Page 33 of His Juliet

What if something happened to Juliet because of me?

I navigated to our text conversation again. Just looking at her name made my chest feel all weird and tight. I rolled over on my side, and in the process, I accidentally hit her name.

Shit shit shit. The phone was ringing. In my panic, I fumbled it, losing it in the sheets. I cursed again and managed to grab it just as Juliet’s voice came through the speaker.

“Hello?”

Kill me now.

“Hey. Fuck, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to call. Did I wake you?”

I held my breath while I waited for her answer.

“Oh, no. I was awake. But, umm, if you didn’t mean to call, I guess we can just?—”

“No!” I jumped to my feet and started pacing. “I mean, no, if you want to talk, we can.”

The pause on the other end of the line was excruciating, but she finally responded. “Why are you up so late?”

“I have insomnia. I’m up late most nights.”

“Do you do anything to pass the time?”

I moved to the window and drew the curtain back so I could look out at the city. “Think brooding thoughts, mostly.”

She snorted, and the sound made me smile.

“Your laugh is cute,” I said.

“Oh, thank you. Um, your laugh is cute, too.”

That made me chuckle. “Oh, yeah?” I hummed. “What do you do to pass the time?”

“I mostly read until I fall asleep.”

“You sure it’s not the books putting you to sleep?”

“Well, it was nice knowing you…”

“Just kidding. What are you reading now?”

“Nothing interesting.”

“Oh, come on, tell me. It’s interesting to you, and I want to get to know you.”

She hesitated for a moment. “I’m reading a romance.”

I grinned. I’d seen some of the books Sofiya left around. “Is it dirty?”

“Maybe.”

“Cute little Juliet reading her dirty books.”

“Brooding Romeo, thinking his deep, dark thoughts.”

“You got me.” I turned back to my bed and sat down on the mattress. “Sometimes if I’ve finished all my brooding, I’ll play video games.”

“Ahh. A big Animal Crossing fan?”

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