Goodbye, good life | Bughead

28: Jb

On the couch, there was sitting a girl, who's face looked lost, who's face was in healing process because of multiple cuts and bruises. Other arm in cast from elbow to her fingers. Jughead knew that girl so well but at the same time, not at all. While tears filled his eyes, he took slow steps to the living room while Tempo kept trying to purr his calf. This time Jughead ignored the cat.

Jughead would have wanted to run to her sister and take her into a huge hug. But as soon as the door opened, he saw that it wasn't that kind of reunion. Jb lifted her face up to her brother's from her lap with so kind but so sad eyes, when Jughead sat on the other end of the couch. He gave his hand and she took it. Both of them let out a huge sobb, like a cry or just a big breath.

Betty sat next to Jughead on the edge of the couch, giving a squeeze on his hand. When she was pulling her hand away, Jughead gripped on it and pull it back, placed on his lap. He needed her to keep him calm, to breathe, to face his sister, who was hurt.

"You are here," were the only words Jughead could phrased and they came out like a whisper. "I'm here," Jb replied with a shaky voice, which sounded so broken and it made Jughead's heart ache.

"You are hurt, are you in pain?" he dared to ask, carefully, reading his sister if she was ready for him to ask. It felt like she was.

"Not anymore, I have meds. But I'm okay now. Thanks to Betty," Jb replied, giving a smile to Betty and then Jughead. Betty answered her smile to smile. Jb had so many meds right now, but luckily she took it without a whine. Betty was sure of herself that she couldn't make her do anything Jb wouldn't want. So like this, they can do this.

"You could have called me too, you know," Jughead stated but was already sure her answer. There was something, which made her want a woman company. It had to be that. Fuck. And Jb told the answer he predicted. "No I couldn't". Jughead swallowed the big lump. It had been growing in his throat for a while now, since Betty picked him up from downstairs. "Do I want to know why?" he asked and felt the squeeze on his hand. Betty.

"No. But if you think you can handle anything you can just imagine, I will tell you my story to you, big bro," Jb said, her voice now little more brisk and sure. She looked right to Jughead, breathing big and deep breathes, but she needed her brother too. And for that, he needed to know.

Jughead looked at Betty first, who gave him a nod. He could handle it, with her, she can promise that.

"Betts, do you have beer? Or wine? And food? I have a problem and a solution which isn't the best one. So I'd need something else," Jughead couldn't give an answer to Jb, he needed something first. Or at least to know there would be something besides Betty to distract him.

Betty nodded. She knew he was nervous and even though it was like a year he hadn't taken a drag, Betty sensed it was something he would need now. She walked to the kitchen, opened one bottle of red wine, grabbed three glasses and brought them to the living room. Then she went back and found few ingredients for nacho bowl. She did that in no time and put it to oven.

Jughead couldn't take the silence in the living room during that time, so he walked to the kitchen to look what she was cooking. She made him smile, first time in that night. "You are amazing, you know that," Jughead whispered to her as he placed his hand on her back and moving it up and down for few times and then turned his back to go back to the living room. Those words and his hands on her back, those made Betty shiver.

After first glasses of wine nachos were ready too. As they started to eat and continued the second glasses, Jb's story began - slowly and with a still shaky voice.

And it really started when she lost touch with Betty. Who couldn't kept it going with Jb because the feelings towards Jughead were so heavy. Jb felt herself lonely and started to search an escape from her loneliness and sadness. She got new friends and poured toxins into her body. And that's how it all began.