1 | There's a Ghost [JUGHEAD JONES]

THIRTY FOUR

word count: 1,360

CHAPTER THIRTY FOUR:

↳ CHANGES

     AFTER JUGHEAD'S BIRTHDAY PARTY, everything began to fall into place, kind of. Ginny felt a relief that she told the truth— despite how awful it was and how public. The weight on her shoulders was gone and she had Jughead. Jughead and Ginny had always been together in a sentence, everyone expected them to be a pair. Now, they were finding a balance romantically.

Virginia Hopkins was happy.

For once Ginny felt in control of her life. That's why when she went home with Jughead, she noticed how her mother was crashed on the floor, a needle in her arm. Her brown hair was splayed on the floor, her mouth opened to snore.

"Jug," Ginny called from the doorway, looking down on her mother. For once, Ginny didn't rush to aid her mom and just... stared. Jughead appeared in the doorway, sighing as he noticed her stare at the prone figure on the floor.

"Call an ambulance and make sure the cops come too." Ginny told him, walking away from the doorway.

"Are you sure, Gin?" Jughead's eyebrows were furrowed as he looked down at his best friend. Last time he called the cops, Ginny hated him. "Last time—"

"Last time was a mistake, Juggie. You were right, she needs to be put away where she can't get to drugs or hurt me." Ginny Hopkins was learning more about life and even though she was her mother by nature she wasn't by nurturing.

Jughead nodded, walking into the other room and Ginny heard a faint exchange of words before she exited the room.

She wanted to clean the house. She wanted a fresh start. Ginny, however, couldn't start cleaning the house of her past because Jughead walked back into the room, shoving his phone into the confines of his dark jeans.

"They're almost here," Jughead told her. Ginny was surprised that there was such a quick response team– no one had gotten a quick response if they lived on the Southside.

The cops and ambulance came and Ginny stood outside of her house with Jughead and an officer, watching her mother be taken away. She was happy that she was going to be gone from her life. Mrs. Hopkins was toxic and now taken away, forever.

"Ma'am?" The cop turned towards her, notepad in hand. It seemed so trivial to write down the words that people spoke since computers and phones existed. "Who is your guardian?"