Forgetting - Part 2

Two Years Earlier

It is 4 o'clock in the morning. I feel someone breathing on my face and I instantly know that Kim is home. I don't want to open my eyes. If I do then Kim will make me talk to her for hours. Summer was supposed to mean sleeping in.

Even though I don't open my eyes, Kim still knows that I'm awake.

"Jules, hey, I've gotta talk to you!" She whispers. I can feel her freaking lips on my nose. She has apparently never heard of personal space. When I don't answer she gets onto my bed and sits on my chest. She's thin and tall, but she is not exactly "light".

"Get the fuck off of me." I grumble. "I can't breath."

She gets up and I don't move. She is standing next to my bed and staring at me, I know it.

"Jules?" She waits. "Julia?"

Silence

"Are you asleep?"

No, I'm just lying in bed not answering at four in the freaking morning because it's fun. "What the hell do you think?"

"Well you're talking."

Grunt.

"Come on, I have to talk to you!"

I sit up and open my eyes. She is standing next to me and staring expectantly. "Why do you feel a need to share every second of your life with me?"

"Because you're my sister. Would you rather I didn't tell you anything ever?"

"Can't this wait till the morning?"

"It is the morning. I win."

She flicks the desk lamp on and sits on her own bed for a change. Tonight she has on a red dress and black pumps. Her hair is up in a twisted bun and she is in the process of taking off fake glitter eyelashes.

"You look like a whore." I tell her as she takes off her shoes.

"You look like me." She sticks her tongue out at me.

I can't even argue with that. Being an identical twin sucks sometimes. The only way to tell us apart is that I wear glasses and she has contacts.

"So where were you anyway?" I ask. Now I'm awake and curious as to where on earth she would go looking like this.

"A party at Jesse's. His parents are out of town this week."

"Oh really? Did you drink?"

"Nope! No boos allowed girlie. His parents don't even drink. I didn't smoke or do drugs either. It was a clean party so there."

"Then why do you look like that?"

"All my other party clothes are in our laundry. Unzip me."

I get up to get her zipper. "Did you tell Jesse that too?"

She turns to me and glowers. "Why must you always think the worst of me?"

"You didn't answer my question."

She turns as red as her dress and turns around. "Shut up. We didn't do anything tonight."

"Okay."

We are both quiet for a minute. Kim is truly a good girl. She doesn't do anything bad really. She's even responsible when she does...other things. We may be twins, but we are almost exact opposites.

She's what anyone would call "fun". She goes to parties or concerts almost every night and has had the same boyfriend for two years. Despite this, boys are still fighting for her attention all the time. Her grades could be better, but she's never actually flunked anything. I like to stay home and read. I have to drive to libraries out of town to get books now because I've read everything interesting in our town. I go on dates now and then, but I've never had a serious boyfriend. I've gotten straight A's since elementary school. I would give anything to be my sister for just one day.

"Scrabble?" I ask.

"What?"

"Well I'm awake now."

She smiles and nods. I pull out the game and we play until we both fall asleep on our bedroom floor.