chapter sixteen:
the sisters

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"i'm betty cooper, this is mariposa, we're here to see our sister polly," the blonde girl told the woman sitting behind the front desk of the troubled youth home.

mariposa was nervous right down to her core. being here brought back so many memories of the nights she spent hungry and alone, or all the times she would be whacked because she didn't make her bed or something.

but she kept her strong facade for betty, and posie was more than determined to reunite with her best friend.

"i'll need some identification," the secretary said.

mariposa slid her drivers license across the desk at the same time betty placed her student id. the woman nodded and looked to jughead, "you have to wait,"

she gestured to betty and posie so they would follow her and lead them through a series of hallways towards the  rooms. posie shuddered when she realized that polly's room was her old one. she saw the boards on the window from when she made her grand escape.

next the secretary took them outside, out to the garden where she said polly would be, and sure enough there she was.

her long blonde hair hung down her back and she was dressed in the typical blue dress and red cardigan that all the girls in the home wear. posie remembered the feelling of the uncomfortable fabric rubbing against her skin.

"polly?" betty said, catching the attention of her older sister.

polly grinned and rushed to where the two girls were, enveloping her little sister in a hug.

"betty, posie!" she exclaimed, "you found us,"

posie's mouth fell agape when she noticed the baby bump polly was sporting. it seemed polly was in here for the same reason she was.

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posie watched as betty ran around the room, holding her phone up, trying to get whatever service she could.

polly's words played over and over again in the brunette girl's head. her two best friends, running away without even telling her. mariposa was hurt and angry. would they really just leave her  behind?

the door to the room opened, revealing alice cooper, who of course was annoyed with both posie and betty.

"mom, what are you doing here?" betty asked.

"i pay the sisters good money, you think they don't notify me when polly gets a visitor?" alice stated to the two girls.

she took her daughter by the arm and practically dragged out of the room, mariposa and jughead following close behind her. posie let out a breath of relief at the thought of them leaving. she didn't care that alice had caught them sleuthing, she just wanted to go home and hold her baby so she could forget all about the SOQM.

mariposa glanced at jughead when they found polly in the hall. he glanced back and raised his eyebrow at the sight ofpolly pregnant. posie could practically see the wheels in his head turning at that point. her disappearance, her baby, and now polly in the same position, it was easy for him to put two and two together. posie nodded to confirm.

she snapped her head at the sound of her best friend screaming, to see her being dragged down the hall. posie shook her head and began speed walking out of the building, as it all became to much.

she just wanted out of here.

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mariposa tapped her pen against the desk as she stared at the bookkeeping she was assisting hermione with. she hoped coming in to work would take her mind off of polly, or the idea that jughead knew her time at the sisters, but it didn't seem to be working.

she looked up at the black haired woman who was writing on some papers of her own and thought back to the day she met her in pops, and how she said posie looked exactly like benjamin.

"we're you friends with my father in high school?" posie wondered aloud.

hermione looked at the teenager skeptically, quickly figuring out that posie had noticed her slip up the day that they met.

"not exactly, but we did know each other," the woman answered.

posie nodded, "if you don't mind me asking, do you think he was a good person?"

hermione chewed on the girls question for a second. she thought it was an odd thing to ask for a girl who never knew her dad. she would've expected something more specific.

"he was. he was the nicest boy i'd ever met. he was always offering to help others, and he gave good advice" hermione answered.

posie smiled gently, "thank you for telling me"

she couldn't tell if hermione was saying it to make the girl feel better, or if she truly meant it, but the intentions were good none the less. she went back to her bookkeeping, thinking about all the good things benjamin might have done, and dreamed of the good things they could have done together. what hermione said was only fuelling her desire to find the man, even thought luca was strongly against it.

maybe this was something she had to do by herself.

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i apologize at how short this kinda is but i just wanted to get through the rest of episode six. i really wanna get to the baby shower and everything which is why i've barely been writing because these parts are boring to me. luckily it's only the baby shower which might mean more consistent chapters.

also, i just published the intro and synopsis to another riverdale story if you want to check it out!