JULIET'S POV

A/N: Underlined sentences are spoken in French. Bolded are spoken in German

March 19th, 1959. 11:19 am. Lubbock Hospital

I finally am able to sit up. That birth was a hard one.

The labor nurse, Jackie, comes in with Wyatt and Walter. "I gave Walter a green hat and Wyatt a blue one. I personally suggest to paint their toenails when they arrive home for a differentiator."

I nod. "Okay, will do."

She hands me Walter and Russ Wyatt. I've never seen Russ cry before these babies were born.

"Baby, these little creatures are georgous." Russ sighs, holding Wyatt close.

I grin. "I know, I know, they look just like you, aw." They have his same blonde hair and little versions of his nose.

"They're perfect, baby. You did so, so well."

"It was all worth it for these little humans!"

"I know,"

"Can you call Vi and have her and Buddy visit? I want them to spend some time with the babies before they leave."

Russ nods and gently hands me Wyatt. He walks out of the room.

Here I sit, with two little identical bundles of joy. I can't believe that I finally had my kids. I can't believe I'm starting a family. I never ever thought that I would.

February 8th, 1943. 4:39 pm. The Orphanage, Paris.

I peek out the window and see Violette sitting with Koch. He's coaching her in German. She's always been better at languages than Vincent and I. She can speak AND listen. I can just listen. I get so frusterated when I try to learn

I see another group of soldiers march past the orphanage. Koch and Violette immediately stand up and Koch grabs her arm in a threatening way.

"Taking care of that little shit, there, Koch?" One of the soldiers calls.

"You know it, Müller!" Koch replies, yanking Violette's arm.

"Yeah, hit that little frog twice for me!" The soldier laughs as the group walks away.

Once they're gone, Koch lets go of Violette's arm and they sit back down.

"I'm sorry, little Violette." Koch sighs.

Violette rubs her arm. "It's okay, they were scary."

Koch nods. "I will always protect you, okay?"

Violette pulls her legs up to her chest and nods. "Okay."

I'm jealous of Violette. Koch has always liked her most. It isn't fair!

Well, I guess it is fair. Madam Martin likes me most and Monsieur Martin likes Vincent most.

I duck out of the window and wander into the dining room. There's only six orphans left besides Vincent, Violette and I. There used to be twenty, but then the bombs dropped.

Anne and François are playing marbles in the corner.

Lucas and Claude are playing battle.

While Colette and Pierre are drawing.

I wonder where Vincent is. He is probably doing a maths worksheet with M. Martin.

"Velvet! Come play with us!" Anne calls.

I grin and run over to them.

Russ comes back inside the room. "They're on their way." He gently picks up Walter.

"They're going to be great parents someday, you know." I smile.

Russ nods in agreement. "They will be."

《《《》》》

After another ten minutes, Vi and Buddy walk into the room.

"Hey auntie!" Russ jokes.

"And uncle!" I add in.

They both laugh and walk up to the bed.

I hand Buddy Wyatt.

He carefully holds the small bundle. He looks so in love.

Russ hands Violet Walter. Violet holds him close and smiles at him.

"Bonjour bébé." She mumbles to him.

I smile. They look so cute with the little tiny babies.

Violet's eyes start to water. She's always loved babies.

After they've had their moment, I decide to just ask. "Have mom and dad been on you yet?"

Buddy and Violet both look up at the same time and roll their eyes at the same time. Their body language and movements are shockingly similar.

"As soon as we came down from this wing, they pounced." Violet sighs.

"Not like it's their business." I reply, sitting up more. "I don't know why they want grandkids so bad. Why can't they pester Vin and Linda?"

Vi shrugs. "Were they on you about that?"

I shake my head. "No, not really. They knew I was destined to be a house wife."

"They wanted me to be a housewife." Vi hands me Walter. "They wanted me to be a lot of things, none of which happened."

"Hey, atleast you married someone famous. They wanted that."

She shakes her head. "It's dumb. They just like you more."

"No they don't,"

"They do, but I don't say that out of hatred or jealousy, but as a fact. It is 67° outside, and mom and dad like you more." Violet laughs.

"I've never thought about it that way," I respond.

Vi shrugs.

"Hey, if they found out how much I slept around in high school, they wouldn't be happy."

"I can say the same about me. They still think that I've only been with him," she nods to Buddy.

"That just reminds me of the times you said that you two were 'just friends'." I smirk.

Vi crosses her arms and raises an eyebrow. "That reminds me of the time that you went through my journal."

April 17th, 1953. 1:22 pm. The Winter Household

"We're just friends! Jesus, can you stay out of my business for once?" Violet sneers

"You aren't just friends, you played back seat bingo three days ago!" I shoot back.

Violet shakes her head. "No we did not!"

"Stop lying!"

"Why does it matter to you? It's MY life, not yours!"

"Because you're my sister! You're not just my sister, you're my twin sister! And even still, you're my IDENTICAL twin sister!"

She crosses her arms. "So?"

"Why are you so defensive all the time?" I mirror her. "You'd be happier if you let people in!"

"We had different childhoods, okay?" She mumbles.

"Bullshit!" I glare. "We were both orphans, we both bleached our hair, we both were in bombings, we both were starved, we both were beaten, we both had Koch, we both froze-"

"Yeah, well we weren't both raped."

I pause. "Excuse me?"

"WE WEREN'T BOTH RAPED!"

"You were raped?"

Violet nods. "Yeah, and that takes a toll on your self worth!"

"You never told me!"

"Because I haven't told anyone, idiot!"

"Not even Buddy?"

She shakes her head. "He doesn't even know that I speak German!"

"Vi, why?"

"Because he'll stop being my friend."

"No he won't."

"How'd we get back to him? He's just my best friend!"

"A best friend that you've hooked up with." I roll my eyes.

Vi's face goes red. "No!"

"I read your journal." I shrug.

Violet looks at me. "You WHAT!?"

"I read your journal. Apples, pears, cherries..."

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU!"

"Sorry..."

"I HATE YOU! THAT WAS PRIVATE!" Vi turns around and slams my room door, stomping to her room.

Not my fault that she denies herself.

February 17th, 1953. 1:32 am. The Winter Household

I'm just sitting up stairs with Cara playing with makeup when Violet comes waltzing in, completely smashed to shit.

"Velvet!" She slurs, "I made a mistake!"

I quickly usher her into my room and sit her down on my bed. "Cara, can you go get some water?"

Cara nods and stands up, quietly running out of my room.

"What was it, Vi?" I ask, trying to get her out of her clothes and into some pajamas.

She shakes her head. "I can't tell you!"

I tug off her cardigan and throw it into my laundry basket, it smells like a mixture of vodka and fruit juice. "Why?"

"Because you'll tell Jack!" She hiccups and tries to unbutton her shirt.

"Come on, Vi. What were you doing?"

"I was at..." she hiccups. "Buddy's. His parents are gone so we were getting fun."

"Did...did you guys sleep together?"

She shrugs. "I don't know."

"Oh my God." I move her hands and unbutton her shirt for her.

Cara comes back with water and some asprin. "Is she gonna be okay?" Cara sets down the water onto my nightstand.

I nod. "I think something happened at Buddy's."

Cara raises her eyebrows. "Huh, can't say I wasn't expecting something to happen between them. The sexual tension is a little thick between them."

"A little!?" I laugh and pull off her shirt, again tossing it into my hamper. "I would say it's more an a little."

"There's not sexual tension!" Vi furrows her brows and crosses her arms. "We're just friends who made out a little."

I try to hide my smug look. "You made out?"

"I mean...n-no! We just hung out and kissed."

"Okay, Violet stand up. We're going to get you into pajamas and into bed."

"No! I'm okay! I can do this!"

"How did you get home?" I ask, sitting next to her.

"Magic!"

I roll my eyes. "You took a taxi?"

"Maybe." She giggles and lays down, putting her hands behind her head. "Maybe I teleported!"

So she took a taxi. I'm trying to put all the pieces together. She went to Buddy's, they got drunk, made out, then she took a taxi home. Interesting to say the least. I wonder why she didn't just stay at Buddy's for the night.

"You're going to be hungover to Hell tomorrow." Cara says, sitting down at my vanity.

She shakes her head. "No, I'm magic."

"Vi, take your skirt off."

"No! I like it. It's comfortable."

"It smells like a damn bar, now unless you want mom and dad to know that you snuck out to get drunk, I would suggest taking it off."

She sighs and nods. "Help me."

I roll my eyes and tug at the bottom, pulling it off little by little. Is this what I'm like when I'm drunk?

I finally get it off along with her slip and I hand it to Cara who puts it in the basket. I walk over to my dresser and pull out a nightgown. "Stand up, please Violet."

She rolls off of the bed and hits the ground. She moans and moves her hand to her head.

"Come on." I grab her arm and pull her up. "Arms above your head."

Violet complies and raises her arms. I pull the nightgown over her head. "Now you need to sleep this off."

She falls onto my bed and pulls the comforter on.

"No, Vi this is my room." I'm too late, there's no moving her now. I sigh. "Come on, we can sleep in her room."

I turn off the lamp and we slink down the hall to her room. I slowly open the door and I flick on the over head light. I appreciate that her room is usually pretty clean. I walk over and sit on her bed.

"Do you think either of them'll remember tonight?" Cara asks, sitting next to me.

I shake my head. "No. Don't tell her, she'll feel really guilty about it later. Just let her sleep it off and don't mention anything."

Cara nods. "I think they like each other."

"They're in love, Cara. It's pretty obvious to everyone. I knew that the day we all met. I noticed that they immediately split off from the rest of us."

Cara nods. "I know, I know. Something was gonna happen sooner or later."

I nod. "Do you think she has any juicy stuff in here?"

"Definitely. Does she have a diary?"

"Yeah, I think so. She mentioned it being written in French so mom and dad can't read it or something. I think it's a blue book?"

"Should we...should we read it?"

I smirk. "Just a little."

We stand up and I head over to her vanity. I sit down and start opening drawers. Cara is at her dresser.

I open the middle drawer on the left side. Condoms are burried beneath eyeshadows and...candy canes? Why does she have so many? There's more than twenty! I close that drawer and open the bottom one. Aha! The blue book of secrets!

I pull it out and look at the cover. It's a pretty book. "Hey, Cara..."

She turns around and smirks. "Nice!"

We sit on the bed and I open the book. "Ah, French, what a beautiful language." I raise my eyebrow. "She started this the day we started at school this year."

"Can you translate?"

"Oh, girl, do I got you covered." I start to skim and try to pick out any interesting details. "Oh my God, she mentions Buddy a paragraph in. 'At school, I met this boy named Buddy, short for Charles. Buddy Holley I think it was. He's kind of cute, but in a geeky way.'" I smile.

"Geez, she was really in on him since day one." Cara laughs.

I continue skimming. "She said that he was going to be important in her life,"

"Again, what a shock." Cara says sarcartically.

I flip a couple of pages.

My eyes widen. "Oh, oh no..." I mumble

"What?!" Cara asks.

"She tried to kill herself..." my heart starts beating faster.

"She did?!" Cara's face goes pale.

"September 18th, 1952

I tried to kill myself last night. I know, it was stupid, but I don't need a lecture from a dumb book. I was having super intense flashbacks to THE night and I couldn't stop shaking or crying and all I wanted to do was for everything to stop for a while. I've been so stressed and overwhelmed lately. I wish we never moved. I wish I was still in Chicago with Debbie and Rosie and Warren and Richard and I wish that nothing bad had ever happened to me and I wish that I wasn't an orphan and I wish that I wasn't ever born. I took a whole bunch of pills and I almost immediately started puking. I would say that I puked up more than half of the pills. I passed out for 15 hours then when I woke up...I called Buddy. What a shock. Of course I called him. It could be the fact that he said he would always be there for me back when I was having a mental breakdown in the science room. Anyways, he came over and somehow made me feel so, so, so much better. He said he would always be there again. I really do appreciate him." I finish reading.

Cara takes a deep breath. "I had no idea that she was so sad." She says after a while.

"Neither did I..." I gulp. "I'm a horrible sister."

"No you're not! You're an amazing sister!" Cara puts a hand on my knee. "It isnt your fault."

"I don't want to think about this anymore." I say, looking back down at the book. "Just keep reading."

"November 27th, 1952

Sweet 16! Juliet, Vincent and I are all finally 16! Maybe Buddy will finally stop teasing me about how I'm still a child.

We're going to have a party tomorrow because it's Thursday right now. I guess I'll report back tomorrow.

November 28th, 1952

Party was a moderate sucess. There was way too many people for my comfort. There was the entire Westerner Baseball team, the entire Cheer team and Jack, Adalyn, and Buddy. It was a little much for me, so after a while Adalyn, Buddy and I all retreated to my room. I asked Jack if he wanted to come up with us, but he refused. He was too busy shoomzing with the cheerleaders. Is it bad that I didn't care that he was quite obvously flirting with other girls?

Anyways, Adalyn, me and Buddy started a stupid club called the Sevens. It's a joke type thing, but hey, it's exclusive to people with 7's in their birthdays. Buddy's is September 7th, mine is November 27th, and Adalyns is January 17th. What a club we are! We just sat up there talking for hours. It was more my speed than the huge blast downstairs. It was actually really nice to just talk with some friends for once. I've been so busy since we moved that I havent gotten a lot of time to spend with them. We're all very similar, the 3 of us. I learned a lot about both of them, too.

Adalyn is orginally from Maine, but they moved here when she was three. I never knew that. She said that she considers herself a Texan because she doesn't remember Maine.

Buddy wasn't born in a hospital, he was born at home. Though, I imagine I wasn't born in a hospital, either.

Adalyn is terrified of ducks because she hates their "little webbed paws" (her words).

Buddy's first instrument was the piano, but he decided he hated it. Then he tried the fiddle and hated it, so his brother gave him a guitar and he had a natural talent at it.

Adalyn is allergic to bananas. She found out when she ate a banana split and broke into hives. She had to get a steroid shot.

Buddy won a talent contest when he was 5 for singing.

Adalyn's favorite animal is...RACOONS. She said that she's always loved them. She didn't mention why.

Buddy's brothers fought in WWII. He was 10 when they came back.

And so many other things. Of course I told them things about me like....

I speak French fluently (they both knew, but it was mentioned. They kept asking me to teach them bad words. I complied).

I lived in an orphanage until I was 9.

Various shit about Chicago.

Etcetera.

It was a really good night. I'm pretty content with the two people I've chosen as friends. I guess I should say that I'm happy that I chose Jack, but I don't think I am.

OH! The most important part of the night was when Buddy went to get another drink. While he was gone, Adalyn stared me down.

Me: Uhhh, what? What's wrong?

Adalyn: He told me that he likes you.

Me: What?

Adalyn: Buddy told me that he likes you.

Me: When?

Adalyn: The other day when you were late to lunch because you were helping Mr. Leaf.

Me: Oh shit okay.

I don't know what to think about that. I guess you could say that I like him, but I'm with Jack and...yeah, I'm with Jack. I think I could like him if I wasn't dating someone else. He is cute..."

I look up from the journal page and smirk. "I knew it."

Cara laughs. "I bet they'd be super cute together."

"They already are super cute together!" I grin. "Ugh, I hate Jack."

Cara rolls her big blue eyes. "I know! He's such a jackass."

"I wish Vi wasn't ever with him."

"Me too, she deserves better." Cara sighs.

"Well, Cara, have you gotten any interest in anyone?" I ask.

She shrugs. "If I tell you, you cannot tell ANYONE! I already feel bad about it."

I nod and cross my heart. "Not a soul."

"I've sorta liked Buddy since 6th grade." She mumbles.

I try to hide my shock. "Really?!"

"Yeah...yeah, I know, it's horrible. I'm jealous of Vi."

I shake my head. "Hey, you'll find someone."

"I've just liked him for a long time, and he's with my best friend's sister. I knew that they were gonna get together, but hey. I just want him to be happy and all."

"Have you ever told him?"

"No, but we kissed once."

"You did?!"

"It was spin the bottle in freshman year. It was awkward."

I purse my lips. "I'm so sorry, Cara. Really, I am. I know how much it sucks to have that all happen."

"I'm okay, Juliet. Really. It's not a big deal. I just really want him to be happy, y'know."

"Yeah,"

"He's a real neat guy and I really just want him to be happy, even if it is with Vi."

May 4th, 1953. 6:26pm. The Winter Household

"Violet is out doing God knows what." I smirk to Cara.

"Okay...and?" She cocks her head.

"Journal?"

Cara's face twists into a mischievous smile. "Oh, yes!"

We sneak into Vi's room and I open the drawer that she keeps her diary in, flipping to where we had left off.

My jaw drops as I start to read the page.

"Oooo! Juliet! What is it?"

I don't know if I should tell her, seeing as Cara is basically in love with Buddy.

"C'mon, Jul, what is it? Is it some thing with Buddy? I can handle it if it is."

"She hooked up with him!" I whisper yell.

"Oh, fuck, really?"

I nod. "It says that they kissed and "the kiss lead into a lot more"."

"Hah, I knew it." Cara laughs.

I flip through the next few pages. "Jesus! They've hooked up a bunch of times!"

Cara leans over to look at the book. "Holy shit."

We hear footsteps creeping up the stairs. "Shit, mayday, mayday!" I quickly cram the book back into the drawer.

Cara and I scurry out into the hall, running into Buddy and Vi.

"Uh, hey?" Vi raises an eyebrow.

"Hi!" I try to cover the fact that I know.

"What are you doing?" Vi asks.

I scramble to find an excuse. "Uh, I, we..."

"We were looking for her skirt that she lost a couple of weeks ago," Cara covers. "Wasn't in your closet."

Vi shrugs. "Sorry, maybe it's downstairs in the laundry room."

"Maybe." I say. "We're going to go look now, excuse us," I say, shoving my way past Buddy and Vi with Cara in tow.

They stream into her room, closing the door.

I walk down the stairs with Cara. "That was close. Way too close."

"What do you think they're doing?" She wiggles her eyebrows.

I shove her. "I think I have a good grip on what's going down."

She smiles. "Yeah, probably."

"I wonder what they're saying!"

"Leave it be," Cara frowns.

"But Caraaaa!" I frown. "I'm just going to go see if there's a hair tie on the door." I turn and walk back upstairs, heading to the end of the hall. No hair tie. I carefully put my ear to the door.

"I dunno doll, whaddaya think?" I hear Buddy say.

"I don't know, either, that's why I was asking you." Vi replies. "I've been way too stressed lately."

I hear someone stand up and walk over to the other. "I can't fix that, but I certianly can help," Buddy says.

Oh my lord, what's going on?

"Told anyone about us yet?" Vi asks.

"Nope, you?"

"No. We've been over this. Who would I even tell? You again?"

"I dunno, babe."

Are they secretly dating?!

"It would be super awkward if we told Adalyn," Vi laughs. "Third-wheeled."

"I'm pretty sure she's into Bob," Buddy mentions.

"Yeah, I'm waiting for her to just tell me. I'll act shocked when she does."

I hear them move. I assume they just sat on the bed.

"What d'you think Juliet would do?"

"Hopefully not tell the entire school," Vi says sarcastically. "No, really, I think she would probably tell Cara then somehow bring it up into casual conversation."

"I guess," Buddy pauses. "Hey Vi?"

"Yeah?"

"I think you're real pretty."

I can practically hear Violet swoon. "Thanks."

They stop talking. I don't want to know what's going on. I carefully put a hair tie on the doornob and sneak back into my room.

"What were they talking about?" Cara asks from my bed.

I nod. "I think they forgot the hair tie," I sit next to her. "I sort of feel bad for snooping so hard..."

Cara frowns. "I do too."

"We just won't tell her that we know," I lay back. "Hopefully they don't find out."

She nods. "Hopefully."

"Do you still like Buddy?" I ask.

She shrugs. "I guess, but he's with Vi."

"Are they even offical?"

"I dunno, I don't think so. I haven't noticed them being particularly closer."

"They will be here sooner or later, whatever." I roll my eyes. "Matter of time."

"D'you think they're gonna be together forever?"

"Yeah, yeah I really do."