𝐅𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐏𝐄𝐃 𝐈𝐈; flipped

𝗧𝗛𝗜𝗥𝗧𝗘𝗘𝗡; 𝖺𝗍 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝖻𝖺𝗄𝖾𝗋𝗌' 𝗁𝗈𝗎𝗌𝖾

||꒰𝒃𝒓𝒚𝒄𝒆꒱||

I woke up with the sun. My mattress was arranged near Juli's bed, and when I moved my head I noticed my hand, splayed to the side. She was so beautiful. Her hair covered her eyes, shining in the morning light. Juli's arm dangled off the edge of the bed and her fingertips rested on my palm. Curling my fingers in, our hands touched more. I noticed her shifting position and jerked my arm to my side. Juli retracted her arm and sat up.

"Morning, sleepyhead," I said just as drowsily as she looked.

Rolling her eyes... flirtatiously, I think, she replied, "Oh, like you've been up for so much longer."

"Fair enough." I sat up and straightened my back.

"Uh, what do you want for breakfast?" She almost seemed uncomfortable asking.

"Well, whatever you usually have is fine," I replied.

Juli looked unsettled. "That's the thing, usually I have eggs... you know, from my chickens, and..."

"That's fine! Honestly, I really don't know why I acted the way I did about them. It was stupid, really. I shouldn't have agreed," I reassured her. The last thing I wanted was for her to be upset over something I did.

A smile crept over her face when suddenly she appeared confused. "What do you mean 'you shouldn't have agreed?'"

Had I said that? "Oh, well my dad was the one who was against your eggs, saying they'd give us salmonella. I didn't want to agree with him, but it wasn't.." I thought about how to word it. I couldn't hurt Juli's feelings. "I just didn't want him to get mad at me."

"That makes sense," she said simply. Her tone was unaltered.

I tilted my head. "So you're not angry with me?"

"Why would I be?" Juli asked with a laugh. "It was one thing. People make mistakes all the time, and if we're going to punish people for their imperfections then we would all be hurt."

The way she spoke was so wise. Beyond anyone else in our school. Every day, buddy, it amazed me.

"You okay?"

I blinked myself back into the conversation. "What? Oh, yeah, sorry, I was just thinking."

"About what?" she inquired.

"You. And how... different you are," I said with a small shrug.

She scowled. "Is that bad?"

"No!" I definitely chose the wrong words. "It's a good thing. A really good thing. I was thinking about how you're different from everyone else because you're so insightful," I replied hurriedly.

"Oh" was all she had to say.

"Sorry if I, uh, worded that wrong," I said in an attempt to mend my previous implication. "It was supposed to be a compliment."

She grinned. "It's okay. Anyways, wanna go get breakfast?"

"Sure!"

•••

For the first time in a while, I was actually able to eat eggs. And not just because I wanted to be polite, but because Mrs. Baker's cooking was excellent.

"I'll be right back," Juli said. "Chickens need to be fed."

I nodded and stood up, collecting the dishes from the table. The least I could do in return for the hospitality was help clean up.

"Oh, Bryce, you don't have to do that," Mrs. Baker told me.

"It's alright, I don't mind helping out."

She sighed and shook her head. "Suit yourself."

I hoped that she wasn't angry with me for what had happened in the past. I, at least to my belief, had changed for the better. "Are you upset that I'm, um, with Juli?" I asked impulsively.

"No, no, as long as you don't hurt her!" She seemed taken aback by the question. "There's been a lot of changes around here lately, and I think it'll be good for Juli."

Inside I was doing a small victory dance. Neither of her parents were mad at me, and they both approved of the relationship! "I would never want to hurt her."

"I can tell," she said simply. When I stayed silent she continued. "By the way you two look at each other. It's the way I look at her father."

"Oh," I replied uncertainly.

Mrs. Baker smiled. "That's a good thing."

We put the dishes into the washer and I walked off to Juli's bedroom alone since she was still outside. Talking to her dad, I think. I picked up the book I had brought and tried to read a few pages. If it was something Juli liked to do, I figured I should as well. The plot was fairly interesting, something about a boy saving up for two hunting dogs. The time was short, though, as Juli walked in a few minutes later.

"Hey," I said, looking over at her. When I surveyed her face it was obvious something was terribly wrong as tear streaks marked her cheeks. "Juli, what's wrong?"

She took a seat next to me on the bed. "It's my uncle," she sniffled. "You know how he's... different?"

I nodded.

"Well, my dad brought him here last night while we were asleep. He's still sleeping right now, but I guess he's been getting much worse. My dad was telling me about how he throws tantrums more often and about the way he's lost what little awareness he had of his surroundings." Juli paused to take a breath in and wipe her eye.

I hesitantly placed an arm over her shoulder. It must have been comforting, as she leaned closer to me, resting her head on me.

"The doctors..." A tear rolled down her face. "The doctors don't know what's wrong, and I don't know what to do because it could get so bad and I can't imagine what might happen," she cried.

"It's gonna be okay," I said quietly, hoping to reassure her. "No one could have known this would happen; it's out of your control. Just.. know that I'm always here for you, alright?"

"Thank you," she replied with effects of lamentation visible on her features.

As I sat there and held Juli, I thought about what my Grandad had said. That very well could've been me, and my sister and parents could've been the ones worried sick about whether I was going to be fine. Somehow this made me feel connected to the situation, maybe because I could imagine just how painful it has to be. I ran my hand up and down the side of Juli's arm, trying to make her feel safe. I guess I never really noticed how strong she was until now. This was the second time I'd ever seen her cry, and she'd been through so much.

The thought compelled me to always, always be there for her. I couldn't let her be hurt again, especially not by me.