"We're all on the edge of madness; deep down, darkness is within all of us and we're on guard constantly trying to avoid losing control."
In which Mickey Lodge has a few skeletons in her closet.
{COMPLETED WITH ALL SEASONS + epilogue}
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"Shouldn't you be at the town hall meeting?"
Mickey shakes her head. "Are you writing now?" She makes sure to articulate each word so that he can read her lips.
Jughead sighs, closing his notebook. "No. I can't seem to." This rut he's in is still better than going to the town hall meeting and having pity piling on top of him. "Since the explosion, there are thing I can do same as before. Read and eat hamburgers," he forces a chuckle. "But there are other things that I may never be able to do again. The fact of the matter is, my world shattered. The question now is how do I rebuild."
"Have you talked to Archie or Betty?" She thinks maybe it'd be helpful for him to talk to them since they all have been through the same thing.
He gives her a marker and a piece of paper. "Use that."
She quickly scribbles down her question and holds up the paper for him to see.
"Betty's texted me, but I don't feel like talking." He adds, "Archie stopped by and I told him about my hearing. Then he asked me a curious question."
"What?"
"He wanted to know if anything 'weird' has happened to me after the explosion—other than losing my hearing." Jughead says, "I feel like there's more behind that question, but he didn't budge." He waits for her to say or write something, but she doesn't, and it's like he can feel her energy radiating around him. "What's wrong?"
Mickey picks up a fresh piece of paper and begins to write:
Three days ago, my father's body was found in a shallow grave, hands zip-tied. He was shot four times in the back of the head. His body was then burned.
Jughead finishes reading the paper and then looks back at her sorrow-filled face.
For a moment, she tries to remain strong. Then Jughead moves to sit next to her and he pulls her into his arms, giving her a safe space to cry.
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Later that day, Mickey is standing beside Reggie and Veronica as they await their grandmother's arrival. The sisters haven't been around each other since Veronica told Mickey about the mark put on them by Hermosa.
Mickey didn't know how she would feel being around Veronica again, but it's not good. "How are you going to look Abuelita in the eye knowing what you've done?" She realizes she's being snarky, but a part of her believes Veronica deserves it.
Reggie narrows his eyes at Mickey. "Back off. She feels bad enough." He felt on the fence when Veronica confessed to him, but he knows Veronica doesn't need her sister piling on her.
"I'm talking to my sister, Reginald," she hisses. "Stay in your place—on Veronica's side, like a lapdog."
"Abuelita!" Veronica exclaims to get the two of them to bicker and to greet her grandma.
