Chapter Fifteen
To say that the past two weeks had been absolutely miserable for Julie would have been the biggest understatement. School was quickly coming to an end and the amount of homework she’d been given was piling up as she attempted to prepare for her finals. Brianna had not spoken to her since the Sunday after her party, having only called to completely fuss Julie out. Once JC had realized that there had indeed been drinking, he’d called Joey promptly, ratting out the other girls as well. This wasn’t the usual teenaged argument. She was sure that Brianna would never speak to her again.
However, nothing could compare to the way her father had been treating her. Every time he looked at her, she could see the disappointment in his eyes. It was killing her inside.
“May I be excused?” She asked softly at dinner one evening, not even looking up from her plate.
“You’ve not touched your food honey,” Jen commented softly.
“I’m really not hungry,” she managed to get out. JC sighed when he noticed a single tear slide down her cheek. He couldn’t allow this to continue. He stood from his place and reached for her hand, noticing her eyes widening in fear as he tugged her gently into the living room. He moved and took a seat on the couch, tugging her down onto his lap.
“Talk to me.”
She couldn’t bring herself to look at him. If she looked up at him and saw the disappointment in his eyes, it would be the end of her. She knew it.
“Julie… I want you to talk to me baby.”
She felt the tears slide down her cheeks now, faster as she brought her eyes up slowly to meet his.
“I’m so sorry daddy!” She cried, unable to control herself at this point. She flung her arms around his neck, sobbing against him. JC was completely taken aback.
He rubbed Julie’s back, cooing soft to her, trying to calm his sobbing daughter. He thought that she had been avoiding him, and had no sought her out. He figured she was still incredibly upset with him, and didn’t want to do anything to upset her any further.
“I t-told you I was s-sorry and you ha-haven’t talked to me!” She sobbed. “And Brianna is m-mad and at me and I f-f-feel so o-overwhelmed, daddy!”
“Oh sweetheart I”“
“I c-can’t even l-l-look at you for f-fear of seeing the disappointment i-in your eyes!”
JC felt his heart break as he sat there, holding his daughter as she cried. He had no idea she was feeling so overwhelmed. She was stretched so thin, between school, Brianna, and him. He had no idea what to say, or to do to make her feel better, so he just held her, swaying gently on the couch with her.
~*~
“Mom! I want to go watch TV!” Abbi growled, after her mother had grabbed her for the third time to keep her from going into the living room.
“And I told you no. Daddy’s in there with Julie. If you want to watch TV so bad, go upstairs and crawl into my bed. You can watch in there for awhile. But be QUIET in the hallway!” Jen warned, wagging her finger at her daughter as she swatted her behind gently.
Pleased that she was getting to go upstairs to cuddle in her parent’s overly comfortable bed, Abbi looked back at her mother with a sweet little grin and took off out of the kitchen, heading up the stairs. Reaching out to stop the door from swinging, Jen pushed it open slightly, and headed into the hallway, peeking into the living room. Her heart broke at the sight.
Even though she was a few feet away, she could hear Julie’s muffled sobs as her father held her, his arms wrapped around her so tight, protecting her from all that was wrong in her world. She stepped back into the kitchen, leaning against the wall as her breath caught in her throat. She hoped that this entire ordeal would be enough to settle Julie down.
~*~
He held her until she drifted off to sleep in his arms. It was barely even 7:30, but he had suspected she’d not been sleeping that much over the past week. Not that he could blame her. He’d been tossing and turning as well, his thoughts running wild.
Looking down at the sleeping girl in his arms, a smile formed on his lips. The first one in almost two weeks, actually. Even though Julie certainly was growing up in front of his eyes, she had a long way to go.
He moved to the edge of the couch and picked her up carefully, moving towards the stairs. He carried her upstairs and got her situated in her bed, pulling the covers around her as she snuggled into her pillow. He knelt beside her and rubbed her cheek gently.
“Julie… I love you baby. And I know you’re growing up, believe me, I do. But it’s hard for me, you have to go easy on your old dad,” he said, laughing softly. He sighed and looked down at her, her eyes fluttering slightly beneath her lids. “I love you,” he repeated, “no matter what you do, no matter how much you screw up, you’re not going to change that. So don’t even think about it, lady.”
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