Heartache

"Sure, James, I'll be your girlfriend," Juliette smiled, of course she wanted to be his. Who wouldn't? "So do you want to keep skating or?" James asked stopped as Juliette's cell phone started to ring. Who could be calling her, now? Juliette reached into her back pocket of her jeans. She looked at the screen for a while. James didn't know who it was. "Um..hello?" Juliette answered the phone after the fourth ring. James could tell she didn't want to.

"Juliette? It's your mother," The woman on the other side said, it was Juliette's mother. Juliette could tell she was hiding something, something important.

"Oh...hello...mother," Juliette was surprised. Why was she calling her?

"There's s-something wrong, I-I just..." Her mother trailed off.

"What is it?" Juliette was nervous. What could be so terrible that she needed to interrupt her and james' time? "What happened?"

"It's your step-father, something happened he might be..." Her mother stopped talking abruptly.

"He might be what?" Juliette was staring to get irritated. She wanted to spend time with James, not her mother.

"He might be dying," Her mother answered, flatly. Juliette almost laughed. The one that told Juliette to kill herself was dying. Did she really care about someone who had hurt her so badly?

"How did this happen?" Juliette was confused. She didn't know if she was happy or sad or both.

"He was-he got into an accident, he was hit...Just come to the hospital," Her mother told her, "I tell you everything when you get here." Juliette could tell her mother was on the verge of tears. How could you love a person that only hurts you? How could her mother? Did her mother even know that he hurt her daughter? Probably not, Juliette thought.

"Okay, I'll be there..." Juliette hung up. "J-James...Can you take me to the hospital...?" Juliette didn't really want to go. "My step-father...he's,"

"Juliette. it's okay, I heard the whole thing. I'll take you. C'mon," James told her calmly. Juliette followed him off the ice. She sighed, she didn't really want to go.

The car ride was quiet, too quiet. Juliette had stared out the window the whole time. None of them said a word to each other the whole way there. It was odd that how something that started off so good could end badly. It wasn't their fault, it was Juliette's father. It was him that turned everything bad, Juliette thought to herself as they entered the hospital through the revolving doors. Juliette always hated hospitals, the sound of the machines, the smell of it, everything really. Hospitals remind Juliette of the day that her ex-boyfriend had died. Juliette shivered at the thought of it. Her stepfather was dying the same way her ex-boyfriend had. Her mother was waiting for them there. She was surprised, who was the man standing beside her daughter? Juliette's mother didn't make a comment about them.

"Juliette, hi," Her mother said softly. She had been crying before, Juliette knew.

"Oh, hi," Juliette responded with an equal amount of softness, "Mother, I know this is an odd time but t-this is my boyfriend." Juliette doesn't know what her mother's reaction would be. She hoped she wouldn't yell like her stepfather.

"Okay. Hi, I'm Juliette's mother, Katherine," Her mother shook his hand with a firm grasp. She was shorter a lot shorter than the both of them.

"I'm James," He shook her hand. It was so bony, so scrawny. This is a weird way of introducing your boyfriend, Juliette thought to herself. But what choice did she have? She wasn't going to ask him to stay in the car was she? That would've been rude. They followed her mother down the deserted hallway. The walls and the flooring were almost the same colors, a greenish color. Juliette couldn't describe it.

Juliette didn't want to be here. She hated hospitals the most. She sat in the chair outside of the room, nervously biting at her nails. She didn't even care if her stepfather was dying why should she care anyway? He wasn't her real father and he wouldn't even care Juliette was the one dying instead of him. No one would care, he had told her. "You can leave, if you want," Her mother whispered into Juliette's ear. Juliette nodded, catching James' attention. Her mother left her alone outside the deserted hallway with James. "Can I go home...w-with you? I don't really want to go to my home r-right now," Juliette told him. Juliette always felt protected when she was with him. "Sure, you can Juliette." They left together. Juliette went home with James, again. She needed him more than she thought she did.

There was no way in hell she was going to cry. Juliette splashed cold water into her face. She was in James' washroom, alone. She whispered herself to grow up, crying was for babies. Juliette changed her clothes. She brushed out her blonde hair and applied her make up. She cleaned up quickly. They were going to a bar with the guys and their girlfriends or wives or whatever, people. Juliette sighed, it was the first time they would be going as a couple, a real one. Juliettte was nervous. What if they told her she wasn't good enough? She didn't understand why she always felt like this, like she was never good enough for anyone. Maybe because it was true.

Juliette trailed behind him, dragging her feet. The music was too loud and the lights were too bright. Her stilettos hurt her feet, but she refused to complain. She didn't want to be that kind of girl, complaining about everything. She kept it to herself, no one knew what she really felt like and Juliette was going to keep it that way. "James?" Juliette whispered.

"Yeah?" James spoke softly to her.

"I-uh...What if they think I'm not good enough for you?" Juliette said, worriedly.

"Why would they think that? They liked you before...Why would they stop?" James told her. What if he wasn't good enough for her?James thought to himself. Was he really doubting himself? Were they both?

"Oh...I just thought..." Juliette trailed off. She always did that when she was really nervous.

"It's okay, come here, we're in this together" Juliette smiled, he was the reason behind it. It always feels good to be the reason behind someone else's smile. "Of course we are."

"Juliette! I'm so glad you're here!" Vero cried as she saw Juliette enter the room. "Me too, I haven't see you in a while," Juliette said happily, letting go of James. "So it's true! You guys are together!" Vero stated loudly. Juliette thought most of the people in the room could have heard that. "Well...I guess it is," Juliette said. Finally, Juliette added, silently. "I'm so happy for you! you guys are perfect for each other!" Vero exclaimed. "Yes, I think so too, we all think so," Catherine, Kris Letang's girlfriend, said, half in French. Juliette understood. "Really?" Juliette said, softly, "Um...Thank you?" Juliette quickly turned her head around, her eyes were searching for James. He had disappeared into the crowd. "So...What's new?" Juliette suddenly became shy again, or was she always shy? Juliette didn't want to tell them about her stepfather, she would keep that a secret. "Nothing much, do you need to get a drink?"