I want you back - EDITED

3 "You deserve punishment"

I couldn't fall asleep at night because all the time I was thinking over what FP told me. I promised him that I will try to separate myself from Edgar but I knew  it won't be so easy. I sat on the bed and sigh heavily. Something inside tempted me to look at the window, at his house to see if the lights were off. I was curious if his strange friends left the house and I wanted to know if he goes outside to smoke a cigarette. Ever since he arrived to Riverdale, every night he smokes cigarette outside his house and watches at heaven.

Curiosity killed the cat, I thought to myself but I couldn't take it any longer. I stood up from my bed and walked towards my window. I needed to know if he was still angry at me .I carefully looked at him from behind the curtain. I wasn't wrong. He stood at the entrance to his home and smoked a cigarette. One part of my body wanted to come up to him and talk about what happened tonight, and the other wanted me to stay away from him. 

Standing in the window and reflecting on the best way out of this situation, I heard the sound of an incoming text message. I jumped scared and grabbed the phone. A smile involuntarily appeared on my face when I saw a message from FP. 

"Goodnight, Al". 

My smile widened when I read my old nickname. At school, when I, Hermione, Fred and FP were friends, we invented our own nicknames. Fred was nicknamed Freddie because his favorite movie was "A Nightmare on Elm Street", Hermione was a princess because she was the richest of us, I was Al, I didn't know why my friends were calling me, and FP was Jonesy. I missed my old friends, we went through a lot together, but I knew that the times of a carefree childhood wouldn't come back. Too many things were different and I knew that there was no chance to renew our friendship.

"Goodnight, Jonesy" I wrote back to him and peeked through the window. Edgar probably finished smoking a cigarette and went home, because I did not see him anywhere. I lay down on the bed, looking at the ceiling, I fell asleep.

~~~~~~

I got up early in the morning and went to the kitchen to make Betty breakfast for school. I tried not to think about Edgar, about the ring still lying on the counter and about the tea I threw out. It was an impulse, I was scared, but on the other hand, this tea helped me a lot.

"Mom, I want you to know that I love you." I heard Betty's voice behind me, so I turned to her.

"Betty, honey, something happened?" I asked and grabbed her hands.

"If you don't leave this cult, I will have to move out." she said with tears in her eyes, and I swallowed.

"Betty, don't do it. You promised you would never leave me," I whispered in a tearful tone and grasped her hands more tightly.

"I don't want to do this, but I'm scared for you, Mother, I'm scared of this man, his daughter is very strange. Recently, I sat with her on biology because there was no Jughead and I saw that she drew in her notebook pentagrams, strange creatures resembling a devil, mom, I'm terrified."

My daughter's words shocked me. I didn't know what to answer because I was scared myself.

"I won't let myself be drawn in, I promise." I said and hugged Betty tight.

"It's all because of Polly."

"No honey, it's all because of me and Hal. We allowed it." I replied, stroking my daughter's hair.

"I don't want to lose you, mum," Betty whispered and moved away from me. "We need to call Polly and find out more about Edgar and his friends." she said and pulled a phone from her jeans pocket.

"We can do that," I nodded, and Betty picked Polly's number and turned on the phone in loud-talking mode.

"Betty?" we heard her sleepy voice. I glanced at my wrist watch it was 7 am, and I knew that Polly had never been an early bird, so our phone could upset her.