When the two arrived at the Andrews home, Vegas, Archie's dog, came running over to the redhead. Archie greeted Vegas before pulling the dog toward the door. "Uh, what do you think you're doing?" Mariah questioned. "Going to walk Vegas," he said.

"Archibald, you're covered in blood. You need to shower. I'll walk Vegas," Mariah interjected. "Mar, when was the last time you walked a dog?" He asked in mild amusement. "Uh, does it matter? I know how to walk a dog," she said. He was thoughtful for a moment.

"We can walk Vegas together. How does that sound?" He compromised. "And then you'll shower?" She asked. He nodded, "And then I'll shower." Mariah nodded and smiled, before frowning. "But change your jacket first," she said. Archie nodded and walked upstairs to his room.

Mariah crouched down next to Vegas and ran her hands up and down the dog's back. "I wish I had a dog," she muttered. Archie bounded back down the stairs after a few minutes. "All right, you ready?" He asked. Mariah stood up straight and turned to him. "Yeah," she said.

····

"Before we got Vegas, my dad was like, 'He's gonna be your dog, little Archie, your responsibility. Are you ready to walk him, give him his food, fill his water bowl, and take care of him when he gets sick?' I wanted him so bad, I was like, 'Yes, dad, I'm ready. I'm so ready'," Archie was saying as he and Mariah walked Vegas.

"If I remember correctly, you were majorly struggling when you first got Vegas," Mariah noted. Archie chuckled lightly. "That is true. Things were a lot simpler then. And now, when I get home late from football practice, my dad's already walked him. On Saturday mornings, Dad takes him out so I can sleep in. Every time Vegas gets sick, Dad always goes with us to the vet. The truth is, no one loves Vegas more than my dad," Archie said.

The two stopped at the center of the bridge that they were walking on. Mariah leaned her arms against the railing and sighed sadly. Archie gently placed his hand against the small of her back. "Are you okay?" He asked. "You're asking me if I'm okay?" Mariah asked incredulously.

"You just seem to be a little off," he said. "Your dad was shot by some psycho. I just wish that this hadn't happened to him. He doesn't deserve this. You don't deserve it," Mariah answered. "Yeah, nobody does. But are you sure that's it?" Archie said. "Yes, I'm sure," she replied.

"Okay. Do you wanna head back now?" He said. Mariah nodded slowly. Archie gripped Vegas' leash tighter in his hand and nodded. The two walked back in the direction they had come from and to Archie's home.

····

Mariah was sat at Archie's kitchen table while the redhead was finally taking a shower. The girl was eating a sandwich that she had made for herself. Usually in stressful situations, the girl found herself eating. Mariah took another bite of her sandwich before deciding to go check on Archie.

She placed the sandwich back on the plate in front of her and pushed her chair back. She stood up and began walking up the stairs. She tripped over the top stair and stumbled forward, barely catching herself from falling. "I would trip," she muttered to herself.

Mariah ran her hands down her hair to smoothen it out before walking to the bathroom door. She timidly knocked on the door. "Hey Arch, are you okay?" She asked him. "I'm okay. I'm fine," his voice was slightly muffled by the door. She nodded to herself, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," he called back. "Okay. Do you want me to make you a sandwich?" She questioned. "Why would I want a sandwich?" He asked back. "Well, I made myself a sandwich and I thought that you might want one. I didn't make it in case you didn't want it," she rambled. Mariah could hear Archie chuckle. "No thanks, I don't want a sandwich," he dismissed.

"Are you sure? You should probably eat something," Mariah said. "Yeah I'm sure. I'm not hungry," he replied. She nodded again. "I'll make you one anyway, just in case," she replied. She turned on her heel and began walking down the stairs. She walked back into the kitchen and began doing as she said she would.

When she was done, she walked back over to the table and sat down. She picked up her sandwich and began eating it again. Mariah glanced at the bag that contained Fred's belongings and reached for it. She then stopped and shook her head before retracting her hand.

A few minutes later, Archie walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. He looked around and then down at the table. "I said I didn't want a sandwich," he said with a small smile. "And I said that I would make you one. Just in case," Mariah replied. Archie reached for the bag on the table.

"Maybe you should eat before you start going through the bag. And I know you said that you weren't hungry. But it would put my mind at ease, knowing that you ate something," the blonde said. Archie sighed, "I'll eat after I go through my dad's things, okay?" Mariah rolled her eyes but nodded.

Archie picked up the bag and began dumping the contents onto the table. He then began looking through the items. He pushed a few things around before looking at Mariah. "Where's his wallet?" He asked. Mariah finished chewing the last of her sandwich before replying. "I don't know," she said. "It should be in his coat," Archie stated, looking through the coat pocket.

Mariah stood and began looking through the clothes on the table. "Maybe it's in your truck. Or at the hospital," she suggested. "No it can't be at the hospital. The nurse said that this was all that they had," he dismissed. "Well maybe it fell out. I can look outside for it," Mariah proposed, preparing to go outside.

"No. It should be in his coat," Archie said. "Is there anything important in that wallet?" She asked. "Everything that is important to my dad is in that wallet. He doesn't go anywhere without it," Archie said. "Okay then if it's not here then maybe it's at Pop's," Mariah said. "Did you go through this bag?" Archie questioned.

"Does it look like I went through that bag?" Mariah asked back. "I don't know, Mariah. Did you look through it or not?" Archie said. "No, I didn't look through it," she replied. "Then where's his wallet?" Archie exclaimed. "I don't know!" Mariah said in a similar tone.

"Why are we here? I didn't even want to come here. Why did you make me come?" Archie said loudly. "I didn't make you do anything," Mariah snapped. "Yes you did. You made me come here. You made a stupid sandwich that you keep trying to force me to eat when I told you that I didn't want a sandwich," he yelled. "You're yelling at me because of a stupid sandwich?" Mariah asked incredulously.

"This isn't about some stupid sandwich," he said. "Then what is this about?" She asked. He remained quiet and she grew annoyed. "I came here because I'm trying to help," she said. "Well stop trying to help, okay? Stop helping!" He screamed. "Fine!" She screamed back. "Just go. Leave. I'll see you at the hospital or whatever," Archie said.

"So you start an argument with me and now you're telling me to leave?" She asked him. "Yes, I'm telling you to leave, Mariah. I want you to go. I want to be alone," he replied. "Well that's too fucking bad, Archie. Because I'm not going anywhere," she replied. "Why are you always being so difficult?" He asked. "I'm being difficult? Maybe you should take a look in the mirror," she spat.

Archie sat down in one of the chairs around the table. "God, Archie. I'm trying to be here for you. Why are you pushing me away?" She asked him. "You would know about pushing people away, right? You do it all the time with me and everyone else that you call your friend. I guess I'm just returning the favor," he retorted. "Wow, Archie," she said, nodding her head in disbelief.

"You honestly sound like an idiot. You wanna be an asshole? Huh? Fine, be an asshole. You wanna be alone. Then be alone. You want me to leave. Fine, I'm leaving!" She yelled. Mariah snatched her phone from the table and turned on her heel, marching to the door. She grabbed onto the doorknob and twisted it roughly, swinging the door open. She stepped outside into the cold and slammed the door shut.

Mariah took a deep breath before slowly releasing it. She gave herself a moment to calm down. She turned back to the door and opened it again. She walked back into the house and closed the door behind her, stomping over to the kitchen. She stood on the opposite side of the table.

"I'm not leaving," she stated. "I don't care if you want me to go or if you want to be alone. I'm not leaving you," she continued. He looked up from the table and at her with tears in his eyes. Then he looked away. "I know you're angry and hurt and scared. Hell, I'm scared too. And I know what it feels like to lose someone, Archie. But you won't feel that pain because you are not losing your dad," she said. He didn't meet her eyes.

She walked closer to where he sat and continued. "So go ahead and yell at me and be angry and upset. Keep pushing me away. But I'm not going anywhere, okay? You never left me alone when I wanted you to and I'm sure as hell never leaving you alone. I'm not going anywhere, Archibald," she concluded. Mariah sat down in the chair next to his and scooted it closer to him.

Archie squeezed his eyes shut as tears fell out of them. "It's okay to cry, Archie. It's okay to not be okay," Mariah said softly. He began to cry harder and she pulled him into her arms. She held him tightly as he cried and ran her fingers through his hair. "It's gonna be okay. I promise," she whispered. "Please don't make promises that you can't keep. Please," he whispered back.

She doesn't say anything. Instead, she pulled him closer to her body and hugged him tighter.

····

After Mariah successfully got Archie to eat the sandwich, the two sat quietly in the kitchen. Archie's phone began to ring and he rushed over to where it was, Mariah slowly following after him. "Who is it?" She asked.

"It's Sheriff Keller," he answered before answering the phone. "Hi, Sheriff... What, right now?... Okay, I'll be there soon," Archie said before hanging up the phone. "Be where soon?" Mariah asked as he began putting on his jacket. "The station to try to identify my dad's shooter," he answered.

"Okay, let's go," Mariah said, grabbing her own jacket. "No, I'm gonna do this alone," he said. "Archie, I'm not letting you do this by yourself," she protested. "I'll be fine, okay? I need to do this," he said. Mariah sighed and thought it over. "Fine, but if something happens, call me," she said.

"I will," he said. She nodded and placed a kiss on his cheek. "I'll see you at the hospital," he said before walking out the door. "Yeah, I'll just call a cab," she muttered. She did exactly that and waited for it to come. When it did, she used the spare key underneath the Andrews' doormat to lock the door. She slipped the key into her purse and walked to the cab.

Once she reached the hospital, she walked to the waiting room. When she spotted her three friends, she immediately went over to them and told them what was going on. "That's gonna be traumatizing for him. We should go down there," Betty said after hearing the news.

"He wanted to do this alone. But hey, could you keep an eye out for Mr. Andrews' wallet? It wasn't with his things and it might be at Pop's. That or the guy who shot him has it," Mariah said. "Well, if it was just some rando robbing Pop's, then he probably took the money and then got rid of the wallet," Betty said. "Unless it wasn't just some rando. Unless it was premeditated in some way," Jughead said.

"What? Is that an actual theory?" Veronica asked. "Not according to Sheriff Keller, but if you ask me, people have grudges. People have enemies. I mean, think of where we live. Fathers are killing their sons. It's entirely conceivable this was a hit," Jughead said. "Okay, or the wallet is just at Pop's," Betty said. "That's where I'm hoping it is," Mariah muttered.

"Jughead and I will check it out. You stay here with Veronica," Betty said to the other blonde. Mariah nodded, "Thanks, Betty." Betty nodded and she and Jughead walked to the exit of the waiting room. Mariah sighed and went to sit down in one of the chairs. Veronica sat down next to her.

"You okay?" The brunette asked. "No," the blonde muttered. "Is Archie okay?" She asked next. "What do you think?" Mariah asked back. "You know, I don't like it when you answer my questions with a question," Veronica stated. "If you don't ask me stupid questions then I won't have to do that," Mariah retorted.

Veronica was about to respond but she stopped. "I'll be right back," the brunette said before standing from her seat. Mariah watched as Veronica followed Mrs. Lodge out of the waiting room. Mariah grew confused but then shrugged her shoulders.

She leaned back in her seat and closed her eyes.

°°°°

Here's chapter two. I know what some of you are thinking. "Why wasn't there a shower scene between Mariah and Archie?" Well one, Mariah is not Veronica. Two, that scene was misplaced, disgusting, and unnecessary. It wasn't logical and if someone were really in that situation, I highly doubt that they'd be doing that. Also, Mariah is still in that 'not ready for sex' stage but she'll be ready eventually. With that being said, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I know updates for this book are slow but they'll probably stay slow. Do not tell me to update or ask me to update or ask for more or any of that stuff. Not now or ever. See ya.