Insufficient

Chapter 25 - Mystery Guard

Juliana's POV

They say when you're held at gunpoint you should start talking about your life.

Something about humanising yourself to your assailant makes the morality of the deed harder. Reminds them that you too, are a person, and not something so easily expendable.

Expendability is an easy concept, if you ask me. And by that I mean it comes very naturally to people. After all, it is simply replacement.

The things that we have, the people in our lives. We see them as expendable. Most of the time, anyway.

Sure, maybe it's not always the easiest at first, but over time eventually you'll just... forget. Forget that they were even significant to you in the first place. Forget why.

"Juliana, I'm not telling you again. You have... Eight minutes to get your ass downstairs before I drag you out looking like that." Gino snaps at me, slamming my door shut.

I groan, rolling over and smothering my face in my pillow. It's too early to be alive.

The past few weeks have been rough. Something in me clicked that night. I went back into a haze. I was going through the motions of everyday life without truly experiencing any of it.

Not that I really wanted to anyway.

I turn over, staring at the desk across from my bed. On it was my computer, a caddy holding my makeup, and hanging on the back of my chair was a plain black duffle bag containing all my skating supplies.

Next to it, lying on the floor haphazardly, was my dance backpack. With my studio's logo, inside holds all my different shoes, and multiple different changes of attire I would need throughout the day.

I couldn't stop my gaze from shifting longingly towards the computer sitting on my desk. It had been a solid 9 days since I last talked to any of my cousins.

It's certainly not from lack of effort from their end, it was purely my fault. It had gotten to the point where I simply couldn't keep the falsity. I couldn't keep the smile on, or the energy up.

And they noticed.

I couldn't take the questions, or concerned glances that kept getting thrown around.

I'm not even sure how it happened. It was like one day, I just started ignoring the calls. Until suddenly, there were no calls to ignore.

I can't lie, it hurts. Not that I was prideful enough to admit that it was entirely my fault, I still missed them.

I glanced at the clock and sighed. There was no putting off the day.

I rolled out of bed, blinking away the head rush. Didn't matter as it was immediately followed by a head splitting ache.

I guess that's what happens when you spend half the night crying.

I brush my hair into a ponytail, not having the energy for anything else. I don't bother with makeup, not like there was a point as it would get sweated off anyhow.

Somehow I get downstairs before 5, and Gino was waiting for me in the garage. He looked less than pleased at being awake this early, but he was holding a banana with him which he extended to me when I got close enough.

He did open the back door for me though.

I shoved my skating and dance bags in, not caring that one of them tipped over, toppling to the floor.

I slam the door shut, which earns me a disapproving look from Gino.

How dare I hurt his baby.

Gino has been driving me to practice the past few days. I'm not sure why, it may be a punishment.