Rosemary ⋇ Jughead Jones

XXIV

"Your school record isn't any better," Sheriff Keller pulled out another file. "Your grades are fine and you're doing many extracurriculars, but you have a couple suspensions and detentions since you transferred to Riverdale High. I also see you've been in plenty of fights, some of which happen to be with jocks. Specifically football players. Like Reggie Mantle earlier this year."

Rosemary stayed silent, her bandaged up right hand catching Sheriff Keller's attention. He also eyed the bruises on her knuckles and the large cut down the center of her palm.

"Where were you the week of July Eleventh?"

Rosemary stayed silent, staring at her knuckles with a slight frown tugging at her features.

"I want a lawyer," Rosemary's voice cracked as she whispered. "I didn't... I didn't kill Jason Blossom."

"Rosema-"

"I didn't kill Jason Blossom!" Rosemary snapped. She felt like her lungs were closing up. 

Rosemary now knew how Jughead felt earlier and why he seemed so distressed after Sheriff Keller had questioned him. Rosemary, on the other hand, was having a harder time keeping her cool. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she tried to calm herself down.

"Rosemary," Sheriff Keller's voice was comforting as he spoke to the terrified teenager across the table. Sometimes he forgot she was just a sophomore. "If you just tell me where you were the week of July Eleventh, I can let you go."

"I worked every night that week doing the late shift and hung out with friends during the day," Rosemary's voice cracked slightly as she picked at the skin around her nails. "I'll ask Pop to get me the documents to give you tonight during my shift."

The room was silent and Sheriff let out a heavy sigh and nodded, packing up the files and leaving with Rosemary trailing behind him with her head hanging low. She looked up to see Jughead out of the interrogation room with Betty gripping onto his arm.

Jughead rushed over to the blonde girl and pulled her into a tight hug. Rosemary didn't hug back though. Instead, she let her arms hang at her side and rested her ear against his chest, listening to his heartbeat that was beating pretty fast.

"What was that about, Ro?" Jughead asked the blonde girl, who just shook her head and pulled away, walking over to Betty, Archie, and Fred. Archie and Betty both hugged Rosemary tight while Fred placed a firm and comforting hand on her shoulder.

Soon, they were all walking out of the Sheriff's office together. Betty and Jughead hand in hand while Archie had a comforting arm around Rosemary's shoulder. As they walked out the side door towards Fred's truck. Up walked FP and Amelia.

"Jughead," FP called out to his son as he walked up to the Sheriff's office. "I'm sorry. I, uh, came as soon as I got your messages. My phone, the friggin' battery. I forgot to plug it in last night."

Rosemary saw Jughead scowling at his dad and she let out a shaky breath and her eyes locked on her mother, who was staring at her daughter in concern.

"What the hell happened?" FP asked, looking around at the group. Jughead was the only one that met his eyes.

"Nothing," Jughead spat. "It's fine now. Mr. Andrews took care of it."

"What jacked-up crap did they accuse you of in there, huh," FP demanded angrily, his voice rising. "Those bastards trying to throw you in jail like they did your old man? Well, screw that! I will rip Keller a new one for trying to pull that."

Amelia saw FP start to storm towards the Sheriff's Office and quickly let go of her daughter and raced to the raging man, her and Fred quickly grabbing onto FP and holding him back.