Ch. 18 Frenemies
Jennifer had to catch her breath after dealing with those mannequins.
Mrs. Mary was an absolute psychopath. And not just a psychopath but a satanic one. And because of all that, was Mrs. Mary possessed herself? Of course she was! How else would she be able to cast a spell if Satan himself wasn't inside of her?
Jennifer grabbed her chest and squat down on the ground against the door. She took a couple, deep breaths until she felt like she had recovered enough. Jennifer used her remaining energy to pull herself up. But first, she needed to go back and check on Anne. Surely she was ok, right? Jennifer found that room and spotted Anne again.
Anne was still standing by the window.
"Anne?" said Jennifer realizing that she didn't move.
"Jennifer…..I'd thought you'd be back." Her arms were folded.
"Huh?" Jennifer felt confused about Anne's reaction. 'Shouldn't she be glad I just saved her?' she said to herself. "Anne what are you talking about?"
"I've seen how you got all smoochy with Joshy." Anne made a mean face.
Jennifer immediately got offended by Anne's mockery of Joshua. "Whoa! Whoa! Whoa! Don't call him Joshy! His name is Joshua or call him Josh!"
"Oh did I offend your 'boyfriend'!" teased Anne making the quote unquote gesture.
"Boyfriend? He's not my boyfriend!" said Jennifer although she would love for him to be her boyfriend.
"Oh really? I saw him kiss you out there in the backyard as I looked out the window earlier." said Anne.
"You were watching us?" asked Jennifer in disbelief.
"Oh course!...Joshua never wanted to kiss me though. I guess I'm not pretty enough!" said Anne.
'You are pretty enough. Probably prettier than me. But you're a jerk and that makes you ugly. At least I try to be a good friend.' Jennifer said in her head. She wanted to tell her that so bad but held it in. She shook her head. "I can't believe you Anne! Don't you know what's going on in this place? Don't you care about the others? This mansion, Mrs. Mary and scissorman are all possessed! Mrs. Mary casted a spell on this mansion and we've got to figure out how to remove the curse before it's too late! I just saved your life from scissorman and you didn't even have the guts thank me! But you had the guts to rant about a random kiss? I knew you were selfish Anne but I didn't think you'd be this selfish!" Jennifer then sat on the couch and looked at the fireplace.
Anne was astonished. She couldn't believe Jennifer had stood up to her like that. As much as Anne was offended, she didn't have anything to defend against. She thought about what Jennifer said and came to her senses.
Jennifer was right. It was a big slap in the face, but Anne deserved it since she was so ungrateful for what Jennifer had just done for her. Jennifer let scissorman chase after her a second time (despite her being terrified) in order to let Anne escape before she was to be thrown out the window. That's something only a real friend would do. So apparently, Jennifer had proven herself as a very, good friend.
Anne was being ridiculous. She was thinking only about herself and not realizing how much danger their lives were all in. And as much as Anne hated to admit it, Jennifer was right about her. Anne sighed and looked at Jennifer watching the fireplace. She had been a bad friend…or more like a frenemy. "Um….Jennifer?"
Jennifer turned her head towards Anne.
"Um…..I'm sorry." confessed Anne looking sad.
Without saying anything, Jennifer looked at her for a brief moment and then turned back to the fireplace.
"Listen Jennifer…. I'm really sorry about my attitude and….." Anne began.
Jennifer sighed to ignore her.
When Anne realized that Jennifer wasn't listening, she decided to walk over to her. She bent down to look at her directly. "Jennifer?"
Jennifer looked at Anne again but this time had tears in her eyes.
Despite their relationship, Anne didn't realize the pain Jennifer was feeling deep down inside. She even felt sorry for her…but not too sorry. Anne was still Anne. However she did respond to Jennifer's pain. "Jennifer I'm so sorry. I was just jealous because I've always liked Joshua too and he never seemed to like me. I guess I was being too selfish." She then gave Jennifer a hug.
Through her pain, Jennifer gathered the guts to hug Anne back. In tears she responded with, "It's ok…..we're going to get through this. But we need to get to the bottom of this mansion and find out what's really going on behind the scenes."
Both sat there hugging each other and stared at the roaring flame. It was around 8:30 that night. Jennifer and Anne may not always get along but deep down, they still cared for each other.