~♛~
gracie's pov:
"it's another win for the bad guys." jughead sighed. "no one was there, the entire staff quit. pop isn't sure how long he'll be able to keep the doors open. maybe not even a week."
"it's because of what happened to my dad." archie said. "people are freaking out. and i gotta be honest, guys, i don't see myself going back anytime soon."
"wait, i'm sorry. am i hearing acceptance? i'm not letting one psychopath with a gun dictate what happens to our place." betty protested.
"jug, you went crazy trying to save the drive-in..."
"i can't take on anymore social issues right now. my hands are full."
"mine too." i said.
"with your dad, of course. and he should be your top priority. i'll take point on helping pop tate." betty nodded.
"i'll help too, betty. my dad's back in town and anything to get me away from my parents, i'm in." veronica volunteered.
"another bee and vee teamup? they should make a video game about you guys." jug chuckled. "i gotta jet. we're off to meet my dad's court-appointed joke of a lawyer at the sheriff's station."
i stood up, shovelling the last spoonful of my pudding cup in my mouth.
"let me come with you two, i gotta drop some flyers off for sheriff keller." archie said.
~♛~
"let's talk about the damn deal." dad demanded.
"first, to review the charges you're facing: arson, destruction of evidence, making a false confession, obstructing justice— not to mention this whole nasty mess of dumping a dead kid in a river." the lawyer explained.
"i know what i did. what's the deal? what're they offering?"
"you're gonna wanna take it." he passed him a document. "i'm telling you, i've been doing this for a long time. it's a strong deal."
"cut the crap— how many damn years?!" i exclaimed.
"he's facing twenty years."
jughead gulped.
"if he doesn't take the deal, and the case goes to trial, he could be facing forty years."
i buried my face in my hands.
~♛~
"jughead tried going the legit route. he even talked to the mayor. it's just— it feels like whole the system is rigged against us." i sighed.
"what's fp saying? is he taking this deal?" tall boy asked.
i shook my head. "not if i can help it. tall boy... what if we bust him out of jail before he gets transferred to state? it's totally doable, the sheriff's station has worse security than riverdale high! and once he's out, it's just a straight shot up sweetwater river until the canadian border."
"you've seen escape from alcatraz a few too many times, kid. your dad needs a snake handler. someone who's livelihood depends on snakes. who's used to dealing with them. i've got someone you should get your brother to meet."
"why my brother?" i asked, rubbing my neck.
"i know it was his idea to talk to me." tall boy chuckled.
i shrugged. "his plan."
tall boy handed me a slip of paper with a name and address on it and tucked it in my pocket, before nodding and walking away.
~♛~
4:23 pm
—————————————————————
💙core five💛
groupchat members:
jug👑🍔, betty💫🔎, arch🥕🏈,
ronnie💍👛, gracie🛹🪐
arch🥕🏈
first my dad gets shot
then ms grundy is murdered
all within a matter of days
what if some crazy person is going
after all the people i care ab??
ronnie💍👛
...
gracie🛹🪐
arch...
arch🥕🏈
wut?
u think i'm nuts don't u
gracie 🛹🪐
no archie
i think you're scared
jug👑🍔
well
we dk anything ab what happened to grundy
arch🥕🏈
she woz killed
right across sweet water river
is that not enough??
betty💫🔎
it's horrible
but we dk anything fs
arch🥕🏈
don't u guys wanna find out who did this??
gracie🛹🪐
ofc we do
ronnie💍👛
we just think you're being a little...
gracie🛹🪐
paranoid
~♛~
"hello? jug?" i said, answering my ringing phone.
"gracie, i spoke to penny peabody like tall boy advised. she said dad could potentially get time served with parole if he gets the victim's family to forgive him in front of a judge— which means, we need the blossom's to help us."
i nodded, although he couldn't see me. "that's— that's great news. i'll see what i can do, jug."
~♛~
5:27 pm
—————————————————————
cherry bomb🍒💄
hey cher
i really need a favour
proceed
i need u 2 show my father mercy in court
it will reduce his sentence
absolutely not!
where was ur father's mercy when i spent nights in thornhill in agony
obsessing over what was happening to jj??
imagining the worst??
i slept under the same roof as a killer
cheryl i'm truly sorry ab that
but my dad didn't kill jason and yk that
yk he was threatened
please
i need this sordid chapter closed forever
and what better way
than to help a partially innocent man??
fine.
if i must—
but you owe me.
ty ty ty ty ty ty
~♛~
"your honour, i speak for myself and my mother when i say... we forgive fp jones for the part he played in covering up my brothers murder." cheryl stated in court. "and we humbly ask the court for leniency. fp's guilt has been blown out of proportion to satiate what my father's suicide denied us. closure."
"as much as i sympathise, i cannot ignore the quality of my jones' crimes." the judge informed. "there were no extenuating circumstances."
i sighed, and pinched the bridge of my nose.
"my father threatened him." cheryl said. "i overheard them talking in daddy's study. daddy said he'd hurt gracie and jughead if fp didn't comply. is that extenuating enough?"
the judge finally nodded. "in light of these revelations, i suggest that we take a step back and re-evaluate certain aspects of the case. at which time, we will revisit sentencing.
court is adjourned."
"is that a win?" dad asked, turning around to face my brother and i.
"it's a delay, so yeah." we hugged him, relieved for the time being.
~♛~