Learning to Heal

Chapter 5

"You look perfect." Juliette heard her mother gush and had to fight the anger back down her throat. She hated the word perfect. She might look perfect now, but the unshowered mess she she had been 2 hours ago was how she felt.

"Thanks mom." She said grudgingly, only able to keep some of the bitterness out of her tone. She stared in the mirror before her. She was wearing a pair of light washed bell bottom jeans and a black halter top with fringe hanging down it. Her auburn hair was curled flawlessly and hung in loose beach waves down her back. Her makeup was minimal, but made her look flawless and hid the dark bags under her eyes. She hated that the warm spring weather in Texas permitted halter tops when all she wanted to be in was hoodies and sweatpants. Looking in the mirror she looked exactly like the girl she had been before. A perfect, bubbly, and smiling girl who always, no matter what kept up the image. She hated that girl she had been and looked away from the mirror into her mother's smiling face.

"Now go out there and have fun. I know some of the boys have been asking about you too. You don't have a curfew tonight and I want you to forget about... the circumstances. Becky was so nice to invite you!" Julie stared at her mom blankly and wanted to slap the excited look off of her face. Only her slight hesitation showed that she had even thought about Alexis at all and the loss that her daughter had just endured.

"Yes mother." She replied woodenly, wishing all of a sudden to be out of the house and away from her mom.

"Oh don't act like it is such a chore! I know you'll have fun and your friends miss you. None of them just holed up after what happened you know. Oh and please consider wearing those wedge heels I bought you? I know you prefer cowboy boots but it's so hot out today and even your good pair isn't quite as cute as those heels and..." Her mom trailed off when Julie whisked past her, out of her room and down the stairs. She couldn't stand to hear her mother gush about how perfect she looked or how she should make the best of the situation any longer. It was bad enough that she was going at all.

"Oh hey Jules. I forgot what a pretty girl was underneath all that mess." Her brother Mark greeted her as she walked into the kitchen. She just rolled her eyes in response.

"She's in a mood." Her mother's voice echoed from behind her and Julie had to make an effort not to turn around and slap her.

"Well at least she surfaced." Mark's grin was friendly, and warmth was shining out of his blue eyes. While she looked like the spitting image of her mother, he looked like their dad with bright blue eyes and brown hair. She knew that Mark meant well and the look on his face showed that he was beyond thrilled to see her looking presentable again. She knew how hard it had been on her family when she had cooped herself into her room, but she also couldn't really bring herself to care.

"Oh shut up. You act like I don't eat supper with y'all every night and help with chores." The truth was, she rarely helped them with chores and avoided the barn as much as possible. Right now she didn't want anything to do with anything that reminded her of Alexis and the barn did the most as it had been their favorite place to be.

"Yeah but not looking like that." She rolled her eyes again and her dad chuckled.

"Oh lay off her Mark. You do look gorgeous sweetie." She looked across the table into her dad's warm eyes. The look he gave her showed her that he knew she was dreading this and that he understood. He always understood. Her dad, with his grey hair and warm blue eyes was probably the one who understood her the most and she was grateful for that.

"Why are you guys in here anyway?" She glanced at the time and saw it was late afternoon and it was unusual for her dad and brother to be hanging around in the house.

"A young man is coming to apply for the hired hand job I put out. He has an interview in about half an hour." Her dad replied calmly. Juliette felt her eyebrows shoot up.