Say My Name

Chapter Eight

The darkness was blind.

Time had gotten away from her the minute Jughead handcuffed her wrist to a metal pole and shut the light off on her. Betty leaned against the wall, completely stiff as she forced herself to close her eyes. She didn't even know if she was alone. Someone could sneak up on her, and she wouldn't be able to detect their movements.

She thought about being in her own bed--the cotton sheets placed comfortably over her as she let her mind wander to another world. Her own dream scenarios replaying over and over before she finally drifted off to sleep. She wished her dreams consisted of the thoughts she had before the night fell over her. She wanted to dream of a world where she wasn't afraid--afraid of her mother, afraid of her love life, afraid of her future. She felt like she was falling on a cloud, and there was a tingly sensation that made her fall deep inside it.

As she fell inside the cloud, her body jolted up, and she awoke from the few seconds of sleep she just got. She was blinded by the overhead light, and the voices walking inside the warehouse triggered her relaxed state. She groaned as she adjusted her numb body, trying to relieve her left hip from the tingly sensation she got from laying on it too long.

"Rise and shine, Brittany Murphy." Jughead tossed a half-empty water bottle at her, and it conveniently hit her on the shoulder.

"Ow." Betty flenched, then scowled at him.

"Oops. Sorry," he said in a sarcastic tone.

She reached for the water bottle that landed a few feet away from her, twisted the cap off with her teeth, then sucked every last drop from it.

She hadn't realized how dry her mouth was until it flooded with the room temperature water. Jughead watched her, looking amused as she threw the empty water bottle back at him. His eyes darted down to the bottle that landed right next to his foot. "Thirsty?"

He walked over to her, placed his right hand on the wall, and leaned his weight against it. "You don't peg me as the thirsty type."

She ignored his snide comments and rolled her eyes. "When are you going to let me go?"

"I'm letting you go right now." He waved his hand in the direction of the door.

"Really?" Her face lit up with surprise as she sat up.

"No one's stopping you. Go right ahead."

She tugged at the handcuffs restraining her and furrowed her eyebrows at him. "I can't--"

"Tsk. Tsk. Tsk," he clicked his tongue. "Sucks to be you then." He took his hand off the wall and leaned his back against it, then crossed his arms at his chest.

The door flung open, and there were a few lingering seconds before someone was shoved through the door. Betty recognized the person right away.

Archie?

Archie scanned around the room until he twisted his head to the left and saw her sitting against the wall. "Betty!" Archie yelled out as he dashed over to her. Before he reached her, Jughead took a step in front of him, blocking him from being able to come any closer to her. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Not so fast."

Archie sighed as he rolled his eyes.

"Where's my money?" Jughead crossed his arms, and his expression was no longer filled with amusement as he started to give her apprehensive date a chilling glare.

"I--I don't have it." Archie stared at the ground, and Jughead clicked his tongue disapprovingly. "But I can get you it," he said in a low voice, and there was a tiny moment of silence between the two.