We could hear a few people beginning to move about the camp but neither of us moved from where we were. My head rested on Sweet Pea's chest as he ran his fingers through my hair.
"I wish we could stay here, just like this all day," I said, looking up at him.
"Who says we can't?" he replied with a small smile.
I reached up, pressing my lips against his softly, pulling back a moment later, the dull ache in my side I'd grown accustomed to worsening rapidly.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Sweet Pea asked worriedly.
"It's nothing, I just moved the wrong way," I said, trying not to let on how bad it really was.
"Don't lie to me Abigail," Sweet Pea pleaded, pulling on a pair of pants. "You have one of the highest pain tolerances I've ever seen but you're hurting right now. I'm gonna get you something to help."
Before I could say anything he was out of the tent, the cool early morning air taking his place. I forced myself to sit up, pulling on one of Sweet Pea's tshirts before dropping back on the bed, hand on my side. I never did understand why people did that. It's not like putting your hand over the pain actually does anything to help. Within minutes Sweet Pea was back, a bottle of water and aspirin in hand. I took the pills quickly, laying back once more.
"How bad is it?" Sweet Pea asked softly. I didn't answer, sliding the shirt up to reveal the scar I'd carefully kept hidden from him. His eyes widened in shock, his fingers lightly tracing the edges.
"It was Malachai," I whispered. "Malachai and his bat, the one with all the nails sticking out all over the place."
Sweet Pea pulled the shirt back down, pulling me into his arms as he laid beside me once more. "Abigail, you don't have to do this," he said softly.
My eyes were burning as I fought the urge to cry. I wanted to stop, but I couldn't. I had to go on. "He broke a few ribs, fucked up basically everything on my left side. I must have blacked out after that. The next thing I remember is being facedown in the dirt, some Ghoulie carving their symbol into my back over my Serpent tattoo." Sweet Pea's body tensed, but he didn't say anything, letting me get it out. "The Ghoulies beat me bad after that and left me for dead."
I couldn't hold the tears back anymore, and I curled into Sweet Pea. "I'm so sorry, Abigail. I had no idea it was that bad. I should have been there for you," he said, holding me tightly as I cried into his chest.
"I'm sorry," I whispered once I was calm again. "I shouldn't have ruined our morning like that."
Sweet Pea sighed, kissing the top of my head. "You didn't ruin anything," he said gently. "You said you'd tell me what happened when the time was right, and that just happened to be this morning. I love you so much Abigail, you have no idea. And knowing everything you've been through, seeing you continue to laugh and smile every day despite all that just makes me love you even more. You're the most amazing person I've ever met. I still can't believe you're my girl."
I couldn't help smiling as I looked up at him, seeing the sincerity in his eyes. "I love you too, Sweet Pea. I don't know what I've done to deserve you."
We continued to lay there, more people waking up and moving around the camp than before. Reaching over, I dug my phone out of the pile of clothes next to us. "What time is it?" I asked, dropping my phone. "My battery's dead."
"Early enough that no one is coming to bother us," Sweet Pea replied. "How are you feeling now?"
"I really hope you didn't just jinx it. Better though, it's back to the usual level of soreness."
"Is it always going to be like that?" he asked.
I shrugged. "To some extent, I think so. Most of the time it's manageable, and it's possible it'll lessen as time passes."
Sweet Pea propped himself up on one arm, looking down at me. "Did we overdue it last night?"
"Maybe," I replied. "But it was totally worth it," I added, grinning up at him.
Sweet Pea froze as he leaned down. "I really did jinx it," he muttered.
"I'm going to guess...Jones?"
He nodded, looking at his phone. "What do you want now, Jones?" he asked, sitting up as he answered the phone. "Yeah, we'll be there."
"What is it this time?" I asked, sitting up behind him.
"FP wants to meet in the bunker. About Tall Boy."
"Now?"
Sweet Pea shook his head, looking at his phone again. "We have a few hours."
"Good,"I said, reaching for my clothes. "That means I can go home and shower. You coming with me?"
"Yeah, let's go," he replied.
"Morning," Mr Andrews greeted as we let ourselves in. "Want some coffee? It's a fresh pot."
"No thanks," I replied, starting up the stairs. "I'm going up to shower."
"I'll take some," I heard Sweet Pea say, making his way down the hall.
Archie's bedroom door was shut but even over the shower I could hear him pounding against something. "What the hell is he doing in there?" I asked Mr Andrews when I got back downstairs.
Mr Andrews chuckled. "Sorry, he hung up his punching bag in there this morning, started going at it early."
"It's his way of dealing with things," Sweet Pea said, refilling his mug before passing it to me. "Are you sure you don't mind?" he asked Mr Andrews.
The older man nodded. "Go ahead. I've seen what you have to work with over there."
I took Sweet Pea's seat next to Mr Andrews at the kitchen island, watching Sweet Pea's retreating back. "So Archie's taking your advice literally?"
"Looks like it," Mr Andrews said. "I'll ask him to move it to the garage later, I soundproofed it a few years back when he was pursuing music, may as well put it to good use. I already warned him Alice would be filing a noise complaint if he wasn't careful."
"That, or she'll be over here herself to handle it. I'm not sure which would be worse," I replied with a laugh.
He chuckled, taking another sip of his coffee. "Uh, Abigail," he started, glancing down the hall toward the stairs. "While you were upstairs, Sweet Pea and I talked about him coming back to work on the crews."
"Okay?" I didn't understand why he was telling me.
"I thought he and the other Serpents were working for Veronica," he said. "Did that job fall through?"
I shook my head. "I don't know, but I'll talk to him about it later. Find out what's going on. You said he was a good worker though, so why the hesitation?"
"I just wanted your opinion on it," Mr Andrews said, shrugging. "You and Sweet Pea are happy together, I don't want you two working together to end that."
"It won't, we're big kids," I replied. "We can handle it."
"It's not you I'm worried about, Abigail," Mr Andrews said. "You know how guys talk, and you know Sweet Pea's temper. I don't want someone to say something about you and piss him off."
I nodded, knowing he was right. "Sweet Pea's changed though, he's not as hot-headed as he used to be. But like I said, I'll talk to him, make sure he behaves himself if he does come back to work for you."
"You know, when I told Mary you were moving in, she wasn't completely on board with the plan," Mr Andrews said a few minutes later. "She still remembers you as the little kid always testing the boundaries. But you've changed too, Abigail. You've become like a daughter to me."
"You sound like FP, he said something similar once" I said, rolling my eyes as I stood to wash my coffee cup. As I turned the water off, Sweet Pea and Archie could be heard coming down the hall, discussing the merits of different punches. "Sounds like Archie's finally done. But if those two are going to be using that thing, it's definitely gotta be moved to the garage."
Mr Andrews nodded, a small smile on his face. "Agreed."
"Thanks again, Mr Andrews," Sweet Pea said, handing me my phone. It wasn't fully charged, but enough for the day. And now I didn't have to go back upstairs for it. "We have somewhere we need to be right now. You ready?"
I nodded, saying goodby to Mr Andrews and Archie before following Sweet Pea out the door.
"What are you smiling about?" he asked, helping me onto the back of his motorcycle.
"I like you in this," I said, tapping the shoulder of his denim Serpent vest.
"I'll have to wear it more often then," he replied.
We quickly rode to the bunker, where the Sheriff's car was already waiting.
"Hey, relax," I said softly. "Remember, it's just FP. He's not gonna turn his back on us now."
Sweet Pea nodded, though I could tell he was still feeling nervous as I started down the ladder. I shook my head at his concerned look when he reached the bottom as well, seeing me holding my side. This morning's painkillers were wearing off and I hadn't thought to get more before leaving the house.
To my surprise, FP was seated on the edge of the bed, unconcerned. Did he know Tall Boy's body was still down there? I let Sweet Pea take the remaining chair at the table with Jughead and Fangs while I pulled myself onto one of the low shelves across the room. I didn't want to be any closer to Tall Boy than I had to be unless absolutely necessary.
"Okay," FP said, glancing at me before focusing on the three boys in front of him. "Tell me what you had to do with Tall Boy's sudden disappearance."
My thoughts wandered as I tried to ignore the pain in my side while Jughead began his tale. Why did it have to be a ladder to get down here? This was supposed to be a doomsday bunker. Shouldn't it include something fun, like a slide? Then if you really wanted to go out, you'd climb the ladder, make sure you really wanted to face whatever atomic bomb-resistant roaches were out there.
I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of a chair scraping back on the concrete floor. Fangs paced the length of the room, coming to a stop at the end of the tunnel while the others remained where they were, FP looking frustrated.
"Explain it to me one more time," he said. "And keep in mind this time that you're talking to the new Sheriff of Riverdale."
Jughead sighed, glancing at Sweet Pea who was looking at the table in front of him. "We drove Tall Boy to the bus station at gunpoint and got him on a bus out of town." I raised an eyebrow. Really? That was the best story he could come up with?
"He murdered Joaquin!" FP snapped. "And you thought putting him on a bus was enough punishment? I don't buy it."
"Look, I made a decision," Jughead defended. "I'm sorry that you don't agree with that, but he's gone."
"Come on, Jones," I said. "We all know worse than that was done to Tall Boy the first time he was exiled."
FP gave me a quick nod in acknowledgement as he stood before looking back down at his son. "I'm gonna pretend like I believe you idiots for now. I've got my hands full finding Hiram's would-be assassin. Next time you see me, have a better story. Figure out a way to work with Babygirl on this, she knows what she's doing."
Jughead nodded as FP grabbed his hat, making his way to the tunnel. "We need to talk," FP said, turning back towards me. "Now," he added, nodding toward the exit.
Sighing, I followed him out, leaning against the side of his car. "I promise I won't kill him," I said. "Or hurt him too badly."
"I'm not worried about Jug right now," FP said seriously. "I'm worried about you. How bad's the pain?"
"Worse than usual today, but I can deal with it," I replied.
"I thought it was getting better, not worse. Have you done anything different?"
I raised an eyebrow at him, grinning. "Depends on how much detail you want about what I've done."
"Damnit, girl, you could have just said yes," FP laughed. "You remembered what I told you though?"
"Yes, I replied. "You and Mr Andrews both."
"Good. Now get Sweet Pea up here and have him take you to Centerville," FP ordered. "I'll call Hawkeye and tell him to expect you."
Author's Note: Riverdale had The Whyte Wyrm, but I need suggestions for the name of Centerville's Serpent bar. Who wants to help?
And don't forget to vote and comment on the rest of the story as well.