Juliana Woodland and Nate Jacobs have been best friends for as long as they can remember.
They are now in their junior year at East Highland High School and things are starting to get complicated.
*Had this story up on my old account and it got dele...
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Here is part 27, hope you are still enjoying it and thank you so much for voting I appreciate you all! 🩶
The days following blurred together. Juliana didn't go to school or cheerleading practice. She barely ate or drank. She didn't see or even talk to anyone. She didn't care about anything.
Her mom was constantly at work, as usual, only coming home late at night and leaving early in the morning. Her schedule meant that she didn't realize Juliana hardly got out of bed since the weekend.
Nate had shown up at her door several times but she refused to answer. He called and texted her more times than she could keep track of. She knew he had a key to her house and was surprised he didn't use it.
She had to keep ignoring him because she knew that the second she gave in and heard his deep voice or looked into his dark brown eyes, she would give in.
She didn't know it was possible to feel so heartbroken. She loved him so much, but she couldn't stay with him after he laid his hands on her twice. She willingly gave him a second chance after the first incident, but she couldn't give him a third.
Even though she knew she couldn't be with someone who hurt her that way, she wanted nothing more than to go back to him.
It was another night of lying in bed with the TV on, pretending like the outside world didn't exist, when Juliana saw her phone light up from the corner of her eye.
It was on her nightstand and she waited for the screen to go dark before she picked it up. She was expecting to a missed call from Nate, but there was one from Maddy instead, along with a string of text messages.
Maddy💅🏽: Hey bitch, I'm outside your house and I'm not leaving until you let me in
Maddy💅🏽: I'll give you 2 mins and I'm breaking a window to get in
Maddy💅🏽: You know I'll do it
Juliana groaned and tossed her phone down beside her. If it was anyone else she would take the window breaking as an empty threat, but she had no doubt Maddy would actually do it.
She rolled out of bed and looked at her reflection in the full length mirror on the wall. She was sure she had never looked so awful.
Her hair was stuck up on one side and completely matted down and stuck to her head on the other. She was wearing one of Nate's T-shirts that was more like a dress on her, and she wasn't even sure what day she had put it on. She was pale and her eyes looked empty, which was exactly how she felt.
There wasn't any hope in trying to fix her appearance to greet her friend. Instead, she took a deep breath and went downstairs to open the door.
"Finally, bitch!" Maddy exclaimed, stepping inside and closing the door behind her. "Seriously, what the fuck is going on with you, are you okay? Is it Nate?"
"We broke up." She mumbled. She thought she was going to cry when she said it out loud, but she didn't even have the energy to.
"I'm so sorry." Maddy pulled her into a hug. "Come on."
She took her Juliana's hand and led her to the kitchen, where they sat down at the table together. She got two cans of coke out of the fridge and handed one to Juliana before going to the cupboard and getting a box of Oreos.
"You don't have to tell me what happened right now if you're not up to it, but you know I'm here for you. I was getting really worried, and the other girls were too." Maddy said as she pushed the cookies towards her.
Juliana picked one up and nibbled it absentmindedly. She really didn't want to talk about it, but she knew she was going to have to explain what happened eventually.
"I'm sure you'll get back together, anyways, you guys are like soulmates."
With that comment, tears started to fall from her eyes. So much for being too exhausted to cry. "I don't think we will. The jealousy and control was too much. He said he would be better, but he got worse." She already knew she wasn't going to tell a soul about how he hurt her.
Maddy looked genuinely sad for her as she leaned forward to hug her again. "I'm gonna stay here tonight and then we can go to school together tomorrow, okay?"
Juliana nodded and wiped her eyes. She didn't want to have to talk to anyone but now that Maddy was here, she was grateful.
Maddy helped her tidy up her bedroom and ordered them food while she showered. She knew she should probably feel better after getting cleaned up and actually eating solid food, but she somehow felt worse.
She couldn't mope in her room alone anymore and ignore everyone. She was going to have to go to school and face reality, and worst of all, see Nate there. Her stomach was in knots thinking about it.
"I know this is probably a really stupid question, but are you okay?" Maddy asked gently.
She shook her head. "No, I'm not, but thank you for coming to check on me. I'm glad you're here."
"I really don't know if I can do this, Maddy. I think I'm going to be sick."
Juliana and Maddy were on their way to school the following morning, after much convincing. Juliana wanted to stay home again; she didn't care how much school she missed. She wasn't at all ready to deal with having to see Nate there.
"You'll be fine," Maddy reassured her. "You only have a couple classes with him. And you look hot as fuck, which is like, the most important post breakup rule."
"Thanks to you."
Maddy had done her hair and makeup and even picked out her outfit, a pink tank top and sweats set, so she could look cute and still be comfortable.
"I know it really sucks, but you're going to have to come to school and see him eventually. It won't be as bad as you think."
Juliana somehow forced herself to go to her first class, which was of course with Nate. Instead of sitting in their usual spot, she picked a desk in the back that didn't have any empty places around it. She hoped that she would blend in with the crowd.
She drummed her fingers nervously on her desk until she saw Nate walk in. She immediately froze. She had never seen him look so unhealthy, with messy hair, bloodshot eyes and bags under his eyes even darker than hers.
She meant to look away but she couldn't bring herself to and when they made eye contact, her heart nearly stopped. He stood still for a second, looking at her, before going to a desk in the front row, head down.
For the whole hour of class, Juliana's heart was pounding out of her chest. Every time Nate glanced back at her, she thought she was going to pass out.
She managed to get through it without hyperventilating and as soon as the bell rang, she took off to her next class as fast as she could go. Maddy and Kat were already sitting down in their next class and Juliana found a spot next to them.
"Hey, I'm really sorry about you and Nate. I'm sure you'll work things out." Kat said with a sympathetic smile.
That was one of the many things she had been dreading; everyone apologizing about the news and acting sorry for her. She knew they meant well, but it made her feel worse.
"Thanks," she murmured and cleared her throat. "But let's just talk about anything but that. Like, literally anything."
"Okay, how about we talk about all the fun we're going to have now that you're single and don't have to worry about anyone else?" Maddy grinned.
"It's gonna be great." She forced a smile.
She knew her friends were trying to help, but she didn't know how she could possibly have fun feeling the way she did without Nate in her life. She never thought in a million years that she would have to learn to live without him, and she wasn't sure if it was possible.
