After Everything

Chapter Ten: Friday Night

Juliana lied in her bed, staring up at the ceiling as she listened to sad music.

She turned to look at the clock on her nightstand, curious what time it was. 10:03. The football game had been over for an hour now. She wondered what her friends were doing to celebrate the win. She was sad she was missing out on the fun, but she knew it was best if she stayed home. Like she told Brittany in class, she and Jake needed distance from each other. It was clear things hadn't been going great between them, and only time could tell what would happen next.

After spending days blaming Jake for this mess, she started to blame herself. This was her first relationship. Before this, the closest she got to a boyfriend was Parker. Everything was new to her. Love was new to her.

She was inexperienced in relationships. Maybe she was the issue? Maybe she was a bad girlfriend. Maybe she got jealous too easily or saw things distortedly? Maybe Brittany was a bad influence on her and was causing her to see things that weren't happening? Maybe Jake was right? Maybe she was taking this situation too far?

And unlike her, Jake had experience. He dated Gabrielle for a year and a half. That was a really long time. But with Gabrielle came trauma - her cheating two times and getting pregnant with someone else's baby, then lying to Jake for three months that it was his. Juliana knew what happened still haunted him.

She wanted to assume Jake wouldn't cheat on her because of what he went through. He understood the aching pain in his chest, the betrayal, the sadness, the confusion... but part of her tried not to be so naive. She truly had no idea what to make of the situation. This was foreign to her. She didn't know what to do or what to say.

Jake was right when he said she shouldn't be comparing Brittany and Cassie's relationships. But how could she not? They were her friends. She was with them and their boyfriends all the time. And comparing them also made her think about their past relationships.

Example 1: Brittany was dating Parker while she loved Toby. She thought about Toby constantly - more than she thought about her boyfriend.
Example 2: Cassie had feelings for Jordan while she was dating Luke. For this example, Juliana subtracted the abuse and her fear to break up with him.

Juliana saw a trend. You could have feelings for someone else while you were in a relationship. It was common. She was sixteen. Things like that happened constantly in her town. Therefore, she chalked up to the conclusion that Jake could potentially start to grow feelings for Lola while he was dating her. As much as she prayed that wouldn't happen, she knew she couldn't escape from things that happened so commonly.

The only thing she could do at this point was to stick up for what she thought was right - and again, like she told Brittany, this was her relationship too. She should be able to voice what was bothering her. She just wished Jake was able to see from both sides, which would make it easier to have a civil conversation with him about Lola.

She took out her earbuds, ending her sad music session. She figured she would go to sleep, which seemed like the right choice considering she had nothing else to do. As she was about to turn off her light, she heard a knock at her balcony door. She flinched, quickly turning around to see what it was. She figured it was just the palm trees in front of her house hitting against the door, which would make the most sense because it was windy outside. But when she stepped closer, it looked like a person.

Panic set in. She was already accepting her death. She grabbed the first thing on her nightstand as a makeshift for a weapon. The TV remote. She started to think of all the ways she could defend herself with the remote. She could hit them in the head, the eye, the knees... the possibilities were endless.

But when she stepped in front of the door, she realized it wasn't a creepy person about to kill her. It was Jake.

She had a dumbfounded expression on her face. She had so many questions - like how did he climb up her balcony? "Are you crazy?" She whispered as she opened the door. "My parents' are going to kill us if they find out you're here and I didn't tell them. You know how strict they are!"

"That's why I climbed up here," he said like it was obvious, pointing to the palm tree behind him. "I knew it was hard to climb a tree but... fuck... I didn't realize it was that hard."

Even though she and her boyfriend weren't on the best of terms at the moment, she still laughed. He would always be funny to be her. "Come in," she said, stepping aside.

"I know that it's late but I wanted to talk," he said as he walked into her room. "Well, not late for me. Late for you."

She closed the door as she nodded her head in agreement. "You're right. It's almost my bedtime."

He chuckled. "Ten-thirty is definitely early," he shook his head as she playfully rolled her eyes. No one liked their sleep as much as Juliana did. "Anyway," he said before clearing his throat. "I missed you at the game tonight."

She sat down on her bed as she shook her head. "I didn't want to go."

"I'm sorry," he said as he sat down beside her. He sheepishly ran a hand through his golden hair. "For everything."

She stayed silent, giving him the chance to explain himself. She didn't want to accept his apology too quickly.

"I'm just friends with Lola. I'm sorry you see differently," he explained. "I'll be more self-aware of what I say around her. I'm sure she's a great girl, but the last thing I want is to lose you to someone I don't even know because of a misunderstanding." She was enjoying his apology as he continued. "I can't stop thinking about what you said in the car when you were comparing our friends' relationships. You said you know where I stand. You're wrong. You don't. I also think what Toby and Jordan think. I would die for you and there's no one better than you. Always."

She felt her cheeks flushing red as a smile formed on her face. "I know," she said as she nodded her head. "I was just mad. I was having a really bad day."

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

Juliana could tell he was truly sorry. He saw it in his begging eyes and in his pained voice. He looked like he was upset about the situation.

"I forgive you," she said. He let out a sigh of relief.

He opened his arms for her. She was quick to inch closer, wrapping her arms around him. He sunk into her arms, feeling content. This was the hug he longed for at the game. The only thing he ever wanted was her in his arms. No one else - because no one else was more perfect than Juliana Hartley. He would stand by that forever. She was his entire world.

"I love you," he said, squeezing her tighter.

"I love you too," she squeezed him back.

He pulled away from the hug, gently cupping her face. He leaned closer to her as she followed. Their lips pressed against each other's as she snaked her arm around his neck. The pine cone scent of his cologne swam through her nose, making her happier than she had been that entire week. Everything about kissing him made her happy. The way he moved lips against hers, the way he gently held her, the way he tasted... she could never get enough.

He deepened the kiss, sliding his tongue into her mouth. She inched even closer to him, her legs sitting on his lap as she ran a hand through his shaggy golden hair. She followed after him, sliding her tongue in his mouth as the two of them were practically fighting for dominance with their lips.

As the kiss started to become better and better, her bedroom door opened. The creaking of the door hinge made Jake bounce away from her, his eyes staying fixed on the door with fear in his eyes. Juliana was quick to fix her hair as she watched her younger sister step into her room with her jaw dropped in surprise.

"Sarah!" Juliana exclaimed, grabbing a pillow on her bed before chucking it towards the bedroom door where she stood. "Go away!"

Sarah childishly giggled, taking in the scene for a few seconds longer before closing the door and darting off.

Juliana fell back onto her bed, placing her hands on her face in embarrassment. She tried to slow her heart, which was rapidly beating in her chest after she thought it was her father storming into her room. She couldn't bear the thought of what would have happened. Her father was not someone you ever wanted to see angry - and even though he coached Jake in football, he still would have freaked out on him. Correction. The both of them. She would have been grounded for years while Jake would never be allowed to come over again.

As Juliana was trying to recover from what she thought would be the end of her life, Jake spoke. "Anyway," he said before laughing. "Do you want to go to Taco Bell?"