INIQUITY; 𝐓𝐕𝐃 [ DISCONTINUED ]

002 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐓𝐇𝐒 𝐀𝐆𝐎

INIQUITY.
CHAPTER TWO

➝ FOUR MONTHS AGO

     JULIANA WAS CONFUSED. SHE STOOD BY WICKERY BRIDGE in the cold dead of the night, internally panicking as she looked from left to right and right to left. She spun in a slow circle, taking in her surroundings. Was she dead? She had to be dead. There was no possible way she was alive. She couldn't be alive. She remembered taking a hard hit to the head, and she would've made it if it weren't for the lack of oxygen her brain was recieving. There was no possible way she would've made it anyways. She knew she was going to die. But why didn't she feel dead? Perhaps she was a ghost that was stuck in between two worlds. A spirit that hadn't crossed over to the afterlife.

Juliana furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. She accepted the fact that she was dead, and as far as she knew, she didn't have any unfinished business in life. Juliana signed and leaned against the railing as she thought about all those stupid ghost movies she used to watch with Jeremy on Friday nights or during the month of Halloween. Some ghosts had felt guilty for leaving their loved ones behind, something that Juliana felt right at the moment. Maybe that's why she was still on earth. That's why she was stuck between life and the afterlife. She felt guilty for leaving her younger twin sister and brother behind when they needed her the most.

Exhaling, Juliana slowly backed up from the rails. She turned around, immediately stepping back when a car drove past her making her stumble back with wide eyes as she watched the car from where she stood. She exhaled shakily, her hands trembling slightly. Taking in a few deep breaths, Juliana began to walk down the road, making her way back home.

~

Four months had gone by. Four antagonizing slow months. Juliana didn't know what to make of the other side. It was lonely and beyond boring. But in the fourth months, she learned that she could see and hear everything clearly around her. It was like she was invisible. She could see the people around her, but they couldn't see her.

But in those four months, she watched everyone around her break down. Her friends, her family, her brother.

The moment she had gotten home, she immediately went up towards Jeremy's room. He had always been her first priority, always made sure that he was okay. He was the baby of the family and no matter how much he complained that he could take care of himself, Juliana still worried over him. And when she entered Jeremy's room, all she could hear were his strangled sobs that he tried to conceal with his pillow, and tears that rapidly fell down his cheeks. She remembered that she had quickly fled to his side, trying her best to comfort him. But it only seemed to make Jeremy cry even harder. Juliana was confused before remembering that she was dead and Jeremy couldn't feel her comfort. Juliana quickly stopped running her hand through Jeremy's hair, stepping back from his bed with tears in her eyes. She was dead. Dead, dead, dead. The word played through her mind like a broken record, causing her to sob.

Jeremy's cries had soon dimmed down to him simply whimpering and sniffling before he fell asleep completely. It was around two in the morning, almost three. Juliana didn't bother to leave his room, simply staying in her one spot on the floor against the wall, watching her brother sleep peacefully. Tears slowly fell down her cheeks, but she didn't bother to wipe them away. If only I had fought harder...

The sun began to creep up from the east, it's rays of light filling up the once night sky. Juliana exhaled, rubbing her eyes with her fists. She blinked a couple of times before standing up, walking into the shared bathroom that connected Jeremy's room with her's and Elena's shared room. Juliana stared at her reflection with a hollow expression behind her brown eyes. She looked exactly as she felt. Dead. Letting out a sigh, Juliana walked towards the other end of the bathroom, her hand hovering over the golden knob. Juliana bit her lip, slightly hesitating to enter her old room. With a sharp intake of breath, Juliana slowly opened the door, slipping out of the bathroom, closing the door gently, refraining from making any noise that could possibly wake up Elena from her sleep.

Juliana slowly walked into her room, picking a few articles of clothing as she moved around her room, muttering under her breath about Elena leaving everything on the floor. The simple act of picking things up made her feel human, as if she were really alive. Dumping the articles of clothing in the laundry basket, she felt something crumble under her white colored converse. Juliana cringed at the noise, quickly throwing the clothes in the basket before shutting the closet closed. Juliana stepped back, picking up the crumbled piece of paper. Thinking nothing of it, she shoved it in her pocket and continued to shuffle around the messy bedroom.

Having cleaned up the messy room, having almost woken up Elena about three times during the process, she felt content about the clean room. She almost felt like she hadn't died. She almost felt like it was another day where she had simply woken up to clean the room. Almost. Going over to the vanity, the small smile that was once on her face suddenly dropped. Pictures of her and Caroline were scattered everywhere around the vanity, some with an occasional photobombed picture by Bonnie, some with Elena, some with Jeremy, and other family and friend pictures with Matt and Tyler.

Tears began to well up in her eyes as her gaze slowly followed every picture that she had taped to her vanity. Juliana sniffled, shaking her head as she quickly wiped the tears away with the hem of her sleeve. Stepping away from the mirror, she looked back at Elena, a small yet sad smile on her face. Juliana walked over towards the bed, pulling down the blanket from Elena's face to make sure she properly got air in her lungs. Juliana gently moved the hair away from Elena's face and leaned down to kiss her head.

"I love you, Elena. Please don't forget that." Juliana whispered softly, brushing Elena's hair. With a heavy sigh and a heart full of guilt, Juliana stepped away from the bed, turning around to exit the room. Juliana slowly went down the stairs of her home, surprised when she saw Jenna on the couch with a cup of coffee set on the table. Juliana walked towards Jenna, a frown replacing the surprised look when she saw a recent family album sprawled out on the table. Glancing over at Jenna, Juliana noticed her tear stained cheeks. Letting out a sigh, Juliana moved over towards Jenna, grabbing the blanket at the end of the couch and placing it over Jenna's body to give her proper warmth. She closed the family album, and took one last look at her home before leaving.

As she walked down the street away from her house, she noticed a few people out and about, doing their morning exercise before going to work. It was only six in the morning after all. The town of Mystic Fall was quiet, peaceful even. It was a town that didn't consist of many people and mostly everyone new each other. It was a friendly town, a town where Juliana had grown up in.

Juliana let out a sigh as she came to a full stop. She looked to her left, a frown on her lips when she noticed Caroline's house in front of her. God, did she miss Caroline. She had only been dead for a few days and she missed the bubbly blonde like crazy. As she stood a few feet away from the porch, the sound of the door opening caught Juliana's attention. Sheriff Forbes was stepping out of her home, a thermal in her hand, a tired expression on her face as she shut the door and locked it. Juliana simply watched as Sheriff Forbes walked past her, not acknowledging her.

I am dead. Juliana repeated to herself silently. She looked at the house before her, hesitating whether or not she should go in. She knew Caroline was a wreck. A complete mess. And it was all her fault. It was Juliana's fault for not fighting any harder, for not holding on any longer, for not trying. They were all suffering because of her death, Jeremy and Elena were not only suffering from her death but also their parents. Jenna was a wreck but she didn't show it, only when she was alone. Juliana couldn't handle the guiltness in her heart when she saw people crying because of her. It all made the situation even worse. With a sigh, Juliana turned around and made her way back home, not being able to see another person cry because of her death.

That was four months ago.

| authors note
So this was four months ago, a few weeks later after the accident had happened just in case you were confused.