A'N: Hey guys! Sorry for the long wait! I know I said a dozen different dates before and I only uploaded the new chapter now. The thing is, I kept on rewriting my chapter because I honestly don't know how to write this scene. SO yeah, head's up, this one is a bit on drama side (which I don't usually like to do) but before you turn away, this is a MAJOR part of the story! You'll get to know more of Juliet's scarred past! (There I gave you a hint, can you stay and read now? *insert puppy eyes here*
Anyways, I hope y'all would like this! Don't forget to comment guys! I love reading all your opinions! And vote only if you think my story deserves it, kay? :)
Love and Lyrics,
Lady Knight
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Clarence paced back and forth across the backstage. Juliet went missing just a few minutes before they start calling all the bands upstage.
“Bro, relax. I’m sure she just took a quick fresh breath, away from all this stuff.” Simon said to him. He was sitting on a chair and trying his best to calm Clarence.
“Did you look in the bathroom? The dressing room?” Clarence asked. There was this pit on his stomach as he mentally racked for places on which Juliet could go to.
“James and Ellie are looking for her everywhere, Clarence.” Simon replied. “Now please, would you sit down? I’m getting a headache from following you pace here.”
Clarence sighed and took the seat that Simon offered him. He wanted to join them search for Juliet, but as the band leader, he had some responsibilities. He had to represent the band as they called out their name.
A few minutes passed and Clarence felt like something heavy dropped on his stomach. He quickly stood up when he saw James and Ellie rushing towards them.
“Still not here?” James panted, his eyes filled with panic and concern. Clarence shook his head.
“I’m so sorry, Clarence—“ Ellie began, but Clarence cut her off as James reached out to hug her.
“No, Ellie. It’s not your fault.”
“But if I had stayed with Juliet as she got that phone call, then maybe she wouldn’t have disappeared! If I haven’t left to tell you guys that we’ll be right up, Juliet would be here now!”
It was that mysterious phone call that got Clarence thinking. Juliet and Ellie were on their way to the backstage when Juliet’s phone rang. If Ellie had noticed the way Juliet’s face clouded when she checked her phone’s screen, maybe she had insisted on staying with her.
“Damn,” Clarence thought. He quickly checked the other bands. Only two more bands, then they would be the next to be called. He was still debating if he should go to the PA system to publicly call Juliet when he heard the sound of stilettos behind them.
Instinctively, Clarence turned and saw the face he was desperately looking for. He saw, with relief, that she looked the same as before, beautiful and unharmed. However, his relief soon faded and was replaced with concern when he noticed her expression.
Unconsciously, he ran towards Juliet and hugged her tightly. He didn’t even think about what Juliet would think as he hugged her, nor even the other people with them on the backstage. He just wanted to check for himself if she was really there, with him.
“Juliet?” he asked softly, gently loosening his hug but not completely removing his arms around her. She was looking back at him with a blank expression, like she was not actually seeing him there.
“Juliet?” he repeated and shook her lightly. He was starting to worry and would have turned to his friends for help when she suddenly hugged him as tightly as he had a while ago.
Clarence was completely in shock. This was the first time ever that Juliet willingly made some physical contact with him. That mysterious phone call must have changed her in such a short time.
He quickly turned to his friends and saw the three of them staring back with a worried expression on their faces. He slowly nodded, silently telling them that he got this. They smiled in relief, though Clarence could see that Ellie was still hesitant to leave them. After a while though, she nodded and left with James and Simon.
Turning his attention to her once again, he noticed that she still hasn’t loosened her hug. Though he would have liked to stay like this forever, with her arms around him, Clarence would rather enjoy looking at her smiles from afar than have her hugging him and shaking like a frightened kitten.
“Juliet, what’s wrong?” He asked, his arms wrapping around her shoulders.
“He’s back,” he heard her whisper. Clarence frowned at the scared tome of her voice.
With a sigh, he firmly placed a hand on her shoulder and gently guided her away from the speculative eyes of the people around them on the backstage.
“Okay, Juliet. Let’s talk on our dressing room, is that okay with you?” he asked softly. He slowly moved his hands and held hers as they walked along the hallway. He noted with concern that her hands were cold and squeezed them slightly, as if to give her some of his warmth.
Juliet shook her head. “Can we go someplace else? I don’t feel like going back to the dressing room yet,” she said timidly.
He quickly thought about the other private places around the school in his head. With a smile, he thought of the perfect place to go and pulled her hand as he excitedly walked towards the back door of the stadium.
“Where are we going?” Juliet asked, confused.
“You’ll see,” he said with a smile. He pushed the door and smiled as he looked around. He heard her quick intake of breath as she looked around the place he was just hanging out before James called him earlier before the tournament.
Clarence took a peek at Juliet as he gently pulled her to the gazebo found on the center of the garden just behind the stadium. She was still looking around with an awed expression, her eyes lingering on the fragrant flower beds just beside the gazebo. There were twinkling lights situated discreetly across the garden, providing a romantic mood to the place.
Still holding her hand, Clarence sat at the exact place he was sitting at before. He patiently waited as Juliet explored the garden with her eyes before sitting at the chair beside him.
“Thanks for bringing me here, Clarence.” She said, her happiness evident in her eyes which made him happy too, knowing he was the reason behind it.
“You’re welcome,” he said simply.
“How did you know of this place?”
“I have some connections,” he said mysteriously, his eyes twinkling.
Juliet rolled her eyes. “And I bet those connections are just girls trying to seduce you here.” She said, making him laugh.
“Nahh. I never brought a girl here before. It’s my sacred place,” he said sincerely as he looked straight at her eyes. Juliet blushed under his gaze and tried to look away, but he gently squeezed her hand again, making her to look at him again.
“You know what I feel for you, Juliet, right?”
She took a deep breath. “Yes. But I’m sorry Clarence, I’m not yet ready—“
“Don’t worry, I understand. I’m ready to wait as long as it takes,”
“Clarence—“
“I won’t force myself to you. If you want us to be friends for now, then we’re friends.”
“O...kay. Thank you Clarence,” she said, smiling. He simply nodded in return.
They were silent for a while, content in absorbing the peace and serenity that the place offered, when he remembered why he brought her here.
“So, who’s back?” he asked, shifting his gaze towards her again. He saw her body stiffen, her eyes grew sad and her gaze traveled to the dancing butterflies flying near the flower bushes.
Clarence immediately regretted that he asked her, but he knew that in order to understand Juliet more, he need to know what happened in her past. He needed to know what hurt her so he can fix her seemingly broken heart.
“Juliet...?” he asked again after a few minutes of silence. He thought she wasn’t going to answer him and was prepared to tell her that he won’t ask again when he heard her sigh.
“My dad is back,” she whispered.
His eyebrows deepened but he remained silent, maybe Juliet would explain why she said it like it’s a bad thing.
“My mom died when I was six years old,” she continued, her sad eyes glistening with unshed tears. “She got into this car accident with my dad. My dad got a few injuries but my mom had worse because the impact of the other car was on her side. The ambulance didn’t reach them in time, so she died in his arms.”
Damn, Clarence thought. He hated seeing the sadness in her eyes, seeing them clouding with unshed tears as she reminisce the painful memories. He wanted to take all thos pain away, but felt helpless.
“My dad was never the same after that. He got addicted to alcohol, gave up his job, went travelling for awhile to god knows where, and sometimes, he remembers me. He comes back, drunk, and spends the night on our house, telling me that if I hadn’t asked my mom for the school things I forgot, that maybe, she’s still here...” her voice trailed off.
Clarence didn’t know what to do. He was so angry that she got blamed for an accident that she never meant to happen by her own father, and that she spent all this time thinking that she caused her mother’s death.
He opened his mouth to speak when he noticed something on her legs as she shifted on her seat. The movement made her dress slide up her thigh a little. It wasn’t her creamy fair skin that attracted his attention, but the large, nasty reddish-purple bruise just a few inches above her knees.
Juliet noticed where his eyes stopped and quickly pulled down her dress. It was too late though, Clarence clearly saw her bruise. He lifted his worried gaze to her eyes.
“What happened?” he asked in a low voice as he tried to control the anger that he was feeling.
“It’s nothing,” she said quickly but he took her head and squeezed it.
“Juliet, I’m here as your friend. Tell me what happened.”
“It’s just a bruise,”
“It is not just a bruise, Juliet. I can see the mark of a hand there.” he said, frustrated that she won’t tell him what happened.
He heard her sigh and she said quietly, “My dad tried to rape me when he was drunk a few nights ago.”
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Sooo how's that? A bit heavy, right? I prooomiiiisssseeee it would get better on the next chapter, because Clarence is just................................... *swoon*