It Won't Stop

the sunsets in paradise

Josh left early in the afternoon to fly to Chicago, which wasn't that far away. It was nice to be home with my mom and dad; even Dean came to visit me.
"What did mom think of Josh?" Dean asked, laying on the bed in the spare bedroom – which use to be mine.
"She really liked him. She wouldn't stop flirting," I answered him, trying to pick out what outfit I wanted. My friends Libby and Veronica wanted to go out to Time Square tonight and hit up a hookah bar before going to the club. I had to be honest and say that it was going to be odd going out without Josh. I don't know if that's why I didn't feel right all day, or if something bad was going to happen. I had called Jenn and Josh both, seeing what they were up to and making sure they were okay. Everything had been going good lately, but I couldn't shake the way I felt.
"Mom flirts with Maggie, dude." Derek laughed and rolled onto his stomach, looking at my choice of clothing. "Would Joshua approve of this?"
"Josh approves of anything, he loves me." I made sure to grab my phone so I could send a picture of myself to him. He replied with heart eyes and kisses which still made my heart skip a beat.
"Yeah he's a really great guy," Dean told me for the 12th time. I rolled my eyes and sat down to finish my makeup.
"You don't even know how many times I've accused him of loving you more." He just laughed and threw a wink at me.
"Maggie wants to meet up for dinner before you leave."
"Why don't you guys come out to the city with us then?" I asked, pinning my hair back just right.
Dean shrugged and looked down at his hands. "I kind of it to just be me and her tonight," he replied in a low voice. I spun around so fast in my seat I nearly fell out.
"Are you proposing?" My excitement even took me by surprise. Dean's eyes went wide and before he could stutter out a word I yelled, "Oh my god, you are!"
"Shh, I don't want mom to find out before Maggie!" He popped his hand over my mouth. I made a disgusted face and made sure to wipe my mouth off before continuing my makeup. "I'm going to have a sister!" I did a little dance as my phone started to ring, Libby on the other line. "Hey girl, what's up?" I asked, connecting to Face Time.
"Are you almost ready?" Libby asked, almost annoyed. I raised an eyebrow at her, knowing something was wrong.
"Libby, what's wrong?" I asked, getting all my things gathered in my purse. Dean waved goodbye and I mouthed good luck, looking in the mirror one last time.
"Nothing, I just want to get headed. I'll see you in 10 minutes?" I blew her a kiss and said goodbye to my mom and dad before getting into my mom's car. It took about 15 minutes to get to her house, but another 45 to reach NYC. We stopped to get some lunch at a buffet, then went to the first shop we could find.
"I really like how low this dress goes in the back, but I'm scared my tit will pop out," I told the girls, modeling the dress for them. They were talking among themselves before I approached them. I raised an eyebrow at their deer in the headlights expression. "Guys, what the hell?"
"I like it a lot, it's so you," Veronica smiled the best she could. I narrowed my eyes at them and stormed back into the dressing room. Throwing on my dress, not really caring about which dress I should buy for Josh's birthday, I made my way out to them again.
"Which one did you decide?" Libby asked, holding onto a skirt I thought I might get.
"Neither. I think I'm going to catch a bus home." As I started to walk away, Libby grabbed my arm.
"What? Why?!" She asked, stopping me dead in my tracks.
I narrowed my eyes at her and gave her an 'are you serious' look. "Because you two have both been weird this whole day. I've only been gone a few months, not a lot has changed besides you guys."
"Juliet, wait." Veronica had my attention, but was just hesitant. "We didn't want to tell you.."
"What? What is it?" My voice couldn't help but sound a little irritated. They looked at each other and that's when I got inpatient. "Spit it out!"
"Michael was released a few days ago." Just at his name my heart started to pound. "And word is, he's at his father's house in town." The walls started closing in on me and I started seeing spots. I took a seat on one of the displays, resting my head in my hands.
"How long was he in there for?" I asked when I finally had gotten the bile down.
"I don't know, maybe a few weeks. He was only charged with half of what happened in L.A." Libby was crouched down in front of me, hands on my knees. "I wanted to tell you, but I didn't want you to be worried."
I shook my head and swallowed the lump in my throat. "No..it's fine. Thank you for saying something." She smiled up at me and Veronica got back all the dresses I had originally picked out. "These are for your man, now let's go. Only so many hours in the day." Though I smiled and got myself up off the stand, something deep down inside of me didn't feel right. The girls went into a shop, but I stood outside, making a call to Josh.
"Hey babe, how are you?" Just his voice made my day so much better.
"Good. I bought a few things already. I might be broke when I come back."
He laughed into the phone, a sound so relaxing I felt at peace. "That's okay. I'll still love you." I laughed back and things were silent for a minute. "Everything okay?"
I bit my lip and debating on answering that truthfully. I cleared my throat and looked up at the diming sky. "Everything's fine, babe. I'll text you when I'm on my way home."
"You better," he muttered into the phone. I heard some talking in the background and Josh told me he had to go, but not before telling me how much he loved me. Feeling a little better, I walked into the shop with some of my oldest and best friends.
"Do you think fuzzy handcuffs are too much?" I joked, wrapping myself up in a boa.
"Be original, 50 shades style with a tie," Veronica was always the one to be too open about her sex life. To be honest, she's the reason I know what I'm doing and doing it well.
"That's actually really hot," I told her as she modeled a bra with tassels on the end. We laughed for a good 30 minutes in the store before actually getting what we needed. I wanted to get something for Josh and I, but I figured we'd cross that bridge when we got there.