Cherry (Blossom) On Top

17 - Emergency at Thistlehouse

I enter the bar again and everything seems pretty normal. It's loud, crowded and everyone is just having fun. Caleb sits next to Jug and Sweet Pea and they are drinking beer or something like that. My hair has gotten a bit wet while I've been outside so it leaves small drips of water everywhere on the ground. Not that it would bother someone between all the alcohol. I go to the bar and sit next to them. "Hey guys, you getting along?" I ask them and they nod as if it's obvious. The door opens and closes and suddenly everything gets quiet. We turn around and what I see makes my heart flutter. It's something I've always wanted and a dream which just becomes reality.
The persons who entered the bar are Dad, Alice and Betty. He seems to snuck out through the backdoor when I was outside.
His arm is around Alices waist and her wedding ring isn't on her finger anymore. She is wearing dark clothes, similar to those she wore when she visited us in the beginning of the year. The short leather pants show a part of her royal Serpent Tattoo which is placed on her butt. You can only see the snake tail though.
Betty behind her doesn't seem as confident as her mother. Rather embarrassed by the way her mother dresses and obviously near making out with her boyfriends father.
"Dad, what's going on here?" Jug asks Dad and he looks at them, Betty and then at me. By that time they had already gotten here to the bar.
"Alice and I are officially back together. We've been waiting too long now to be honest" he says and kisses the blonde. "Wait wait wait. BACK together? You've dated before?" Jug and I say at the same time and Betty just giggles.
"They were having a thing for each other in High School" Betty says and hides the embarrassment in her face in her hands. Jug still doesn't seem to realize it, but I understand directly. "Best Day of my life!" I basically yell and hug both of them.

"I've been waiting for this to happen for so long now!" I explain and look and Dad who is just smiling. "Al, let us introduce you to someone. Betty, you too." he finally says and points to Caleb.

Oh right, they don't know about my long lost brother. "This is Caleb. My br-" "your brother." Al cuts me off and smiles. "I figured. You look similar." She says. Now that she mentions it, I can see it too. We have the same eye color and his hair is hazelnut brown as well. I chuckle and look at him for a second, when I suddenly get several text messages from Cheryl.

„I need you here ASAP! Something horrible happened..."
„Please, hurry."
„TJ, please look at your phone"
„Babyy🥺😥"

In the exact moment Dads phone rings. „Yes, I'll be right there. Thistlehouse you say? I'm on my way." The conversation ends within like ten seconds.
„Guys, I have to go work. Don't wait for me at home, could be late." He says and puts on his sheriff's hat. "I'll come with you dad" I say determined. „No way Toni. It's too dangerous out there." He explains but I'm not giving in so easily. „Cheryl sent me texts. She needs me there as soon as possible. Whatever happened there, I can't let her be alone right now" I declare and he finally gives in. "Fine, hurry now."

We arrive after a few minutes. The once so dark house is lighten up in blue. Everywhere are some police officers and paramedics. Between all these dark clothed people and police cars I spot Cheryl crying next to her parents. Her parents aren't crying. Nana Rose is still in the house, crying too. The only one missing is Jason.

While dad walks to his colleagues I run to my girlfriend, not caring if Mr and Mrs Blossom want me here or not. As soon as I reach her I pull her into a tight hug. We walk off to a quieter place. "Hey, hey, what happened?" I ask whispering and wipe her tears away. She sniffs and raises her head a bit. "Jj...he...he is dead.."

This is quite a shock for me. Seeing her parents not cry did not make me think of a dead person. I hug her even tighter and kiss her cheek softly. "Do...Do you want to talk about it babe? You shouldn't keep it all inside.." I offer and sit down on a bench with her. Cheryl looks down and nods. "I've lately been feeling a strange look on me everytime I was with JJ. This did not happen often, but when we were together, the feeling was so..strong. And today the feeling was stronger, but now Jason was scared too. During the night I heard a loud scream and a gunshot right next to my room. It was my dear brother who got shot..." she explains and now the tears won't stop. 

What she just said must've been so shocking to have to go through such a horrible thing. 

"Come here..." I whisper and she buries her face into my shoulder. Her loud sobs suffocate in my leather jacket and when her body shakes, mine does too. I hate seeing her in this condition. 

I hear steps on the small stonepath and look up again. It's dad. "Hey girls..Can I talk to you for a second, Cheryl? I need your statement for the protocol...Sorry for your loss.." he says and pats her shoulder softly. "But dad, After what happened I don't think she's capable on doing this with straight thoughts." I protest and rub her back. 

My father sighs and nods. "I see what you mean. You can take her home with you if her parents agree with it. She needs someone she can trust and I'm honestly not sure if there's a healthy relationship between her and her parents." he agrees and smiles a bit. "I'll talk to Mister and Misses Blossom." Dad adds and walks off again. 

Later that night we arrive at home. I see two pairs of men shoes so I guess Caleb is here as well. I take Cheryl to my room and I give her dry clothes, because it had started raining again. We get changed and lay down into my bed, her hugging me. While I streak her red hair softly I watch her fall asleep. 

And I gotta admit, if I knew who the murderer was, I would have done things very differently.

Hey! So first of all I'm sorry that there wasn't a chapter in that long. I lowkey am stuck in between a writers block and interests. While writing I came up with this new tray of mystery, because what would Riverdale be without a fine murder?