Julie Gordon lives in New York with her mother and father. On a daily basis, she works at a bakery together with her best friend Dylan.
One day, she comes home from work to see her mother crying her eyes out. It turns out Julie's father has cheated...
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The second I returned home that afternoon, I opened the door to come in contact with a delicious scent, which could only mean one thing; Nicole was cooking. I had prepared myself as much as I could for what was to come this evening, but when I felt that scent, I suddenly didn't feel prepared at all.
Nicole loved Lily, I knew that. She would be so happy that Timmy had finally invited her over, and I knew it was going to be hard for me watching that. Don't ask me why. I just knew it would.
Inhaling a deep breath, I closed the door behind me and dropped my bag to the floor before discarding my outdoor clothing. I then went into the kitchen where Nicole was standing in front of the stove while mom was chopping vegetables.
"Hey, guys," I greeted, forcing a smile on my face. Everything would probably be forced this night, so I might as well get started rehearsing on my smiles already.
"Hi, Jules," they said in unison. "How was work?" Mom asked, smiling brightly at me.
"It was alright," I said, not mentioning that I had met Aden because I didn't really know what I felt about him yet. It was best to just keep it a secret for now.
"Are you hungry? I'm making chicken in a creamy sweet chili sauce with rice, and it's going to be ready in half an hour when Timmy and Lily are coming," Nicole beamed, clapping her hands together excitedly.
"That'll be great. I'll be up in my room until then, alright?" I said, already in the action of leaving the kitchen.
They just nodded their heads, and I took that as a sign to turn around and head up to my room. Walking into my bedroom and closing the door behind me, I let out a deep sigh and ran my hands over my face. I was not ready for this meeting at all.
Unfortunately, half an hour passed by too quickly for my liking because it only felt like five minutes had passed when I heard the door slam shut on the bottom floor. I was lying on my bed with a book in my hands, and when I heard that sound, my heart skipped a beat because I figured I would have to go down there in just a matter of seconds.
"Julie?!"
And that was my cue.
I placed the book on my nightstand before getting up from the bed and walking over to the mirror. I looked at my reflection and let out a deep sigh. My face gave it all away... I didn't even look happy.
Realizing there was nothing I could do about it, I finally left the room and walked down the stairs to the kitchen where they were all greeting each other. Timmy was standing beside Lily with a hand on the small of her back. He was dressed in a pair of blue jeans and a green knitted shirt, and she was wearing a black dress that went just below her knees. Her lips were twitched into a smile as she greeted both mom and Nicole, and all I could ask myself was; Why did she have to be so beautiful?
