Page 27

Juliette

I looked down at my aunt, who was staring up at me with a look of disgust.

“Only decides to show up when I’m on my deathbed,” she snapped. Her blonde hair was pulled into a messy bun on the top of her head, and even though she had tried to paint her face with heavy makeup, the tiredness was seeping through.

Aunt Kathy.

She had obviously been through a lot, but I wouldn’t let it sway me. I wasn’t the teenager she’d pushed out of her house. I might have let her live in peace for the sake of my brother, but Jesus, did I hate the woman in front of me.

Just like Lux’s mom, she was rotten inside and out.

I turned to look at Lucas, who had his eyes trained on the floor.

“If you don’t want me here, I can leave.” I readied to do just that, but Lucas grabbed my wrist.

“I called you for a reason,” he said, still not looking at me. Then, so softly, “Insurance doesn’t cover everything.”

I stood there, understanding slowly washing over me. Then hurt. Then disbelief.

“You won’t take my money for college, but you’ll call me to save her .”

He saw what she did to me, and no doubt she hadn’t been a saint to him either. Why was he taking her side on this?

“As I understand, you’ve come into a large sum of money,” she blurted out, her eyes narrowing at me. “ Questionable money.”

My head snapped back to Lucas.

“What did you tell her?”

He opened his mouth, but she was faster. “That you spread your legs for it.”

My body deflated. I couldn’t believe Lucas had really said that. I regretted a lot of things, but meeting Lux, even in a situation where I was selling my body for money, wasn’t something I’d allow myself to feel shame for anymore.

I turned without a word, ready to walk out, when her voice followed me.

“I took care of you and that brat of a brother of yours for years! It’s the least I deserve.”

Lux’s words rang in my head.

I’m telling you, you deserve more. It doesn’t matter where that money came from. You shouldn’t feel ashamed. No one should make you feel that way. You’re too important and too good for it.

She was right. No one had the right to make me feel bad about myself. Least of all, my aunt.

I had taken this shit from her my whole life. Not anymore. Maybe it was watching Lux stand up to her own mother that gave me the boost of confidence. Or maybe it was Bella’s panic attack, a visible representation of what I often felt on the inside.

But it didn’t have to continue. That much I was starting to figure out.

I turned around, glaring at my aunt.

“ Deserve? You don’t deserve anything from me or from my brother. You were a shit aunt to me. I lost my parents, I needed you, and you pushed me out!”

“You little whore! You’re an embarrassment to this family! Your parents would be ashamed of you. And don’t act like I never gave you anything?—”

“You didn’t! And you don’t get to judge me, especially when you’re the one begging me for my questionable money.”

“I’m not begging!” she said with a huff. “I’m asking for what I’m owed!”

I scoffed. “You ever just sit and wonder why you’re alone, Kathy?”

“Why you little?—”

“It’s because you’re fucking rotten,” I hissed. “All the way down to your soul. And you know what? I’m glad you pushed me out because I never could have dealt with this bullshit.” I took a deep breath and centered myself. “I’m done here.”

Lucas looked at me, his face hardening. He would have to deal with the fallout. I didn’t want to leave him here like this. I felt bad.

But I also couldn’t just take this lying down, especially after what he’d said. Even if I loved him.

“My offer still stands for you, Lucas,” I said, my voice softer. “If you don’t want it, that’s fine. But I’ll only give you one more week to decide.”

He didn’t answer me as I turned on my heel and walked back out into the hallway. Lux and Bella were there, waiting for me, looking at me with pitying expressions.

They probably heard the fight.

I opened my mouth, ready to greet them, but the words wouldn’t come out. The weight of what had just happened was heavy.

My eyes stung, and I looked to the side, trying to hide my tears from Bella.

She didn’t need to see this. She already had so much she had to deal with. She didn’t need her nanny having a mental breakdown on her.

What I didn’t expect was for them to clock it right away and for Bella to come rushing to me, her arms wrapping around me.

I gritted my teeth, but it did nothing to stop the tears from filling my eyes. I was usually so good at hiding my emotions, but seeing her beautiful wide eyes looking at me with such concern had my guard crashing down.

“I want ice cream,” she said, taking my hand and tugging me along with her toward the entrance. “Lux, we’re going to Thirty-One!”

I couldn’t bring myself to laugh at what she was calling Baskin-Robbins or her obvious attempt at cheering me up. Instead, I let Lux take my other hand and quietly followed them to let myself be taken care of.

* * *

“Can you help me braid my hair?”

I turned to the small voice that carried across the living room, putting down the craft supplies I was cleaning up.

Bella was peeking behind the wall of the hallway, already in her matching pink princess pajamas. Her hair was wet, indicating that she had just showered.

By herself.

Even after knowing Bella for some time now, I was shocked at how independent she was.

I stood up, sending her a smile. “You got it, but let’s dry your hair a bit more first, hm?”

When I reached her, I held out my hand, and she took it right away, leading me to her room. It was mostly dark, save for the light by her bedside table and the one leaking from her bathroom.

We went into the bathroom, where the brush and hair ties were already waiting. She stood in front of the mirror, her eyes on me.

I picked up the brush and immediately got to work, brushing out any knots before attempting to dry it.

“You’re very independent for your age,” I commented. “Have you always liked doing your bedtime routine alone?”

When she looked down at the counter, I took it as my sign not to pry and reached into one of the cabinets, looking for the dryer.

“My mommy would wait in my bed for me with a bedtime story,” she whispered. “She was proud of me when I did things by myself, so I?—”

Her voice cut off. I leaned down and gave her a small one-sided hug, placing my cheek on the top of her head.

“I’m proud of you too,” I said in a low voice. “But if you want any help, you let me know, okay? There are many things you can do alone, but it doesn’t mean you have to.”

She didn’t respond, her gaze still locked in on the counter. Through the mirror, I could tell how close she was to breaking down.

I gave her a few moments before I pulled away and started setting up the dryer.

“I’m going to dry your hair now, okay?”

She nodded but said nothing else.

I started on the lowest setting and ran my fingers through her hair as I dried it. I worked in silence, letting her mind wander. I wondered if she was imagining her mother in my place. Remembering her fingers running against her scalp. Her mother’s warmth behind her. Her scent.

It hurt because I’d been there. I knew what she was probably thinking.

Many times, I would find myself hoarding my mother’s old perfume in my bathroom, spraying it when I missed her the most.

“My mom was the one who taught me how to braid,” I said when I was done drying her hair. “She was really good at it.”

“Do you miss her?”

I paused before running my fingers through her hair to start one of the two braids.

“Every day,” I whispered, my throat clogging. “Even more in moments like this when I remember us doing the same thing.”

“I can’t dry my hair,” she said after a pause. “I don’t… do it good.”

I finished one braid and started on the next. No wonder she wakes up with hair sticking up everywhere sometimes.

“I can help with that if you want me to.” I sent her a smile in the mirror when I realized she was looking at me. I placed the finished braids over her shoulders and squeezed them. “Bedtime?”

She nodded and left the bathroom. I followed closely behind, turning off the light. She crawled into her bed and under her covers, her eyes flicking to me.

“Is it okay if I help you turn off the light?”

She nodded. I crossed the room, stopping at her bedside table.

“Sweet dreams, Bella. I’ll see you in the morning, and I’ll be right outside if you need anything.”

As I reached to flick off the light, her little voice reached my ears.

“It’s a bit silly, but… I like Goodnight Moon .”

The book in question was on the table, just under the light. It looked well loved, with its cracked spine and the binding peeking through it.

“So do I,” I said and grabbed it. “Shall we read it together?”

She nodded and scooted over in her bed, making space for me. I crawled in but stayed over the covers and opened up the book.

Bella’s hand found my waist, and her face buried into my arm. I started reading as slowly and rhythmically as possible. I wanted this to last. But the book was short.

When I reached the end, I felt droplets sink into my clothes. Bella was still holding on to me.

“I think we can go one more time,” I murmured and flipped the book over to start again.

She relaxed into me and, slowly, after our third read-through, fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

“No skinny dipping tonight?” Lux asked as she joined me in the backyard.

The fire was roaring, warming the space, but as soon as she showed up, the air turned scalding.

Bella was fast asleep, had been for almost two hours. Story time had knocked her right out, and I even stayed for ten minutes afterwards so as not to wake her when I left. She was out for the night, leaving me and Lux all alone together.

She sat down across from me, her long legs crossing. She had a silk pajama set on that shone in the light of the fire. It looked like it cost some serious money, but I was used to that about Lux by now. Everything she owned, down to her socks, was by some expensive brand.