"I can't," Despaired Juliet, staring out of her sister's bedroom window at the street below, her cell phone caged loosely in her fingers. It felt like if she lost concentration for a second the phone would drop from her hands onto the carpet.
"Yes you can," Encouraged Marian from where she sat on her bed.
As soon as Sam had left their house, Juliet had gone straight to Marian and discussed everything with her, asking her for advice on what she should do. And after a thirty minute long phone call with Kent the both of them had eventually convinced Juliet to call the number, but she was still unsure. Everything that had happened in the last two hours was so overwhelming she could barely register that it had happened. She finally had the answers she'd been waiting for, and Samantha Kingston no longer wanted to hurt her, only help her. This was confusing enough as is, but there was the added fact that Sam seemed to actually know what she was talking about, and saw solutions to Juliet's endless misery that she herself could not. One part of her told her not to do it, that they'd been through too much for there to ever be any positive relationship between them and that she owed Sam nothing, but the other part was telling her that not taking this opportunity could prove to be a choice she regretted.
"I don't know what to say to her," Confessed Juliet, who was now beginning to pace around Marian's room. She could feel her palms start to sweat, her cell phone becoming slippery in her hands. She almost wanted to throw the thing across the room.
From on her bed, Marian let out a quiet sigh as she watched her sister's distressed pacing. She wished she could help her make better sense of it all but it was just as baffling for her. That accident had turned everything messy and all she wanted to do was make it a little easier for Juliet as she stumbled blindly though it, but she didn't know how.
"Just tell her that you're willing to let her try and help," suggested Marian, toying with a loose thread on the blanket draped over the end of her bed. "She seemed genuine enough earlier."
"But that's the thing, I don't know if I can trust her," Whittled Juliet, her blue eyes wide and brimming with confusion.
"Don't trust her, make her earn it," Marian replied almost instantly, a much sterner tone to her voice. If were down to her, Marian thought, she would manipulate this girls guilt as much as she could for what she'd done to her sister, but it wasn't. It was Juliet's choice on how to handle this, and she and Marian were rather different in this aspect. And as long as she doesn't try to act like nothing has happened Marian could be supportive. "If she really wants to help then she'll prove herself."
"Ok." Juliet nodded in agreement, hair coming loose from behind her ears and falling in her eyes. She stopped pacing, standing still for a second before sitting down on the edge of her sister's bed. Setting the cell phone down beside her, Juliet glanced over at Marian for reassurance and was met with an encouraging smile. Juliet then unlocked her phone, pulled the crumpled piece of paper with Sam's number written on it out of her pocket, and dialled.
When the phone rings I expect it to be Kent, but when I look at the screen I see that it's an unsaved number. Something jumps in my chest as I think that it might be Juliet, but I'm also questioning whether she would call this soon. I answer on the third ring, anticipating the sound of the voice on the other end.
"Hey," A soft voice on the other end says. It's too quiet to recognise right away, but I think that suggests that it's her.
"Juliet? Is that you?" I ask the person, because I want to be certain.
"Yes," The voice on the other end answers timidly. A burst of warmth spreads through my chest and I let out a happy sigh.
"I'm so glad you called. What's up?" I say, possibly a little too enthusiastic but I don't really care, this means that I must've got through to her this afternoon, whether she's calling to accept my help or to tell me to leave her alone, it means that she listened to what I said today.
"I've thought a lot about what you said earlier," She explains, her voice wavering a little less this time.
"Yeah," I encourage her to continue, picking at the fluff on one of my pillows. I'm anxious to hear what she's going to say next. I really want her to let me help, and not entirely out of guilt, I want to use this opportunity to get to know her. I feel like I should see her for who she really is and not how other people think of her, I think she deserves to have people like me see the real her.
"And I decided that I'm going to let you help me, if you think you can," She says, and I can feel the relief and happiness sink into my body, I almost forget how much pain I'm in for a second.
"Oh that's great," I beam down the phone, surprised laughter swirling between my words.
"But," she adds sternly, causing me to fall silent. She continues "But I want to get a few things straight first."
"Ok, sure," I agree, my voice a little quieter this time. It's my turn to listen to her now.
"First of all, things won't magically change overnight," She begins. "I haven't forgotten what you've done and I won't either. You want me to trust you then you're going to have to prove that I can."
Her voice is strong and stern, much more confident than when she started this phone call so timidly. It takes me a second to realise how much strength this must be taking her, how easy it would've been for her to just tell me to leave her alone, but instead she's letting me in and not being too afraid to set boundaries, letting me know that it's her calling the shots. It makes me admire her a little bit.
"I expected nothing less," I tell her. "I never expected anything immediate and I know that I'm a long way off being trustworthy, but I am willing to work to prove that you can trust me." I swear I hear her let out a sigh of relief on the other end.
"Secondly I want to know what your plan is for school," She continues to explain her terms. "Are you going to act the same in school as you are out of school or is this going to become some sort of dirty little secret?"
"Understandable," I respond, ready to give her my answer. "I plan on keeping it consistent. Me and Kent are going to go public shamelessly as soon as I'm back, and if anyone has any questions about why I'm suddenly so different I'm prepared to answer them. Including ones about you."
"And the last one," she says, and I hear a slight wobble in the confidence in her voice.
"Yeah," I encourage her to continue.
"You can't tell anyone," she definitely sounds a lot softer now, more vulnerable. "About what really happened."
"No, of course I won't," I reassure her immediately, feeling slightly guilty that she felt the need to tell me not to in the first place. I've kept enough secrets for my friends, and I would never purposefully tell anyone her secret about the night of the accident.
"But I want you to understand that things at school might not be as simple as they should be, that people are going to be suspicious," I tell her. While I won't tell anybody the truth about that night, people are going to be asking all sorts of questions when I go back. Kent's only told me a handful of the rumours surrounding the accident that have been passed around school and responsibility is going to fall on me to confirm or deny them. The two of us are tangled up in this mess in a way that we can't comfortably get out, and while I want to make things easier for her, god knows she deserves it, I just can't.
"I know," she answers, a little flatly but still understanding.
"It's going to be okay," I reassure her, wishing I could know for certain. "I want to make sure you get better."
"Thanks," She says softly, I can almost picture her smiling.
"Also I'm back at school on Monday, just so you know," I inform her, quickly thinking of it as I realise that our conversation is coming to an end. The line goes silent for a second.
"Ok," Juliet eventually replies. "See you then, I guess."
"See you then," I respond. "Bye."
I hear a soft bye in response and then the phone call ends.