Circumlocution ≫ Jarchie

[Chapter Sixteen]

Trigger Warning: Self Harm
Four Years Ago

"Juggy!" Jelly Bean screamed, banging on the bathroom door as Jughead sat on the floor tearing himself apart.

His dad hit Jelly Bean today. Jughead promised himself he'd keep her safe but this time he failed. He couldn't take all the blows, he couldn't stop the angry shadow of a man from attacking, and this is why he punished himself.

He dragged the blade across his skin, wincing at the sharp sting as blood began to creep out of his wrist slowly.

"Juggy! Open the door please it's not your fault! Please!" His sister cried. Her sobs continued to get louder and louder but Jughead simply ignored them. This wasn't the first time this had happened. Jelly Bean was well aware of what Jughead did to himself, how he felt about himself, and how bad their situation was. Their situation forced both of them to grow up a lot earlier even though Jughead insisted on still treating his sister like a child.

Jughead stared blankly at his wrist before starting to cry. He couldn't keep doing this anymore. Jelly Bean began banging on the door harder at the sound of his sobs before giving up. He was never going to open the door. He never did. She carefully wiped her tears away and took a deep breath.

She had devised a plan for when this would happen. She's practiced everyday and yet, it still hasn't worked. At this point though, it was worth another shot. She shakily took out two bobby pins from her hair and began molding them. She took the first one and bent it open, taking the tiny plastic piece off of the end, and bent the second one to form an L shape. She carefully took the latter piece and stuck it into the lock, applying enough pressure to imitate the key rotating. Next, she began picking the locking. It took her about 30 seconds of jiggling and pushing, but she sighed in relief when she heard the click of the look and the door opened.

Jughead looked up with a surprised glance as Jelly Bean came into the room and opened the cabinet under the sink where the first aid kit was. She sat down next to her brother and snatched the razor blade out of his hand, angrily throwing it down the toilet.

"I have more of those you know." He said weakly, staring into her eyes blankly as she took his wrist and began cleaning it.

"And I'll find them, you know." She retorted as he winced at the antiseptic she was applying onto his wrist.

"Why can't you just let me do this?" He whined, starting to cry again. "Why can't you let me have on thing?"

"Because I'm not going to let you destroy yourself."

"Why not?"

"Because despite your untruthful belief that nobody loves you, I do. I need you around."

"You're the only reason why I still am around." He admitted.

"What about afterwards, Juggy? What's going to happen after we get out of this place and I go to college? What are you going to do?" She said angrily as she wrapped up his wrist.

"You won't need me around after that." He said simply, looking away from her gaze.

"I would. I would still need you around after we're 210 years old and buried under ground."

"You say that, but once your life starts you're going to forget about me, and maybe that's for the better." He whispered.

"Then you don't know me at all." She sighed once she finished taking care of his wrist. She got up, placed the first aid kit back into the cabinet, flushed the razor blade down the toilet, and made her way to the door.

"I love you." He sighed.

"And I want you to love life, that's all I want from you." She smiled back weakly.

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This book really is fun to write I say that every chapter 😂 this one was short but I'll try to make the next one longer