Chapter 4 #2
With that in mind, she stood and slowly walked across the room, letting people stare as she walked down the secluded hall toward the bathroom.
She didn’t want to be seen sitting at her table on her phone – she was sure it would give the impression that she was being a wallflower, that she was uncertain of herself – but she had some business to attend to. Namely, changing her flight.
Normally, she’d text Laura and ask her to do so.
But Laura was neck-deep in her own horrible situation.
A situation that was far worse than Juliet’s, and she wasn’t going to add to it.
Laura staying by her side from across the world was a bit of a lifeline – maybe for them both – but the end was near, and Juliet could manage something like this on her own.
Right as she finished, the door to the bathroom was pushed open, and voices flooded through the echoing interior.
Juliet peeked through the little gap, even though she recognized the first woman’s voice with no problem.
“–can’t believe she’s here,” Chloe Larsson trilled, as she tossed her clutch onto the sink countertop.
Chloe was a few years older than she was, someone she’d bumped into many times over the years. Someone she’d also – at one unfortunate point – hooked up with. And Juliet was very unsurprised to hear that she had comments.
The other women with her were Val Jones and Krissy Wheaton, two runway models that Juliet recognized but hadn’t spoken to much.
“What do we think she’s doing here with Robbie? Like, what is that about? Didn’t she cheat on him?” Val asked, not bothering to hush her voice. “Like a full-on lesbian affair?”
Juliet rolled her eyes; typical.
“I’ve heard,” Chloe dragged heard out into four syllables, obviously wanting to garner as much anticipation as she could. “That it was more of a publicity stunt gone hugely wrong. And that she’s running right back to Robbie now that it’s blown up in her face.”
And that was, really, one of the most egregious comments Chloe could make.
Considering she knew it wasn’t a publicity stunt at all, and knew Juliet was certainly not straight.
Juliet was never going to claim to love the Hollywood gossip mill, but she would at least respect someone a little bit more if they weren’t outright, knowingly lying.
Krissy gasped. “Shut the fuck up. Where did you hear that?”
“Obviously from Thomas,” Val cut in.
Juliet grimaced, the anger slicing through her.
She hadn’t spoken to Thomas since the day after the coming out, when she’d fired him.
Which had already been her plan, but it had been made incredibly simple because he’d been losing his fucking mind at her.
She could only imagine what he was hearing from Harrison and the label, but Juliet didn’t care to deal with it now that she didn’t have to.
And – huh. Wasn’t that a relief? She didn’t have to deal with it. She didn’t have to care what Thomas thought or what he was saying or what deals he would try to make on her behalf. It really did make her breathe a little deeper.
She wasn’t shocked that Chloe was having some sort of relationship, either romantic or sexual or some combination, with him. Always a social climber, especially now that her last couple of albums had barely made a splash. Not even just a good splash, but any.
“I mean… if Juliet was going to go all out, she could have picked someone else, you know?” Chloe let out one of those hyena-sounding giggles.
Juliet’s hackles lifted even higher. What the fuck was that supposed to mean?
“What do you mean? Darcy’s hot.” Val’s confusion, for once, mirrored Juliet’s.
“She is,” Chloe agreed. “But… like, she hasn’t released an album in a couple of years. And her group, like, disbanded. It’s not like her star is on the rise right now. What, Juliet decided to pull a stunt like this with someone whose career has been at a standstill for over a year?”
Maybe Juliet was the fighting kind. Or maybe she’d picked it up from Darcy. But she felt red hot with rage right now.
Krissy released a laugh that made Juliet shudder in disgust. Even her laughter sounded… nasty. “That’s actually a good point. You know, I heard–”
Juliet, personally, had heard enough of what any of them had heard lately. With that, she swung her stall door open and glided out toward the counter.
Conversation between all three women swiftly cut off, and a vicious satisfaction zipped right through her at the wide-eyed stares on their faces, before they managed to school their expressions. Right into those fake, polite smiles.
But Juliet didn’t need to put on her own fake smile for once. The realization hit her; she was actually experiencing a benefit of having come out. If everyone was already dragging her reputation, she didn’t need to play nice anymore.
She didn’t have to be country’s sweetheart, anymore. Didn’t have to maintain some sort of reputation that didn’t align with who she really was.
Juliet met and held their stares, individually, in the mirror, as she washed her hands. Reading their uncomfortable expressions and relishing in them.
“Juliet! We didn’t realize you were in here,” Chloe eventually said.
“No kidding.” She dried her hands and turned around to face them directly.
“I know that none of you would have the spine to say to my face what you’d say behind my back; it’s why I’ve never respected any of you.
That, and the fact that none of you had the good sense to simply check to see if the stalls were empty before you really let loose. Just plain… stupid.”
Oh. Yes. That felt very, very good.
Especially when the three of them quickly exchanged a look, varying expressions from uncertainty to agitation on their faces.
“But, since I’m here, I’ll clear up any confusion. It’s not a stunt. I’m in a relationship with Darcy. A real, gay relationship,” she drawled.
The flush on Chloe’s cheeks was the highest, which made sense given the secrets in her own closet. Juliet singled her out as her target and advanced. With every step she took forward, Chloe inched backward.
And yes, she loved that, too.
“You’re also correct in saying that Darcy is hot. Like – so fucking hot . Clearly, since you’ve all commented on it, you see it, too.” Locking eyes with Chloe, unwavering, Juliet slowly lifted her eyebrows. “I bet you’ve noticed just how hot, Chloe.”