Juniper POV
"Hey, your Juniper right? My name is Madelane. My mom told me about you." She said sheepishly.
She had soft grundge look, her hair was blue black, she had blue eyes and had my same height.
I smiled sweetly at her.
"Yeah, Im Juniper and your mom's the best. Its nice to meet you, Madelane" I told her as we walked into the building.
I looked around, suddenly feeling watched.
"Well, let's get started, shall we? I'd like to welcome you to your first ever meeting, how exciting!" Madelane said.
I frowned as my instincts told me something was wrong. I shrugged and shook of the feeling as I followed Madelane inside the room where we were supposed to have the session.
The room was partly empty, with maroon colored walls. In the very middle of the empty shaped box, there were five chairs placed in a semi circle. Madelane sat down and I coudin't help but stare uneasily. Something weird was going on and I felt like somoene was trying to tell me something.
"Umm, where is everybody?" I asked, turning towards her.
"Oh! They should be here soon, very soon." She said in a creepy voice and I gave her an uneasy look.
"Okay then..." Something was wrong, very wrong.
"First times can be overwhelming. But don't worry, you'll do perfect. Every piece will soon fall into place." She said, smiling at me, her eyes losing there friendliness, replaced with clear, utter madness. I gulped.
She looked and sounded like she was possessed.
"Yeah, um, you know what? I think it's best if I go home." I said, backing away and looking for the door. Which had disappeared.
Well shit.
"Oh Juniper, why would you want to leave? The fun has just begun." She said tauntingly.
I watched as she became a shadow right before my eyes. A black shadow reflected on the floor. It was like watching a vampire with no reflection but backwards, it was a shadow without a person.
"Take a seat, Juniper. Father will be here very soon." Madelane's deteriorated voice said. But it wasent Madelane anymore, it was something else.
"Who are you?" I said, prepared to kick anyone's ass, shadow, or no shadow.
"My name is Amy, Father's wife." She said, sounding proud, as she circled me.
"Who's Father? What the hell's going on?" I asked.
She scoffed and her shadow turned to me. "He was right, you ask too many questions." She thrusted her hand towards me and felt myself being tugged forward, falling to the hard floor and landing on my face.
I hissed as I felt something burn my whole arm. I stood up slowly on my knees to see that I had some kind of metal whip with these spikes that dug through my shirt and into my skin. It was curled around my arm, both top and bottom.
"You like that?" Amy said with a sneer. I looked over to her and she had taken the form of a real live russian doll. Blonde hair, blue eyes, thick lashes, slight blush on her pale cheeks, bloody red dress the color of her lips. Her lips curled up in a satisfied smirk as I struggled to get on my pain through the pain that was sunddenly coursing my body.
"Stop, stop it." I said under my breath, wincing as the spikes dug deeper. Drops of sweat started to fall down my face, I felt like I was standing on a hot frying pan, with the fire on high.
She rolled her eyes and pulled her arm, along with whatever whip she had, back with so much force I almost fell again. However, the pain dissapeard, along with the heat, making me sigh in relief as I regained my breath. I looked at my arm and I didn't even have a scratch, not even on my shirt.
"Its called mind games, sweetheart. Im holding you hostage for the night." She said, crossing her legs and leaning back in her chair.
I stood up from the floor quickly and walked away as far as I could, my back hitting the wall.
"What the hell do you want from me?" I yelled at her, and her eyes narrowed at me in a death glare.
In a flash, she was beside me, yanking my arm and forcing me to sit down. It was as if I had been standing beside her the whole time, not across the room. My head was spinning from the fast movement, I felt like I was in a fun house, and I did not like it one bit. Nothing felt right, but it sure as hell felt real.
"Personally, I coudin't care less about you. But Father does." Was all she said. She tied my hands and legs with ropes to the chair so I woudin't get up any time soon
My dumb ass was about to ask where she got the rope when someone spoke.
"He could kill you, ya know girlie?" A light voice said and I turned to see a boy around seven who had suddenly appeared beside me.
"Im Henry, Father's son as well as Amy's." He spoke casually and sat down next to his... mother. The child looked like the one from the horror movie "Boy" I had seen with Tyler a couple night's ago. It creeped me out even more.
"K-Kill me?" I repeated, feeling the temperature drop around me, making me shiver.
They ignored me and changed the subject.
"We had him at such a young age. I got pregnant with him wen I was 14." She said adoringly, patting her.... son's head.
And I just sat there, trying to process everything. Was this even real?
Suddenly, the two empty chairs moved on their own accord as if someone was pulling them with a rope, placing themselves infront of us. I gripped my own chair as it moved closer to Henry and Amy, my teeth chattering because of the cold.
"He's here." They both said in unison, straightening up in there seats. I was about to ask who, when the sound of a door opening caught my attention and made me turn my head.
A little girl came out of the wall, literally, and walked over, her red hair poking out from under the cloak she was wearing. She walked and sat down on the chair in front of me. The only thing I could see were her pink painted toe nails, and that she appeared to be wearing something yellow.
"Hello Juniper. Its nice to finally meet you." She said softly. Her voice sounded so familiar. The little I could see of her made me feel like I knew her, but I coudin't figure out how. Instead of getting close to her, I leaned back as much as I could.
"Wh- Who are you?" I stuttered, trying to break free from the binds that held me in place, but Amy had tied it up too tightly. I could feel the rough material dig into my small wrist, it would surely leave marks later.
The little girl suddenly giggled, interrupting my how-the-hell-do-I-get-out-of-here thoughts.
My eyes met hers just in time she took her cloak, which fell to the floor, pooling at her tiny feet.
I gasped in shock. What the hell...?
"Im you." My six year old self responded. Her shiny light brown eyes held mischief, as well as mystery. Her red, fiery hair was a curly mess on the top of head, but she didin't seem to care. She was wearing a yellow summer dress and no shoes.
The exact same outfit my mother said I had worn to the lake house on the day my brother died.
"I-I dont understand. H-How?" I stutterd, clenching my teeth together. She just shrugged, her innocent smile never faltering.
I shivered again, damn it was freezing in here! I was about to ask who the hell was crancking the AC up so high when I felt eyes on me. My head turned back and immediately met eyes colder than the room. He was leaning against the wall, watching everything, especially me. But he was no longer a shadow. He was the male version of myself, he was real.
His true form.
"Cat's out, I guess. There's no point in hiding who I am. Since Krissy alredy found out." He smirked, his voice playful but ice cold at the same time, making his hatred as clear as water.
I gulped and stared at myself in question. She just smiled again.
She had a secret, and she wasen't telling.
"Wh-What do you want?" I asked my brother as he passed me.
"We're alredy passed this." He sat down next to Juniper. As in six year old Juniper, not sixteen year old me.
"I see you met my wife , my son and my adorable sister Juniper!" He said rather loudly, making me cringe back as he threw his arms around a still smiling six year old.
I felt sick.
"Tha-That's me." I stammerd with a another shiver, my body literall shaking. 'Toby' just laughed.
"Indeed she is. But unlike you, she is perfect. She has no flaws, no internal problems. She dosent suffer from any mental condition whatsoever and lives a very happy life. She get's to see dad every once in a while, don't you Juni?" He said at her and she nodded rapidly.
She turned towards me.
"Daddy is the best. He's taken me to so many places. He even saw me graduate!" She exclaimed.
Yeah right. "You can't gra-graduate w-when your six." I pointed out with a weak laugh.
Six year old Juniper giggled.
"Silly girl. Im the other version of you, the better, thriving one. So I may look six but in reality im 28. Dad say's that he is really proud of me. He say's that he is very grateful for deciding to stay, to not O'D and to stop consuming drugs. He did that all for me. He saw I had a future, he saw I was valuable and important so he decided to stick around." She said proudly and I felt like puking. My head would not stop fucking spinning.
My brother put his arm around her shoulder.
"Don't you see Krissy? Dad could have stayed with you too, but he noticed how broken, damaged, unrepearable you really were. He knew it was too late for you. So he left, he carelessly died. He could have fought his addiction for you, like he did for your other version, but he didin't. You were a lost cause from the start." He said.
He might as well had slapped me. That would have hurt more than his words.
I shut my eyes tightly and shaked my head back and forth.
"Your lying. None of this is real, its all in my head, your all in my head. So shut up, just shut up." I said through clenched teeth.
I saw him whisper something into Juniper's ear to which she nodded, stood,readjusted her cloak, bowed and with one last smile towards me, she exited the room.
How? I have no clue. She literally vanished into thin air.
"My darling, Amy, leave us be and take Henry to the park." He said to his wife and son.
They nodded, bowed and looked at me. Amy looked at me with disgust and boredom and Henry looked at me with pity and sympathy before they too, disappeard.
My brother made his way towards me and my heart clenched. He slowly began to untie the ropes on my legs.
"Wh-Why are you doing thi-this?" I asked, my body numb with cold.
He didn't answer.
"Yo- Your my brother. As a child I absolutely a-adored you. W-We had a bond. Wha-What happened to th-that?" I whisperd, my voice quivering.
"What happened was you decided to let me die. You have no idea how it felt. You killed me-"
"DON'T YOU THINK I KNOW THAT?" I shouted at him, taking him off guard.
"Your death had such an impact on me, it made me forget everything. I erased years of my life. I learned the hard way that my mind is different, my capacity is not the same as the rest of the kids. So if you want to hate on me, do it. I deserve it. But don't you dare tell me I killed you because that is not true! You did not die because of me or by my hands! I was six years old! I was sick, I still am! And these are not excuses, they're my truths. I did not kill you! Im not a killer, I would never, ever! I fucking loved you! I don't remember it now but I have no doupt that it was like that! Why the hell would I kill the person I loved the most?! I would not- How could I-" And then I broke down.
Vicious, violent sobs racked my whole entire frame as I felt everything inside of me twist painfully. And for a moment, a split second moment I saw his eyes. They held years of sadness, they told me that they wanted to hold me in his arms and protect me from everything. With teary eyes and with his head held down, he left, having finished untying me. I involunterally fell forward, landing on my knees. I held myself as I cried.
For everything I lost.
For everything I did not have.
For the absent love of my brother.
For my broken shell.
For my absent father.
For the hell I called life.
I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder.
"Get up kiddo, you ain't quitting on my account." A voice spoke.
I looked up through my wet eyelashes to see a man I never thought I'd never see again.
"Daddy?" I said in disbelief.
My father knelt down, meeting my gaze, and patted my hair. I let out a shaky breath as I suddenly gripped his hand for dear life as if he were to disappear any second.
He wasen't that old but he had wrinkles starting to form on his face, red hair and brown eyes.
"Dad, wh-why are you-" I started to say but he cut me off, wiping my tears away with his calloused, cold hand.
"I don't have much time. Sweetheart, the key to finding your forgotten memories is in Juniper, the six year old." He said as he looked at me intently, making sure I had his full attention.
I frowned.
"W-Wait, what does she have to in all of this?" I asked, my voice hoarse and unrecognizable even in my own ears.
"She holds all of your memories. You must find her and make her stay with you." He said and I manged nodded.
"Daddy, why didin't you tell me my brother's name? Why did you lie to mom, Aunt G, to everyone?"
"Honey, you might not understand this now, but your brother wasen't stable. Giving you a name would have never solved the curse." He said.
"What do you mean?" I asked.
"This was going to happen, whether or not the incident in the lake went down." He said.
"I dont understand-"
I was cut off by rumbling. Suddenly the whole place started shaking violently.
"Dad! What's going on?!" I asked in a frantic voice. I felt as if the walls would break down and crash on top of me in any second.
"There coming, there coming!" He exclaimed as he pulled me to my feet.
"Who's-" I was interrupted again, this time by howls. I looked over my shoulder to see the shadows, the ones who had left the bruises on my arms all those months ago, slowly floating towards us, hissing and baring their pointy looking teeth.
"Look in my study, use code 239. You have to go now!" He said hurriedly as he supported all my weight, helping me walk on my wobbly feet. He led me to the wall on the far side of the room. It had opened up, revealing a black hole big enough for slenderman to fit in.
"Go through there, you'll be safe I promise!" He said while trying to push me but I woudin't let him. I turned around and met his eyes as water pooled out of mine again.
"No, Dad wait! I- I have so many things to tell you. Im-Im sorry if I was a disappointment, that I wasen't enough to make you stop your addiction! I-I miss you so much, I just want you to be proud of me! I wish you were here, I need you, so so much, I-" my words came out rushes, and desperate as the shadows closed in on us.
My father cut me off by hugging me tightly against his chest, caressing my hair and making me shock back a sob as I held onto him, not wanting to let go.
"Juniper, I love you so so much. You were never a dissapointment and what I did has nothing to do with you. Like your brother and like you, I wasen't mentally stable. I gave up, took the easy way out, I ran out of strength. I was too gone, too far out, nobody could have saved me even if they tried. My sweet little girl, I am always with you, every second of the day. Your such a strong young woman, a true fighter. You, my sweet child, are better than any of us. You will do great things in your life, get so far, be so happy. You may not see it, the shine, the lighy within you, but I do. Its been with you since the moment you were born, and it has only magnified as time went on. You are my greatest pride and you will always be it. No matter the diagnoses, no matter what people say or what you think of yourself, I love you and im so very proud of you. Never forget that!" He whispered roughly in my ear.
Then, giving me no time to react, he pulled away and then shoved me as the shadows grabbed him from behind, clawing at his skin. I screamed for him, my hands outstretched towards him as I fell down fast.
"BE STRONG!" His voice grunted out, then I heard him scream loudly in pain as my vision went dark and my surroundings disappeared.
"DAD!"
I sat upright on my bed, clutching the sheets and my chest, gasping for air, my chest going up and down.
"Hey! Hey, its okay, it was just a dream! Its alright J." A voice told me and I turned my head to see a shirtless Tyler, who had his hands my shoulders, rubbing them slightly in efforts to calm me down.
My eyes darted everywhere, making sure I wasen't still dreaming. It was still pitch black outside, ans the clock read 4:15am. I was in my room at Aunt G's, with my boyfriend. I was fine, I was okay, I was alright...
"Baby, what's wrong? Talk to me J." Tyler insisted, visibly worried for me.
My eyes filled with tears as I thought about my father, my old man. The things he said to me, how he hugged me so tight, it felt so real.
I tried to speak, to say something, but dissolved into sobs. Tyler wasted no time pulling me into his arms, holding me tightly against his chest while running his fingers through my hair.
"H-He was there! M-My dad was there! I-It felt s-so real-" I managed to say through my painfull gasps.
I-I mi-miss him s-s-so mu-much." I whispered in pain.
"I know you do baby, I know." He whispered softly at me as I clung to him for dear life, my grief threatening to swallow me whole.
"I-It hurts Ty." I whimpered, still sobbing though not as bad as before.
"Its okay. Just let it all out, let it all go."
I suddenly pulled back my face to meet his. "Pro-Promise me you w-wont leave me."
He shook his head and kissed my forhead, still hugging me tight. "Never, not in a million years. I'm right here, I'll always be here for you no matter what." I hid my face in his shoulder. He was so warm, and for that I grateful.
I cried as if I had just found out my father has passed. The fact that he wasen't there with me, that he would never walk me down the isle at my weeding, meet his grandchildren, it hurt like hell. But Tyler was there for me. He stayed up with me, probably until five something in the morning, whispering sweet nothings in my ear, holding me tightly, and reminding me how much he loved me, and how he would always be there for me, until I finally dozed off.
Edited