Borrowed Time

Chapter Thirty Five

Juliette's dreams had been nothing short of entirely fitful, giving her flashes of what could have happened if her father hadn't come home, what could have happened to Esme... None of it was helping her feel better, it made her wake up three times just so she could throw up, which hadn't helped the intense fucking headache.

Esme being there did help, it helped a lot more than she'd even thought was possible. Every time she had to throw up, Esme would rouse without being asked, like something in her soul sensed that Juliette wasn't okay, and she'd lead her to the bathroom, coax her through it, and put her back to bed. She never complained, she never said she was being difficult... She was kind. Understanding... It wasn't a feeling that Juliette was used to having around her if it wasn't coming from Shelby or Micheal.

Currently, however, Esme was her close, personal enemy for getting out of bed... There was no way it was time to get ready, right? The world would be incredibly cruel if it was... She'd never forgive the earth for separating them... Which was dramatic, but it was true.

"Mmm... Where are you going?" Juliette mumbled, opening up one eye before she let out a gasp and closed it again. It felt like white hot pokers were being stabbed into her skull, and that mixed with the ache of the actual bruises was enough to almost make her throw up. God, recovering was gonna be a fucking bitch. Why couldn't Samantha have hit her somewhere less painful? She felt Esme press a soft kiss to her uninjured temple before tracing lightly around where the wound was, making her wince... It was gentle, she was trying to be sweet but it hurt like a bitch.

"I gotta get up and get ready for school." She murmured and Juliette opened her eyes again, grimacing. She couldn't miss another day, not after she'd been six for two days the week before, she'd be so far behind in history and english that she'd never have a fucking prayer of catching up.

"I should too-." She sat up and gasped, gripping at her head as her stomach lurched. The entire room felt like it was slightly sideways and she trembled slightly at the dizzy feeling, drawing her knees to her chest. This was her personal hell... Her equilibrium had never been something she'd paid attention to before, but god did she miss it right now. "Agh." Esme sighed, sitting down beside her to rub her hand across her upper back comfortingly. She leaned into her, frowning slightly.

"Yeah, you're not going today... you need to get your rest before you can do that, okay?" Esme asked, and Juliette tried to look at her, squinting so that the slight light filtering into the room didn't hurt nearly as bad... she just wanted everything to go back to normal, if she didn't go back to school people would talk. And when people talked things went to shit for her.

"But-." Esme placed a hand gingerly on her less bruised cheek, leaning in to kiss her softly before she gently placed their foreheads together. Even if it hurt the split on Juliette's lip that she'd gotten from chewing on it in her sleep, she was grateful for the gentle affection, something to remind her that she was real... and something that didn't make her head throb like the other one had.

"Hey. I'll be home as soon as possible, but if I skip today my mom's gonna have my head... I asked her if I could and she said no, not because she doesn't want me to help but because she's worried about me graduating if I start skipping like I was last year. I understand her logic, even if I'm frustrated." Juliette nodded before wincing and grimacing... Bad idea. Just respond verbally, otherwise the room did a flip, which was not physically possible and not something her stomach knew how to react to.

"Gotcha." Esme picked up her towel and sighed, walking out of the room. Once she was out of sight, Juliette instantly missed seeing her... She liked when they were in the same room, it made her feel less lonely.