Borrowed Time

Chapter 153

After parties... Literally every single one that Juliette had gone to had been either a waste of time or something that she'd come away with with sour feelings towards someone... and yet here she was as usual... She just couldn't say no to people sometimes, especially not people who she was pretty sure already hated her. Honestly, she wasn't sure why she was still invited to parties - she used to pretty much be either Shelby or Ingrid's plus one, but now Ingrid hated her, and Shelby was at the party, but she'd brought Emma so she was occupied...

And yet she was still invited... Odd.

She felt Esme's hand slip into her own and glanced over to see them giving her a soft smile before they leaned in, pressing a kiss to her cheek. Oh. Hello. I welcome that completely, yes.

"Doing okay there, pretty girl?" Esme asked, and Juliette nodded, clearing her throat... They'd been standing in the entry room for a moment to prepare to actually go inside... This party wasn't that loud or crowded, but it made Juliette anxious to think about actually going inside, there was just something that was so... Stressful about it.

But she was ready now.

"Yeah, I'm great... We can go in now if you want." She said, and Esme chuckled, squeezing her hand before they brought it to their lips to lightly kiss the back of it, their eyes never leaving hers, looking at her so intensely that Juliette felt like she could fall through the ground right then and there.

"I have no interest in going in there... But we both know that you're an expected guest, so after you, my love." They said, and Juliette nodded, letting out a long breath before she squeezed Esme's hand twice.

Things weren't nearly as overwhelming with Esme by her side, she felt like she could do stuff like this more easily, that was something that she really appreciated about them... They made breathing feel easier. They made living feel a thousand times easier.

"Don't let go of my hand." She instructed, and Esme chuckled, placing a hand on her hip and a kiss to the side of her neck.

"Baby, I would never dream of letting go of you." They murmured, making her shiver as she smiled. Good god. "I'd have to be a goddamn fool. Now let's get in there, okay?" They asked, and Juliette nodded.

"Yeah." She led Esme into the party, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves as she glanced around, looking for somewhere to hide out where people wouldn't think that it was time to talk to her...

"Shelby and Emma are sitting over there, we could join them." Esme murmured, seeming to notice that Juliette was frozen in place even as she tried to move. Juliette let her eyes flit around the room until she saw where Shelby and Emma were sitting with Shelby's legs thrown over Emma's lap, waving them down.

Part of her didn't want to interrupt, even as they were calling her over... But there wasn't really anywhere else to go, was there? She started to walk over, tugging Esme behind her as she weaved through the crowd, stopping in front of Shelby as she beamed up at her.

"Hey babe. You look nervous, take a seat." She said, scooting over a bit so that Juliette could sit in the corner of the couch, Shelby leaning against her shoulder and Esme on her lap as she looped her arms around their waist.

She was nervous, even if this wasn't a party that was really that nerve-wracking, she still didn't love the social situation aspect, it made her want to dive out a window, but she couldn't really do that in someone else's home, that would be very rude.

"Yeah... I'm nervous." She wasn't sure why, but the house looked... Familiar. Like a party that she'd been to before, but she didn't really remember. "Have I been here before?" She asked, and Shelby leaned her head back, resting it against Esme's chest so that she could look into Juliette's eyes, cupping her cheek.