Borrowed Time

Chapter Seventy Six

"You do realize that once we get to Esme's I'm gonna need my shoulder back." Juliette said, and Shelby furrowed her brows and yawned, shaking her head... Okay, well it wasn't a question. Her shoulder was going numb and it'd been going numb since they were ten minutes out of Syracuse proper... Shelby had been sleeping on it practically since they landed, and it didn't seem like she had any intention of giving her arm freedom any time soon, which was fine for now, but she wanted to be able to get out and go inside Esme's house alone when they got there.

"Cross it when we get there..." Shelby mumbled, curling into her side more as they turned a corner. Sheila chuckled from the passenger seat, looking at them in the rearview mirror.

"I'll never understand how she can sleep so much." She said, and Juliette carefully shrugged, only using one shoulder so she didn't disturb Shelby.

"She had coffee." That was enough of an explanation for Sheila, but it made Ben sigh and shake his head, a fond smile on his face as he took his eyes off the road for a moment.

"That girl is such a mystery to me." He said, sounding both amused and adoring... And Juliette agreed in some ways. In almost every way possible, Shelby was an open book to her and she could understand every last thing she did... But occasionally she was slightly confusing.

"Me too." She said, and then the car was quiet for a few moments, Shelby's breathing being the only thing that Juliette could hear.

"Are you gonna be needing a ride home?" Sheila asked, breaking the silence. Juliette shook her head with a smile. No way. She wasn't going home tonight.

"No, I'm staying the night at Esme." She said, and that was enough for Sheila... Good.

"Okay sweetheart." She looked at her again, seeming almost concerned. "Does your father know?" Juliette shrugged... She hadn't told him, but if used context clues when she didn't show up at home, he'd know.

"Probably." She said, and Sheila furrowed her brows, her concern only becoming more prominent on her face... Why? Everything was perfectly fine, she didn't need to worry.

"Are you two fighting again?" God, she had no idea at this point... Probably. But if they actively were, she had no idea... It was kind of just a state of constant worry.

"I honestly don't know when we're not at this point... He keeps doing things that are hurtful and stupid and it's just... It's been hard." She admitted, which was something she hadn't known that she was going to do until she actually started talking, so that was fun.

"I can understand that... I hope it gets better." Yeah, she hoped so too. Life would be a lot easier if things got better in the house... She didn't want to spend her last six months at home at odds with her dad, that wouldn't be fun.

Shelby's steady breathing took over what was heard again, and Juliette laid her head on top of Shelby's as she let out a sigh, allowing the relaxation to take her over.

"She still lives in the trailers, right?" Sheila asked, and Juliette straightened up, clearing her throat... God, Shelby had almost put her to sleep.

"Mhm." She said, and Sheila smiled at her in the rearview.

"Same one?" Juliette nodded, glancing around... Oh. They were close to her place already, cool.

"Yeah." It was nice that she'd remembered. Beside her, Ben cleared his throat as he stopped the car.

"Great." Ben parked the car, the interior lights coming on as he opened his door, sort of as a quiet wake up call for Shelby. It was a great idea if it had even a prayer of working. "In that case, we're here." He said, and Juliette nodded, shrugging her shoulder to rouse Shelby...Which also wasn't effective.