"We're all on the edge of madness; deep down, darkness is within all of us and we're on guard constantly trying to avoid losing control."
In which Mickey Lodge has a few skeletons in her closet.
{COMPLETED WITH ALL SEASONS + epilogue}
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After placing her packed bags by the front door, Mickey sits on the arm of one of couches in their living room. She unlocks her phone to see a missed call and a voicemail from an unknown number. When she presses play and holds the phone to her ear, her heart starts to race at the sound of Jughead's voice. Her grip on the phone tightens.
"Hey, Mick, it's me. I guess I keep calling at the wrong times. I hope you're okay. We're looking for a place to settle down and hopefully I can talk to you when we do. I know we're not together anymore, but...." There's a pause. "I miss your voice," he says strenuously. "Okay, uh, bye."
That was it.
Disappoint courses through her. There are a few things she thinks he could've added, but maybe he didn't because he doesn't feel the same way. If he did, he would've never left in the first place.
"What are you doing? And what are those?"
Mickey looks up to see her mother pointing to the bags by the door. "I'm leaving the Pembrooke."
"We're leaving," Veronica comes wheeling in with her luggage. Her eyes dart to Mickey, "I'm all ready."
Hermione's looks between her daughter as if she's waiting for one of them to say they're kidding. When neither of them do, she focuses on Veronica. "I know you're upset about Archie, but you can't drag your sister into running after him with you."
"Save your breath, Mom. We're not going after Archie."
She lets out a sigh of relief. "Okay. Then what's this all about?" She gestures to the bags.
Veronica hands her today's newspaper. "Convenient, isn't it? Sheriff Minetta goes missing just as I find ironclad evidence that he coerced those Shadow Lake boys into giving false testimony."
Hermione's shoulders lift and she gives them a perplexed look. "Minetta was a corrupt man. He had many enemies."
"Is that a murder confession?" Mickey tilts her head to the side questioningly.
"Okay, Mickey, first of all, I sincerely hope that you don't believe I'm capable of—"
"I honestly don't know what to believe anymore," Mickey pushes herself up from the couch arm. "Which is why we're leaving this house of horrors while we still can." For a split second, she feels bad for her mother because Hermione's eyes are sad and her face is unsettling. So, Mickey offers her some advice. "Maybe you should too."
"He's my husband," Hermione says, conflict lacing her tone.
"We're your daughters," Mickey tries once more. When she's given this blank look from her mother, she's disappointed again. "Right. Well, we have to go, Mom."
"You and Daddy can pop open a bottle of Cristal because he finally did it," Veronica retorts. "He finally won. He finally drove Archie and both of us away for good."
