✔️| 𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐈𝐄𝐓𝐘 | 𝗯𝘂𝗴𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱

WTS • XXI

*because y'all are so obsessed with the bear, carlos, here's a picture of it. @jugscrown it's not a real bear with its head ripped off, yw*
[ᴡᴇʟᴄᴏᴍᴇ ᴛᴏ sᴏᴄɪᴇᴛʏ]

" J U G H E A D  J O N E S "
- N E W S P A P E R  P U B L I S H E R -

"betty, betty! come on, darling, wake up." i said, waving my hand back over betty's head.

after the movie was over, i went over to betty's house just to see if she was okay, but didn't get a response. one of the garage operators thought i was a fan that had gotten in, but he let me in after a little reassurance. when i walked up to her office, she was laying on the floor unconscious.

i had her head laying on my thighs and was trying to wake her up. i didn't want to take her to the hospital because i knew she wouldn't have been happy.

i pushed her hair behind her ear. "betty, wake up, honey."

her body jerked forward as she shot up out of nowhere. she grabbed my hand and started hysterically crying. i held onto her hand and pulled her into my lap, rubbing her hair softly.

her hand grabbed onto my shirt, grabbing a fist full and pushed her head into my shoulder. my mouth opened in shock as tears continued to leave her eyes.

a few minutes later, her crying dialed down and she pulled her head off of my chest slowly. my arms loosened from around her as she looked down at how she was sitting on my lap. she was facing me and was practically straddling me.

she looked up at me and her lips parted. "i—i sorry. i didn't—i didn't mean—." she started.

"it's okay, it's fine, betty." i interrupted.

she nodded and pushed her hair out of her face. "are you okay?" i asked. "like, clearly no, but what happened?" i rephrased it.

"polly called." she started. i furrowed my eyebrows in confusion. "oh, right, my sister, polly is her name. we haven't talked in years, but she called because." her eyes filled up in tears. "because my mom is on her deathbed."

i wiped her tears away with the pad of my thumb. "is your relationship with your sister anything like your relationship with your mom?"

she nodded. "yeah, maybe even worse."

i nodded and she looked into my eyes. "i need to see her, jug."

"okay." i replied. "where does she live?"

"florida." more tears fell from her eyes. "i—i—i have to pack my bags and book a flight. i don't even know how long i'll be there for."

she started standing up from my lap, but i pulled her back down. "you aren't going alone, betts."

"i can't drag you into my family mess, jug." she replied.

i pushed her hair behind her ear. "you aren't, i'm dragging myself into it."

she looked into my eyes again and nodded. "okay."

she stood up and i followed. "we need to leave tomorrow. i'll book a flight, just be here at six in the morning please. but only if that works."

"yeah, it'll work." i nodded.

"thank you." she said softly.

i put my hand on the back of her neck and kissed her forehead softly. lingering my lips against her skin, i whispered a quiet 'of course'.

i pulled away from her and put my hand on her shoulder. "i'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

she nodded. "tomorrow, yeah."

the next day;

i pulled up to betty's house and rolled down my window. the garage operator walked towards my car and nodded when he saw me. "miss cooper should be down any minute."

i nodded and looked over at the digital clock over the radio in my car. 5:43

i heard feet coming towards the door and looked up to see betty. i smiled and opened my door. she was wearing jeans, a black and white stripped shirt, and a leather jacket. her hair was in a messy bun covered up by a light peach baseball cap. she took off her semi-transparent peach glasses and i smiled softly.

i took off my black sunglasses. "no makeup today, cooper?"

she shook her head. "no, i listened to your advice."

i smiled and grabbed her suitcase. i opened up the trunk of my car and put it in. i closed the trunk and we both got in. i started my car and pulled out of the garage.

"so." i started, looking over at her. "how long are we planning on staying?"

"i don't know. i thought maybe until my mom passes then if you want, we could just stay for the hell of it." she replied.

"okay, sounds good." i nodded. "oh, i have something for you."

i reached into the back, keeping my eyes on the road and grabbed an ice coffee and pastry bag. "here you are."

i handed it to her. "you really don't have to keep buying me breakfast everyday, jug."

"i know." i replied. "but this way i know you're eating."

"i'm eating just fine on my own." she took a drink of her coffee.

i shook my head. "no you aren't, darling."

roughly thirty minutes later, we were sitting on the plane to take us to florida. i held onto betty's hand as she took a deep breath. "you okay?"

she nodded. "yeah, just tired."

"get some rest." i told her. "flights an hour and you've got nothing to worry about right now."

she nodded again and put her other hand around mine that was holding hers. "oh, wait, actually before you take a nap."

she looked over at me and i opened up my bag i had in between my legs. i pulled out carlos and she smiled softly. "you kept him." she beamed.

"i kept him." i echoed.

i handed him to her and she chuckled softly. "do you mind if i rest my head on your shoulder?"

"no, of course not." i replied.

she moved a bit closer to me and rested her head against my shoulder. her arm wrapped around carlos as i smiled down on her. i rested my head on top of hers before we dozed off to sleep.

—
little light hearted chapter for y'all! hope you guys don't mind the 2 days mashed into one chapter. ♥️