Chapter Text
July 15th, 1:27 AM.
Julliette woke up panting, trying to calm herself down and drying her sweaty palms. It’s been a while since her last dream. She got out of bed, looked for some dark clothes to wear, and got ready to go. She’d been doing this for three years now, since her college and temporary home was near the most recent Burns’ residence. Fortunately, the monster attacks in the area had decreased, so she believed that’s why they stayed there longer. They had no idea she was around, or at least that’s what she thought. She committed herself to protect Calliope from afar, though. She kept it simple, trying not to leave any trace of it, but whenever she saw something or had one of those dreams, she did whatever she could to stop it. Sometimes, it involved betraying her nature and killing monsters; others, she just followed her instinct. Sometimes she even asked her brother for help. She just wanted to make sure Cal was at peace or at least tried to do so.
Her routine was already established. The first thing was parking somewhere crowded. Then, she started walking her way to the subject, and whenever she arrived at the spot, she made sure the area was clear since no one had to know. Monsters were found mostly in the woods or near lakes, so the job wasn’t tedious. But sometimes danger wasn’t in monsters but in people. Juliette often found herself chasing after creepy middle-aged men who disturbed Calliope, and those were more difficult work. They weren’t hiding in the woods as the other monsters, so she had to persuade them to do so, and she hated it with her whole heart. The last part was all about hiding evidence, one of the few things she learned from her sister. Hopefully, she only did it with humans, since monsters dissolved when they died. She had to be quick on this step, though, but everything got easier with time. And it was worth it.
This time, her dreams were clear: there was something -or someone- near the Burns residence, waiting for someone to step outside. She knew it was dangerous to get close, but she had to take the risk. This was all about keeping Calliope safe, whatever it took.
She drove to the national reserve that was close to the residence and parked her car near a hiking shop that was obviously closed. She scanned the area and noticed it was all calm, meaning she can move without being cautious. She then headed to the woods, following a trail with a dim light from her phone’s flashlight, and crossed to the other side of the reserve, where she saw the house. All the lights were off, meaning they were all asleep. Juliette turned off her flashlight and started slowing her pace, now being careful. She stood behind a tree and paid attention to her surroundings. There only was the quiet of the night. She had to be patient.
A few minutes later, she saw a shape hiding behind some bushes. One thing she was sure of: it wasn’t a vampire, or a zombie, since it had no human-like body. It was just another monster, God knows what. She slowly approached it and took out the steel knife she had with her. She knew it was against her nature to do so, but she promised herself to protect the girl she loved years ago as much as she could.
The creature suddenly turned to see her, as it began approaching with a weird noise. Juliette held the knife tightly.
“Back off” she muttered as she stepped back with every step the monster took. She had two choices: to try and run into the other side of the road so that the monster gets away from the Burns’ residence, and she kills it there, or try a quicker move and stab it right there.
Breathe, Juliette. You’ve done this before. You got this.
She tightened the grip on the knife and decided to take a step forward, aiming directly at the creature. Surprisingly, the creature moved faster and skipped her attempt.
“Fuck!” Juliette said as she noticed the monster was turning more aggressive now, chasing her back. She kept on moving quickly to avoid getting beaten by the creature, but still tried to attack first.
They both kept on for a while, hoping one of them got tired so the other one could attack. All until Juliette accidentally stumbled upon a rock, falling backwards. The monster was about to use that as an advantage and kill her first, but suddenly, it felt down, dissolving into pieces. Juliette stood up, confused until she noticed a silver spear stuck where the monster's body was dissolving. Someone else did it.
"Hey, get out of here!" a clearly familiar voice yelled. Juliette turned around.
"Juliette?" Calliope asked, confused as she noticed who the woman that almost got killed by a monster outside her house was.
"Cal?" Juliette asked back, mad at herself for slipping off. Now she was not only embarrassed, but in danger again.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Calliope added, in a not very friendly tone, making sure to keep a distance between the two. Juliette started to become nervous at her response.
“Um, well I saw this monster and tried to kill it, you know…” she started, looking absentmindedly to the ground.
“Why would you do that for? That’s my family’s job” Calliope answered, placing her hands on her hips. She knew she couldn’t be this hard with Juliette. Not when she knew she still had quite a feeling for her. But she didn’t want to come off as weak. Not this time.
“Okay fine” Juliette started, slowly looking at Calliope right in the eyes. “ All these years, since it all ended, I’ve been trying to help. I keep seeing you in my dreams, so I know whenever you’re in danger and-”
“ -And why did you think I needed your help? I can do this on my own, and you know it” Calliope cut her off, a bit more rude this time. She immediately felt guilt after her words, but she couldn’t help it. Her emotions were a wreck at that moment, so she didn’t know what could happen if she tried to be nice.
“I was just trying to keep you safe” Juliette answered. She felt weak for actually telling her the real reason why she was there. She knew it was only making things worse.
Calliope felt as if her heart shrunk. She hated Juliette since she bit her brother, but a part of her felt always sorry for her. She knew her intentions were good every single time. And hearing those words directly from her made her remember what she once felt. But she also remembered that ever since the incident, her life changed and her family was never the same. She still had some issues to solve.
“Safe? You’re one of them, you know that. Don’t come and try to fix things now” She replied, trying to calm herself from the rage that had built upon her.
“Cal, I’m sorry, I-” Juliette started again, taking a slight step forward and still looking into Calliope’s eyes, which to her surprise, became a little watery.
“Don’t be sorry, okay? But I don’t want to see you around, Juliette. Please, don’t come back” Calliope said, her eyes watering and her voice starting to become shaky.
“I’m so sorry” was the only thing Juliette said back.
“Goodnight, Juliette” Calliope responded as she started to head back home. Juliette then turned around and started heading back to her car. Once she crossed the street and reached the reserve, she turned to see if the light was still on. It wasn’t, meaning Calliope was back inside. She sighed.
The way home was silent. Juliette tried to keep herself together for a while, but she couldn’t help the tears streaming down her face as she drove. She knew Calliope hurt her with what she said, but she noticed she felt broken as well. She wished she could just talk it out, be normal, and try and fix things. But the reality was that she couldn’t do anything now, not even from afar.
When she finally arrived to her building, she parked her car and went inside. She went up the stairs until she reached the third floor and took out the key from her purse. After all, she was glad to be back home, even if it was to rest for a bit before the day started. She stepped inside and locked the door, and headed to her room. She then took out her boots, washed her hands and face, and changed into her pajamas. At least there was still some peace in her room. She turned the lights out and got into bed, and clicked the lock button on her phone, just to see what time it was.
She was surprised to find a message notification on the screen. She then unlocked her phone and swiped to see who it was. Her eyes widened at the name.
Hi Julliette, I know it’s too late to say this but I’m sorry if I came off as rude.
I wasn’t expecting to see you here, and I didn’t know how to respond.
Thanks for trying to take care, though. I appreciate that, even if I can take care of myself.
Have a good night.
Juliette was confused. The same woman that told her to never show up again just wished her a good night? She didn’t know how to feel about it. She knew that she never stopped caring about her, that’s why she started tracking the potential dangers and then taking them down. But she was almost sure Calliope didn’t feel the same way. Or at least that’s what she showed her an hour earlier, when she literally told her to leave. A tear streamed down her face as she re-read the message. She remembered the times when she used to feel there was still something, and that little hope kept her going. She remembered how it used to be; how she felt her heart melting whenever they were together, and how she did everything that was in her hands to be with her, even if that meant turning her whole family against her.
It’s been a while since she was sixteen. And she knew she did wrong in going to the outsides of Calliope’shouse and literally stealing the Burns’ mission as hunters.
But somewhere deep inside, she felt a spark of hope; the same she felt when they met for the first time.