What We Once Were

Chapter 37

Veronica's POV
I bite down on the cap of my pen and close my eyes. "You cannot have feelings for anyone" I whisper to myself, "Reggie... has been dead for 2 years, oh my god" I groan into my hands. A knock at the door pulls my attention from my self pity to the visitor at my home office door. "Come in" I yell, hiding the anxiety in my voice. Reign peeks her head in my office and smiles at me, "Hey Mommy" She says while walking into my office. I stand up to greet her, "Hey, Mija" I say, wrapping her in a hug. She hugs me back tightly, tighter than usual, but I ignore it. "Is Archie here for your lesson?" I ask, tucking her hair behind her ear. The doorbell rings and basically answers my question for her, "go do your lesson then we can go out to dinner later" I say before she smiles and skips out of my office.

Within 45 minutes I can hear 2 guitars strumming from my living room, one flawlessly and another still beautiful, but a bit rusty in some parts. I sigh and stand up out of my chair, no longer able to ignore Archie. Reign has her back to me and Archie is positioned towards me, but still doesn't notice me. Reign looks at the ground distracted and she fumbles on the strings, she groans and pushes the guitar to the side. "Hey it's no big deal" Archie says, setting his guitar on the ground. She wipes tears off her face and I stay back, selfishly eavesdropping. "What's wrong?" Archie asks softly. She chokes back a sob and takes a deep breath, "I don't wan to to lose mom too" she cries, making Archie pull her into a hug. "Your mom isn't going anywhere,
I've known her forever. It'll take unworldly measures for you to ever lose her" he says, consoling her. He makes eye contact with me but I shake my head with tears in my eyes, and he gives me a sympathetic look. I take a deep breath and walk back to my office quietly, trying to hold back my tears till I get to the quiet of my office.

I close the door behind me and finally let out a quiet sob. The most difficult part of losing a husband is having to stay strong for your daughter, but learning that your daughter can't tell you her greatest fear brings that pain back in full force. I hear my office door open and I pray it's not Reign. I turn around and see a sympathetic Archie, looking me in the eyes.

Archie's POV
I walk into Veronica's office and I'm greeted by her mascara stained cheeks. The sight is like a punch in the gut, but I still walk over to her and wrap her in a hug. "I don't know how to fix this" She cries into my shoulder. "I know" I say back, trying to comfort her but not knowing how. She stops crying after about 3 minutes but she doesn't loosen her grip on me yet, which I'm not complaining about. The fact that I'm still pining for her after all these years may be pathetic, but I still love her, too much to care about how pathetic I am. She sniffs and pulls out of the hug, but keeps her hands on my shoulders. "Thank you, Archie" she says, mustering up the courage to give me a very small smile. "It's nothing-" I start, but she stops me. "It's not though," she starts, "I wouldn't have been able to get through these passed 2 years without you. You practically saved me, Arch" she says. I smirk at her, "well you know me, I have to be the hero" I say, making her scoff, "Yeah I remember. All too well" she says. I realize that the way we're standing is closer than we've been in a longtime, and by the look in her eyes, she realizes it too. She steps back suddenly and wipes her face, "I should talk to Reign, thanks again" she says quickly. I sigh, "Ronnie" I say, almost pleading with her. "Archie, things are perfect right now. Please don't" she says softly. I nod my head hiding the disappointment in my eyes, or at least trying to. "I'm gonna go. I'll see you soon" I say, walking out of her office and closing the door behind me.

"Let me get this straight, you've had feelings for her for years and today you guys had a moment. So in your mind it was a smart idea to make your move on the second anniversary of her husbands death?" Jughead asks, after sipping his beer. I nod my head, downing another shot, "yep. I'm an idiot" I say, ignoring the burning down my throat and into my stomach. "Well..." he starts, "if you're waiting for me to disagree, you'll be waiting a long time. You know, like the time you should've waited to make your move" he says. I roll my eyes and hold up my empty shot glass, so the bartender will fill it up again. "Well, well, well, look who it is" I hear a familiar voice coo from behind the bar. I look up and see my ex-girlfriend, Ashely. "Ashley, you never work on Thursdays" I say awkwardly. She takes the empty glass from me and sets it on the table, ready to fill it up. "Well I got my schedule changed, and you wouldn't know that because we're broken up... for now" she says. I take a deep breath, "I'm sorry but it's permanent this time, us constantly breaking up and getting back together isn't good for us" I say, making her smirk. She slides a full shot glass over to me and winks, "that's what you said last time, babe."

This is kind of short but I'm so tired 😂 hope everyone likes this small bit of varchie, but don't worry, progress will be made!