Borrowed Time Part 2

Chapter 212

Relaxation really was key to stopping social burnout and Juliette was slowly starting to realize that it was not all just a ploy made up by people who wanted her to stop her self destructive habits so that they could relax... No, she really was supposed to just lay down and relax sometimes and if she did that, maybe the world wouldn't feel like it was shoving itself down her throat all the time.

Could she hear the hum of the electricity in the hotel lamps still?  Yes.  Was it bothering her?  Of course.  But did she want to tear her skin off?  Significantly less than she normally did, so she was gonna call that a win.

She sighed, settling further into Shelby's side as she felt her phone buzz beside her.  She pawed around, thrusting it into Shelby's hand with a yawn.

"I have no idea why this is on my side of the bed, but shut that damn vibration off." She muttered, her arm slinging around Shelby's waist as she heard the other girl chuckle, which felt like an odd thing to do.

She hadn't said anything funny, what was the point of laughing if she hadn't even said anything that was funny?  Shelby was laughing at her for no reason... Wasn't the first time someone had done that, but it made it no less annoying... Shelby was just one of the lucky few that could get away with it.

"Relaxation makes you bitchy." She said, making Juliette gasp as she lifted her head, looking over at Shelby, who was grinning at her widely, like she'd just made the funniest joke in the world.  She smacked her arm, shaking her head.

Relaxation was new, and new things often turned her into a bitch, that was not news, that had always been the case, she wasn't sure why Shelby was acting like it was something that they hadn't both known about her for years at this point.

"It's new.  I don't do well with new... But it is helping." She admitted, seeing Shelby's smile soften as she reached up, cupping Juliette's cheek softly.  She leaned into the touch, enjoying the soft warmth of Shelby's hand and the sweet smell of her skin, something that never failed to make her feel safe.

She hadn't felt unsafe before, it was just... There was something that was extra secure about having Shelby holding her face so tenderly, and she was glad that she was lucky enough to get to experience it.

"Good, that's what I was hoping." Juliette nodded, resting her head back down against Shelby's back as she tapped into her phone, still using her free hand to trace little patterns on Juliette's back, almost absentmindedly.

Who the hell is texting you during relaxation time?  I'm gonna take the phone away, tell me who before I take the damn phone away.  Sure, she'd handed it to her, but she still ha d a very small window for time that she was understanding before she started to get antsy.

She lfted her head, resting her chin where her cheek had been.

"Who's it from?" She asked, and Shelby glanced over at her, tilting the screen so she could see.  Juliette looked away instinctively, prepped for somtehing to come through that neither of them was expecting, but no.

It was just an actual chat.

Thank God.  Shelby had had it a few times where she had flashed Juliette a conversation at the exact wrong moment, never to show her something that was given to Shelby privately, just because she wanted to share a funny anecdote... She was scarred.

"Jasmine." Juliette raised an eyebrow... Was Jasmine texting her or texting her, because if Shelby needed to leave, she was more than content to sleep in the bed alone and take up the whole damn thing, that was half the fun of being at a hotel sometimes.