Every Now and Then I Fall Apart [Solo]

((Continued from the end of Everything's Made to Be Broken))

After an uneven breath, Juliette wiped the tears from her eyes, having taken refuge in her room. She stood against the closed door and slid down the wood as her knees buckled beneath her. Breathing was not coming easily to her and she had to work to suck in breaths between sobs.

Had that really just happened? Had her life really just been shattered in front of her? Had she really just made a choice that would change things forever? It felt so surreal, and at the same time so many emotions had just crashed down on top of her. It was the weight of them that had left her on the floor of her room, unable to keep it together.

Breathing was somehow getting more difficult the longer she sat there, despite the fact that she was actively trying to pull herself together. It felt like her body was rebelling against every attempt to make things better. Her head fell back and she rested it on the wood of the door behind her, feeling her neck stretch in response. 

The door. The door that faced Sam’s door. How could she sit there with him directly outside, with the possibility of running into him as soon as she opened it. Hell, with the possibility of him opening it himself with the key she’d given him. No, it was too much. Far, far too much for her to be able to carry in that moment.

Where else could she go, though? She’d sold her apartment in order to move into the mansion and still be able to afford to live, and her entire life was there. With Sam. Their lives were so intertwined by that point that she didn’t even know where to take refuge. She could get a hotel, but that sounded like the worst possible end to the worst possible day. She didn't want to go somewhere alone where she would have to sleep in a strange place. Maybe she could crash at… Rebecca’s. She could crash at Rebecca’s.

Forcing herself to take deep, slow breaths, she stood up and took out her phone. Carefully, she typed out a rushed text, avoiding the tears that fell onto the screen. By the end, she wasn’t sure if it made any sense, but she didn’t know what else to do. Hopefully, Becca would have mercy and take in a broken friend.

She threw a few things into a duffle bag and grabbed a few things out of her room. A soft mew sounded from her laundry bin, making her look up. Her hands faltered slightly as she realized that she couldn’t take Bijou, but she hoped that he would be alright for a night alone. Surely she would be back after that.

Juliette exited the room and made her way out of the building, careful not to run into anyone on her way out. All she had to do was make it out of the mansion and into the street, and she would be out free. It was a difficult thing to do, but fate was kind to her that evening. Clear of the front door, she ran into the street and hailed the first taxi that she saw.

((Continued in: Midnight Chocolate: Cure for a Broken Heart))