Borrowed Time

Chapter 125

It wasn't uncommon for Juliette to wake up to Shelby's bed empty when she slept over, she had a habit of waking up early to get things done... But 4:30 seemed like overkill, so Juliette felt dread set in when she looked over to Shelby's side of the bed and saw it empty... Where could she have gotten off to?

She heard water running in the bathroom and sighed, stretching as she carefully let her legs fall over the edge of the bed so that she could creep out of Shelby's room, smiling at the way that Tegan was clinging to Esme, their arms wrapped around their neck, Esme's hands clasped around their back... Cute.

Juliette quietly made her way to the bathroom, leaning into the doorframe as she watched Shelby carefully washing her face, seeming like she'd done it a few times by now... The skin was looking irritated, but Juliette wasn't surprised. Shelby used to wash her skin until there was raw skin when she was truly not doing well...

Stop that before it happens again. Juliette cleared her throat, trying to make herself known before she spoke, but Shelby wasn't paying attention.

"Hey killer..." Shelby jumped, the washcloth in her hand flying at Juliette's head. She ducked, grimacing at the droplet of water that fell on her head before she grabbed it off the ground, setting it in the laundry basket... There was no way that she was gonna let Shelby use that more if it was on the ground, that sounded like it was bad for her skin. "You're up early." She said, trying to continue the conversation casually like Shelby hadn't just tried to kill her with a damp cloth.

Shelby nodded, looking down at the sink for a moment, her hands tightening on the porcelain before she spoke... She didn't look like she was feeling well, and it made Juliette's heart ache... She knew that Shelby wasn't feeling well, but knowing and seeing were two totally different fucking beasts.

"I didn't sleep very well last night so I kinda just... Cut my losses." Shelby sighed, looking over at Juliette with a smile that was both exhausted and hollow. Juliette nodded and furrowed her brows, frowning slightly as she took her in... She had bags under her eyes, clearly exhausted in more ways than one and she looked like she might've been crying before Juliette had woken up.

She hated seeing Shelby cry, but if it was healing she also didn't want her to stop on her account... She would much prefer that Shelby let herself heal emotionally over letting herself get more hurt emotionally.

"That's fair." Shelby stared at herself with disdain in the mirror, her lips downturned as she seemed to glare at the person staring back at her, like they'd done something to personally slight her just by existing... And that wasn't technically wrong, but it wasn't something that Juliette wanted her doing to herself, it wasn't fair. She walked into the bathroom fully, wrapping her arms around Shelby's waist as she rested her forehead against her back. Stop being so fucking mean to yourself... If you can... "Hey, stop that." She mumbled, and that made Shelby pause as she felt her hands slide over hers, squeezing them lightly.

"Stop what?" She asked, and Juliette lifted her head off of her back, instead just resting her chin as she tried her best to stare around Shelby in the mirror... Shelby wasn't that much taller than her, what was seven or eight inches, right?

But she still couldn't do it. Damn it.

"You're looking at yourself and seeing flaws that aren't even there." She shifted to Shelby's side, resting her head against her shoulder as she looked at them in the mirror... It shocked her that Shelby couldn't see her beauty, she looked like someone that Juliette would see in a magazine... She had a classic kind of beauty that was so uniquely her own, everything about her so individual that it was impossible to replicate. I wish you could take my vision, just for a second so you could see just how wonderful you look when I look at you. "I will cover all of your windows with cloth, do not test me." Juliette said, and Shelby chuckled, a genuine smile spreading across her lips for a moment as she placed her hand over Juliette's, covering it where it was resting on the lip of the sink.