Thank You, For Everything

Comfort

Alice Cooper never thought, for even a second, that the Black Hood was dead. That Mr Svenson, of all people, was the man behind the mask who terrorised the small town of Riverdale. Although, people have been suspicious for a while now. Some, like Michelle Gover down the street, have been spreading rumours. Others, like Fred Andrews, have been quiet about the whole ordeal. Truthfully, these rumours were scaring Alice beyond her wits. She was a sinner, a criminal, she covered up a murder and now she didn't want to leave her house all because of some... rumour. And with Betty going off to some cabin in the woods over the weekend? Alice was on her last nerve. Of course, Betty didn't understand how worried she was, always getting irritable every time Alice expressed her concern. With the weekend approaching fast Alice had ironed the clothes Betty decided to wear on her short getaway, and packed all the essentials her daughter would need.

When Friday arrived, Alice had cooked Betty's favourite meal so she could eat with her and Chic before she left to travel overnight. Dinner, however, was eaten in an uncomfortable silence: said silence was normally filled by Hal berating Chic, but he wasn't here. Hal had left because of Chic and was staying at a Bed and Breakfast God knows where. Alice had tried to converse with her daughter and son, but the latter struggled to hold a conversation, and the former was angry with her mother.

"So, Betty," Alice looked across the table to her daughter, "this cabin- "

"Don't start, mum," Betty said. A short reply in an irritated voice. Alice stayed silent. Best not push it, she had been for the past week, anyway. Everything was tense but Alice smiled at her two children and stood to take their plates into the kitchen. Neither Chic nor Betty noticed that Alice's smile didn't quite reach her eyes and when she arrived at the table with three bowels of key lime pie, the table was empty, and everything was quiet save for the clock on the wall. Alice's breath hitched and her eyes closed as she sighed and let the tears fall. The key lime pie was forgotten about on the dining table as Alice wiped her tears and headed to the kitchen to pack Betty some food for the journey. She grabbed the what she had prepared for her daughter, and the tub of hazelnut brownies she had cooked earlier off the kitchen counter as Betty came down the stairs with her small suitcase. Chic was nowhere to be seen and Betty visibly sighed when she saw her mother walking towards her with two tubs of food.

"I made your favourite, honey. Hazelnut brownies, and some extra food if you get hungry," Alice smiled and handed Betty the food.

"Mum, Veronica's outside," Betty turned to walk away from Alice who grabbed her arm in a panic.

"I know, I know. I just want you to be safe, Betty. Stay out of trouble and if anything happens, call me right away. I'll come and get you, okay?" Alice gave Betty's arm one last squeeze and watched her daughter bound out the front door of the Cooper house, "have fun," she said to a closed door.

Saturday quickly became Sunday as Alice spent her time cleaning the house and cooking food that would never be eaten. She had been sat on the sofa rereading the same page of her favourite book for over an hour now. She wasn't reading it, not really: she needed to distract herself from her constant thoughts of doom awaiting the Cooper family. Polly's a teenage mum who doesn't talk to her family; Betty's a rebellious teen who got herself mixed up in the Southside Serpents; both her and Chic were involved in a murder; and Alice didn't know where Hal was. If he can't accept Chic as part of the family then he can stay away until he does. Alice closed her favourite book (which now seemed to be exceptionally dull) and looked around the room frowning, wondering what on earth to do. Chic was working, and she couldn't exactly play a board game by herself. The tick tock tick of the clock made the lonely silence unbearable. Alice needed to get out, she needed to talk to someone. Alice yanked the clock off the wall and covered it with one of those decorative pillows she insisted on buying a year back; she needed to change them soon, they looked out of date. Maybe it was 12am but she didn't care at this point, she put on her grey trench coat and headed out the door to the Southside of town. It seemed like a good idea when starting the car up and driving there, but the short walk from her car to his trailer seemed like an eternity, Alice didn't hesitate when knocking but decided to look anywhere but the front door of the little home. She did, however, turn her head when she heard the door open.