Heartbreak (Bughead) ✓

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐒𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧: 𝐀𝐟𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐡

As Alice and F.P. rushed through the doors of the hospital they found Jughead in the waiting-room, nervously checking his phone every few seconds, hoping time would go by quicker. He quickly looked up at them as he saw them coming towards him.

F.P. quickly enveloped him in a hug, squeezing him a little too tightly for comfort. It wasn't until F.P. pulled back that the two parents noticed how the boy was covered in cuts and bruises, starting from his face down. 

"I'm fine..." Jughead spoke, slightly keeping the painful truth from his father.

"You don't look fine,"

"Where's Betty?" Alice immediately asked, worry easily being seen in her eyes. "Is she okay?"

"I-I don't know..." He confessed. "They won't tell me anything since I'm technically not considered as family,"

"Well, you practically are," Alice stated, turning angrily towards the front desk where the secretary sat. That was the only way she knew how to cope. "Excuse me, where is my daughter?" 

"I've already tried that..." Jughead admitted, his voice quiet as if he was just saying it to himself by now. "She doesn't know anything more then what I already know," 

Alice still persisted to try to get something out of the poor woman, having to almost call security for the crazily worried mother. 

"Maam, a doctor will be out shortly," The nurse repeated for what felt like the millionth time. "Please go wait in the waiting room," 

"Not until I know that my daughter is okay!"

"Maam, please calm down," The nurse spoke calmly, trying to usher her back towards the others.

Alice huffed in annoyance as she sat down, her hands nervously shaking. She turned her head to see Jughead zoned out in his chair, trying to focus on the floor. She now noticed how his jean jacket had been spotted with blood, either from him or even her daughter. Alice didn't know which, but she was equally as worried.

"It's getting late, does anyone want a coffee?" F.P. questioned, getting up ready to walk to the cafeteria. "Or food?"

"A coffee," Alice replied, sinking down even further into her seat. 

"No, I'm fine..." Jughead lied, wondering if he would even be able to hold down anything.

"Jughead, when was the last time you ate?" Alice asked, turning her attention back to the boy. 

"Um, a few hours ago..." He confessed.

"Jughead, you need to eat," F.P. stated, grabbing his wallet. 

"I'm fine," He repeated, lying just as easily as before. 

F.P. sighed before turning towards the cafeteria. He knew it was no use to fight with him. It was the last thing that everyone needed. His son had already been through enough trauma that night. Though, it didn't mean that he wouldn't get him anything. 

When he came back, he handed Alice her drink before sitting back next to his son, pulling something out of his pocket. He handed the granola bar to the boy, knowing it wouldn't end well if he didn't eat anything. 

"I said I was fine," 

"Just eat it," F.P. urged, not taking no for an answer.

"Dad..." Jughead sighed, running his finger over the packaging. 

"If you won't do it for yourself, then do it for her," 

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It wasn't until almost another hour later that the doctor finally spoke to them, telling them one of their worst fears of the night. So unimaginable that it didn't seem real. Was it all just a bad dream? That was what they hoped. 

"Will she be okay?" Alice asked, nervously fiddling with her phone that she held in her hands. 

"We don't know..." The doctor confessed, watching as all of their faces drop almost instantly. 

"What do you mean you don't know?" Alice questioned. "Y-you're a doctor, you should know if she will be or not!"

"From what we could see in the MRI we took, she must've hit her head pretty hard, which then caused her to instantly fall unconscious," He started to explain, feeling terrible for the few. "We couldn't immediately see any broken blood vessels, nerve damage, or any critical bruising to the brain, but that doesn't mean that isn't there,"

"If there isn't any, will she be okay?" Jughead asked, fearing the worst. 

"I would assume," He responded, watching facial expressions soften a little. 

"And if there is?" 

"It could be as little as a certain amount of bed rest, or she could lose physical feeling and movement of certain parts of her body, or it could even end in..."

"Her dying?" F.P. questioned, causing the others to freeze.

All the doctor could do was painfully nod his head. Alice instantly lost her grip on her phone, letting it drop to the floor, cracking the screen. Jughead had felt as if his heart had just shattered into a million pieces in his chest, killed in cold blood. He quickly sat back down in a seat behind himself, fearing if he didn't he would completely lose his balance from out and under himself. 

"S-she could d-die?" Alice stuttered, tears threatening to spill from her eyes. 

"We will try our best to make sure that won't happen," The doctor replied, trying to keep them calm.

"B-but it could still h-happen?"

"It's a possibility..." He answered, feeling terribly bad for all of them.

"Can we see her?" Jughead suddenly asked, not daring to get up from the chair.

"Soon, they're still setting her up in her room,"

"Okay..."

"I'll come and tell you when you can," The doctor spoke, turning a little to leave. "I wish you all the best of luck,"

"Thanks..."

After that he left, leaving them all alone in the worst kind of fear possible. Jughead's stomach churned at the thought of him without her. If she didn't survive, then he wouldn't either. He took a deep breath before standing up, hoping it would somehow help calm his brain. 

"I'm going to the bathroom," He stated, already walking away before they could even say anything.

As soon as he stepped into the empty bathroom, he rushed to the toilet, throwing up anything and everything he could, completely emptying out his stomach. After he finished, he just sat there for a moment, taking everything in.

This was the definition of living in hell. 

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