Judith quickly drops to her knees and slams one hand across her little sister's mouth, muffling her sharp scream, and she holds the back of her head in the other. Vera glares at her as her tears stream down her older sister's fingers.

"Do you know why he's in the hospital right now?" Vera shakes her head, and her nose begins to turn red. "Because he had a spaz attack, and I couldn't stop him before Mom heard it. I tried to make him calm down, but nothing I did or said helped. Vera, he's gone. Once you go in for what they think is a suicide attempt, no one can get you out."

The sirens grow louder as the ambulance nears their house, and Judy feels lightheaded. She knows that she can't help Stevie and if her mother wakes up and realizes what Sauvera did, Vera will be sent away with him.

"I just wanted to help," she says when her sister takes her hand away.

"How would this help, Vera?" She doesn't answer so Judith continues, "Mom is losing her shit over everything going on, and I'm so fucking tired of trying to calm her down so she doesn't turn on you two; Sauvera, what's wrong with you?"

She flinches at the sternness in her sister's question, how loud her voice resonates and reminds her that she's a child. Vera's vision clouds behind the rising tears and her throat aches but she stammers over her response, "He's in the hospital – because of me, Judy. Dad is dead because of me, everything is wrong because of me!"

"Not this again," Judith mumbles while closing her eyes. She takes a deep breath before returning her attention to the doe eyes staring back at her.

Before she can say another word, Vera says over a cracked voice, "Stevie didn't kill Jackie — I did. I don't know why I did it. I just started thinking about Daddy and how cold, and hard, and grey he looked." She notices Sauvera's body trembling and jerking with suppressed hiccups, tears pouring down her face. "I started bleeding and had no one because you went away! I can't – Judy, I need Stevie."

She drops her face into her hands, her sadness collecting into the crevices in her palms. Judith takes another deep breath, raising her hand at a pace slow enough to not startle a skittish animal. She caresses her coarse plaits, feeling and admiring every dry strand.

She brings both arms around her quivering torso, embracing her close enough to feel her arrhythmic heartbeat.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here for you, Vera. I can't change how things were but I'm doing everything I can to make up for it." Sauvera sobs into her chest and Judith rests her chin against the top of her head. "I need you to fix this. Fix this, and I'll be able to stay and help you whenever you need me."

She draws out of her older sister's arms, then pushes herself off the floor. Judith watches her step into the hall before following her. Vera wipes her face with the sleeves of her pajamas and sniffles her reddening nose.

They proceed down the stairs just as the medical personnel bang on the front door, and Vera opens it without a moment to think.

Two men— one tall and thin, the other short and overweight— are waiting on the porch in light blue uniform shirts and black chinos.

"We received a call about someone trying to harm themselves at this house. May we come in," the lanky one asks. Judith looks down at her sister when she turns her head to catch her gaze.

"It was a prank," Vera finally says, looking at them and forcing a smile. The corners of her mouth twitch. "My brother went to the hospital and he and I are really close. I was hoping maybe I could be there with him; y'know, so he doesn't feel alone."

Judith watches the spinning red and blue lights above the white Chrysler limousine. The vintage vehicle's edges are rounded as she remembers from the late sixties, and her mind drifts to Stevie.

He must be scared right now.

"Little lady, do you realize that you could get in trouble for pulling a stunt like that," the stubby paramedic asks with one hand on his hip. His partner glances at him while crossing his arms, sharing a look of disappointment. "For every prank, you punks pull, there's a child somewhere dying who needs us. Think about that!"

"Okay, take it easy, Charlie. I think she's remorseful," the slender one softly tells him when she bows her head, a frown plastered on her face. As Charlie shakes his head at Judith, the calm medic smiles when he locks eyes with Vera. "I understand you being worried about him, okay? I have a little brother too."

"Here we go," Charlie mutters with a weary sigh and they glance at him.

"Anyway, ask your parents to drive you to see him. My buddy's a bit short-tempered," Charlie looks at him with wide eyes and a slack jaw as his partner continues, "but he's right. We can't waste time when there's people here in Florence that need us. You understand?" She drops her eyes to her feet as tears draw across them and she nods. "Thank you. You ladies have a nice night."

He turns with his partner as Vera observes their sideburns. In a whisper, the annoyed one asks, "Short-tempered, huh? Real funny, Jones."

Vera presses her hand against the door, nudging it closed with a drained sigh following the locks clicking. She turns to her sister with a smile.

"I guess I was real convincing, huh?" Her chest rises and falls in swift motions and as her pride dwindles, she tilts her head. Her eyes search for her sister's attention, but it hasn't left the memory of when she overdosed. "Hello? Judy, are you okay?"

When she remembers hearing Stevie screaming over her, she flinches, blinks quickly multiple times, then returns her focus to her now worried sister. She glances across Vera's shoulder at the closed door and when she realizes that the paramedics left, she stares at her.

"Get to bed," Judith orders her before another word can exit her parted lips.

***

Judith watches the sunrise through her window with dark circles encrusted under her sullen eyes, and she drags them onto Vera when she shifts onto her left side.

God, please wake her up so I can go to sleep.

She leans her head back and lays it against her headboard, her hands stacked on her lap over the comforter. She's tormented by flashes of white between the memory of Stevie standing over her with tears falling down his chin and she clenches her eyes shut to suppress them, but it's no use.

Since she saw the outdated ambulance, Judith's mind began unraveling memories that she'd forced herself to forget. Even those she wasn't aware of. Normally, during her unwanted flashbacks, she'd try to sleep through them but that wasn't an option, or so she thought.

While Vera slept, in fear, she watched her; patiently waiting for her to wake up and try to hurt herself. Part of her knows that it was merely one of her many short-sighted decisions but whenever she would doze off, she'd recall Stevie having an anxiety attack and it would snap her awake.

Vera reaches her right hand around her back and as she scratches the seat of her pajama bottoms, Judith feels a weight pressing on her crotch and her stomach fluttering. When it growls, Vera pauses as her eyes dart open, and she veers her head behind her.

"Good morning." Judith nods, her chapped lips held together. "Are you still mad at me?"

Yes.

"No. Go eat breakfast before Mom comes in here." Vera pushes herself out of bed and Judith watches her trudge to the door. Upon opening it, they lock droopy eyes.

Every morning, as a traditional housewife would, Sheryl rose before the sun and prepared for her day. She showered, changed, tidied her bedroom, and had breakfast on the table before her husband and children awoke.

That morning was peaceful despite the circumstances, and they decided to keep it that way with the agreement of hiding Vera's impulsive trick.

When she shuts the door behind her, Judith emits a sigh of relief as her bed practically tugs her closer. Resting the left of her face on her pillow with her adjacent hand under it, she closes her eyes. Another sigh exits her lungs, and she squeezes the blanket's hem to her neck.

"Judy, Momma said get ready to go with her to see Stevie," Vera grumbles as she thrusts the door open. Though the knob's tight in her hand, the wood door nearly crashes into the wall, only stopping with four inches of space between them.

She rolls her eyes open and notices her younger sister standing under the arch with her eyebrows lowered and the skin between them wrinkled.

Are you fucking serious?

***

Sheryl takes confident strides down the white and blue hall with Judith straggling five paces behind, scanning the area of memories as she hugs her chest for comfort. Her brows are lowered, and her lips are agape.

Each door she sees is the same; tempered glass pointed at the nurse's station. She's counted five others and her heart race faster before she reaches Stevie's room. A chubby man is sitting behind a small table aimed at his door, writing on a clipboard.

"Excuse me," Sheryl takes his attention off his notes and he bounces a glance at them. "I need to speak to my son. Could you unlock the door?"

"Ma'am, visiting hours start at nine." Judy watches her mother fold her arms and narrow her eyes at him.

He follows her gaze to the clock mounted above the nurse's station and when he sees that it's an hour past then, he drops his small pencil then sighs as he pushes himself to his feet.

He waddles toward the door while unhooking the key ring from his slack's front belt loop and Sheryl lowers her arms, repositioning her purse on her shoulder.

He holds the door and watches them enter. Worry creeps onto Judith's expression when her eyes land on his face. She stares at his rising and falling chest as her mother strolls to the seat beside him. Sheryl sits her purse on her lap, clutching it with her left hand and placing her right hand on his.

They sedated him like they did me. I hate this place.

Judith runs her fingers through the front of her afro, gripping the top and staring at the dark bruises on his inner arms from missed and successful injections.

"I wanted to come see him last night, but I was so tired I fell asleep before my head hit the pillow," Sheryl jokes with a dry chuckle, but Judy doesn't react. Her mother licks her lips and as she exhales a solemn breath, her cheeks briefly inflate. "I can't lose another child. I remember saying the same thing when it was your hand I was holding but now, it feels ten times worse."

"Because you care about Stevie more than me?" Sheryl whips her head in her direction with a glare of disbelief.

"Are you serious right now, Judy? Your brother's hurting and all you can think about is yourself," she reminds her in the tone of a question and Judith sucks in a sharp breath through her partially open mouth to prepare to speak, but her mother interrupts. "I brought you here to support Stevie and see him before he leaves, but if you can't sit and do that, then maybe you should just head to the cafeteria."

Sheryl looks at her son and Judith turns her back to her. She sees Jerome in his usual attire, roaming the halls with a half-finished soft pretzel in one hand and a grey cassette player in the other. Judy sprints over the threshold, glancing at the security guard who does the same to her, then she wanders after him.

She opens her mouth to call for him, but when she sees sandy red and caramel brown in her peripheral, she instead turns to it. Her eyes flare at the familiarity of Juniper laying on top of her comforter.

Oh, my God, she's still here!

She approaches the glass as she gives Jerome another look, and when he bends the corner, she sits her hands on the window between them. She taps the glass with the middle finger on her right hand and Juniper, who was staring at the off-white wall, slowly switches her gaze to the door.

Her expression shifts from bleak to hopeful then she leaps onto her sock-covered feet and dashes toward her college mate. They set their palms on each other's and a lonely tear escapes Juniper's left eye as she bounces her dark browns from one of Judith's to the other.

"Are you okay," she softly asks, and Juniper shakes her head in response. Her sadness slides onto the corner of her dry lips and Judy sighs through her nose. "Junie, what'd Derek do?"

"It's not his fault," she insists, her voice muffled as if she were underwater. More tears fall and she slumps her forehead against the glass, producing fog with each labored breath. "I just – wanna go home."

"Why're you here?" When she shakes her head again, Judith folds her arms and says, "If you don't tell me, I'll tell Jennifer that he raped you."

Juniper darts her head upward and her big eyes filled with fear cast onto Judith's short, peach and white striped shirt.

"Why would you do that? You don't understand what I'm dealing with, whatever-your-name-is," she stammers and her head twitches. "Derek's the only person who gets me and before now, I figured you two were the only ones who didn't yell at me. Obviously, I was wrong."

"One, my name's Judith. Some call me Judy and others call me Jude. I don't know why you're acting like you don't know me considering we protested together," she tells her. "I'm not yelling at you; I'm scared for you, so I'll do whatever it takes to help. As for the assumption that I don't understand, try me. You'll be surprised what I've dealt with too."

"Promise me you won't tell Jenny," she sternly says, her fingers curling around the sides of her white gown. Judith nods and Juniper shakes her head. "No. I need to hear you say it. Tell me you won't tell her."

"I won't tell her, okay? Jesus H, just say what's wrong." Juniper takes a shaky breath as she darts her gaze on Judy's defined collarbone.

"Remember that girl you saw me talking to before the protest? We were in that room with the easels and portraits." She looks around while humming pensively and when she finally shrugs, Juniper continues, "She and I met at one of Derek's parties. Look, I was a little drunk and whatever happened, happened."

"Don't give me that." Judith scrunches her forehead and though Juniper doesn't make eye contact, she talks to her anyway. "Did he do something to you?"

"We had sex." Her face relaxes when she hears her confession, and her eyes bounce from one teary brown one to the other. "And before you say he raped me, no he didn't. I was the aggressor."

"Junie, that doesn't matter," she speaks over her whining voice. Her chest aches where her broken heart lay and seeing the denial plastered on her face reminds Judith of herself. "You're, what, seventeen? He shouldn't have done that."

"Whatever. I'm fine." She crosses her arms and Judith notices her neck twitching as she attempts to swallow the lump in her throat.

"Then what're you doing here, if you're okay?" She parts her lips, then gazes past her. Judith follows her watery eyes to Kacey, Jennifer, and Veronica, and when Juniper slams her palms against the glass to grab her attention, she succeeds.

"Don't tell her." She flicks her large eyes between both of Judith's, hoping to intimidate her into remaining silent. Judy shakes her head and backs away from the door just as the trio approach her from behind.

"Hey, what're you doing here," Jenny asks and when Judith doesn't turn to her or respond, she looks at her sister with her brows drawn in. "June bug, what's wrong?"

"Derek raped her." Juniper chokes on a breath, tears streaming faster and pouring off her chin. Kacey and Ronnie share a wide-eyed glance before staring at Jennifer as Judith does the same. They wait for her response, but she doesn't speak. "She told me just now."

"You said you wouldn't tell," she yells at the top of her lungs, a vein appearing on her reddening neck. She bangs her outer fists against the glass and when Jenny's vision grows misty, Kacey sits her hand on her shoulder to comfort her, only to be shaken off.

"Please don't touch me right now, Kacey, I don't know what I'll do," she softly warns her without breaking eye contact with her crying sister. Kacey looks at Veronica for support and when she shakes her head, she directs her attention to Judith.

"Maybe you should get outta here." Judith nods while pursing her dry lips. She cranes her head past her shoulder and watches Juniper heave labored breaths.

"I trusted you," Juniper forces herself to speak calmly. Her face is turning red, and the overhead light sends droplets of sweat sliding down her pulsing temples. "You know she's crazy, yet you told her anyway? She'll have Derek arrested if not killed and it'll be your fault! Tá tú marbh dom, Judas!"

In that group, only Jennifer's heard her speak in their native tongue and the sudden change in accent and language leaves them sharing surprised expressions.

Judith stares down the hall where Jerome went and after scanning the group one last time, she walks after him. She finds him sitting by the window, alone in another waiting area and as she slows down, he takes his eyes off his reflection to look at her.

Like her, he has dark circles and bags crowding his once friendly eyes and a frown where his smile used to be. She stands beside him and her vision clouds.

"Hey," she cautiously greets him, her fingers fidgeting at her sides. He glances at them.

"Hey. Wanna sit here?" Jerome drags his words, struggling to fight his exhaustion. She takes the seat beside him and stares at the cinnamon and cane sugar pretzel in his right hand. "Wait, don't you have polio or something?"

"No, Jerome, I don't," she tells him in a flat tone with her eyes shut. She looks at him over the top of her rose gold hexagon glasses, then forward when she sees him shielding his face with the collar of his sweatshirt.

"What's wrong? You seem pissed about something," he says, letting his eyes trail from her face to her hands on her lap, then back up. She takes a deep breath, debating whether she should tell him what happened to her brother or keep it to herself.