The Ghost Town

Chapter Thirteen

Hey everyone. It's been a while since I updated this. I just wanted to say that I'm sorry. Please note that this story DOES NOT REFLECT THE QUEENS MENTIONED IN IT. It does not reflect their personalities or how I feel about them. With that said, if you're expecting everyone to get a happy ending, now may be a good time to exit the book. I'm sorry. Life just isn't always happy.
TW: Abusive language, fighting, physical violence, mentions of blood, yelling, non-graphic panic attack, mentioned drinking, potentially upsetting content.
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"Listen, Pip. I really think you should go back and apologize." Ginny spoke through a sigh. It was rare that Ginny was ever upset, even more rare when they were with Pip. But this wasn't Pip. This was an ugly, twisted, nasty imitation of Pip. It couldn't really be Pip.

This town had a strange effect on Pip. Ginny and Pip had known each other for years. Pip used to be a loving, caring soul. Always there for her friends and almost always wearing a wide smile on her face. Her eyes always had a gentle, soothing, almost comforting look.

Pip used to take care of herself but that had fallen on the wayside of her priority list. Her top priority was always getting to the pub. No matter how bad of a hangover she had, no matter the weather, no matter if she was running herself into the ground.

She used to have long hair that was always well kept. She had pretty outfits with nary a spill on them. She used to smell of flowery perfume, and she wasn't always followed by the stench of alcohol. And she used to be nice and sisterly to everyone. Used to.

Pip used to be so much nicer. She used to be someone everyone looked forward to seeing. She used to be the person everyone went to when they needed to help work out a problem, or if they needed a shoulder to cry on. But that was before Pip came to the ghost town.

Now, Pip was nearly unrecognizable. She was alive, but almost barely. She was now a cynical, paranoid, self loathing shell of the Pip that everyone knew and loved. It hurt Ginny's heart to see. How far someone could fall from grace. Pip had become so unrecognizable.

Now her hair was always ratty and unkempt. Frizzy and tangled. Her eyes now seemed glassy and lifeless. The stench of alcohol and vomit radiated from her body at all times, she always walked hunched over, and her teeth were rotting from all the sugar of the pub's signature cocktail.

She had become cynical, a presence that no one wanted to be within ten miles of. She had become mean and nasty, cold and aggressive. Ginny had heard about what she had done, throwing her glass bottle at Tia's face, and insulting Lozza and Tayce. Ginny wanted it to all be a prank.

They wanted the Pip that they were used to. The sober, kind, caring Pip that was like the cool aunt that was the main reason you went to family gatherings. Not this drunken, raging, frankly abusive shell of Pip. They knew that this wasn't really, truly Pip.

But maybe it was. But that would hurt. And Pip's hurt enough people as it is. She doesn't need to hurt anyone else. But Pip was hurt too, so she hurt others in order to deal with that. It wasn't right, but it just happened that way. It was disheartening.

"It wasn't even my fucking fault, Gin. They should've been asleep and they shouldn't have even noticed! They weren't supposed to notice, dammit!" Pip shrieked, snapping Ginny back into reality. They let out a sigh they didn't even realize they had been holding, as they ran a hand through their hair.

"Pip, please just apologize. You know you were in the wrong." Ginny breathed, trying not to be sick and trying not to cry. Pip had truly fallen out of touch with reality. It was saddening to see, but there was nothing Ginny could do about it at this point.

Ginny had given up. There was no other option. She wasn't like Aurora. At the very least, Aurora was only hurting herself by smoking. Pip was hurting everyone else, smashing bottles and scaring everyone and verbally attacking everyone. It wasn't right, but that hardly mattered to Pip at all.