CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO:

SPILT SECRETS

     GINNY MADE HER WAY DOWNSTAIRS after FP left the room to join Joaquin again. She felt like the world was spinning and she couldn't make it stop. She thought with Jason's death she could relax but she couldn't. Hell, she just wanted it all to end. She didn't want to hide this secret but she didn't want to be pitied.

"Jughead, hey." Ginny's head turned at the sound of her best friends name. She rushed down the rest of the steps and entered the kitchen, coming face to face with Jughead.

"Hey, Ethel." Jughead greeted the young girl before his eyes focused on Virginia behind her coming into the room. A nervous smile toyed at the corner of Ginny's mouth as she watched Jughead's blue eyes brighten at the sight of her. 

"You didn't have a piece of cake. It's bad luck." Ethel exclaimed, holding out a piece of cake to the birthday boy.

Jughead sighed, wishing he could just go to Pops. Maybe he could drag Gin with him to Pop's. "This whole night is bad luck. I'm ghosting. I'll see you at school." While he passed Ethel, his hand slipped into Ginny's pulling her with him towards the front door. Ginny stayed silent, agreeing to being dragged out of this god awful party.

"Hey. Whoa. Where you going, guest of honor?" Chuck stopped the duo and Ginny frowned at the sudden intervention of the popular kids.

"Get out of my way, Chuck." Jughead exhaled, wishing the night could just end. His grip tightened on Ginny's hand, trying to maintain his composure. 

"Oh, but you can't leave now. We haven't even played our game yet." Cheryl exclaimed with a smirk toying at the corner of her painted red lips. "Listen up, party people. Everyone has their secrets. And we've all done our fair share of sinning. That's one thing my dear brother's death has revealed. So let's play a little game to get those secrets out in the open."

"What the hell is Secrets and Sins?" Jughead asked, annoyed as everyone crowded into the empty living room. Jughead and Ginny were near the window across from Archie, Veronica, and Betty while Chuck and Cheryl were in the middle.

"It's a variation on Truth or Dare. In which we own our truths. By telling it like it is. I'll start the game with Veronica Lodge." Cheryl explained.

"Naturally." Veronica sent the redheaded girl a sickeningly sweet smile.

"Let's begin with the day you and your mob wife of a mother came to town for a so-called fresh start. Tell us, Veronica, what's so fresh about defiling Archie Andrews in a closet?" Cheryl asked loudly. She was cherishing this moment where she was in charge and putting others down. Pathetic.

"That was your doing." Veronica told Cheryl. 

"Moving on to dear Daddy Lodge— Isn't it true that your father, from prison, illegally purchased the drive-in land? Which makes me wonder. What else is he doing from behind bars?"

"Well, I can't speak for my father, but I can think of someone with a very dirty secret. Specifically, Cheryl killing her very own brother." Veronica began, her arms crossed as she sat in the hot seat.

"Everyone knows how much I loved my brother." Cheryl replied with a wavering lip.

"Exactly. But did you love him maybe in ways that a sister shouldn't love a brother? And as you got older, Jason started to think it was strange, unnatural. So he chose Polly over you. So you shot him between the eyes with one of your father's many hunting rifles."

"This game is sick. I wanna go next." Dilton Doiley spoke up, moving from his position beside Ginny. She had pressed her body up against Jughead to get away from the lingering stares the boy with glasses sent her.

"That's the spirit, Doiley. What secrets do you have to reveal to us?" 

"I saw Ms. Grundy's car by Sweetwater River, the day Jason went missing. I told Betty, Virginia, and Jughead, and then, Ms. Grundy quit her job and left Riverdale, like, two days later. And let's not forget that Archie was also at the Sweetwater that morning." Everyone in the room took a moment to piece the puzzle together.

"Oh, my God, color me shocked, Archie Andrews. Is that why you became a mediocre musician overnight? Because you and Ms. Foureyes were pulling a Mary Kay Letourneau?" Cheryl asked, shocked. Scandals like these rarely happened.

Veronica turned to Archie, praying he wouldn't get involved. "Don't say anything, Archie. Don't get in the gutter with them."

"Wait, what? Andrews was banging a teacher? Well, damn, I wish I would have known. I would've added you and Ms. Grundy to the board of conquests." Chuck said with a smirk.

"Classy, Chuck, as always." Veronica spoke up.

"Wait a second, that also explains why Archie can't seem to keep a girlfriend to save his life. He's got serious Mommy issues. Anything to say for yourself, Arch? Were you victim or perpetrator?"

"Dilton Doiley plays with guns." Betty interrupted, trying to bring out the bad in someone else rather than her friends.

"Big whoop, Betty. So Doiley's a psychopath, everyone knows that."

Chuck chuckled, "well, I guess it's my turn now. Boy, do I have a twisted secret to reveal. Starring Betty Cooper."

"Leave her the hell alone, Chuck." Archie spoke up, defending his blonde friend from evil incarnate. 

"Shut up, Andrews. Look, you may get a free peepshow every night, but you do not know her. Hell, Betty doesn't even know herself. Everybody knows why I got suspended. But what you don't know." Chuck sighed, thinking back to that night. "She dressed up like a hooker, in a God-awful black wig, drugged me, handcuffed me in the Jacuzzi, and I almost drowned until she got me to say what she wanted to hear. And then she really lost it. She actually thought she was Polly."

There was silence for a moment, "but you knew that, huh Jughead? You get two different girls at once, huh, you're a stud?"

"Get out, Chuck." Jughead spat, shoving his body towards the door. Chuck sent a punch to Jughead, making him stumble back. Ginny gasped, running towards Jughead. Chuck glared, wanting to cause more damage but the menacing stare from FP Jones directly behind Jughead got him to change his mind.

"Shut up, Chuck." Veronica defended the blonde girl who was pale and shaken beside her.

"Enough! That's enough! Get your hands off me, snake." FP intervened, pushing Chuck outside.

"Get out! Go on!" FP left the room, leaving the room quiet at the tension rising. Chuck was gone but it seemed like the game was far from over. FP entered the room but Ginny's gaze was diverted from him as Cheryl Blossom spoke up.

"Oh!" Virginia turned to see Cheryl staring directly at her with a wicked grin. "That reminds me, Jughead, how well do you know your best friend?" Jughead turned from his position near the exit Chuck left, his fists still clenched tightly by his side.

Ginny stood up on shaky legs, her heart was pounding hard and she forced herself not to turn to either Jughead or FP. "Cheryl– please don't–"

"No, you piece of trash," Cheryl snapped, stepping closer to her until she was face to face with the brunette girl. Her voice shook from her unspoken hatred towards the poor girl who had no right to hate her deceased twin. "You know what? I think it's time that everyone knows why you hated Jason so much."

"C-Cheryl," Ginny begged her, trying to keep her composure.

"So, this summer before Jason was killed, Jason found out a secret." The room was dead silent, all wondering what the secret was. Everyone wanted to hear about Virginia Hopkins. "Virginia isn't a virgin everyone!" Cheryl told the room with a laugh. "She fooled us all with her innocent act. But she isn't so innocent. She was sleeping with an adult."

"Shut up, Cheryl." Archie stood up to defend his friend.

"It's true, Archie– both of you sleeping with adults, maybe Ginny has daddy issues since her father bailed on her when she was young. The thing is, Jason had proof and he was going to show me before his disappearance and sudden death."

"What are you saying, Cheryl." Ginny said with a hard, steady voice. A few people gasped at the sudden change in composure. Her posture was straight, her fists clenched beside her as she took a step closer to the redheaded girl. Ginny was sick from the constant abuse she received. She was done with it.

"You killed Jason."

Ginny smacked Cheryl across the face, the slap resonated through the now quiet room.

"You know nothing." Ginny's voice shook as tears began to spill. "I was fucking raped, Cheryl." Ginny told her, she needed to say that– and it felt good.

The room was dead silent.

"I was raped Cheryl and your brother had proof of it. That's why I hated your brother, Cheryl. Your brother was going to ruin my life– who wants to be known as the girl who asked for it?"

"I-I'm sorry," Cheryl stuttered, her eyes wide in shock. The redheaded girl didn't know what to say– she had just publicly outed Virginia Hopkins deepest secret, and she was ashamed and guilty.

"What are you looking at? The party's done. It's over! Go home!" FP shouted at the room full of kids who were staring at the two girls in shock. 

Virginia Hopkins stood there in the middle of the room as people dispersed. She felt lighter with the truth out in the open but she turned and ran out of the room as Jughead tried to approach her. 

She just didn't want to say who it was.

º   º   º

DOUBLE UPDATE WOOHOO!

º   º   º