―❝ How long we gonna do this dance? Tired of all the 'will they, won't they' romance. When you hold my hand, is it just by chance?❞
OR
―❝ henry hart and juniper mccarthy have been best friends their whole lives, but when they get into high school th...
( original chapter set in season 3 towards the end of the season ; the box )
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Juniper sat on her bed, the box still in her lap, its weight pressing on her chest. The evening had drawn in, casting long shadows through her room, and the soft murmur of the world outside seemed so far away. She hadn't moved from where Ray had left her, the silence between them now replaced with the quiet hum of her own thoughts. She ran her fingers over the worn leather of the box, tracing the edges as if looking for some hidden message.
It felt like the kind of thing her father would have kept secret, something important, something he had left behind with purpose. But what purpose? Dexter had always kept things from her, things he hadn't been able to say in life. Now, it was like he was asking her to piece together a puzzle that she wasn't sure she was ready to solve.
A knock at the door broke her reverie, followed by the soft creak of it opening. She didn't need to look up to know who it was—her mother's presence was always comforting, even when she wasn't sure how to feel about everything else. "Juniper?" Her mom, Brynlee, called softly from the doorway, her voice tentative but warm.
Juniper looks up, startled for a moment, before quickly tucking the box a little closer to her body. It was a reflex, one she didn't even think about. She didn't want to share this moment just yet, even with her mom, not when the weight of it was still so new and confusing. "Yeah, mom?" Juniper replied, trying to mask the emotion in her voice. She wasn't sure how to explain the whirlwind of feelings that had taken over her.
Brynlee steps into the room, her eyes immediately falling on the box in Juniper's hands. She pauses for a beat, and for a moment, Juniper swore she saw a flash of recognition—something that her mom hadn't shown in years. It was like she knew exactly what that box meant, knew what it had to be. "You...Have it." She said softly, her tone almost more of a statement than a question.
Juniper's heart skips, but she didn't know how to respond. Her mom was the one person who'd known Dexter the longest, but they'd never really talked about him in the way Juniper was starting to. It felt too raw, too soon. "I didn't know if I should open it," She admits, her voice low. She could feel her mother's gaze on her, but it didn't feel judgmental. Just understanding. "Ray said it's from dad. I don't know what to do. I...Don't know if I'm ready, or if I ever will be."
Her mom let out a quiet sigh, crossing the room to sit down next to Juniper on the bed. Her arm wrapped around Juniper's shoulders, drawing her close in a comforting embrace. The warmth of her mother's presence seeped into Juniper, calming the storm that raged inside her. "Sweetheart, I understand," Brynlee says softly, her voice filled with a tenderness that only a mother could possess. "It's not easy, and it's okay to feel lost. But you should know, whatever he left behind, your father only ever did out of love." The words settled in Juniper's heart, and she leaned into her mother, closing her eyes for a moment, letting the weight of her mother's words sink in. She hadn't realized how much she needed to hear them. It was a small comfort, but it was enough to help her breathe a little easier.
