I was shocked when morning came and none of my friends had been hurt or heard any noises outside. None, the whole night. It felt suspicious but I promised Sweet Pea and Reggie I'd be going straight to the sheriff when he got into the station.
Slowly my friends trickled out of the house, I was left with Reggie and Pea. I was glad to see they were someone getting along now. At least they weren't hitting each other.
When the clock approached 9AM I stood and headed to my room, "I'm changing and then we can leave."
My boys nod in agreement. I find myself sighing at the top of the stairs, I entered my room only to catch sight of my cracked balcony door. I only have what felt like a single second to process what was happening before a hand wrapped around my mouth.
"Hi Violet, how are you?" His voice taunted in my ear as he shut and locked my bedroom door.
"I missed you, Baby." Malachi laughed, hot saliva moving up my cheek. I tried to pull my head away from his mouth, only making him laugh again at my discomfort.
I threw a kick to the table besides my door, items shattering on the ground the way I hoped they would. I would be as loud as possible. I tried to throw an elbow to him but he saw it coming. His other arm wrapped around both of mine, pining them to my sides.
It's then I notice the large knife in his hand.
"I really loved you! You know that? I kept showing you I wanted you and you wouldn't listen!" He harshly whispered into my ear.
I hear the stairs pounding under his loud breath in my ear, "Asher!" I hear Sweet Pea shout.
"Have you let the Serpent have you too?" Malachi asks me as he moves the knife up my side.
Hyperventilating I shake my head no.
"I know you're lying, Violet. He loves you. You're supposed to love me, you bitch!" I can hear the banging on my bedroom door but Malachi doesn't show any fear.
"If you don't love me then nobody will love you anymore." It's at this Malachi makes a swift notion, I feel warmth spread across my neck and down my throat. It burned for a moment, as if he ran a lighter over my neck and I can't do anything but yelp out at the initial pain.
He then dives the knife straight into my abdomen, moving it along my stomach before dropping me, I can't even hold myself. I fall straight to my knees as I try to cover my throat, to somehow stop the bleeding. I couldn't speak.
"You can have her now!" I can barely hear Malachi say, everything is blurring and everything sounds so far away.
Hands are on me, covering my own at my throat. Another on my stomach, "Leave it in, Reggie! Don't pull it out."
"Baby? Keep your eyes open." I didn't even know I had them open in the first place.
I can feel myself being lifted, Sweet Pea yelling at me before I can't comprehend anything anymore.
————————————-
The unlikely pair sprinted into the hospital, the Serpents once white t shirt covered in a deep red. "Someone help!"
The Bulldog runs to the counter, demanding a doctor before a bed is rushed to the taller boy. The limp body of a girl everyone recognized once they saw her pale white face.
The doctor rushes her away without a second thought, or anything to say to either boy.
Once she was out of eye sight the two boys glanced to one another. Reggie shocked Sweet Pea by pulling him into a hard hug.
"We gotta call them. I don't have her dads phone number. I don't know what to do!" The Bulldog is deeply upset by the realization. He pulled away from Sweet Pea before they both pulled out their phones.
Reggie calling the Northsiders while Sweets dialed his Serpents. In specific FP Jones, who told him to stay put.
FP made the most important call once he was stationed by Sweet Pea's side.
The phone only rang twice before Mason picked up, "What happened?"
"Mason, you have to get to the hospital. Violet was attacked." FP tried to be gentle about it, but there was no way to tell a man his daughter is close to death.
The father didn't even respond, he hung up and sprinted out of his office and to his vehicle. Not caring how many laws he broke to reach his little girl.
Asher's friends were quick to show, Archie taking one look at Sweet Pea before it hit him hard that his friend might die. Covered in her blood, face blank of any and all emotion.
Toni was quick to rush to his side, grabbing his hand and quickly noticing the texture before she glanced to his hands. They were stained red, all up his arms and even a small amount on his face. Reggie looking the same way.
"I'm going to rip his head off with my bare hands, decapitate him." Is the only thing Sweet Pea could say to the room.
Reggie nodded and the boys did something no one expected, but also knew the terrifying experience would bond them together. They gave each other a firm look, a crazy fire in their eyes.
"Sweet Pea, Reggie, we'll all go after him. Only once we know.. once we know she's okay." Jughead speaks, everyone nodding agreement. Even Betty at his side with tears shining.
"She's dead, Jones. H-Her neck, there was so much fucking blood." Reggie snapped to him before starring off again.
Sweet Pea grabbed onto Reggie's hand as if to offer him support, a small agreement.
"She's gonna make it. Asher is strong, she had to get seventeen staples in her head. She can survive this." Better says in defense.
Mason charged into the room, not even making it to the desk before FP pulled him into a hug.
"What happened? What happened to her?" He yelled in a broken voice. Not bothering to hide any of his pain. In that moment Sweet Pea realized how real this situation was, his girl was hacked apart and now fighting for her life.
He bent over in the chair, almost feeling as though he would vomit.
"Sweet Pea? Reggie? Tell us what happened." A soft hand placed itself on Sweets back, giving it a small rub before he sat back.
"Uh. The other night this guy threatened her, said he was gonna kill her. We stayed all night and he didn't come, in the morning we were gonna go to Keller." He glanced to Reggie for a moment.
"She went upstairs to change and then we heard a really loud noise. H-Her door was locked and closed, we were trying to bust it open but by the time-" Sweet Pea took a deep breath, pushing tears off his cheeks.
"By the time that door opened there was b-blood everywhere. He cut her throat and she had a knife sticking out of her stomach."
Mason stared at him for a long moment, "You carried her?"
Sweet Pea nodded with a deep breath. "You did what you could, it's up to her and the doctors now." Mason nodded before stalking back to the desk to speak to the nurse.
It felt like hours had passed before a doctor walked towards Mason, the teens near passed out on chairs and a few ushered to the cafeteria. FP approached to hear the news.
Mason looked to him, eyes shining. "I'm taking her. We're leaving. I don't want anyone to follow."
FP understood but it made his chest ache as he thought to the two boys who loved her most. "FP, I know it's cruel. Please, please help me save her. Tell them she died. I'll pay you off."
Jones frowned at the man desperate to solidify his daughters future. "I'll tell them. Only because I love her and from a fathers point of view I would do the same. I don't want your money, Mason."
The two men stared at each other for a moment before Mason followed where the doctor had went.
FP walked back to the waiting room, heart burning at the pain he was about to inflict. For the greater good, though. If she stayed she would die.
It's almost as if Sweet Pea felt his rib cage split. "Don't-Don't say it."
FP couldn't help the full intake of breathe he took, "Violet didn't make it."
—
As days passed with only silence Mason was about to make amends, or at least what he thought it would be. Something to help his guilty conscious.
He pulled up to SunnySide Trailer park and thought back on his days with Rose. She used to sneak out to meet him, her father didn't want her with him, a Northsider.
Mason knocked hard on the door, a big envelope in his hands. The door opened with aggression but the face of the tall Serpent said nothing except absolute grief. Mason's heart broke at the sight of the boy.
"I'm leaving town, son. This is for you, it's what Violet wanted. My phone number is in there as well, if you ever need anything. Even to talk, don't be scared to use it." His voice shook with emotion as he handed him the heavy envelope.
Sweet Pea went to open it as he tried to smile at the man in front of him, "No. No, it's okay. Open it with your two friends. Everything is taken care of for you, Sweet Pea. And them."
Sweet Pea stared in utter confusion on what that had even meant. His chest ached with worry about the man in front of him.
"Please, for your friends and for her, hell for me, don't do anything crazy. Keep your head on straight, you're gonna grow up to be an amazing man." Sweet Pea tried to ignore the tears that rose to his eyes.
"Thank you, Mr. Rye. I'll call them over. Where are you planning on going?" He couldn't help but ask but the man only shrugged.
"Not sure yet, just need to be far away from here. I hope the same for you eventually. I have a lot of love for you, I'm serious though. Call me, please." Mason nodded before going back to his shiny Porsche.
Toni and Fangs we're quick to come at his call. "What happened? What did he say?" Toni asked immediately as they sat in his cramped living room.
"Just gave me this, said it was for us." Sweet Pea emptied the envelope out and for a second all three just stared.
A deed. Three sets of house keys, a car key, a note with Mason's phone number and a code to a safe. What shocked the three even more though was an smaller white envelope marked College Funds (S+T+F)
"What the fuck." The three teens say at the same time, staring at their gifted wealth. There lives taking another shocking turn.
But that wouldn't be the end of them.
Authors note!
Thanks so much for reading and hopefully enjoying!
I will be adding on one more "conclusion" chapter and then this book will be finished! 🖤
WHICH NEXT? Ghoulie main character or Serpent girl from Vegas fleeing to Riverdale? —-> Obviously both will be romantically involved with the stunning Sweet Pea. Both in my opinion written a lot better, more detailed than this short story.