The Untold Stories Of Us

The Downfall & The Aftermath

After Christmas Break, most students had returned to school, including Penelope and Josie. They had spent the past few weeks apart and couldn't wait to reunite. Penelope had been with her mom, and the Saltzman twins had visited their mother as well. Once back together, the young couple was inseparable and took advantage of their time together.

Whenever Josie was preoccupied with Lizzie though, and Penelope found herself in a rare state of boredom, she opened up the red journal hidden in one of her drawers. Right before Christmas Break, the dark-haired witch had given the students and staff pens as a gift. None of them knew that she had spelled them and that everything that was being written with them, ended up being copied into the journal in front of her.

It was harmless entertainment, Penelope thought. The best way to find out the juiciest gossip and have one up on everyone else. She only had one rule: Not to read Josie's entries. Although she had given Josie a pen in order for it not to be suspicious, she wasn't willing to breach their trust in that manner. Therefore, she hadn't read any of the entries made by her girlfriend. She didn't extend the same courtesy to Josie's family. Perhaps Penelope should have, because one entry of Dr. Saltzman ended up changing everything.

As soon as Penelope read the words "The Merge", she was intrigued. The headmaster was vague in his entry, but it was apparent that the Merge pertained to his twin daughters. He wrote that Caroline, the twins' mom had reached another dead-end in trying to find a solution for it. Penelope's interest was piqued. Her first instinct was to research but that didn't lead her anywhere. Apparently, everything dealing with the Merge had been ripped out of books or was unavailable somehow.

The only help Penelope really needed was her family. She was part of a very powerful coven herself, but she had never heard of the Merge. The more she found herself failing to get answers, the less she could focus on anything else. One day, she decided to call some of her family members to find out more. It took her a few tries until she found someone who was willing to share the full truth.

Penelope froze. What was conveyed to her sounded...cruel. A curse that was laid upon the Gemini twins who had to fight to the death before their 22nd birthday, meaning that only one would survive. Penelope felt sick after hearing it. Her entire world came tumbling down, realizing she had fallen in love with a girl who was most likely going to die in a few years. She spent the entire first night crying, fighting her first instinct to tell Josie everything.

She reasoned herself out of it. First off, it wasn't her place to tell. There was a reason why Dr. Saltzman and Caroline were keeping it from their children. Probably the same reason why Penelope never told her mom about finding her father. Neither wanted to hurt the people they loved. If that meant deceiving them to a certain extent, Penelope understood that reasoning. Plus, Josie was already wary of the strained relationship between her sister and girlfriend. This could be the final nail in the coffin.

Second of all, Penelope couldn't stand the thought of altering Josie's entire life before the twin was ready. There was some hope budding inside of the older student that her girlfriend would become powerful enough to survive the Merge. Actually, she was powerful enough already in Penelope's opinion. However, there wasn't a single scenario in which Penelope saw Josie not sacrificing herself for Lizzie.

It was that thought that changed it all. Imagining the love of her life sacrificing her life in a way she had always done, was the breaking point. Penelope wanted to ignore it, but it became harder and harder. She was a master of disguising her emotions when she wanted, but deceiving Josie turned out to be the most difficult part; especially because Penelope felt incredibly guilty for a change.

The most mundane days turned out to be a rollercoaster at times. It was a normal Tuesday, students going about their day and Penelope walked down the stairs with some of her friends. Noticing Josie sitting on one of the couches with MG, she approached the two of them.