A QUICK A/N BEFORE WE BEGIN

I ACCIDENTALLY UPLOADED CHAPTER SIXTEEN WITHOUT PUBLISHING THIS ONE OOOPPSPSSS SORRY IF YOU'RE CONFUSED :-)))))

wednesday 11th of may 2016

It had been six years since Sylvia and Albert Purnell died. J.D sat alone in her room, staring blankly at a wall with music playing softly throughout her room. 

Herb and Mason usually left her alone for a couple of hours on the eleventh of May, they knew she preferred to handle her mourning without comfort of others. It wasn't one of the days where she would pretend her problems didn't exist, she fully embraced them and reminisced the days when she had living, breathing parents. Herb allowed them the day off school and excused himself from work so they could spend the day as a family.

But the truth can be deceiving

And I was just too young to see

J.D leaned back against the wall beside her bed, her lips chapped and in a straight line. She looked perfectly tranquil on the outside, but on the inside she was tearing herself apart. 

Her fault. It was her fault.

Memories of her mother and father flashed through her mind like a slideshow. She swallowed loudly as she remembered the fateful day.

six years ago

"Mason, give me back Lulu!" J.D yelled at the top of her lungs, chasing her brother around the motel room. Mason jumped up the stairs two at a time, holding the toy dinosaur above his head. 

"You still play with dolls, you're a baby!" He taunted, and J.D pouted, before tackling him to the ground. Mason let out a wail as she sat on his stomach, pulling her soft toy into her chest. 

"You're a douchebag." She responded, and Mason's eyebrows knitted together. 

"Where did you hear that, young lady?" Her father asked her, picking the nine year old off of her twin brother. 

"Ma said it on the phone this morning." J.D grinned, the gap in her teeth causing her to lisp. "Is it a bad word?"

"Yes, and you shouldn't be saying it until you're my age." Albert Purnell warned, and J.D let her head fall back, laughing loudly. 

"I have to wait until I'm thirty-five? That's a gazillion years away!" She exclaimed, and Albert scoffed in amusement. "Why can't I say it now?"

"Because you're a little baby who cuddles dollies at night!" Mason teased from the ground, and even at nine, J.D had mastered her cold glare, causing her brother to shut his mouth. 

J.D looked back at her father with wide eyes. "I'm not a baby, am I pa?" 

"No, but you're not a lady yet." Albert responded, placing his daughter on one of the twin beds in the room. He tapped her denim covered knee, and smiled. "Not until you put on a pretty dress and go see that new Disney film with your mother and brother."

"Disney films are icky!" Mason scrunched his nose up. "The main character's always a girl."

"Girls are way better than boys anyway." J.D stated matter-of-factly. "Boys think they're all tough and strong but a girl could beat them at anything."

"Nuh uh!" Mason stuck his tongue out, and J.D scoffed.

"Yuh huh!" She shot back, and the twins continued to argue for several minutes, before Albert threw his hands in the air in exasperation. 

"You two, stop it!" He scolded them, and they fell silent, glaring at each other. "Mason, I have work to do, and have you even seen the trailer for this one?"

Mason shook his head, and J.D gave a toothless grin. "I have! Don't worry Mason, there's a boy character called Flynn Rider, and I think he's gonna be really funny."

Mason jutted his bottom lip out, and sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine."

J.D let out a victorious laugh and held Lulu the dinosaur by the arm. "Come on, race you down the stairs!"

Mason let out a yell of protest when J.D ran down the steps before him. He quickly followed, but didn't catch up with the speedy sister. 

+++

J.D ran to the water, jumping in as soon as she reached the edge. She heard her mother call out after her, but she was having too much fun to care. 

They were at the beach, and even though her father had to bring his work with him, they were having a great family bonding time. Mason was playing in the sand, not a care in the world. 

Everything was perfect. 

J.D splashed around in the sea, giggling like a loon. The water flowed around her, cool on her body and crystal clear when she dunked her head under the surface. She saw pieces of seaweed floating around, along with rocks and sand scattering the bottom. Bubbles floating up to the top as she blew out, and she laughed as they popped above her. 

When she rose her head to take a breath, she didn't see the oncoming wave. She let out a gasp when she was forced back under without any air in her lungs. She felt herself being pulled back and she tried swimming up. Her hands thrashed above her head and she let out a wheeze when the chilly air met her burning lungs. 

"Jessica-Diana!" She faintly heard her mother scream out.

"Ma! Help me!" J.D called, and felt hot tears rush down her face when she saw another wave rolling her way. It was a monster, fierce and loud with sharp teeth and a dark grey body. J.D's open mouth was filled with salt water and she felt her feet swept from underneath her again. Her brain was set into panic mode, and she was frozen and didn't know what to do. 

She felt herself floating, her head fuzzy and chest heavy. 

Suddenly, two arms lifted her up. She slowly opened her eyes and saw her father's face. 

"Is she alright?" She heard her mother asked faintly. "Jessie, can you hear me?"

J.D nodded softly. 

"There's another wave coming." Albert informed his wife. "We need to get her to shore."

The sound of a boat rumbled beside them, and J.D's body was handed to the lifeguards. 

The nine year old was pulled into the warm body of one of the adults, and she shivered, feeling queasy. 

"Wave!" She heard someone scream out, and her head was covered. She heard two screams, then felt a rush of wind as the boat took off again. 

"Where did they go?"

"They must've been swept under!"

"It's too dangerous! We need to get her to shore before she gets hurt!"

"Wave!"

"Where's my ma?" J.D whispered and felt the arms of the lifeguard tighten around her. "And my dad?"

"They were knocked over by the wave, but don't worry, we're going to find them." The lifeguard assured the young girl, and J.D nodded, cuddling into the woman's side. 

They were searching for twenty minutes, and J.D had turned blue. It was only when one lifeguard let out a yell, and they pulled out two bodies. 

Two completely colourless bodies. 

J.D fell off the seat when she saw her mother's blue lips and her fathers drained face. 

"Start compressions!" She heard someone call out, and she was pushed to the side. 

One. 

Two. 

Three....

J.D squeezed her eyes shut and tried to stop shaking. 

"We need to give them immediate medical attention. There's fluid in the lungs and a head injury on the female." 

"The male is still breathing, but he has a big chance of still drowning."

They died on the way to the hospital. 

They died trying to save their daughter. 

It was her fault. 

present day

Tears burned J.D's face as she rocked back and forth on her bed. These small tears turned into a sob, and her shaking hands tangled in her messy dark hair. "My fault, my fault."

She dropped to the ground and the sobs grew louder, and her now clenched fists slammed against the ground. 

"My fault!" She screamed out, and the door burst open, revealing Mason and Herb. 

Two arms wrapped around her shoulders, and tried to pry her away from the ground. J.D ripped herself away and hid her face in her arms, her body trembling. Mason grabbed her by the waist again and pulled her softly into his body. He stroked her hair as she wept, and Herb sat at her bed, watching the situation with a glum expression.

Water began to escape Mason's eyes and fell onto J.D's head, before it turned into a rushing stream. He was getting better, but seeing his sister breaking down made his heart crumble. He loved his sister too much to see her so shattered and damaged. "It's okay, it's okay."

J.D clutched onto his t-shirt and quivered like a leaf, her throat hoarse. "It's my fault."

"Don't say that." Mason snapped, and she flinched slightly. "Don't ever blame yourself. If they didn't go into the water you'd be dead."

"They're gone because of me." J.D whispered, her voice cracking. 

Mason squeezed his eyes shut, more tears rolling down his flushed cheeks. 

They sat in silence, the only noise being the sounds from the road and the soft music playing from J.D's speakers. 

You got me treading on the water

'Cause I've never learned to swim

Now I know that it's all over

I better learn to start again

They told me

Everything works out in the end

Everything works out in the end.

+++

J.D sat on the couch wrapped in a shared blanket with Mason. Peter was in the kitchen with May and Herb, making snacks and drinks. The two Parkers had paid a visit, bearing flowers and chocolate like they had done for the last six years. 

"Hot cocoa, extra chocolate." Peter said, trying to lighten the atmosphere. He handed the mug to J.D, who took it, muttering a 'thank you'. "And a lemonade, iced."

He sat at J.D's other side, and reached forward for the remote. He pressed play and leaned back, letting the silence fall on them. He knew how hard it was for the twins, and he wanted to be there for them like they were always there for him. 

The teens sat in the dark, the only light from the television screen. 

"Seven a.m, the usual morning line up. Start on the chores and sweep till the floor's all clean."

A tear rolled down J.D's cheek, and she didn't bother wiping it away. It was the last film she had seen with her mother, and watching it filled her with an unexplainable mixture of joy and heartache that she endured for the sake of Sylvia Purnell.  

As the film carried on, J.D noticed Mason quoting Flynn Rider under his breath. This brought a soft smile to her face. 

"Don't worry Mason, there's a boy character called Flynn Rider, and I think he's gonna be really funny."

J.D watched the side of her brother's face, watching him carefully. She could still see the way his bottom lip was pushed out and his eyes were wide and childish. She could still hear his higher-pitched voice.

"Okay, fine."

IDK HOW TO WRITE SAD STUFF LMAO HOPE YOU SHED A TEAR OR TWO