Hanging by a Moment

There were keys rattling in her apartment door, but Juliet couldn’t be bothered to see who was coming in for a visit. It could have been either of her brothers, her father, Dimitri…any one of the people she really had no desire to see at the moment. They all looked at her with sympathetic eyes, or eyes that judged her husband for actions that Juliet had no proof had been committed. She stood in her bedroom, hating the cramped one-room flat that she’d been able to procure on short notice, using her married name to purchase. Juliet Travers was a name far-less thought of than Juliet Morhan.

The red-headed beauty certainly didn’t look like a supermodel this morning, nor did she look like the world-class dancer and choreographer that she was. Her face was pale, and her eyes were tired. She’d been sick all night and into the morning, and she’d missed the gentle hands that usually held her hair back, the tired smile that would accompany her husband’s actions as he tucked her back into bed. She missed him, and it was hard to remember that she had been the one to walk out that door, not the other way around. She stood before the mirror, braiding her wet red hair, clad only in her panties and a bra. It took her so much time to get ready anymore, mostly because she didn’t want to. She could tell, now, that her visitor was in her living room. There was the sound of keys hitting the table- that rule out her father, for which she was grateful. She closed her eyes, and leaned against the dresser, wishing that she could just remain silent until whoever it was left.

She knew it was in vain, and she repressed a groan as there was a knock on her bedroom door.
“Jujubean?” The voice gave him away immediately. Only Dimitri spoke with such a thick, unfettered Russian accent. Juliet didn’t have the heart to turn him away; she’d have given her father the cold shoulder. Everytime he came around, he wanted to move her back to England, so that she could recover from her marriage in peace and be far away from Kayden. If he had his way, Kay would never see her again, no matter how many times Juliet informed him that this was all on her. Kay was the innocent party this time and Juliet had run away entirely on her own. Had Theo walked through the door, she would have screamed at him until he left, though that would have been hours in the making. Theo was used to her wrath, and he took it willingly. It was a release for her, and he understood it. But Dimitri….she couldn’t turn her best friend away. He knew her far too well, and he knew what would really be going through her head. Of all the men in her life, Dimitri hated Kay the most; he’d been the one she had run to on the worst night of her life.

“Go away, Dimi. I’m not dressed.” It was half-hearted, and the Russian knew it. The door opened, and Dimitri set a box down on her bed, before taking the braid from her hands and finishing it for her.
“You can’t hide in here forever.”
“I’m practically naked.”
“I’m gay, so stop fussing. What’s really wrong, Juliet?”

She glanced up in the mirror, meeting his gaze in the reflective glass. Juliet was surprised that she didn’t see any hatred or condemnation there, only concern. If she spoke, she was certain she would make that concern go away. Instead, she slipped past him, opening the box on her bed. There was a photo album on top, and Juliet was surprised that the Russian had taken it for her; but then, Dimitri knew her better than anyone. She set it to the side, and pulled her favourite, most comfortable jeans from the box, sliding her legs into them. Then she grabbed the first shirt she touched, tugging it on; her motions freezing when she caught sight of it in the mirror. It was one of Kay’s Vivienne Westwood shirts, and it still smelled of him. She sank to the bed, rummaging through the box. Her fingers found a bottle of bourbon, a picture of herself and her husband and dog, and at the very bottom, two small things that almost caused her to fall off the bed.

The car keys, and Kay’s wedding band.

“The ring was on the dresser…..I thought you’d want it.”
Juliet shrank down into the shirt, curling her legs up around herself. Her first instinct was to start necking the bottle of bourbon, but the knowledge of new life curled just under her navel stopped her. There was no way she’d run the risk of harming an unborn child, simply because she’d left his or her father. The part of her that had wanted to beg Kay back certainly did now. They’d been apart for two months, and it had felt like an eternity.
“Why do this now, Dimitri?”

Strong arms scooped her up, and she snuggled into Dimitri’s lap, hot tears pouring down her face. The Russian smoothed her hair away from her face, and sighed deeply.
“You miss him, and much as I regret this, you’re not the same without him. I don’t want you to go back, and I think you know why. But I want you to be happy, and I want the baby to be happy too.”

“How do you know about that?” Her hazel eyes were wide, stunned by just how much Dimitri had done to try making her feel better.
“Morning sickness.”

Juliet slid off of Dimitri’s lap, knowing that this situation wasn’t as simple as Dimitri was making it out to be.
“You still hate him.”

There was a long pause. “Yeah, I do. Even more so than before, actually. I’d hate for you to go back; I’ll set you up with some great guys who know how to treat a lady. Who’d rather go through hell than hurt a woman. But you’ll turn me down.” He took her soft snort as a yes, and continued. “I know you’ll want these things, whatever you decide. I’ll be here for you, whatever you want. I do love you, Juliet, in a protective and highly platonic manner.”
She caught the smirk on his features, and smiled for the first time in days.

“Does this mean you’ll go with me to my doctor’s appointments?”
“It means I’ll be pissed if you don’t let me.”