Borrowed Time

Chapter 200

A/N:  Hey y'all!  So, because Wattpad only allows for 200 chapters per project, I am going to be splitting Borrowed Time into two - the second installment will start with Chapter 201, and it'll be obviously on its own project.  So, this'll be the last chapter of this installment, all other chapters will be published on a 'part two'.  Thanks!  Love yall!

Esme hadn't left Juliette's side since they'd gotten home after work the night before, which wasn't that unusual, but it felt like there was something buzzing just under the surface, like they were waiting for something terrible to happen to her.  Even while they were sitting at the diner, doing nothing but eating breakfast and talking, their eyes were shifting around to each and every corner like they expected someone to emerge from the shadows.

Juliette sighed, reaching across the table to squeeze their hand, pulling it across to her so that she could lightly kiss their knuckles, resting her forehead against them.  Nothing had actually happened to her yesterday - like sure, Ethan's comments had been creepy, and he'd for sure crossed a line, but what guy in Hollingsworth didn't?   Colton's actions were so commonplace that she didn't even think of it as anything past just Colton Trent's constant M.O.  They didn't have to be so worried.

"What's up, baby?" They asked, looking confused as they placed their other hand over their linked ones.  Juliette chuckled, shaking her head as she leaned back in her seat.  She might not always get what was going on, but she wasn't stupid. 

She could at least tell when Esme was upset or nervous... What kind of a girlfriend would she be if she didn't pick up on that, right?  That was just something that she knew how to do - a rare occurrence considering the fact that she'd had to work hard to tune into most people's emotions.

"I should be the one asking you that." She said, watching their brows furrow as they leaned a little closer, seeming confused, but she knew it was an act - if they were actually confused, they wouldn't have leaned forward, they would've leaned back.  They were trying to make her feel better, to get rid of whatever was flagging for her, but that wasn't going to happen.

She knew Esme inside and out, and that meant their tells as well, even the ones that they didn't know they had.

"What are you talking about?  I'm completely fine, don't worry about me." Their tone was rushed, and all it did was make Juliette roll her eyes because if anyone knew that saying 'don't worry about me' didn't work, it was her.  That was her fucking mantra, and the entire world liked it ignore it.

She was going to pay Esme that same respect right now, because she was worried that they might never stop being on edge if she didn't help them right now, and that was the last thing that she wanted for the love of her life.

"I'm talking about the fact that I think you've scanned this room close to a dozen times in the last ten minutes." She said, which didn't sound that odd when she thought about it, but more than once a minute was a little bit excessive.  Esme sighed, hanging their head as they did, like she'd just saw through some major disguise, which she doubted that she had.

All she'd done was point out the fact that they seemed nervous, like they were waiting for something terrible to happen all over again and granted, that was quite common in their town, but she didn't want them to live life just waiting for one of them to get hurt, especially when it hadn't even been that bad.

"Look... I just really hate what happened yesterday, and if I see either of them again, I'm going to tear their heads off of their bodies.  That's all."  They said it so casually too, like they were talking about the weather or something, which would've been terrifying if it wasn't Esme saying it... But in this case, it was just kinda hot.