There was a light knock on my hotel room door way past ten and I frowned, thinking about who could possibly be there at this time.
I got off the bed where I was previously snuggled under the warm covers and watching a movie because I was bored and didn’t want to sleep yet.
I opened the door and found Heather on the other side. She was dressed in shorts and a dark brown sweater.
“Can I come in?” She asked and I opened the door wider.
“Of course.”
She walked in and went to sit straight on my bed. “So I’ve been thinking about something. Honestly, the thought never crossed my mind until now. I don’t know if you will agree or not and you don’t have to, just know that it would be best if you did agree.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.” I took a seat next to her.
Heather crossed her legs. “I think you should reveal yourself to the world as Alistair Jenson’s daughter.”
For a minute I just stared at her. Surely I heard her wrong?
“You mean go out there? Tell the media my made up story? Tell them that I’m Juliet?” I asked, taking a seat next to her.
“It’s necessary that you do. I was just passing by Juliet’s parents rooms and I heard voices and they were talking about you. They are starting to suspect, Julie.”
“What did they say?” I asked, furrowing my eyebrows in worry.
“Well, Charlotte was just telling Alistair how she finds it odd that it’s being a month and a half and still Juliet refuses to make her return official. Alistair was just trying to come up with a reason for that, telling her that it might be possibly because you are afraid of the attention you’ll get and let me tell you that is so not like Juliet.”
“What do you mean?”
“Juliet is an attention whore, to he honest. She likes the media attention and never missed a chance to pose for the paparazzi and answer any questions that they might ask.”
“Why did Juliet have to be like that?” I groaned.
“She didn’t seem to mind reporters following her around as much as we did. In fact she even liked that.” Heather added. “My friend is one of a kind. It’s really strange for her family to accept that she is afraid of that because she’s more than used to that kind of attention.”
“Do I really have to do that?”
Heater shrugged. “I’m afraid you don’t have a choice.”
“But no, there might be a way. If Charlotte asks me, I’ll just say that I’m still not used to it and they’ll understand, right?”
“That doesn’t sound too convincing. Look, Charlotte and Alistair are trying really hard to keep you away from the media but it won’t last long. Everyone is getting very curious about why the family is acting weird and secretive. Soon someone will actually know about you and then it won’t even take a day for the whole world to know about it. The birthday party didn’t help either. It was so extravagant and so guarded and on Juliet’s birthday, there are already news circulating that the runaway daughter had been found. So it doesn’t matter if you show yourself or not. Also there were some people in the party who can’t be trusted completely. I knew I should’ve seen the guest list, damn it. But all things aside, if anyone of those intentionally or unintentionally reveals the news, then you don’t have much of choice.”
“I’m tired of how much I’m reminded about not having a choice.”
“I’m sorry. I know you must be feeling very lost but I want you to know that there are people ready to support you and help you out. There’s Amelia, Olivia and me too. We’ll always guide you. You’re not alone.” She extended a hand and put it on my shoulder awkwardly to give me some comfort.
My shoulders sagged in defeat. “Thank you.”
Silence enveloped us as I took time to process everything. Eventually, I decided to break it. “What if the world doesn’t believe my lie.”
Heather glanced at me. “The world already believes a lot of lies, Julie. This one doesn’t make much of a difference.”
“And what about Juliet? I’m sure that she’ll get to know about me too.”
“That’s what I had been thinking about. It never occurred to me until now. How could I be so stupid? I’m her best friend.”
“What?”
“Juliet doesn’t pay attention to news. She never reads newspapers or any articles. She doesn’t watch news on TV. I’m pretty sure she didn’t start watching now. There’s no way she’d know about you.”
I looked at her skeptically. “What if someone told her?”
Heather filled her eyes. “She doesn’t have any friends there. She didn’t make any.”
“Where is she right now? What is she even doing all alone?”
“She lives in a small beach house in the countryside and works at a local library nearby.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah.”
“Wow. I can never imagine her doing that. Doesn’t she miss her old life?”
“She does, especially her parents.”
“So why is she not returning?”
“I asked her the same one day and she said that she’s glad she ran away because she’s discovering things about herself she never thought were there in her.” Heather smiled. “She’s discovering herself, who she truly is.”
“That’s… nice. And I’m stuck here being someone who I’m not.”
Heather laughed lightly. “You sound as if you’re complaining. Come on, I know you aren’t. I bet you’re enjoying your stay with the family.”
“That’s true. It’s way better than my old life but still there are times I miss my old life terribly.”
“I don’t see how a lonely life in college and a small job at a local café is something worth missing.”
I shook my head. “It is. The café is not like any other café for me. It’s a second home. Mrs. Odin is a second home to me after my uncle and aunt – wait, how do you know about my part-time job?”
“I did a background check on you.”
“Oh, like how Ashley did.”
“She did too?”
“Yeah, she told me. It was to confirm that I really wasn’t Juliet.”
“Yeah, Amelia told me. I didn’t really expect her to be in your college.”
“Neither did I. Almost peed myself then and there when I found out.”
Heather laughed and I joined her.
“I should get going. It’s getting late and I need to have my beauty sleep.”
“Okay, bye. Good night.”
“Night.”
Heather stood up and looked at me. “You don’t have to worry about it right now. You don’t have to go out there now. We’ll talk about it later when we get home. But I must tell you that it’s important that you make your presence official. It will happen eventually, just not in the immediate future. So, enjoy your time till then.”
I nodded. “Thank you.” I followed after Heather to close the door after she leaves.
Heather turned the knob and opened the door, revealing a figure right in front of her. We both froze in our places as our eyes were left transfixed at the person in front of us who had been in front of my room door for God knows how long.
What if the person had heard everything and now knows who I truly was?
I took a sharp breath as the person took a step inside the room following which Heather took a step back in response.