Unapologetically, Juliet

Chapter Three

INCESSANT banging on my front door woke me up bright and early the next morning. Well, that, and King's claws in my neck where he was aggressively kneading and sucking on the blanket. I shoved the giant beast off and tried to get up, but he pounced right back to his spot, holding me in place.

"I will feed you to Mrs. Thornton's Chihuahua," I threatened darkly, pushing him away long enough to slip out from under the covers and stumble through my tiny room, into the living room and to the front door. I heard King's lithe feet bounding after me when I disappeared from his sight for longer than a few seconds.

Flinging the door open without first looking through my warped peephole, I just barely stifled the urge to slam it closed again. Maya stood uncomfortably in my poorly lit hallway, holding her purse to her chest like someone in a mask would jump out and snatch it any second.

"Jeez, it took you long enough." She pushed passed me and stepped into my apartment with her eyes wide and an especially scandalized look on her face. "Are you...?"

"They're movie and book posters. Chill out okay, it's not like I worship the devil." She was going to freak out when she saw the pentagram carved into the wood of my coffee table surrounded by red and black candles. Mostly, I did it as a joke to piss off my mom, and it had worked. Although I'd done my research on everything witchy and mystical, I never actually practiced any of the spells or whatever. But Trixi, Shel, and I did try to celebrate some of the Pagan holidays whenever we got the chance.

Maya's exotic green eyes narrowed piercingly as she stared at me looking a little more horrified than usual. "You know you're not wearing any pants." She stared pointedly at my bare legs and my dad's old Denver Broncos t-shirt that fell to my mid-thigh.

"You know there's a spider on your shoulder." She jumped and squealed, while King and I just stood and watched with dwindling interest. We were in sync like that.

"You're such a child, Juliet." Her snarling words didn't affect me in the slightest. I'd heard far worse from my own mother.

"All part of my charm. So... What brought you out to the Briarhood part of our beautiful town?" I had to bite the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing when King hissed at her the moment she tried to pet him. Like I said, we were always on the same wavelength when it came to other people.

Maya made a guttural sound in the back of her throat. "Whatever. You don't want to pretend to be pleasant, I won't either. Your mom and my mom thought it would be cute to have you as a bridesmaid, so I need you to come to the dress fitting tomorrow so you don't look like a total slag at my wedding. It's in two weeks, you know?"

"Yes I know." I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose a little. "You haven't shut up about it for months."

"You never RSVP'd and you've refused to sign up for the wedding registry. How do I know you aren't planning some ridiculous scheme with Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum?" That time her words actually cut a little, but I tried not to let it show. She always thought she won whenever she made me angry.

"Maybe because I love my brother, and I'm going to his wedding to support him on an important day in his life." I shot Maya a grin and rubbed my face a little. "What time is it anyway? Couldn't this have waited until later?"

"It's noon. Is this what you do on your days off, sleep the day away with that beast of yours?"

"His name is King. And actually, I think he prefers the term, monster. But I can't really speak for him." I had to bite back another laugh as Maya squealed in irritation. All our lives I loved pushing her to the point where she wanted to stab me with the nearest sharp object, if only because she always prided herself in being so proper and ladylike.