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

- Ch.14: Thorn In My Side -

! TW: gore !

[Name] returned home with her mind running a marathon. Why did Julie act like they were strangers, why did she speak so formally? Maybe so Ophelia wouldn't know they were friends? Maybe she felt weird after the garden?

She had a headache by the time she stumbled into the house. "Is that you, child?" Her father called from the kitchen. Something smelled good, but she couldn't put her finger on it.

Wally approached her with his sleepy smile and took her hand. "Help." He spoke casually and emotionlessly as always, but there was a bit of panic in the tiny puppet's eyes.

 He dragged her to the oven and pointed inside. "He's killing the apples." The sentence he spoke certainly needed more emotion, but that was pointless to want from a puppet. [Name] kneeled down and looked inside. "Oh. It's just a pie, Wally." She chuckled at how little he knew.

"Harold said there are apples in there." He inquired again, looking up at her. She nodded. "It's...an apple pie." She was almost surprised at how dense the poor puppet was. Much like its original inspiration, no doubt.

Wally kept staring inside the oven. Harold walked over and stood over them both. "How was your day?" He glanced over at [Name] with a subtle smile. His hands were behind his back, his sleeves rolled up while he wore his oven mitts that were riddled with eye-sorting patterns.

She looked away for a moment and wondered what to say. If she said she did, he probably wouldn't believe her.

"It...was alright." She shrugged and stood. "I don't know. Not the best, not the worst. Just a...day." Her shoulders rested and she spaced out. She stared at the trim on the wall. Tile patterns. Her eyes scanned over the cracks and lines between each brick.

Her heart couldn't help but sink when she thought about today. The way Julie was so dull, so numb. No matter what it was, whether she was in a hurry or not, it still upset her a bit to not get to talk to her more.

Harold let out a hum. "Go rest. I'll bring you some tea in a moment." His words surprised her. He usually pried into the situation, wringing her out until he had information to put together. He acted more like a detective than a dad.

But sometimes, he gave her a break. He knew when she was hurt. He knew when to stay out of it, and when to comfort her. She let out a breath of agreement and trudged to her room.

She didn't bother turning on the light. The room was dark except for the moonlight peeking inside through the window. The room was usually colorful, and decorated with old gadgets and stuffed animals from her childhood.

It just looks lonely in here. So dark, so lifeless. She fell onto her bed face first. She let herself sink into the mattress. The soft and inviting feeling the comforter gave her made the room much more inviting.

She sighed and allowed herself to close her eyes. Finally, the one thing she had wanted all day, peace and quiet.

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"Will you tell me what's wrong?" Walden looked over from his book to his wife on the other side of the bed. She shifted in her nightdress and turned away from him. She felt the sheets brush over her skin as her hand swept between her cheek and the pillow.

"Is...[Name] as bad as you say?" She spoke softly when she questioned him. There was a moment of silence between them. Walden thought over his and [Name]'s past. It made him decide it would be better to tell her half of the truth instead of the full.

He shifted against her, wrapping an arm around her waist as his face rested between her jaw and shoulder. "She had...a difficult childhood. She was raised in an entirely different world. She just doesn't know when to back away from situations she isn't part of." He closed his eyes and held her tighter.

"She's trash, Julie. She doesn't deserve your friendship."

But all Julie could think about was how kind she was. [Name] had been a better friend to her in the little time they had known one another than anyone else. When she was around her, she felt special.

She felt seen. Her body felt like her own.

Julie's only response was a short hum before she closed her eyes. Walden placed a kiss on her neck, then another on her cheek. "I just want to protect you. You're delicate, you know?" He whispered gently.

Julie hated being delicate. Hated being seen as less than everyone else just because Julianne was there. She would be gold, not silver.

"Then what is [Name]?" She leaned her head back to ask him. His kisses stopped, his face hovering over her temple. "A weed in our garden and a thorn in my side."

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A knock was heard as Harold's knuckles hit against the wall trim. "[Name]? I brought a piece of pie for you." He entered the room as [Name] stayed turned towards him. [Name] turned around to look at him before something else caught her attention. 

A flash of color appeared on Harold's shoulder, eyes glaring back at [Name] eerily. The flower.

Quickly, [Name] pulled open her stand stand drawer and brought out a pair of scissors. "Dad, look out!" She shouted before throwing the scissors across the room.

The scissors cut into the stem of the flower, a small screech coming from it before it fell. Harold looked down at it in surprise. [Name] rushed beside him, looking at the flower as she stood close to him.

The flower was limp on the ground, its eyes still open and staring at [Name].

But what was creepy about it was that the stem leaked blood, the crimson color pooling onto the floors. The end of the cut stem was bulging with a meaty texture. It was muscle. The other part of the stem, the one that had been removed, leaked out a large intestine.

This flower had internal organs spilling onto the hallway floor.

"..Fuck was that?" She panted softly, a hand firmly pressed against Harold's chest to protect him. "Language." He hissed and elbowed her arm.

"...Do you still want the pie?" Harold whispered, lowering the plate to her. [Name] simply sighed.

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