𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑 & 𝐋𝐀𝐂𝐄 ━ girl meets world²

14│I'LL BE HOME FOR CHRISTMAS. . .

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❛ ʟᴇᴀᴛʜᴇʀ & ʟᴀᴄᴇ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ɪ'ʟʟ ʙᴇ ʜᴏᴍᴇ ғᴏʀ
ᴄʜʀɪsᴛᴍᴀs. . . ꒱


❝ HEY, JULIE. . . ❞

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J U L I E T

Juliet packed methodically for New York by quite literally taking out each item of clothing that she owned and judging whether or not it was worthy of the trip. After all, the chance of seeing Shawn would be quadrupled in the coming days and there was no way in hell that she would be caught in some shabby sweatpants. As she pulled out her last pair of shoes, her fingers brushed the hard edge of a cardboard box. Curious, she pulled it out to get a better look at it.

She felt a little shot of guilt at the sight of her memory box. It had originally been stored on the highest shelf of her closet, but after catching Miya with it red-handed, her daughter must have shoved it away as quickly as possible. Now, however, she didn't feel like bursting into tears at the sight of it, which was a vast improvement from almost a decade ago. Instead, she opened the lid and was met with Shawn's old leather jacket.

The dark-haired woman set the box aside to take it out. She shook out the wrinkles and stared at the heavy fabric with more fondness than hatred, which had been her initial reaction at seeing Miya with it. She couldn't help but reminisce about the old days and, in a wild, nostalgic moment, she slid her arms through the sleeves to shrug it on. Flipping her dark hair over the collar, she went over to the mirror in her room and studied herself in front of it.

The jacket was more of a perfect fit now than when she'd been younger since she'd grown a bit over the years. Another silly thought occurred to her and, slightly foolishly, she tucked her nose into the collar like she had so many times before. Of course, it no longer smelled like Shawn; its scent was more of dusty closet and aged fabric. With that realization, Juliet told herself to just get on with it already and she took off t he jacket. It was a waste to let a perfectly good coat just sit in her closet, though, so she called her daughter over.

Miya was also in the middle of packing but unlike her mother's neat piles, her clothes covered every square inch of the living room. She leaned against the doorframe and eyed the black coat with interest. "Yeah, mom?"

"Do you remember this? You were wearing it when I caught you looking through my stuff," Juliet said teasingly, her anger from that moment a distant memory.

The brunette did remember and she looked a little nervous, wondering if her mother would set off on her again like last time. ". . . Yeah?"

The older woman held it out to her. "Do you want it? It looked good on you the last time you tried it on."

"Oh. . . thanks." Miya took it from her gingerly, half-expecting her mom to snatch the jacket away. When she didn't, she tentatively asked, "are you sure you're okay with this?"

"Positive," Juliet replied brightly. "The past no longer affects me; it's exactly where I left it."

The younger girl relaxed a bit and put it on. "I like it. It makes me feel tough." She made an attempt at a 'tough' face that caused her mom to laugh.

"Keep working on that expression, honey. By the way, do you think you'll be done packing by tonight? We've got an early flight tomorrow so I want to make sure that we leave on time."

"I'll be ready," the Asian girl promised.

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December 24th, 10:00 a.m.