Chapter 2: The stranger

Haze's POV

My eyes flutter open as I feel a sharp pain in my veins. I wanna pull my arm away, from whatever it is that causes that pain, but someone holds it on the place.

I squeak and turn my head there. "Shh it's okay," the same man says, holding my arm and fondling my hair.

I start breathing faster. I don't know who he is. I don't like men touching me. No matter, where they're touching me.

I pull my head away and look at him with furrowed eyebrows. Then I feel the pain again, so I look at the doctor, who's pulling some needles out of my veins.

I'm breathing rapidly and I feel tears in my eyes. I wanna pull my arm away, but they're both holding it on the place.

"One more," the doctor says apologizingly and pulls it out, that makes me squeak a little. The strange man looks worried and I'm looking at him. I don't know, who he is, why is he even here? Why did he save me?

The doctor patches up the place, where they had given me some medicine or something and then smiles sadly.

"How are you feeling?" she asks me.

"My," I start, but then feel my throat burning, "Fucked up," I say and swallow.

The man beside me smirks a little and the doctor raises her eyebrows. She's obviously not from Riverdale. She would know, who I am.

"Okay, I'm gonna leave you two alone now," she says, still shocked of my vocabulary, and leaves.

I sigh and look at the man, "Who are you?" I just ask.

He smirks a little, "You know.. You act just like your mom," he says with a sad smile.

I raise my eyebrows, "How do you know my mom?" I ask with a painful voice.

He sighs, "Do you want water?" he asks worriedly.

"How DO you know my mom?" I ask more sternly.

He sighs, "I'm gonna tell you everything. Just not now," he says.

I sigh, "What's your name at least?" I ask.

"Clyde," he says.

"Why did you save me?" I ask.

He raise his eyebrows, "What?" he asks, "Why? Everyone would've saved you if they could've," he says.

I shake my head with tears, "Everyone ran away. You stayed. Everyone hates me. You don't," I say.

He sighs, "No-one," he starts.

"Don't you start with that," I interrupt with tears, "EVERYONE hates me. Besides my mom. And probably you. So why?" I cry.

He sighs, "I know, that the stories they tell about you are not true," he says.

"And how can you be so sure? I don't look like a girl who is able to fuck three guys in three hours?" I ask.

He smirks, "I know, that you're not the kind of girl, who you're trying to seem like right now," he smirks.

I narrow my eyes. The only person who knows that is my mom. That means that she told him. "How do you know my mom?" I ask and wipe my tears away with one hand. The arms aren't painful, what's a big surprise.

He sighs, "I'm not sure if I should tell you.." he says.

I sigh, "If you won't, my mom will, so who cares," I say.

He looks down and I can see that a tear falls on his lap.

"What?" I ask and then my eyes widen, "Where's my mom?" I cry.

He wipes away his tears, looks up at me, and sighs. I'm crying so hard. I’m scared. What happened?

"Hey," he sighs and wipes my tears away, "It's gonna be alright," he says with a broken voice as well.

However way he knew my mom.. He must've been really good friends with her.. Or.. The leather jacket.

My eyes widen and I turn my head to look at him. He looks confused, of what I'm doing. He is wearing a leather jacket.

"Can you.." I say in shock, "Can you turn around for a second?" I ask.

He furrows his eyebrows and turns around on his chair. I gasp air, seeing that he is a Scarlet Tear.

He turns back around and looks at me worriedly, "What?" he asks.

"You're.. You're a.." I say but feel so confused and mad right now.

"Damn it," I say furiously and hit the bed hard with my right hand.

"Hey, calm down," he says and starts fondling my hair. I pull my head away furiously and sit up on the bed, ignoring all the pain.

I turn my legs over the edge of my bed and look at him. I look at his face, his hair, his clothes. He even looks better than Dave.

I'm crying so hard, and he's just looking at me worriedly and in confusion.

"You're him.." I just say and swallow all my tears and fear and angriness.

"I'm who?" he asks.

I look at my legs, "You're.." I say and look up, "You're the gang leader, right? The one, who my mom thought could be my dad. Her 'best friend for life' as she told me," I cry.

He sighs, "She told you about me?" he asks.

I wipe most of my tears away, but I'm still crying, so it's not helping, "Yesterday," I start, but then stop, "They died yesterday, right? Not like a week ago? What day is it?" I ask.

He sighs and nods, "It's Saturday," he says.

I sigh. 2 days until school, "Yesterday was like the first day in half a year, that mom was home and Dave wasn't," I say, "If you know so much about me, then you should know who he is, right?" I ask.

He smirks a little at my sarcastic tone and nods.

"Anyways," I sigh, "I had a breakdown again and.. She was ACTUALLY there for me this time," I say. He looks sad, "And she told me that Dave is my real dad," I say between my teeth, looking at my hands, that look like they have gotten burned.

He chuckles sadly, "I hate that guy too, don't worry," he says.

I smile a little and look up at him. He smiles a little too.

"And what exactly do you know about me?" he asks.

"That you're a gang leader from a Rockbowl, who was my second father candidate. I didn't even know that my dad could be alive.." I say, "And you're.. You WERE her best friend for life. Also, that you're a leader of the Scarlet Tears, based on your jacket. You look hot, and you like to catch 15-year-old girls, who you don't know, and who are jumping out of burning buildings," I say.

He laughs and nods, "That's pretty much it.." he says and I smile a little. No one ever talks to me. EVER.

"Okay," he sighs, "Lie back down and I can tell you more, about what your mom was like when she was not with your dad," he says.

"Okay, but don't call him my dad," I say and lie back down on the bed. I look at what I'm wearing. A light blue hospital gown.

I remember something and I look at him with a scared face, "Did my house burn down?" I ask.

He sighs, "Most of it," he says.

"My room?" I ask.

"Gone," he says. I sigh. I don't have anything left then.

"My sister?" I ask.

He looks at me with furrowed eyebrows, "I though you hated her," he says.

"I do, strange man, who reads my thoughts," I say and that makes him smirk again and shakes his head a little.

He sighs, "You're the only one alive," he says.

I sigh, "Can you tell me everything honestly now..?" I ask. He nods, starting to fondle my hair, which no-one has never done before except for my mom a few times in my life. It feels good.

"Is Dave dead?" I ask.

"They found him, your mom, and Ella. All dead," he says.

I nod, relieved that at least he is dead. "How did the fire start?" I ask.

"No one knows," he says.

I sigh, "Can I be a member of the Scarlet Tears?" I ask.

He smirks, "We'll see that in the future," he says. I smile a little. Usually, I would cry, that my mom is dead, but he makes me feel safe and normal for once.

"And.. Can you tell me EVERYTHING about my mom? Like. How did you meet, what was she alike.. Why did you two have sex?" I ask.

He chuckles a little, "Okay.. I was living in the trailer park on Rockbowl when I was little. And so was your mom," he says.

I raise my eyebrows in shock. "We met when we were like 4. We were best friends ever since.. When she got 10, she had to move on New Rockbowl with her family, but she still loved Rockbowl. So we met every day, played.. Later started dating," he says.

I swallow, "Was she a.." I stop, "Was she a Scarlet Tear?" I ask.

He nods, "I'm the Scarlet Tear king.. She WAS the Scarlet Tear queen," he says.

I chuckle in shock, "And the reason, why she didn't let me join the Scarlet Tears, was.." I say.

His eyes widen, "You wanted to join the Scarlet Tears and she didn't let you?" he asks.

I sigh, "That's why I'm not a Scarlet Tear," I say.

He chuckles a little, "You are," he says.

I raise my eyebrows, "What?" I ask.

He sighs, "Well.. I loved your mom. I really did," he says and I smile a little, "But.. I have two children," he says. That is shocking, "A son and a daughter. My son is 15 too, like you and my daughter is 10.. And the only reason, that I'm living with their mom, is that I don't want to live without my kids and I don't want for them to grow up without a mom," he says.

I raise my eyebrows, "And.. How does that make me a Scarlet Tear?" I ask.

He chuckles, "Me and your mom are the Scarlet Tear king and queen. Even though I have another wife, she was never the queen.. The fact, that your mom lives in New Rockbowl and has an abusive husband, doesn't let her show that, but she's still the queen," he says.

"So, what you’re saying, is that.." I say confused.

"You're a Scarlet Tear by blood.. A princess if you will," he says.

I chuckle one time, "Not my thing," I say.

He smirks, "Not like a Disney movie," he smirks, "Like the next leader basically," he says, "Only that my son is older, which makes him the next leader," he says.

"I'm so confused right now.. Why didn't my mom like the way I dressed then? Why didn't she let me be a Scarlet Tear?" I ask.

"I don't know," he sighs.

"When was the last time you talked to her?" I ask.

He sighs again, "A day before yesterday," he says.

"What?" I ask in shock.

"We used to meet at night as kids.. And, we're still in love," he says, looking for my reaction.

I groan, "For real though?" I ask madly from him, "So.. Let's say a woman who you love is trapped into a house with her abusive husband and you won't even try to save her?" I ask, "You have a gang for god's sakes," I say madly.

He sighs, "We were planning to.. The reason, why I was close to your house, at 3AM, was the fact, that we tried to get both of you out of that house without Dave knowing," he says, "But when we got there, there was the ambulance and the firefighters. Your house was burning to the ground.. I tried to get her out. I really did," he says and a tear comes into his eye, "But they were trapped and you were on the window.. So at least you're alive," he sighs.

I'm crying, "So why did you save me?" I ask.

"Cause I care about you. She loved you more than anything," he says. I can't let anyone care about me..

I pull my head away from under his hand and he sighs, cause he doesn't get, why I won't let him. "You see this?" I cry and pull my hospital robe's sleeves up. He looks at my arms and his eyes widen.

"Right.." I say and pull them back down, "That should be a pretty clear sign, that I didn't want to be saved. So leave me alone," I cry and lie back down normally, but turn my head to face the another wall.

"Haze," he sighs, "Why have you cut yourself?" he asks.

"If you know so much about me, then you should know it," I say, crying, not looking at him.

He turns my head to face him softly, "Why have you done it?" he asks and starts to fondle my hair again.

I look at him, not knowing, if I should tell him, "Cause I hate my life," I just simply say, and it's not wrong.

He sighs and kisses my forehead, keeping fondling my hair.

"When am I getting out of the hospital?" I ask.

"Tonight," he says.

"Did they find a foster family or something?" I ask, already furrowing my eyebrows, knowing that if they did, it's in Riverdale, which means that they hate me like all the others.

"No need," he says.

I raise my one eyebrow and look at him, "I'm your godfather," he says and my eyes widen.