Chapter Twenty One
After that day, things change. I'm not allowed to go anywhere alone, except for when I'm sleeping, which means I can only talk to Ben in the night. I usually stay up until 4:30 AM just to talk to him. I usually take a nap after lunch so it won't be as noticeable I'm losing sleep. If David notices I'm not sleeping, he would get even more worried about me.
Chloe has become more secretive lately. She's always vague when talking to me, and tends to spend all of her time helping Marsa. In fact, she seems to be avoiding me. David doesn't mind, though. It's like he got another maid for free. And plus, then David gets more alone time with me.
And, of course, David is treating me like a china doll. He always talks to me softly and can't even say something sarcastic anymore. It's annoying. And that's exactly why I never told anyone before. I hate being treated like I'm weak.
One night, in the middle of May, I can't take it anymore. I wait until David leaves and goes to his room, and then sneak downstairs. I walk to the movie room, hoping to watch some Sherlock, but I notice that the light in the game room is on. Curious as to who's in there, I open the door and see Marsa on the computer.
"Oh, Juliette, what are you doing up so late?" Marsa asks, surprised.
"I should be asking you the same question." I respond snarkily. Marsa sighs.
"I guess you're right. Come here, I want to show you something." I walk over to the computer and see Marsa's on a social networking site.
"How'd you get on there?" I ask.
"David blocked all of the websites you can contact someone directly and tell them we were kidnapped."
"Yes," Marsa says, "but this website is different. It's called High Five, and it's not very well known. On here, you can't comment on someone's post, and David blocked me from posting anything."
"Oh. So, what did you want to show me?" I ask, kind of annoyed.
"There's this guy on here that calls himself Ben_Downs." Marsa explains, showing me the guy's profile.
"He's really cool and funny, and he's a total gamer. He talks about game hacks and glitches all of the time. And, he loves creepypastas. I think you would really like him." I blink. His name is Ben, and he likes game hacks, and creepypastas. What if he was my Ben? No, that's ridiculous. It's just a coincidence.
"But, unfortunately, he has a girlfriend, who he calls JNS." Okay, this is definitely Ben. JNS are my initials, Juliette Noelle Stevenson. I wonder why he got an account, though. That's weird.
"He sounds cool." I say, pushing away my thoughts.
"Yeah, he is." Marsa says.
"You would love him."
I already do, I think. I almost laugh at the irony.
"I can get you an account, if you want." Marsa offers. I shake my head.
"No thanks, I'm good." Marsa nods. Just then, I notice a small paper on the computer keyboard that looks like it's been folded a thousand times. I look at it more closely and realize it's a picture. It's a picture of a man and a woman, and three little kids, two girls and one boy. The smaller girl has auburn hair, and is the same height as the boy, who has blonde hair. And then it hits me.
"Marsa, is that your family?" I ask, gesturing to the picture. Marsa's face immediately darkens and she quickly takes the picture and stuffs it in her pocket.
"No. Well.... Yes." She responds sadly.
"That was the last picture we ever took before... You know.... David."
"Oh." I say. Marsa closes her eyes, as if about to cry.
"Well, I'm going to bed now." I say, faking a yawn. Marsa opens her eyes again and sniffles.
"Goodnight Juliette."
"Goodnight Marsa." I leave the game room and walk to the stairs. As I'm climbing the stairs, I get this weird feeling in my stomach. My friend is obsessed with my dead boyfriend on a social networking site about 20 people know about. Wow. That's not something you get to say very often.
I make it to my room and go in quickly. I don't want David to catch me sneaking around at night. I sigh slowly, still facing the door. I turn around and nearly scream. There, on my bed, is a dark figure facing away from me. I turn my lamp on and the figure turns around. I see Chloe's familiar face and sigh with relief.
"My gosh, Chloe, I almost had a heart attack!"
"Oh yeah. Sorry about that." Chloe responds.
"Why didn't you turn the light on?" I ask. Chloe shrugs.
"I don't know. I guess I was just feeling anxious to talk with you." Then comes the infamous awkward silence. After a few minutes, I clear my throat awkwardly.
"So, I'm not meaning to be rude, but why are you here?" I ask.
"Well, something's been bothering me ever since you came back to life. I haven't told you everything that happened during that time, and I've been losing sleep over it. But I'm afraid of how you'll react."
"What is it?" I ask softly. Chloe swallows down the lump in her throat and explains.
"That night, a few days before you came back, when David, uh, raped me. I never wanted to tell you, because I was afraid. But before David did the thing, he made me dress into your prom dress. Don't ask me how he got it. He made me pretend I was you. He was delusional. He started to kiss me. I tried to fight back, but he was too strong. He made me forgive him for everything he'd ever done to you. And then... and then.... He took away my innocence."
I was shocked. David made Chloe..... forgive him? He was so delusional he actually thought, just for a moment, Chloe was me?
"Chloe, I am so sorry." I say. Chloe sighs.
"It's okay. It's not your fault. It's David's fault for taking us in the first place."
Wow. After only a few weeks, Chloe has the courage to tell me that David hurt her on a deep emotional level, as well as a physical level, but after almost a year, I still haven't told her about Ben. Now is the time. I have to do this. It's not fair to Chloe that I'm keeping my first actual relationship hidden from her.
"Chloe, I have something to tell you too." I say.
"Before I tried to, uh, you know-"
"Kill yourself?" Chloe asks.
"Yeah, that. Before that, did you notice how I always seemed to disappear after dinner each night?" Chloe nods and I continue.
"Well, I was kind of meeting with someone."
"What?!" Chloe whisper screams.
"Who?!"
"You have to promise not to tell anyone, not even Marsa."
"I promise."
"Good. Have you ever heard of BEN Drowned?" and so I tell her all about Ben. I tell her about when I first saw him in the forest, and then in the path to the mansion. I tell her Ben's back story, and how I'm unofficially dating him. While I'm telling Chloe, she doesn't say anything. She smiles at some parts, frowns at others, and sheds a single tear when I tell hear it was Ben, not Ethan, who kissed me in the library, and Ethan died for no reason. I'm pretty sure Chloe had a crush on Ethan before he died.
When I'm finished, Chloe just stares at my bed, digesting all of the information. Finally, she looks up at me and says one word.
"Wow." We hug and Chloe silently goes back to her room. We don't need to talk. We both know that now there are no secrets between us. We can finally understand each other. Our problems, our sorrows, our lives. I understand Chloe, and Chloe understands me. And that's why Chloe is the best friend I will ever have.
I'm glad I got to talk to Chloe that night. Because it was the last time I would ever get to.
A/N: Yay update twice today! Maybe even three times if we're lucky. Hehe <3 Julie