Remind me to forget

Chapter 05

"I'm fine"

"If you say so" Dr. Masters smiled softly "There we go, your IV is open again"

"What?" Jughead asked, looking down.

"Wasn't that bad now, was it?" He asked and Jughead shook his head.

"You distracted me"

"I did. Have a good day, Cody"

And with that, he was alone again. Jughead sighed softly before grabbing his sketchbook again. He didn't have much time to draw though. Not even ten minutes later, someone knocked on the door before a certain redhead peaked inside.

"Hey there, Cody. You mind if I come inside?" He hasn't gotten to know his name yet. He didn't necessarily care either or bothered to ask. 'Redhead' seemed to fit him really well. As soon as he was released from this hospital, he was off to Boston and would never ever have to see him again.

"I bought some food from Pops"

"Pops?" Jughead asked, confused.

"It's a diner here in Riverdale" He explained, lifting up the bag of food "Wait, are you even allowed to eat yet? Because of the surgery?"

"I had surgery on my leg and brain, not my stomach. I am allowed to eat — like, ever since I woke up at the hospital" Jughead replied, chuckling. The other nodded slowly, sitting down on the chair next to his bed. He placed the food on the table, smiling unsurely. Jughead sighed softly, continuing to draw. It felt stupid — talking to anyone here. It felt stupid to talk to FP or redhead or blondie with her girlfriend. It felt stupid because they all acted as if he should know things that he had no idea of.

"How was your day?" Archie asked, opening the bag before reaching him a burger. Jughead thanked him before biting into it. How was he supposed to feel? His family was on the other side of the country, almost ten thousand kilometers away, and he was stuck in a damn bed.

"Yeah- Yeah, I'm good" Jughead said after a minute when Archie seemed to still expect an answer from him.

"Ah, good to know. School was pretty boring today. Cheryl and Reggie had a fight about cheerleading uniforms, that was probably the most exciting thing for today. Classes were boring, you barely missed anything. I had lunch with Betty and Ronni and then went straight to the hospital after school finished" The redhead explained. That's how it was going the whole time. He came after school and told him what happened.

"What's your name?" Jughead asked after some time. The redhead's smile dropped as he looked down.

"Oh... it's Archie. My name is Archie" He said before biting his inner cheek. Jughead wanted to say something, he really did, because the silence became agonizing shortly after but he didn't know what to say. Thankfully, FP wasn't too far off and soon released them.

"Cody, hey" He greeted as he walked in. Then his eyes narrowed on Archie "Archie, hey. Aren't you thirsty?"

"Uhm... no?" FP sighed.

"Let me rephrase this. I need to talk to Cody, alone. Could you go outside for a moment?" FP suggested.

"Oh! Why didn't you say that right away?" Archie said a quick goodbye to Jughead before getting out and leaving the room. FP waited till the door closed before sitting down.

"So, I heard that you wanted to be released"

"Uh... yes"

"You do know that it's not advisable"

"I need to see my family"

"Cody, I know that you don't remember it anymore but you haven't been in contact with your family for four years. Some things might not be how you remember them"

"I still want to go"

"I understand that but Dr. Masters had said that it would be better if you still waited a few more days, at least until your arm is healed up"

"I want to go as soon as possible"

"I understand that but I won't sign that release unless it's healthy recommended" FP explained.

"I want to see them, now. They are my family"

"I know, and we can go to see your family, once we get the okay from Dr. Masters, okay?"

"'We'?"

"Yes, we. I'm not letting you go there alone. Do you know how far it is to get to Boston? You don't even have the money for that drive"

"I would figure my way out somehow"

"I'm sure of that" FP smiled softly "Look, Dr. Masters said, another seven days in here. I'm ready to put that down to five days"

"Three days"

"Five"

"Three" Jughead protested.

"Fine. Four days. I'm not getting down any more" FP compromised "That way, you'll be released by Friday. Then we can get you 'home', okay?" Jughead felt uneasy by the way that FP used air quotes for the word 'home'. Just as if his home wasn't actually his home.

"Okay, four days. And you get me out before lunch"

"At two"

"Before twelve"

"No, at two. You already wore me down one day, I can't give you any more time. I have to go to work, after that I'll pick you up"