Betty Pov:
My heart twinged with guilt as Lola rushed out of the room and up the stairs, closing the door gently as she entered her room. This is my fault. It always is. If I hadn't been a petty, jealous bitch, she would be fine. She's probably having an anxiety attack upstairs. Oh my God.
Sweat trickled down my forehead as I felt myself beginning to shake uncontrollably. I briefly glanced at Jug, tears silently streaming down his face as he bit his lip and shook his head. It was my turn to fix things, but what if I couldn't? "Jug, I need you to... to...", I tried to say, but was cut off as a I felt puke rising up my throat. I bolted to the nearest bathroom, whipping my hair back as I held my head over the toilet bowl, bile coming up not a second after.
Jughead Pov:
The rain poured onto the roof, still not muffling the sounds of Betty retching and Lola sobbing. I had to make a decision; help Betty, even though I'm furious with her, or help poor, little Lola, who's upstairs having a panic attack? The choice was easily made, and I began running up the stairs to Lola's room, skipping every other step. Lola needed me more than Betty did. I would have the chance to help Betty later, if need be.
Not wanting to cause any more panic, I gently opened the door, once again finding her sobbing into her pillow. I winced, hurt at the thought that I had caused this. Gulping, I made my way over to her twin bed, hesitantly sitting beside her and putting a hand on her back. She flinched at my touch, turning her head quickly to look at me. Her face were swollen, red and tear-stained. Her lip quivered as she trembled, scared that the yelling might continue.
"Oh, Honey. I'm so sorry.", I whispered, tears continuing to run down my own face. "I never mean to scare you. Mommy and I just disagree a lot. I'll never yell at you, okay? You have to trust me. We're not mad at you.". I brushed the stray hairs off of her face as her eyes softened slightly, only to tense up again. "I-I know, Daddy. It just s-scared me.".
Before I had the chance to respond, lightning flashed through her bedroom window, thunder crashing soon after. Lola jumped into my lap, wrapping her arms tightly around my torso as she whimpered. I stroked her head as I shushed her. Poor girl. Scared of thunderstorms, it seems. Just then, you could practically see the lighting bulb appear over my head as an idea came to me.
"Hey, I have an idea. I can tell that you're scared of thunderstorms... they're loud. But I promise you, they're not that bad.", I said softly, placing a kiss to her forehead before she gave me a puzzled look which made me smile. "Come on. Let me go get Mommy, and then I'll show you. How does that sound, Baby?", I suggested. She nodded hesitantly, taking my hand that I offered before we made our way downstairs together.
Just as we had reached the bottom of the stairs, Betty came stumbling out of the bathroom, looking pale and exhausted. Part of me wanted to be an asshole to her, but Lola was here, not to mention, I couldn't help but feel rather sympathetic. "We're going outside in the storm... like we used to.", I told her, whispering the last part. She gave me a remorseful look as she nodded, going to the bathroom again to get towels before she came to join us in the backyard.
Lola shivered out of fear and the cold raindrops falling onto her skin, grasping onto my leg. I picked her up, hushing her. "It's okay, Hun. There's nothing to be scared of. It's just rain, see? It's calming.", I said, holding my hand out and tilting my head back to allow the water to drip onto my face. A grin stretched across my face, and I looked at Lola, gesturing for her to do the same. She did as she took deep breaths, closing her eyes as she tried to enjoy the moment. A small smile appeared onto her small face.
Betty Pov:
I sat on a towel as Jug sat down on another, pulling Lola into his lap before casting a glimpse over at me. He looked away, biting his lips as he considered something. Looking back up and taking a deep breath, he lifted Lola off of his lap, passing her over to me gently as he gave me a half-hearted smile. A blush rose to my cheeks, both out of embarrassment and guilt, but also just at how unnecessarily kind he was being, despite the bitch I was earlier. I returned a smile, tears welling up in my eyes briefly, though they were disguised by the downpour of rain. I smiled down at the child in my lap, whose gorgeous blue eyes stared into my eyes as she wiped the tears and raindrops off of my cheeks.
"Daddy and I used to sit out in the rain when we were stressed, or when we... had fights. We found it very calming. It was something else that is-was special to us.", I told her, my voice cracking slightly as I held back sobs. I missed him. I still held everything that we used to do so dear, and him for that matter. But we would never work, not after what I did.
I let my head drop momentarily before lifting it back up, kissing Lola's soft cheeks repeatedly as she giggled and squirmed in my embrace. We sat in a comfortable silence as the rain continued to pour on us, calmness drifting over all of us Lola breathed in the wonderful scent of the air (Don't y'all love the smell of rain? Same.)
😐 I feel like this is boring. I'm sorry.
