~Her~
They always say that we would do anything for the people we love. But is that really true? Would you really take a bullet for them? Would you trust someone who accused the person you love of something so horrible that it made your blood freeze? Or would you look past it?
***
Betty walked inside the small room, she gave Gladys a slight smile and handed the cup of coffee.
"It's black." She hesitantly said. Gladys gave her a look that said thank you and turned back to the man in front of her.
If Betty wouldn't have known that it was Leonard in front of her she probably wouldn't have known it was him. She had only met him once, briefly, but right now he was lying stiffly in a small hospital bed. His eyes closed and millions of tubes all over his body. Betty looked at him and wondered if it really had been an accident or if Hiram and Jughead had something to do with it.
Leonard looked pale and as if he was sleeping. Betty wondered if Gladys pretended that he was just asleep, asleep with tubes. She sat down beside Gladys and just looked at the man in front of her.
Gladys had said that she wanted to wait until Carla, Leonard's sister, could come and say goodbye. Then they would unplug him and donate his organs.
The room smelled clean and boring. Betty felt trapped inside of it. It was as if the walls kept moving closer and closer to her. She knew they didn't, that they couldn't, but it still felt like it. It was pretty much empty, with only a bed, three chairs, a small table, and a few machines. The machines that kept Leonard alive.
"I knew he was special," Gladys whispered. Betty looked up at her face, filled with pain and suffering. She looked tired. As if she just wanted to go to sleep and not talk to anyone ever again. "I knew he said and did things that raised suspicion," Gladys said and Betty nodded. "I knew he...he had..." Gladys tried to find the right words to explain the situation but failed.
"I didn't think he would hurt her." She finally said and Betty noticed the tears leaving her eyes. "I thought that...that he would do that to her." She wiped away her tears. "I thought that he would leave her alone. And I loved him so much. I love him so much, Betty. Does it make me a bad mother?" Betty looked at her. She wanted to yell at her. Wanted to tell her that yes, yes it does. Choosing anyone who behaved like that over your kids makes you a bad mother.
"I think...I think that you made a mistake. A horrible, terrible mistake, that will affect Jellybean forever. I think that you made a mistake that damaged your relationship with your son and your daughter." Betty truthfully told her. Because it was true. She was almost entirely sure that Jughead wouldn't ever forgive his mom for choosing Leonard in front of Jellybean.
"What if it would have been you? If Jughead would have acted like this. Would you just leave him?" Betty stared at her.
"You're asking me if I would leave Jughead if he ever did what Leonard did?" Gladys nodded. "Yes, one hundred percent. But I would make sure that he got help as well." Betty looked at Leonard and then back at Gladys. "But then again, Jughead would never do that. His dad might've been an asshole but he at least knows how to treat children, and what is right and wrong." Gladys hid her face in her hands and sighed.
"This is such a mess." She said and Betty nodded in agreement. It really was a mess.
***
"Want ice cream?" Betty said and Jellybean nodded. She took Betty's hand as they walked to the little store to the right of the entrance. Jughead was in the room with Gladys and Betty was pretty sure that they were talking about where Jellybean was going to live.
Jellybean picked out an ice cream cone and Betty chose a popsicle. After she had paid they both sat down in the waiting room. Jellybean stared at the door that belonged to the room in which Leonard was sleeping.
"Is it weird that I'm going to miss him?" She asked and Betty looked at her.
"No, no of course not."
"But he hurt me."
"He was good sometimes too, right?" Jellybean nodded. "Then that's what you miss. And that has to be okay."
Betty watched as Jughead walked outside of the room and gave him a worried look. He sat down beside Jellybean and smiled at her.
"Where...?" Jellybean started.
"At mom's." Jughead replied before she could even finish the sentence.
"What?" Jughead gave Betty a quick glance and she knew exactly what it meant. She knew why Jellybean couldn't stay with Jughead. FP was pretty much wasted all the time and he wasn't very kind and loving when he was. And Jughead had the Serpents to take care of. It would only hurt Jellybean to stay in Riverdale. And they all knew it.
"I'm sorry, I...can't let you stay with me," Jughead said and Jellybean stared at him. Betty could see how hurt she was.
Her phone rang and she excused herself as she picked up.
"Why is the house a mess? And why does it look like someone has been sleeping in Polly's bed? And there are clothes from a man here, Betty, what the hell is going on?"
"Hello to you too, mom." Betty sighed.
And then she told her mom exactly what had happened. She told her about Jellybean and how she had found her sitting on the porch. She told her mom about what had happened to Jellybean. And she cried as she told her about Gladys not standing up for Jellybean. She even told her mom about the fight between Jughead and Leonard. She told her everything but the fact that Jughead and she were back together. And Alice stayed silent even after Betty was finished.
"Jesus." She finally said. "Wow, Gladys married Mr. Stone huh?" Betty nodded.
"Yeah, they had a child together and all."
"And now he's in a coma?"
"Yeah, after a car accident."
"So you've said," Alice mumbled. "Well uhm...can I talk to her?" Betty raised a brow but then walked inside the room and handed the phone to Gladys.
"You have some nerve talking to me," Gladys muttered and Betty stared at her. It felt as if there was something that they knew that she didn't. "You guys still f..." She looked at Betty and then changed her mind about the wording. "seeing each other?" The more she heard the more confused Betty got.
She looked at Leonard and imagined it to be Jughead. What would she do? Would she unplug him?
"I wanted to thank you too...yeah...you raised a kind daughter...nicer than you...uh-huh...I mean she at least gives a shit about anyone else than herself and...excuse me?" Betty tried to hear what her mom said but couldn't. So she only got half of the call, which bothered her. It seemed as if what they were saying would be important...or at least interesting.
"Bye then." She handed the phone back to Betty and Betty took it and mouthed thank you.
"What was that about?" Betty said when she walked out of the room.
"Nothing of your concern." Alice mumbled. Betty rolled her eyes. "I want you to be home as soon as possible." Betty sighed. "I know you want to help them but they are not your family." Betty cleared her throat and ran her hand through her hair, a habit she had picked up from Jughead.
"Uhm actually..." She started but then wondered if it really was a good idea to tell her mom that she was back together with Jughead.
"Babe, do you want something to eat?" Jughead placed his hands on her hips as he asked her and carefully kissed her neck. His touch made her skin tingle and she bit her lip.
"I hope that that was Archie Andrews." Alice said and Betty turned to Jughead and shook her head to answer his question.
"Jughead and I are back together." She said. Alice sighed deeply.
"Listen, I don't like this, but right now I guess the Jones' family needs you. We'll have a talk about this when you get home."
"No we won't, you can't just decide everything in my life. I am allowed to date whoever I want. And Jughead and I have talked about things."
"He broke your heart, Betty."
"Goodbye, mom." Betty sighed.
"Betty, he's not good enough for you."
"I said, goodbye mom." She hung up and rolled her eyes. Jughead smirked at her.
"Let me guess, Mrs. Perfect doesn't like that you're back together with me?"
"Mrs. Perfect doesn't like anything I do these days." Betty shrugged and Jughead kissed her. She let herself be kissed and smiled at him.
"What?" He asked.
"You taste like mint." He smiled and pulled her closer to her.
***
Jughead held Jellybean's hand tight in her own as they watched the doctor walk inside. He had his other arm around Betty's waist, holding her close to him. Gladys' eyes were swollen and filled with tears.
Carla, who arrived an hour ago, looked as if she didn't really care. Her dark hair was put in a strict bun and Betty found herself wondering how the hell she got it to stay like that. She had crossed her arms over her chest, as if she was trying to protect herself from something, and her dress perfectly showed her curves. She looked like a real businesswoman and somehow it kind of frightened Betty. She seemed so emotionless.
"We are going to turn off the machines now." The doctor said and all of them nodded slightly. All except for Carla. She seemed bored. Like she was only here because that was what was expected from her. "It might take hours before his heart stops beating." The doctor continued.
They watched as the doctor unplugged machine after machine. Took out tube after tube. Jughead pulled Betty closer. She wanted to run. She was afraid of whatever was going to happen. She didn't want to be here. She wanted things to be less complicated. She wanted to lay in bed with Jughead, watching a movie or discussing some stupid murderer, or eat at Pop's with Veronica. She didn't want things to be as complicated as they were now.
The doctor left and they all stared at Leonard. Waiting for something to happen. Betty wondered if the man in the bed would get horrible spasms or if he would wake up screaming because he didn't get air. She wondered if he'd turn as pale and cold as Polly was when she found her. If he'd look as peaceful as she did.
Betty felt sick as she watched Leonard's heart rate slow down. The room was completely silent. Not even machines filled the quiet room. Betty closed her mouth and stared at Leonard. He was dying and she knew that soon, Carla would feel what Betty felt as she found Polly.
Flashbacks from that day hit Betty and she excused herself as she rushed to the toilet. She stared at herself in the mirror. Stared at the mess she was and wondered how the hell she ended up like this.
"Betts?" Jughead knocked on the door and she sighed as she opened it. "Are you okay?" Jughead asked and she shook her head.
"He's dying Jughead." He nodded.
"I know."
"Do you? Because you're acting as emotionless as Carla. Like he wasn't even a person." Betty felt warm tears on her cheek and she quickly wiped them away. "I hope that you had nothing to do with this, because soon, your mom will become a widow, and your sister will become fatherless, and Jellybean, she'll be hurting. And if this was your doing then you will be the one who caused them this pain." Betty cried and Jughead bit his lip.
"He..."
"I know what he did, Jughead. And I want him to die just as much as you do, but I don't walk around playing God, killing whoever I see fit." Betty whispered intensely.
"Betty..." Jughead started. Betty stared at him. Locking eyes with the person she loved more than life itself. "I just told Hiram what was going on. I have no idea if whether what happened to him was Hiram or just the world. And I don't care. He's dying, Betty, and he deserves it. No matter how he ended up here."
"After we are done here, you are going to call Hiram and ask him what the hell happened to Leonard. Because listen, whatever this is, it's hurting them all." Betty mumbled. "He's going to die, in front of them, and there is nothing they can do. They just have to watch as their whole world slowly crumbles apart." Betty cried.
Jughead looked into her eyes and a moment of empathy filled his eyes. Somehow he understood that this really didn't have anything to do with the situation, it had to do with Polly. And he knew that he missed her. So instead of fighting her he just took her in his arms and hugged her tightly. She sobbed against his chest.
***
A painful shriek left the hospital room and Jughead let go of Betty. They looked at each other, both knew that Leonard was gone now, and Jughead kissed Betty's forehead softly.
They both walked inside and watched Gladys place herself beside Leonard. She cried as she stroke his hair.
"It's okay." She whispered. "It's okay. We love you." Betty looked at Jellybean, whose body was stiff and tense.
"Come on." Betty whispered. "Let's leave your mom alone for a second." She took Jellybean's hand and they walked outside with Jughead. They heard the sound of heels rushing after them.
"I'd like to talk to you." They all turned around, and to their surprise, Carla stood behind them.
———————-
Soooo I didn't post last week smh I suck
I'm posting a day early due to some shit happening tomorrow. Sorry for sucking lmao
Either way, I hope you enjoy this
Love,
Julia