Borrowed Time

Chapter Fifty Seven

Juliette really hadn't thought that she would look that bad after she'd gotten her nose set, and she'd fallen asleep before she could actually check it the night before because of the meds they'd given her, but now that she could see it in the harsh light of the bathroom, she realized just how bad it looked... The healing process would fix the swelling, but she just hated that she hadn't turned away from the hit before it happened, or ducked out of the way.

She really didn't need another reason to hate herself at this point in her life... She had more than enough. Juliette grimaced as she leaned closer to the mirror, poking around at the skin as she winced... God, at least she hadn't needed a splint. Luckily, Ingrid punched like a fucking idiot... It'd been a minor break, but it was still a detrimental hit to her ego right now.

From the doorway, Juliette heard someone clear their throat and she jumped, looking over to see Esme leaning against the doorway, her eyes still heavy with sleep... God, she was so pretty, Juliette couldn't help but smile at her before turning back to the mirror as she stepped into the bathroom.

"Hey... You're up early." Esme murmured, wrapping an arm around her waist before she pressed warm kisses to her shoulder. Juliette sighed, leaning her head back as she brought a hand up, placing a hand on Esme's cheek as she looked at them together... They looked stunning as a pair, they really did... Juliette was sure it was the most perfect she'd ever looked in her life... Aside from the nose.

Esme was a comfort to her, too... It was relaxing to be around her. She liked how warm she was in the morning, how she still smelt like she'd been sleeping, she still had the feeling of a restful night... It was very calming, it made Juliette want to get back in bed and just rest beside her forever.

"Yeah, the pain meds wore off and I thought I would take more because my nose hurt, but I took ibuprofen instead..." Juliette turned around in her arms, cupping Esme's face, lifting it so she could look into her eyes and lean in to press a lingering kiss to her lips before she tucked her face against her chest. "Sorry I fell asleep so quickly last night, I know you wanted to... I..." How did she even say that? How did she apologize for not staying awake long enough to let Esme make good on her promise? Should she apologize for that?

The rumbling chuckle she heard from Esme's chest told her that she probably didn't have to, but she still had, so that was a little late.

"Baby." She glanced up, her breath catching at the soft, warm expression on Esme's face, the way that she carefully tucked back some of Juliette's hair before she shook her head. "I like holding you just as much as I like anything else in the world, you know that." "What are we looking at?" She asked, and Juliette grimaced, sighing as she looked behind her and then back at Esme... No, she preferred just seeing her... pretty lips... pretty nose... pretty eyes... How was she ever meant to look away?

"My nose." Esme's crinkled a bit, a little line appearing between them. Juliette pushed up on her toes and pressed a kiss there, making Esme smile... So handsome... "I look gross." She said, and Esme's smile disappeared and was replaced with a look of confusion as she shook her head, placing a gentle hand on Juliette's cheek as she examined her closer, like she was trying to see through her eyes.

It was cute, it really was... But no one would ever see Juliette the way that she saw herself... They could only see the outside shell, they didn't have the fucked up backstory that made everything else look so achingly bad sometimes.

"No, you don't. You look like you have a bruise and a minor break, but you don't look 'gross'. You never look gross." Esme said, with such certainty that Juliette found it hard to disagree with her... but she was still confused how she could say that... Esme had seen her beaten and bloody, throwing up, and sobbing her eyes out, how was she supposed to believe that not even once in that time that Esme hadn't looked at her and thought 'gross'? She was perfect, but she was still human, right?