Her mouth was parched and her long almost black hair was tangled around her neck. Juliette shifted in bed and accidentally bumped into Krista. She heard her moan sleepily. She waited another few seconds and then slowly and carefully got out of her bed. After she pulled the comforter up and over Krista's shoulders, she turned around and looked at herself in the mirror.

Yanking at the hair still clinging to her collarbone, Juls reached for a hair clip on the top of her dresser. She swept her hair up into a neat bun, with little effort, and she managed to somehow look like a radiant raven-haired ballerina after a long and strenuous rehearsal.

She exited her room quietly, softly shut her bedroom door behind her, and went to the kitchen for a much needed glass of water.

Once she had a glass of water, an almond butter and chocolate chunk granola bar, and a Granny Smith apple placed on a wooden tray, she headed on over to the living room with her tray and launched Netflix.

She set the tray on top of her criss-crossed legs and frowned faintly as she searched through countless shows. About three minutes and a few bites of her apple and a fine swig of her water, Juliette finally decided on what she had watched the last time she was on Netflix—she needed something funny and light, so she opted for Friends.

Snorting with hushed laughter and straining to hear the actors since she didn't want to wake up the whole house, she giggled the most at Chandler and Phoebe and finished her granola bar with a smile on her face.

Just as the show ended and the countdown started for the next one to play, Juliette sworn she could have heard a laugh.

Chills went down her spine, as she shuddered to think of what had happened the other night. She set the tray down on the couch cushion next to her and crossed her arms around herself tightly. The broken coffee table was still in the same spot, unmoved. An eerie reminder of one dark and crazy night.

She let out a long sigh, and combed the ends of her locks with open fingers and as she did so over and over, she heard the same laugh again only this time it registered as laughter that without a doubt was coming from her twin.

Juliette knew she had one of two choices to make.

She could leave Jude alone and give him space. Perhaps he was having another crying fit and it had turned into a laughing fit of sorts. She did not want to be his guide through a crying fit again. Last night exhausted her. She loved her brother with all her heart, but she also knew she had to take care of herself, too.

Or perhaps he was feeling better and she should go in his room to give him a hug and offer to make him some breakfast.

She shook her head quickly at just the thought of the latter. She knew it couldn't possibly be true. At all.

She sighed again, more measured this time, and got up from the couch. It really wasn't up to her after all. Juliette had to go down into the basement and check on her brother.

As she descended the stairs, the first thing she noticed was the dim lighting, which wasn't peculiar for Jude's room. He didn't have any windows. What was odd is that the glow of his nightlight was brighter than usual. 

She wondered straight away why the room was brighter and then she heard him laugh again but this time it was more of a guffaw, and this time she almost thought it wasn't even Jude at all. The guffaw was infectious and joyful and pleasing to the ear. It even made her smile.

As Juls turned towards his bed after making her way down the final step, she froze in fear when she saw a tennis ball speed past her vision—only it looked like it had been thrown by the wall.

With not really any time to think, she lunged for Jude and tried to block the ball from hitting his chest. He had been jumping up and down on his bed like a mad man.

The yellow ball ended up hitting her in the shoulder and she shrieked in fright. It didn't particularly hurt that bad, but the quickness of it made her panic.

She winced and brought her hand to her shoulder. It was starting to hurt after all. She looked down and could see the ball rolling on the floor, abandoned.

Jude let out a sound similar to a boy that has had his television switched off by his mother. He also crossed his arms in front of his bare chest and sunk down onto his bed.

Juliette squinted her eyes and said, "You stink, bro."

"Why did ya have to come in here for? I was playing a game."

"Like what? Freaky Scary Ghoul Ball? What the hell, Jude? What was that?"

"I don't know," he answered her honestly. "But you know what? I don't really care either. I was having fun with...it."

"It?" Juliette felt shivers go down the entire length of her body. "Don't say that! You're freaking me out!"

Jude began to laugh again only this time it was more of a snicker. A wicked snicker.

"Shut up," she frowned and sat down on his bed beside him. She placed her hand on his shoulder and looked into his hooded and dark eyes. "How about turning a light on, huh?"

He rolled his eyes, got up from the bed, and switched on the tall lamp he had set up in the corner of his room.

As he made his way back to sit next to her, Juliette asked, "Did it scare you?"

"No. Not at all."

He looked down at his hands in his lap and brought his arm up.

"Wow. I do stink. Sorry."

This time both twins laughed.

"Go take a shower, please. Even though I need one, too, you can go first."

He was just about to get up and do as she instructed for a change, when Juls put her hand on his arm and whispered, "Do think it is still...here...with us?"

"I don't know. Why? Want me to ask it? Hey! Whoever you are! Are you still---"

"Hush, Jude! No, no, don't do that!"

"Why? What's the matter. Whatever whoever it is, it can't be that bad. Actually," he looked over at the tennis ball on the floor close to the stairs, "it's pretty cool. I like it."

"You," Juliette almost could not piece her words together she was so astonished by what Jude had said. "You like it? What are you talking about?"

"I like it. I really do."

Juliette shook her head from side to side and scratched an area just below her ear. She bit the inside of her lip and thought about how to word the next thing she needed to say.

"Jude."

"Yes. I am Jude."

"Oh. Thanks for clearing that up. Jude, what happened last night?"

He opened his eyes wide and blinked several times. He brought his hands up into his hair and smoothed his loose curls back and away from his face. Juliette got a glimpse of his entire face when he did so, which was nice since she hardly ever saw all of it anymore.

"Whatever it was protected Uncle Andy and then it scared the crap out of me. And then it threw a tennis ball back and forth with me."

"Yes. I know that. What I mean is...what happened to you last night?"

Jude's shoulders slumped down really low and exhaled painfully. He shut his eyes. Juliette waited for what seemed like longer than a few minutes and she was about to smack his arm when Jude finally spoke up.

"I think I broke down."

She nodded resolutely before she spoke, "Yes. I think so, too. Do you want to talk about it?"

Actually, here, right now, in his room, was the most the twins had talked to each other in years.

"Okay."

Jude's answer, which did not take him long to voice at all, surprised both himself and his twin.

"Okay," Juliette said. She turned her body to face his and just as she did so Jude did the same as well. They looked like mirror images of each other.

Legs criss-crossed, hands in their laps and shoulders slumped just a little so that they could see each other better. Of course, Jude was slouched down lower---he was taller than Juls.

"Where should I start?"

Juliette pouted and brought her shoulders up, "Beats me, bro."

He swallowed and looked up at the ceiling.

Juliette took this opportunity to touch a curl of his hair that had fallen in his face while he was thinking. His hair had gotten so long. The longest it had ever been. She touched his hair and smiled. It was softer than her hair. She was delighted to know that.

Jude smiled faintly at her before beginning, "Maybe I should start with the fact that I had been drinking most of the evening. And night. With that blonde I brought over."

"Yeah, I remember her. Continue."

"Okay. Well, " he wavered for a second about what to say to her but then he just let it all out, "I brought her over so we could hook up—"

"Gross!"

"Not gross, actually. A lot of fun. But, whatever, Juls. I brought her over and I remember my key sticking in the lock or something. Man, she was all over me. So there I was just trying to get the key in the lock so we could inside. Her hands were all over me. So, we get into the house and Uncle Andy is still on the couch. Of course, we wake him up," Jude eyes looked above him for only a second before he continued, "and I just, well, I don't remember what I said, at all. I'm sure I was tryin' to get the girl in my room so I could get down her pants—"

"Jude!"

"What? It's a lot of fun," he smirked, putting his hair behind his ears, "I swear. Anyways. I was being a dickhead and then Candy, he put his hand on me, on my arm or something," Jude's eyes looked as if they were running away from him then, "and I just lost it. I lost it all. I just got so fed up with everything. Everything seemed so...not worth any of it. I yelled," Jude's eyes welled up with tears, "I yanked him around."

Juliette brought her hand to his and he held it tight. He swept at a tear falling down his face with his other hand. "I said such horrible things to him, Juls. And I just couldn't stop. I don't know why. At some point," he licked his lips and looked down at Juliette's hand in his, "At some point what I was spewing at him actually made me feel really good.

It felt like something was opening up inside of me. And then, when I saw his reaction, when I saw his eyes getting all misty, him standing there looking like I was a monster, it was like blackness fell over me and I just wanted someone to hurt. So...  I tried to hurt Candy."

He could not hold back his tears anymore then and Juliette completely forgot about what she had thought earlier. She did not care if she had to stay with him in his bed all day and talk this through with him. Jude was her twin and he would have done the same for her. No matter what.

Between sobs Juls could tell that Jude hadn't probably slept that well after all. His eyes were bloodshot as she saw new tears rolling down his cheeks. She sensed that all he really needed to do right now was stop talking and sleep.

"Come here," she inched her way up his bed and motioned for him to lay down next to her.

"Want me to do the hair thing for ya?"

"Okay," he shrugged as he wiped at his nose and slunk down onto his pillow. He rolled onto his side, away from her, and added, "but only if you want to."

"Ssssh," was all Juliette said before she lowered herself onto her side as well, with her face looking at the back of his head.

She started at the crown of his head and stroked his hair from there to just past his ear and then she repeated the slow motion over and over.

As she did so, Jude's crying lessened and his breathing slowed. Shortly thereafter he fell asleep, but she didn't stop. She kept going and if anyone were able to hover above them and see the sight of the two of them together, perhaps that person would see what it would have been like to share the womb with someone you will never stop loving.

A/N:

Wow. Can you believe it? A new chapter. I didn't get any queries about my absence, so I hope no one is angry with me. Life happens, ya know? In my case, though, distractions of epic proportions happen, too. Ha. Ha. Ha.

Okay. I'm a little nutty because the other night I started a tag book and I was up late reading and yadda yadda yadda, who cares. I also...omg...told all my facebook friends about my Wattpad account. I still get nervous thinking about it now.

Say nice things about me, alright, folks? I have people I know reading this now. Well, hopefully. Who knows if they'll really be into it. You know what, though? I'm super glad ya'll are!!!

Vote and/or comment if you feel moved to.

The final image of this chapter---I had it in mind for so so so so long. I'm so happy it's finally written!

I loved writing this chapter. It spilled out of me and took me about an hour to write. Go figure. Almost three weeks away from this book and it only takes me an hour to write his chapter. Weird.

I love you all so much!!

Xoxo

Leanne

P. S. The song I attached is Daniel Jonhs' "Dissolve"... I have a major fangirl problem at the moment. Please excuse me, but I swear if you listen you'll be able to see why I chose it for this chappie. Thanks! (Please, say you love him, too!)