Borrowed Time

Chapter 156

Thank God and anyone or anything else that might exist in the universe for the existence of Shelby Hart and her willingness to take detours on her way home because if she was even slightly less willing to do so, Juliette would've been walking in the snow - sure, normally she would ask Becky or let Esme pick her up, but Becky was busy tonight and Esme had had to go home early... Thankfully Shelby had been available to pick up the mantle, stressful as it might be to drive through the snow... Something that Juliette was picking up on simply from the changes in the way that Shelby was breathing.

She could breathe wrong and Juliette would know, how interesting was that? That was a sign that she'd known her for too long at this point.

"God, it's snowing so much." Shelby sighed, looking anxious as she glanced around, which was fair. Juliette absolutely hated driving in the snow when she did drive, the rare occasion that that happened on, and so she couldn't judge Shelby about being nervous about that.

"Yeah, it's bad out." She responded, and Shelby nodded, giving her a half smile as she made one of the last turns before the trailer park... Damn, that was a quick drive... Maybe she'd just zoned out, but it'd felt extra quick today.

"I'm glad Esme isn't out driving in this, that van does not have good tires." That was a really good point... Juliette hadn't even thought about how not winterized their vehicle was, that made her a thousand times more nervous for how much Esme had to go back and forth for work...

As long as they were very careful, they should be fine... They should be fine, right? Nothing to worry about.

"Yeah..." That reminded her. "Thanks for the ride by the way." Juliette said, smiling over at Shelby, who nodded as she turned into the trailer park... Her nod was knowing, like there was no way that she'd do anything else, and Juliette appreciated that, she really liked the sureness that came along with Shelby's entire existence, it was something that she strived to have. Confidence was so cool, and she wanted to be just as cool as her best friend.

If that was even possible, which she wasn't sure that it was at this point in time... But that wouldn't stop her from trying, right? It gave her something that she could strive for, which was important.

"Esme had to go home right after school so that Gianna could get the van, that means you get a ride." She reasoned, and Juliette felt her heart drop... Something about that being Shelby's reasoning made her heart break a bit... She wanted Shelby to know that she meant the world to her, even if they didn't hang out as often as she wanted just because they were both fucking busy.

She'd spend every day hanging out with Shelby if she could, but there just weren't enough hours in the day for that to actually happen.

"That's the only time I get a ride?" Juliette asked, and Shelby frowned, seeming to think about that before she shook her head, which made Juliette let out a breath of relief - she didn't want Shelby thinking that she was just using her for a ride, she really did like spending time with Esme, it was often just easier to ride home with Esme because they lived together. She always wanted to spend time with Shelby - she just didn't always have the extra time.

"I mean, I guess not... But it's the most common, isn't it?" Shelby asked, and Juliette frowned, nodding... Well, she hated that. It felt like she was using Shelby, like she was too involved in her own relationship to pull her head out of her ass to spend time with her best friend.

Had they just hung out the night before? Yes, but it still didn't feel like enough, and it was even worse with Micheal - he had so much going on that it was almost impossible to get to hang out with him.