Making her Joyful Again || RF Julie x FEM reader || L1TTL3_R0TT3N

- Ch.7: Bedded in the Wrong Soil -

"Mama!" Ophelia called out to her mother from her bedroom door, half of her head covered in bows and ribbons while the other half remained bare. Julie looked up from her seat at her vanity and looked towards her. 

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" She tilted her head to the side, the makeup brush in her hand leaving her skin.

"Can I come to the dinner party?" She looked at her mother with wide and excited eyes. Julie gave her a warm smile and shook her head. "I'm afraid not. You'll be seeing Sally. Trust me, it's very boring." She gave a simple explanation.

Ophelia didn't seem too disappointed. She took one of the bows out of her hair. Julie looked back at her mirror and continued to do her makeup. She did her best to hide the bags under her eyes and the delirious look in her pupils.

"What's that for? Keep the bows in, Ophe. They look good." She said with a sweet tone, a tone she used around Ophelia. Only Ophelia, because it wouldn't be welcome in any other situation.

Ophelia gave a quick nod and started back to her room. "Okay!" She shouted out as her bedroom door slammed shut. It didn't take much to convince her.

Julie looked back into her mirror and finished her makeup. She felt so divine, so lovely. She only really got to dress up so formally when there was an event for the factory; most often dinner parties Walden only held because Carmella Sennight needed an excuse to take her wife out to a free dinner.

But it only ended up being in vain by the end of the night, when she felt alone again and was kept locked away from the crowd like a decoration. She knew she was never really alone. She had her daughter and Sally. But in this moment and this life, she was completely isolated from everyone else.

She could never truly show herself to anyone, ever tell them her truth. She was a lap dog with nothing to say.

"Are you ready?" Walden leaned on the doorframe as he tied his necktie. Julie didn't look at him before pushing her hair behind her back. "Yes." Both of their voices were lifeless when they spoke, like ghosts communicating.

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"Finally!" Molly groaned and she buttoned the last button on the shirt she and Dolly wore. "I still think red would've looked better." She rolled her eyes while she pinned up her hair. "We look best in white. This is a formal event, Molly." He didn't want to argue. Dolly just wanted to get the night over with.

"Would you two shut the fuck up?" Cod seemed more stressed than anyone. He pushed the collar of his shirt up as much as he could to hide the multiple hickeys and bite marks on his neck. Molly only smirked. "You were visiting your mom?" She snickered.

Cod ignored their jokes and let his collar stay where it was. There didn't seem to be a point in hiding it. "Come on, Dolly! Let's go sit down. My heel is killing me." Molly groaned, leaning her head to the side. The twins walked away from Cod, leaving him standing alone in front of the mirror in the hallway.

"Thank god." A voice huffed from behind him. Cod glanced to the corner of the mirror. [Name] stood there, breathing heavily. "Do you know...how hard it is to find a parking spot close to the entrance?" She paused for a moment, not seeming to actually want him to answer the question.

"It's impossible! So instead I parked by the dumpsters!" She threw her hands up, bumping her hip against Cod's to get him to move over so she could see herself in the mirror. She checked her hair and her outfit. "No dress?" Cod raised a brow.

"No makeup for that hickey?" She didn't look at him before throwing back an insult. They both chuckled before stepping away from the mirror. "Let's go suffer through this together, fishy."

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"Will you stop messing with it?" Walden grabbed Julie's wrist and pushed it away from the tie she was trying to fix. "It looks fine." He scowled, letting go of her. She took a step back to examine him. The tie was loose, but she stopped caring when she realized how much of a prick he was being.

"Do you seriously want to look like a buffoon in front of all of your employees?" She raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms over her black cocktail dress.

 "It's better to look like a buffoon than to act like one." He pushed out a sigh, frantically trying to fix his appearance. Julie rolled her eyes. 'One can do both.'

Walden peeked through the stage curtains to look at the crowd. He glared at the corner table where [Name] sat. "I see that the lower department decided to come." He glowered, looking over them like they were bugs under his shoe.

Julie knew who he was talking about. He didn't even have to say their names for her to group them. "They showed up, yeah? So leave it at that." She looked away from the table, trying to hide behind the curtain.

"You're defending them now?" Walden smirked and looked at her from over his shoulder. He approached his wife, a hand sliding over her waist. "We used to enjoy talking shit about them, didn't we? Or maybe you're convincing yourself you can be a 'better person'?"

Julie furrowed her eyebrows, twisting her hips to avoid his touch. His smirk faded and he brought his hand back to his side. "People like you don't change. Not when your body isn't your own when it's possessed the way yours is." His insults cut deep. But one day, she'd cut deeper.

"Show him, Julie. Show him what I can do."

"Eat shit, Walden." She gritted her teeth as she turned around and walked off the backstage stairs. Just as she disappeared, the curtains opened and Walden stepped out to give his speech.

She walked down the hallway in a furious blast. She needed out, and she needed out before it was too late.

She burst through the women's bathroom door, walking up to the sink. She pressed her palms against the porcelain sink's edge. She looked at her reflection, seeing the raspberry-colored stains in the whites of her eyes. The points of her horns were sharper, the scent of marigolds invading her nose, her fingernails growing into talon-like points.

"Why hold back?" Her reflection spoke. Julianne was furious at Walden's insults. Julianne would've done something about it long ago, she would've defended herself. But now Julianne was fighting herself more than anyone else. 

"I can't do anything. It'll just prove his point." Julie let out a sigh, looking down at the sink drain. Black ink bubbled up, forming stringy lines. "Your wrath isn't meant to be hidden." Julianne smiled even though Julie couldn't see it.

The black ink formed into a hand, the fingers trapping Julie's wrist. "Let me go, Julie." She demanded with an animalistic octave. "Let me show him."

Julie ripped her wrist out of Julianne's grasp, letting out a shriek. "No."

Behind her, a voice spoke up. "Are you alright?"

Julie turned around, the fingers around her wrist retreating into the drain. [Name] stood before her with a confused expression. Julie was quiet for a moment without a thing to say. "Take it all."

"Let's get out of here. "

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