"

Penny Peabody was a lot of things; she was manipulative, she was rude, but most of all she was a Serpent. I should've questioned Jughead about what he did to Penny when he said he'd gotten rid of her, but, stupidly, I didn't. And my inability to question my brother only made me feel guilty as Penny Peabody rolled up her sleeve and showed the Serpents a gross looking scar on her forearm. I let out a gasp, looking away from her scarred arm and into Sweet Pea's guilty gaze.

"That used to be my Serpent tattoo." Penny stated, turning a glare over to Jughead. "Until your kids sliced a chunk outta my arm and left me bleeding in a ditch in Greendale."

Dad let his eyes slide shut as my own eyes filled with tears. Not out of frustration, or sadness; no, I was terrified. I had nothing to do with this attack on Penny, but it seemed that she'd planned to pull me into the story no matter what.

"But, I'm still willing to help the Serpents." Penny continued. "Tall Boy showed me those eviction notices. They're legit. Luckily, I can think of about 41 ways to stall the process. And I'm talking years."

"What's your price, Penny?" Dad asked, refusing to look up at me or Jughead.

"Blood for blood." Penny stated, rising to her feet. "An eye for an eye. I want back in with the Serpents and I want them kicked out."

There was a beat of silence. I felt a tear fall down one of my cheeks as I brought my eyes down to my father.

"Oh, yeah, one last thing..." Penny trailed off, looking from me to Jughead. "I want their tattoos carved off. And I want to do it myself. With a dirty knife."

I didn't even realize I'd sunk down to my knees, I didn't realize that I was slowly having a panic attack, not able to understand what it was I did to Penny Peabody that would make her want to add me to her revenge scheme. Jughead picked me up and carried me back to our dad's trailer, holding me until I calmed down. When I was finally calm, I shoved Jughead away from me.

"You idiot!" I yelled, wiping the tears off my cheeks. "You knew the laws! You dragged Sweet Pea and Toni and Fangs into it without even thinking about the consequences! And now you've gotten me mixed up in this!"

"Kitt-"

"Katarina." I hissed. He flinched, avoiding my gaze.

"I didn't think she'd come back." He strained.