Flatline ((Jughead Jones)) 3

14

I hadn't felt nervous much, well, not in comparison to the surge of emotions I felt walking up to the blonde haired, girl next door. Betty Cooper was squeezing her fingers together, planning out in her head how this would go, pre-empting every response I could give and what her reply would be to every outcome. Neither of us were ready for this talk.
In every story, the protagonist goes through a painful realization, and this would be Cynthia's, and this conversation was about to be twisted ending to a chapter.

We had been sitting there for a few minutes, neither knowing what to say or how to begin or what to bring up. There was no easy way to begin, and we both knew that.
"How long have you been visiting him?" I asked first, seeing as Betty was still trying to work up the courage to tell me everything.
"Only a couple of days." I nodded to her, then thanked Pop's who brought my milkshake over.

Betty took a deep breath, closing her eyes before looking down at her hands.
"I don't know why I asked. When you said she was struggling, I thought that maybe to hear it wasn't her fault, that she was collateral damage might help her. Jug what I'm about to tell you is going to rip her to pieces. It's not something she'll deal with. Knowing Cynthia, she'll wait until you aren't there to properly process things, and that's where I'm scarred. After everything that went down a Sweetwater River, I'd hate to see things go that way again."

I sat back in my chair, not expecting her to begin like that. All the great stories have to have one killer opening, something that keeps the reader hooked. Writing was more similar to fishing than most thought. I felt like the fish, hanging off every word that Betty fed me, wanting nothing more than to wrap up a mystery I didn't think would be answered, waiting for her to finally react and pull me out of the water and into reality.

"He spoke about her with such hatred. He said that she stole you from me, that you were destined to be with me, not her, and she had somehow ruined his schemes every time. Not just in high school but before that when we were kids. He despised everything about her because you loved her and not me. I couldn't take it, I didn't want to accept it so I left. He shouted such awful words as I left, all about her. Jug, I'm only telling you this, but he said he wouldn't stop until she was dead."

I ran a hand over my face, stressed and concerned. The last part would definitely be left out when I decided how to tell her. Very few serial killers were completely sane, and this was just more evidence that Hal Cooper, the Black Hood, was far from grasping sanity. Not only did he believe that Cynthia wasn't right for me and that I should be with Betty, but that Cynthia was deliberately taking me away from Betty; that somehow she had manipulated me away from my true love. More worryingly, it seemed that even from behind bars, this hooded menace was determined to end my happiness.

"She got a new psychiatrist, he's put her on sleeping medication and higher doses of anti anxiety pills to try and calm her down. Thia just got the all clear physically, and now all this has to start." I sighed, working out what was the best way to tell Thia, and how I could sensor what I had just been told to achieve the best outcome.
"Hopefully this answers her questions at least. I'll try and talk to her after you have, see if I can put her mind at ease a little more." I nodded to the blonde.

We spent the next few hours trying to work out how to tell her, and what it was best I say and when it was best to do all this. It was agreed that I would go back, and tell her straight away, provided she was awake but not panicking much. That way, she had all day to process it, and she had all day before she had to battle her demons once more by sleeping. I didn't know how the medication would affect her, but I hoped she wouldn't be reliant on it as much after I had spoken to her. I just wanted my queen healthy and stable and ready to fight by my side.

When I walked into the room, Cynthia was wide awake, and looked like she had been for a while. It was 4:30 in the morning. She was reading, her beside light on, illuminating everything in her room and giving her a full view of everything. Wyrm was lay at the glass, looking straight at the door as if he were ready to strike at anyone who came near her, like he was protecting her.