Kitty
Chelsea was feeling well enough to drive the next morning, the wounds on her body already looking ten times better than the day before. I caught her hugging Nina as I packed the tent into the back of the SUV, whispered words passing between them; I'm sure she was telling Nina she didn't blame her for hiding. Thomas sat up front while I took the middle seat, letting Jules sleep beside me with Nina tucked into my side, snoring the day away. We all felt safer on the road so I'm sure they were taking full advantage of the peace and quiet for the rest of the journey.
"Where should we go first?" Chelsea asked, a question I'd been pondering myself for a while.
"Delilah's," I suggested, glancing to my left, "I want her to look Jules over. Make sure something isn't...wrong."
"Yeah I was thinking about that too," Thomas mumbled, "if Operator brought her back there might be some kind of catch."
"For all we know she could be a proxy in disguise. I'd like to rule it out," I said under my breath, "I'm sure she'll be happy to see us, too."
"What are we going to do about her? The whole world thinks she's dead."
"That's probably the best thing for her right now," I told Tom, "she could start a new life. Away from us."
Chelsea and Thomas glanced back at me with narrowed gazes as we finally crossed state lines into Oregon. I loved Jules, so much so that even having her back was far too dangerous for her in my opinion. Would I have gladly taken her back under any other circumstance? Yes, but with Thomas, Nina, and I all being wanted killers...I just couldn't see forcing her to stay with us.
"I think I know how Jeff felt now, when things first started with he and I," I sniffled to myself as I tried to hold back tears, "when you love someone so much you only want the best for them. I can say I am far, far from the best. She deserves so much more than this life we've been living. What the hell am I gonna do with her?"
There was and unspoken understanding in their voices while they continued to whisper, my own thoughts muddling my mind until we finally reached the end of our journey. The sign for Silver Cove appeared just as Jules stirred, blinking until she focused on the familiar buildings we passed by. My heart slammed against my ribs and my throat squeezed while I remembered the last time we were all here, just a bunch of teenagers trying to make it to graduation.
Chelsea wound through town until we approached the little house tucked into the woods, her truck in the driveway and her lights on indicating that she was home. Jules seemed a little wary but I knew she was happy to be here and not fucking off in some other state in the middle of winter. Thomas pulled his key from his bag and unlocked the door, the smell of sage and cinnamon washing over me and bringing with it a hazy kind of comfort, like I could finally let my guard down.
"Delilah! Delly!" Thomas called out and to our surprise a patchy tabby cat came trotting down the hall, bell jingling with each step before the witch herself emerged from her bedroom.
"Oh, you guys are—!" She brightened up until she saw the familiar stranger, to which her face then paled considerably as she froze. "J-Juliette?"
"Hey Delilah," she laughed from behind me, a wide smile crossing her face before she stepped forward. Delilah took a moment to reach out but she took Jules's hands in her own before she cracked a teary smile.
"Juliette, oh my God but— but how—?"
She glanced back over at us and her eyes landed on me, that mossy green filling with a sadness I'm sure was mirrored in my own irises. She hurriedly moved to wrap her arms around me and the warmth seeped into the cold corners around the edges of my body. When I pulled away she already knew what had happened, I could see it in the tears that washed over her cheeks.
"Jeff took his own bounty," Thomas explained as I choked back a sob, "he promised anything to the collector so Jeff tried to fix his mistake."
"Oh Kitty, Kit-Kat I'm so sorry." She squeezed me tighter before pulling away.
"Del, we need you to check and see if there's anything different about her," Chelsea piped up and Jules furrowed her eyebrows in confusion, "you know, since Operator's about as trustworthy as a broken bridge."
"Ah, no you're right to be suspicious, necromancy is a very delicate magic, even I don't dabble that far." Delilah nodded. "All of you settle in, Jules honey you take the armchair. I promise this won't hurt."
"O-Okay..."
Jules took a cautious seat in the armchair while Thomas moved to bring in our bags, Delilah greeting Nina with open arms and offering food, as per usual, while she grabbed for something from the cupboard. Meanwhile the strange cat had taken a seat on the counter and I ran a hand over his head, seeing a fresh collar with the name 'Grinny' on the tag. He seemed pretty friendly at least until Thomas came back in and he cracked a human looking smile.
"Delly, I don't like that thing!" He recoiled, making a noise of disgust before he dropped our bags.
"Grinny is harmless! He's just got a touch of magic is all," she scolded him as she passed by with a container of salt, "good thing I was planning on vacuuming tonight..."
"What is it we're looking for, exactly?" Jules asked worriedly as I dropped down onto the couch.
"Making sure your soul or your body hasn't been corrupted by bringing you back," she explained as she circled the chair, pulling a book off of the shelf and moving to stand in front of her while she traced something in the air, a floating symbol casting a red glow upon her freckled skin. She sucked in a sharp breath as Delilah placed it on her chest, panic ensuing before the witch offered a satisfied nod and a smile.
"What's the verdict?" I asked, watching her snap the book shut.
"All is well in the neighborhood. She's clean as a whistle. Operator might be stingy but he's usually honest."
"Thank God," I let out a deep breath I'd been holding as Delilah replaced the book and held a hand out to Jules.
"It's good to have you home honey. I'm sure they've already explained to you that things are a lot different."
"They've definitely tried," she laughed, "glad to see you're still pretty much the same. I didn't know you were actually a full blown witch though."
"I've been a witchy woman for quite a few thousand years now," she waved Jules off with a jingling laugh while she balked at the passing comment, "come on, sit, I'll whip something up for us."
"Hey, Kitty," Thomas got my attention as he emerged from the bedroom without a shirt on, scabs and lacerations plainly visible. "Chelsea and I are hopping in the shower but it's all yours when we're done."
"Thank you, I definitely need it."
I walked to the dining room to find Nina happily peeling a bowl of potatoes with a knife at the table while Delilah pulled some things out of the fridge, a pot already on the stove, ready to go. I squeezed past her to reach into the pantry while Jules sat down to help, her eyes flickering every now and then to Nina's face while my cousin really seemed not to mind. In fact, she seemed a lot happier with the way she looked now. I'd never seen her smile so much.
"Jules, want a drink?" I offered as I grabbed for a bottle of rum from Thomas's stash.
"I...think I'm good, actually," she admitted sheepishly, "probably better I let all this sink in before I start drinking again."
"Whatever floats your boat darlin'," I winked before plucking the cap away, taking a few large drinks on a somewhat empty stomach before my body shivered in protest.
"Oh, Nina dear I saw your amber alert on the news," Delilah called over her shoulder as she placed some bacon on the pan, "you looked a lot different. Decide to cover your tracks?"
"Not necessarily," she admitted, her cheeks painting with a pink blush, "those kids kidnapped my brother and threw him out of a moving car. I wanted to finally settle the score and invited Claudia to a showdown but she arrived with her two goons and pulled a gun on me. Can you really blame me?" Nina snorted, flipping the paring knife around flawlessly as Jules watched. "Claudia dumped bleach on me and set me on fire trying to get rid of me. Not that easy to kill Nina, just turned me into Jeff's little-lookalike. Kitty handled the rest."
"You really do look like him," Delilah laughed warmly, "I still can't believe he willingly handed himself over like that. Operator doesn't play games, he's going to learn real quick what his boundaries are."
"Yeah I can't believe it either," I sighed, dropping my head on the table while the rum warmed me up, "fuckin' dumbass...you sound like you know a lot about this guy, Del."
"He and I have a sordid sort of past. Once upon a time he and I were actually pretty close, he was a good friend, taught me more than my mother could. That's ancient history, though."
The bathroom door creaked open down the hall and I jumped to my feet, taking another drink before I dug through my bag and found a change of clothes. I smacked Thomas on the way back while he swore at me, a playful snicker flying over my shoulder before I closed the door tightly behind me. It was still warm in here from the prior occupants and I started the water up, peeling partially bloodstained clothes from my skin before I stepped in and let the water wash away the remnants of this shitty, shitty day.
I'd been halfway through trying to shampoo my hair when my legs began to tremble beneath me. Every time I turned around I expected to see Jeff's pale body, my name tattooed over his heart and my necklace hanging right beside it. The tears started flowing without warning and suddenly I found myself hunched over on the shower floor, clutching my knees to my chest while I cried uncontrollably. This isn't fair. I just got him back, after all those months, all those close calls. I didn't know when I was going to see him again either was the worst part. At least when I disappeared I had a set date in mind but this...this was all wrong.
The warm, boozy feeling eventually started to fade and I let the water wash my face free of any evidence before I stepped out into the room. I wiped away the mist on the mirror and as I dried myself off I spotted my favorite tattoo in the glass, the little typewriter 'J' inside a thin-lined heart on his favorite place to grab. A laugh echoed from my chest as I choked everything back again, the whispers in my head crying with me. This isn't fair, he should be here! I'm going to kill that monster!
When I finally got ahold of myself I walked out of the bathroom and joined everyone else around the table, the smell of Delilah's famous potato soup and homemade garlic bread making my stomach roar for the first time in ages. Everything was tantalizingly tasty and while I enjoyed an actual meal for the first time in weeks my stomach just felt off. I tried to join them in their laughter but now that we were here, all together, I couldn't help but think about how alone I really felt.