Juliet turned on music from her phone. At first, I hadn't recognized it, until the voice became more familiar. Frank Sinatra. Juliet loved old music, he was one of her favorites. It wasn't raining as hard anymore.
She began humming along, forcing me out into the empty street. The rain was pooling by the sidewalk, soaking our shoes. I watched Juliet twirl around, her converse kicking water up. She has never been in dance classes, but with the way she was moving so freely, you'd think she was a professional.
"Come on, you act like you've never been dancing! You're just standing there watching me." She complained, stuffing her phone into her jacket pocket. She snuck both of my hands, and twirled around, like a game of 'ring-around-the-rosie'. Her joy illuminated the streets, her squeals of excitement echoed against the apartments.
And in that moment, life felt like it was going to be okay.
She was looking me in my eyes, the brightest expression on her face. Giggling like a five year old, she let go of my hands, running hers through her now wet hair. "If my dad saw us right now, he'd kill me."
"Oh for sure." I agreed, listening to the sound of the droplets hitting the concrete. "The things I would do to get you out of that situation Jules.." I mumbled, my eyes glued to the street. "Don't worry about it, Mary. We're sixteen. I only have to live with him for two more years before I can move out." She assured me, but I could hear the pain in her voice. I know how much she hated being home. The anxiety she got when he walked through their front door.
Her face sunk. I'm sure she was thinking about her dad. I knew she had a traumatic childhood, but she didn't feel comfortable talking to me about it. It didn't hurt me, because I understood how she's feeling. I just wish her mother would put her in therapy or something, somewhere where she can let everything out. Somewhere she can be okay.
"I don't know everything you're going through right now, Juliet...and that's okay. You can tell me everything when you're ready...but I want you to know that I'm always going to be here for you. I know people say shit like that all of the time and it is completely meaningless in the face of the world but I am." I hugged her quickly. We weren't very big on physical affection, but part of my heart felt as though she needed this. Like the universe was telling me she needed someone here for her. I just wish she'd acknowledge it.
"I'm fine, I promise you." Her hands gently held on to my back, patting it softly. "You mean so, so much to me. I wouldn't deprive you of being able to help me if I needed it." she whispered in my ear, her head resting on my shoulder.
"Promise?"
"Promise."
The moment was interrupted by the pizza delivery guy's car in our driveway. "Finally! I'm starving!" Juliet and I walked back to my apartment while my mom paid for the pizzas. I traveled to the cabinet where we keep our cups, "Do you need anything to drink?" I asked, grabbing two cups, "Yeah, water is fine."
"Here we go!" Chirped my mom, setting the pizza boxes down on our table. The box was set on top of Jeremy's coloring book, "Mom!" He whined, ripping the book from under the hot pizzas. "Sorry, buddy. I didn't see it there. How about you go out that in your room?" She suggested, picking up his crayons.
"Thanks again Ms. Culling!" Replied Juliet gratefully. I set Juliet's water down in front of her, taking my seat. Opening the box, there was a medium cheese pizza inside. I tried my best to get a clean piece, but the cheese was all over the place.
"ACH!" I exclaimed, throwing the burning slice pizza down on my plate. "Be careful, it's hot." I warned Juliet before sliding the box over to her.
About an hour or so later, Juliet and I had finished eating and returned up to my room to get changed. I took off my shirt, rummaging through my closet for pajamas. I didn't care wether or not Juliet saw me, we've changed in front of each-other plenty. Sliding on my nightgown, I watched her throw her hair into a bun.
I laid back down on my bed, getting under the cotton comforter. Juliet later joined me, "You don't realize how cold you are until you get inside, huh?" She uttered, her teeth chattering. I grinned, "You look so stupid right now."
"Do not!"
I mimicked her, chattering my teeth together exaggeratedly, "yes you-you do."
"Oh my god, you're just messing with me at this point." She huffed, turning so that her back faced me. I rubbed my eyes, making my eyelids red and puffy. "Hey Juliet?"
She made her way back to me, "Hmm?" she raised a brow.
"What are we going to do after highschool? Do you want to go to college together?" I asked.
"That's the dream...I'd love to be an author...writing books to kids who are in situations like I am...helping them get through their trauma and figuring out how to live. I think something like that would make my heart happy." She smiled sadly. "I've already got some ideas for themes that i'm going to add in it, like healthy coping mechanisms...just so kids don't hurt themselves." She lit up a bit, "Imagine all of the good I could do with that, how many suicides I could help prevent because of my books."
"That sounds really sweet, Jules."
"And if they get enough traction I could make a lot of money off of them...I've wanted to do this since I was little...maybe not the same kind of book, but I've always wanted to entertain people. What about you though?"
"I think I want to be something that makes a lot of money...just because living like this, like my mom, isn't what I want to have my entire life. Plus, I could help my mom out if she needed it."
"Then let's make sure we go to college together, so we can both achieve our dreams, okay?"
"Okay."
Juliet fell quiet, "Juliet?" I whispered. No response. She had fallen asleep. Smiling to myself, I turned out the light.
I felt my eyelids grow heavy, staring into the darkness.
The next morning, I awoke to Juliet still asleep. She was cuddling her pillow, the blanket kicked off of her. She was breathing rather softly. How could anyone abuse someone like this days on end?
I just wanted to know what was going through her head right now. I wanted to know if she really was alright.
