Blood Spilled and Secrets Exposed

Chapter Three

Eric holds my hand, his thumb drawing circles on the top of it. Judge Judy plays on the hospital TV, a dull buzz in the background.

After twenty minutes of us just sitting together, I bring forth as much courage I can muster and I ask the question weighing on my mind ever since the cop questioned me.

Taking a deep breath, I let the words tumble from my mouth, "Eric, who's Emma Robinson?"

Almost as if the mention of her name triggered an instinct, Eric drops my hand immediately.

His face retains the same, calm demeanor it had before I asked the question, but his voice comes out as a growl, raising the hair on my arms, when he responds, "Where did you hear that name?"

Something tells me it's not a good idea and to lie, but I start speaking before the thought finishes.

"Um, at the beginning of the year, when Chelsea found out about me hanging with you guys, she threatened to kill me just like Emma had been. Said I was only Emma's replacement. I didn't know who Emma was, so I just shrugged it off, but the cop seemed alarmed when I mentioned Emma."

"And why didn't you tell me?"

"I told Alex about it right after it happened, but she said not to tell you or anyone else. That they'd hate me for it."

"Dammit, Jules, I thought we agreed we wouldn't have any secrets between us. No lies either" Eric snaps, his tone beginning to rise, pissing me off.

"Fucking hell, Eric, you're such a hypocrite."

He puts his face to mine and his voice drops to a deadly whisper.

"What did you say to me?"

For a moment, I feel myself draw back in fear, but I quickly recover, forcing the inner tremor to go away.

"Remember how I mentioned that I told the cop about it? Well, he told me everything, Eric. How she and I could be twins in both the looks and personality departments. He also mentioned you and her were lovers, she was best friends with Alex. I really was her replacement." I pause for a moment, taking a deep breath and blinking away the tears that threatened to spill over. "You loved her, Eric, and not once did you mention her. Apparently, she disappeared a month before I showed up. Pretty convenient, huh? So what was it, Eric? Was I just a replacement or do I actually mean something to you?"

Eric's eyes soften and his tone grows gentle as he responds, "I love you so much, Emma. You could never be a-"

His response is cut off as I backhand him. The tears flow freely now, my heart split into tiny pieces, scattered across the floor. His eyes tell me everything. That's a slip-up he's feared since the beginning.

"Get. Out" I demand, hardening my tone.

"Please, Jules, it was just an accident. I didn't mean to."

"I said get out jackass. And you can forget us ever being a thing. Don't talk to me again."

Right before he turns away to leave, I see the pain in his eyes, but it's not the same pain I feel. He feels the pain of losing the last connection to a girl he could never have. As he walks out the door, a sharp pain stabs through me, the pain of knowing he'll never be in my life again.

*~*

Sometime later, the room door opens, my twin brother rushing in. All it takes is one glance-over for him to go into overprotective mode.

"Who the fuck did this to you?!" Blake yells.

"Gee, I thought they would've told you. Chelsea Cummings stabbed me" I answer, managing to bear a weak smile.

"Oh, Ju-Ju, the cops briefed me on that. I'm asking about the bastard who made you cry. I can give him a solid beating to teach him a lesson," he responds.

I simply shake my head.

"There's no point, B. He's an asshole who I thought loved me. Anyways, where's Mom and Dad?"

"Dad was busy with work and Mom—she couldn't make it," Blake says, his expression apologetic.

His words sting, the knowledge of my parents not bothering to show up sting even more. I pretend it isn't bothering me at all and change the subject quickly before Blake can press the subject further.

"How's Jake?" I question, wiggling my eyebrows.

Blake rolls his eyes, but a small smile spreads across his lips.

"He's still as indescribable as he was when we first met. He's just... amazing and wonderful and, gosh, I can't put my feelings for him into words."

"Have you told Dad or Mom yet?"

"Are you kidding me? Fuck no. Dad would crucify me for ruining the company image."

And just like that, the topic I didn't want to come up, still weaseled its way in. The dreaded elephant in the room. The conversation halts after Blake's offhanded statement.

"Uh, I'm just gonna leave. I've got some work to finish at the hotel. If I finish before visiting hours are up, I'll be back."

I swallow down the relief of my absence at home not being pursued any further.

"Blake, how long are you in town for?" I question, praying to God he's not going to get hung out to dry because of my stupidity.

"Until you recover, so however long that takes," Blake responds, face pulled taught.

"Is that really a good idea? You could get in serious trouble for being gone for so long."

Blake waits until the door's closing behind him to say, "Both of us can't get disowned, right?"

*~*

A/N: Yeeeeeeeaaaaaaah, I was gonna end this chapter on a more suspenseful note, but I figured here would be cool too. Sorry it took me a month to get this chapter out, I've just had a lot of crap happening, including a failed relationship that's spanned over the past year of my life, so that was pretty rough. Thanks for sticking with me, though. Hopefully, I'll have another chapter up by Sunday, but we'll see.