Shots Fired

Chapter 22

I saw Juliet waiting by the front door of the coffee shop. "Are you going to school tomorrow?" Sam asked before I got out of the car. "Yeah I have to, what about you?" I asked. "Can't afford to fail." "Good point, thanks again." I slammed the car door shut and Juliet ran over once she saw me get out of the car. "Who was that? No most importantly where the hell have you been!" Juliet shouted. "I'll explain but please can we go inside I haven't eaten anything." I said. I don't know how to explain everything that has happened. Who do I start with? I need to fill her in but I don't think that I will be able to talk about it. I don't want to talk about it. "Well?" Juliet snapped. "Huh? Oh right. Can we order something first?" I tried to stall things before I had to tell her. "Fine but after you're explaining everything to me." Juliet said. "I'll have a black coffee please." Juliet said to the guy taking our orders. "Ill have the same thing also." The person walked away leaving us by ourselves. "Austin's gone." I blurted out breaking the silence. "What? What do you mean he's gone?" "He killed himself. We were the only family we had left and he's...gone. I promised that I wouldn't leave him, we promised that we'd stay together. I left him in the worst way possible! I just want to go back a fix things!" My eyes stung with tears. "Sophia." Juliet said in shock. I've been holding back tears but they finally escaped from my eyes blurring my vision. "I was also with Sam, I told you about him before. He was there when I got the call, he was there the whole time I was gone." My voice cracked making it hard to understand me but somehow she found a way. "Where were you?" She said not knowing what else to say. "At my lake house." I didn't tell her about the party he took me to because I knew she would be mad if I did tell her what happened. "What are you going to do?" "There's nothing I can do. Everything already happened my chances are already gone, I can't go back." Tears streamed down my face falling on to the table. "Two black coffees." The waiter said as he put the drinks in front of us. "Thank you." Juliet said. I kept my head down so know one could tell I was crying. "I'm so sorry." Juliet said the three words that I never wanted to hear again. "I'm so sorry" it's the only thing someone says when they don't know what to say. "Sophia," "Hm?" I said as I sipped my coffee. "Do you like him?" I chocked on my coffee not expecting what she said. "Answer truthfully." Juliet added. I began to play with my hair again. "You're nervous." She said as she pointed to my hair. "We're just friends." I finally said. I picked up my napkin a wiped away the tears that remained on my face. "That doesn't mean you don't have feelings for him." Juliet knew exactly how to get my mind off things when I really needed it, no matter what it was about it took my mind off things before everything comes crashing down again. "You spent almost a whole week with him." "I don't know." I said. "I know you and I know that you like him I can tell." "Okay fine I do!" I admitted. "He's different." I said. "How?" "He's seen things, he has been through a lot of shit too and he knows that you don't always need someone to give you good advice but you just need someone to listen. He cares." I swirled what was left of my coffee around in the cup watching it hit the sides of the cup. "I knew it." Juliet said. "Are you going to school tomorrow?" Juliet asked. "Yeah I have to I can't avoid it forever." "Yes I know and it's senior year the year that determines if you graduate or not." Juliet said. "I know." I grunted as I buried my head in my hands. "So next week is your birthday what do you want to do?" Juliet reminded me. I really didn't want to do anything but she's one of those people who have to do something big for anything special especially since I'm turning 18. "I don't know anything but a party please not this year." I begged. "Fine but I'll find something to do you're finally going to be 18!" "You're more excited than I am." I said have jokingly. "Maybe, but it's a new year for you and you need to make the most of it, you're an adult now you can start over." Starting over doesn't seem that bad but I don't know how to start over my dreams of becoming a stage photographer or a writer are to far fetched and I need something more realistic. "I wish I could but it's more complicated than that."