Borrowed Time

Chapter Ninety Nine

The only thought that Juliette had on her mind while she tried to close her eyes and enjoy the sun that was warming her body was the fact that there was a very real possibility that Micheal might stop being her friend once he was across the country from her... She didn't want it to happen, she just knew that it was something that was likely... He was a handsome guy, super nice... He could find a new friend and the drop of a hat.

She was more abrasive and a little more rude, if she lost Micheal then she was down a friend and she'd probably never actually fill the slot that he left in her lineup, which was a little sad, but it was true.

"Hey." Juliette opened her eyes and flicked her sunglasses onto her forehead, looking over at Shelby who was settling down beside her. What was she doing over here? She'd been hanging out with Micheal, that felt far more important than coming over here to talk to her, they needed their time together... Plus, she was totally fine and there was no actual need to worry about her. Even if she was weirdly sad right now she'd figure it out... She always figured it out. It was embarrassing that she was even feeling like this, if she just made fun of herself enough, she'd probably be back to normal within a few minutes.

"Hey. What's up?" She asked, and Shelby looked down at her, clearly concerned as she drew her knees to her chest. Why was she worried? Juliette was totally fine, there was nothing to worry about. She got sad sometimes, that wasn't news... Most of the times that she got sad, it was nothing. This was one of those times, she had no reason to be sad other than what her brain was telling her, there was no reason to believe that any of it was real, right? Micheal wasn't the kind of person to just ditch her the second they got out of high school.

Right? Like, he wouldn't do that and it was insane to think that he would... But she couldn't get it out of her brain, the idea that she could lose one of her best friends in the entire world in less than six months.

"Is there a reason why you're laying all alone when you could be hanging out with Micheal and I?" She asked, and Juliette shrugged, letting out a forced chuckle as she shook her head and flicked her sunglasses back down. Yes, it's because I keep feeling this gut-wrenching feeling that Micheal is going to ditch me when he moves down here and I can't stand to think about it because the idea of having a life without him in it is painful. She wasn't going to say that, she was going to lie so that Shelby would leave and she could continue to wallow.

She was too good at wallowing to stop now, right?

"You two were having a little couple moment, I'm letting that happen." She said, which also wasn't technically a lie. They were being really cute and she didn't want them to stop being with each other, it was nice to see how in love they were. It was something that she enjoyed even if she was mid-panic. She liked knowing that her two favorite people were so happy together. She was pretty sure that if anyone she knew would be together forever, it was going to be the two of them, the world wouldn't make sense without them... Weird thing to say, but it was entirely true.

"Okay..." "Are you alright?" Shelby asked, and Juliette nodded. No, but Shelby didn't need to know that, it was none of her business, she deserved to simply have a relaxing day and she wasn't going to be the reason why she didn't have a nice day out at the beach. That would make her a total bitch, and she didn't want to be like that.

"Mhm. Just tired." Juliette said, which wasn't a lie. She was exhausted, because this thought had gripped her at about 3:00 AM the night before and she'd laid awake all night thinking about it, thinking about how many long distance relationships of any kind failed... There was more of a statistical support that she would be left friendless and alone than there was of them staying friends... Well, she'd still have Shelby... But that was different. She didn't know how, but it felt like it was.