What We Once Were

Chapter 14

1 year later

Veronica's POV
"Are you sure you're ready to come back, Mija?" My Mom asks through FaceTime on my laptop. I nod my head "Yes. I need to get back to my life, and to my friends. I have a second chance, I'm going to take it" I say. My mom sighs "but your abuelita said that Paris has been great for you" she says. I roll my eyes "yeah. Being stuck in your grandmas apartment while pregnant is great" I say. My father sits up straight "Okay. Come home, of course we want you here. We just want to make sure you're okay" he says. I give them a small smile, "I'm fine. Everything is the way it's meant to be" I say, hoping my lying isn't extremely obvious. They smile back at me, "Okay" my father says, "you'll be on the first flight we can get you on."

Archie's POV
"I can't believe our first day of senior year starts in a week" Betty says while her, Jughead, and I sit in a booth at Pops. I nod my head "I know. It feels weird, especially without..." I fade out. Jughead gives me a sympathetic look, "still haven't heard from her?" He asks. I shake my head "it's been a year. I probably never will" I say. Betty shakes her head, "I can't accept that. She was pregnant, she got into an accident, she couldn't terminate the pregnancy, so she went to Paris with her grandmother to have the baby. When she was in the accident she was already 9 weeks pregnant, that's like 2 months. She's been gone for a year so she had to of had the baby 5ish months ago" Betty says while calculating the months with her fingers. "She should be back by now" Jughead says. Betty shakes her head, "we don't know that. She could've kept the baby, she could've given him or her up for adoption, but that would've been hard on her. Maybe she just needed more time" she says sympathetically. "And if she kept the baby, odds are she's staying there" I say sadly. "I'm sorry" Betty says softly. I nod my head, "Yeah. I am too"

I walk in my house and I see my father sitting at the dining room table with Hiram and Hermione Lodge. "Mr and Mrs Lodge, what's going on?" I ask, hoping it's about Veronica. "Sit down, Archie. Please" Hiram says flatly. I take my jacket off and put it on the rack, and then join them all at the table. "As you know, Veronica went to Paris after her accident. We just wanted to come here and fill in some gaps for you" Hiram says. I nod my head, waiting for  them to continue. "Veronica had a baby, a baby girl" Hermione says. The fact that Veronica is a mother doesn't make me feel any different about her, honestly it just makes me want to hug her and tell her everything will be okay. "Wow, did she keep her?" I ask, not sure of what I want the answer to be. "No, a family in Paris adopted her. Veronica wanted the best life for her daughter, and she believes that's a life she can't provide" Hermione says. I can't imagine how difficult that decision was for Ronnie, I really wish I could talk to her. "The real reason we are here is because Veronica wants to come home, soon" Hiram says. That's what really grabs my attention, she's coming back. "She wants to be here before school starts" he adds. "That's one week" I say. He nods his head "yes, she'll be on a flight first thing tomorrow. We just want you to know she'll be here soon, and that she might be different. But she's going to need her friends" Hermione says, "especially you, Archie" Hiram adds. I nod "Yeah of course I'll be there for her" I say. My father gives me a small smile and the Lodge's smile. "Thank you, Archie. This is Veronica's phone number in Paris, make sure you check what time it is there before you call" Hermione says while handing me a card with Ronnie's number on it. "Thank you, Mr and Mrs Lodge" I say as they stand up and walk towards the door. "We'll see you soon, Archie" Hermione says before closing the door behind her and Hiram. I sigh and walk back to my table, "you okay with her coming back son?" My dad asks. I nod my head, "Yeah, I'm just not sure what I'm gonna say to her" I say while sitting back down. "You'll know when you see her" he says supportively. "I have to get to bed for work tomorrow, I'll see you when I get home in the evening" he says. I nod "goodnight dad" I say. "Goodnight, Arch" he says while walking up the stairs. Seconds later I hear his bedroom door click shut and I sigh. I grab the card that has Veronica's number written on it, and start to consider calling her. I google the time difference in Paris and it's 5 hours ahead, right now it's 11:30 pm her so it'd be 4:30 am there. I groan and set the card back on the table, I can't call her now anyway. I decide to call someone else. I scroll through my contacts looking for someone, anyone, to vent to. I click on Reggie's name and it rings once. Twice. The second I realize that talking to him about this is a bad idea, he picks up the phone.

R: Hey dude, what's up
A: Hey just calling to ask.... if you know when practice starts
R: first day is Monday, see you there, Andrews
A: Yeah see you

I hang up the phone and groan. "I'm an idiot" I whisper to myself. "Yeah I know" I hear Jughead say from the kitchen. I jump up, "dude" I say annoyed. "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you" he says while laughing. "Whats up" Jughead says "you look puzzled" he finishes. I roll my eyes "I am 'puzzled'" I say mockingly. "The Lodge's were just here, they told me some things" I say. He narrows his eyes, "like what" he asks. I sit down "she had a daughter that she gave up for adoption and now she's ready to come home for school" I say. He widens his eyes "really?" He asks. I nod "yes. And now I have her phone number and I don't know if I should call her or not" I say. "Of course you should. But not now, odds are she's still not a morning person" he says. I smirk "you're probably right. I'll call her later" I say. "I'm going to go to sleep. Help yourself to whatever, lock the door on your way out" I say while walking out of the kitchen. "Yeah Yeah, whatever" he says jokingly. I walk into my room and take my shirt off, then lay down on my bed. I stare at the ceiling thinking of Veronica, until I eventually drift off into sleep.

Hope everyone liked this chapter 💕