I stare at my siblings as James helps Julie stand off the floor. She seems to have broken out of the spell she was under, or whatever that was.
He sits her down on the soaking wet steps that lead up to the hot tub and throws a towel around her shoulders. She hugs the towel closer to her body so that she can dry off.
I close the door and lock it, ensuring that no one else will surprise us and jump through that door when we are least expecting it.
I still can't get over the fact that I am seeing this right now. I am happy that Julie is back. But at what costs?
Something just doesn't feel right to me.
Seeing that Roslyn is still on the floor and James couldn't seem to care about her right now, I lift her up and place her on the damp seat by the window so that she will no longer be on the floor at least.
"What happened Julie?" James asks. I cross my arms over my chest and wait for her explanation.
She shrugs simply. "I don't know. I remember being in my bedroom dying. And then the next thing I remember is waking up in the middle of the woods. And all I could think about is how much I wanted Roslyn dead."
"But why?" James asks. Julie shrugs again. "She feels guilty for getting you killed and you know that. You told her that you forgive her." James reminds Julie of the last time she spoke to Rolsyn.
"I just felt compelled to kill her. I didn't really have a reason why. I just couldn't stop myself." Julie admits.
"So what probably happened is we buried her and then she wolves dug her back up. They somehow got her alive again, a witch maybe? And they put a spell on her to kill Roslyn so that they wouldn't have to. They were probably counting on the fact that Roslyn would be alone and it would be an easy kill this time." I add to the conversation, trying to connect all of the puzzle pieces together to form a story that makes the most sense out of them all.
"Did I hurt her?" Julie asks, looking over at Roslyn who is slumped over in the seat.
"No-" James is quick to respond before I can, trying to spare my sister's feelings as best he can.
"Yes." I respond honestly. "Not badly, but you did hurt her." James glares at he. He can give me dirty looks all he wants but I know telling Julie she did nothing wrong is not the way to help her. She needs to know what she did so that it never happens again. If James protects her from the truth, it only hurts her more.
In all the time we have been alive, Julie has never been a fan of lying. She hates when people lie to her just as much as she hates lying to others. She is straightforward and that's how she expects people to be with her. James just doesn't get that. He wants to spare her feelings and make her less upset but he doesn't realize that Julie doesn't want to hear him make excuses for her.
She did what she did and she's going to punish herself for it. That's just how it is going to be.
My head whips around to look at Roslyn as she begins to stir. She is waking up. All three of us stand to see if she is okay. We move closer to get a better look as she opens her eyes.
Reading Roslyn's thoughts, I can tell she is going crazy right now. Her eyes dart back and forth between Julie and I, trying to figure out which one of us is a threat to her at the moment. She's trying to pick out differences in the way we stand or the way we style our hair to figure out who is how.
I guess she didn't really have time to examine Julie's outfit before she began choking Roslyn to death.
I walk closer, holding my hands out to calm her. I feel as if I am approaching a wild animal that I want to pet and I am trying to keep it from running. Roslyn digs her heels into the ground, pushing herself as far back into the chair as she can get as I get closer.
"It's okay. I won't hurt you. Neither will she. You are safe now. I promise."
'She's terrified of both of us because she can't tell if you are me or if I am you.' Julie steps a bit back so that Roslyn can have some time to figure it out. She is hurt that Roslyn is so weary of us right now. Though, can you blame her?
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I nod. 'And we can say whatever we want but it won't change her mind. She has to figure it out herself.' Julie is right. I take a step back from Roslyn to give her some space.
James takes over in the role of comforting Roslyn, finally growing some balls and stepping up to help. He was so concerned about Julie's return that he completely forgot about his girlfriend laying unconscious in the corner.
"It's okay. We think Julie was under a spell. She won't hurt you now." James smiles and cups Roslyn's cheeks in his hands.
A chill runs through my body as Julie tries to step closer to Roslyn. Without thinking, my hand latches on to Julie's arm to stop her. I turn to look at her, her eyes staring right through me, not making eye contact.
I pull her in to my body, longing to hug my sister. She wraps her arms around me and rests her head on my shoulder.
I am thrilled that I have my sister back. I just wish I could believe she is back for the right reasons.
