Author's Note: This is for lorenamag who suggested something about pre-island Juliet. I'd never thought about it before, but decided it might be interesting to give it a shot. This is what I came up with. Of course, I can't have Juliet without James! This fits in with the show completely, not AU at all.
Let me know what you think! Please read and review!
Disclaimer: I do not own Lost.
The Beginning of the End
Juliet walked into the bar wearing a knee length skirt, matching jacket, and simple light blue top. It was a Friday night in Miami and there were people everywhere. The lights inside were dim and the smell of cigarette smoke mixed with alcohol hung in the air. She'd never felt more out of place in her life. She was tempted to turn around and run, but where would she go? She couldn't go home, not yet and she wasn't sure she could face Rachel right now.
She took a few steps in the door, her heels clicking on the hard floor, and spotted one empty barstool. The tables were all occupied by couples or small groups of friends. The seats along the bar were filled mostly with men, two kinds of men. There were those who were there solely to drink and who kept their faces planted firmly on their bottles. Then there were those who sat facing the crowd, surveying for a suitable single female to make a move on. Juliet quickly made a beeline for the empty stool at the end of the bar before one of their gazes landed on her.
She sat down and rechecked her surroundings. No one seemed to be looking in her direction. Good. The man next to her glanced up as she sat, but his attention quickly returned to the glass in front of him. She took in his appearance. Leather jacket. Jeans. Blond hair nearly as long as her own and he needed to shave. She really hoped she hadn't made a mistake sitting next to him.
The bartender came by and gave Juliet a questioning look. She ordered a Diet Coke.
Sawyer looked at the woman next to him. She looked uncomfortable and clearly out of place. Her nice clothes belonged somewhere other than a bar and she sat stiffly on the stool clutching her purse to her chest like she didn't know what to do with it or herself.
The bartender sat the soda in front of her.
"Do you know where yer at, Blondie?" Sawyer asked, staring at his drink until he finished the question. When he looked up at her she looked almost scared.
"Umm…yeah?" Juliet hadn't meant for her response to come out sounding like a question, but she also hadn't expected the man sitting next to her, who most definitely looked like some kind of criminal, to strike up a conversation. She had no idea where his question was going and she wondered briefly if she'd wandered into some gang affiliated place that was going to expect her to join the club now that she'd ordered something. She just need a place to go, to get away for a while, and she passed this bar every day on her way to and from work.
Sawyer wondered what she was doing here, clearly out of her element. He knew why he was at a bar. It was an anniversary, one he drank to forget, and so far he hadn't had enough alcohol to silence his mother's screams and his father's gunshots. "I was just askin' 'cause usually when people come to places like this they're in the mood for somethin' a little stronger than that." He drawled and pointed to the silver can in front of her.
Juliet was stunned. She didn't know what to say. "I, um, I don't usually do this." She stammered out.
"Come to bars?" He asked and she nodded. There was something in her eyes, something that told him she just might be there for the same reason he was. "You like me, tryin' to forget somethin' tonight?" He asked.
"You could say that." She said slowly.
He downed the rest of the drink in front of him and motioned to the bartender for two more. "Then let's get you something that'll do the job."
Juliet didn't know what had gotten into her. She accepted the man's drink and they drowned their thoughts in silence. She knew she should be wary of the man, maybe even afraid, and she almost was, but there was something about him, something in the sadness in his eyes that made her trust him. She finished her drink and ordered a second. He moved on to his fourth. She relaxed, finally setting her purse down, and studied the drink in front of her, swirling the ice around the amber liquid with her finger.
Sawyer was tempted to ask her what she was doing here, what she was drinking to forget, but he didn't want the same question asked of him so he kept his mouth shut. Then he noticed the ring on her finger. "Where's the lucky guy?" He asked, though he knew he shouldn't.
Juliet was confused until he pointed to the wedding ring on her finger. She took a long drink. She didn't know why she was about to tell him this, but she did anyway. "He's leaving for a weekend business trip." She said.
Sawyer could tell she knew her husband would be doing a lot of things over the weekend, none of which included anything business related. Her presence at the bar suddenly made a lot more sense and he wondered what kind of guy would do such a thing to her. Sure, she was kind of shy and not exactly confident, but she was pretty. If it had been any other night and any other woman he might have thought about trying to make some money off her poor marriage, but this was not a night for work and something about her made him want to do anything but hurt her more than she'd already been hurt. "Sorry." was all he said in response to her cheating husband.
Time passed. They made small talk as they drank. Eventually, the alcohol warmed Juliet enough to where she took off her jacket and laid it across her lap. She'd forgotten about the bruises she'd been trying to conceal, but Sawyer noticed them as soon as she reached for her glass again.
"Who did this?" He asked roughly, examining the finger shaped bruises on her arm.
Juliet walked down the hall with her nose buried in papers. Something wasn't right. The numbers weren't adding up. She had to tell him something was wrong with the research.
When she got to the door to Edmund's office she didn't knock. She was still doing calculations in her head, trying to make sense of the words and numbers of the pages in front of her as she turned the doorknob and walked in. When she looked up she froze.
There was her husband with his secretary laid out on his desk. They were both still fully clothed and she was thankful she hadn't walked in five minutes later. Edmund looked up. She'd never seen a more furious look on his face. The secretary looked at her and then back to Edmund before scrambling off the desk and out of the room.
Edmund Burke was angry. He straightened his tie before stalking towards his wife. "What are you doing here?" There was an edge to his voice.
Juliet couldn't believe what she had witnessed. She'd had suspicions for months, but seeing it first hand was not something she'd been prepared for. Tears threatened to fall. "What am I doing?" She asked. "What are you doing?" She nearly yelled.
"I'm doing whatever the hell I want. This is my office and you should know to knock." He gave her an icy stare and Juliet worked hard not to wilt under his gaze.
"But I'm your wife." She said softly.
"Yes, you are." His voice lowered too, but the angry edge was still there. "And the only thing you're good for is this." He plucked the papers from her hand and waved them in front of her face. "You're a brilliant mind, but horrible in bed."
More tears threatened to fall and Juliet had never been so angry in her life. This wasn't the man she married. Or maybe it was and she just didn't know it until now. She raised her hand to slap him. She'd never done such a thing, but she knew words wouldn't hurt Edmund in the slightest.
Before Juliet's palm could make contact with the side of Edmund's face his hand reached out and grabbed her by the arm. He squeezed and twisted and she cried out. His grip tightened and wrenched her arm behind her back, spinning her so she was in front of him, her back to his front. He whispered harshly in her ear. "Don't you ever try that again."
The tears Juliet had been holding back slid down her face silently. Edmund released her. She turned to face him and he smirked. "I'm going on a business trip this weekend." He said. The harshness in his voice was gone. It was like the last few minutes hadn't even happened and the way he said business made Juliet know that was exactly what he wouldn't be doing over the weekend.
"I'm going to go home and pack after work. Connie and I leave at 7." Connie. Juliet recognized the name of his secretary. She held her arm and rubbed here he'd held her. She knew there would be bruises.
"I'll be back Sunday night." Edmund said. "And I think I'd like a steak waiting for me when I get home. Think you can handle that?" Juliet nodded. "Good. Now, get back to work." He smacked her lightly on her rear end, pushing her towards the door.
Juliet left Edmund's office and went straight to the women's restroom. She sat there for several minutes, letting the rest of her tears fall. Edmund had never been rough with her before. She knew they didn't have a perfect marriage, but she never thought it was this bad. She didn't know what to do, but she knew she wouldn't be going home until after seven that night.
Rachel was right. She'd always said Edmund was trouble, not worthy of her sister. Juliet hadn't listened and now she wished she had. She'd have to find somewhere to go after work. She wouldn't sit at home and watch him pack for his weekend getaway and she was not in the mood to see her sister. She knew as soon as their eyes met Rachel would know something had happened. She'd never been able to hide anything from her.
"It's nothing." Juliet said quickly to Sawyer, pulling her arm back away from his gaze.
"That ain't nothin'." He said. The alcohol was doing it's job. His mother's screams were growing fainter, but he wasn't drunk enough yet to ignore what he'd seen. "That husband a yours is a real piece a work." He slurred.
Juliet didn't know what to say.
He met her eyes. "You shouldn't let him do that. Any of it. You deserve better." He said seriously.
Juliet looked down at her arm. Sure enough there was the mark of her husband's hand, blue and purple imprints against her fair skin. "You don't even know me." She said, looking up at Sawyer.
"I don't have ta." He replied. "Any man who'll do what he's done ta you deserves to be hit by a bus."
Juliet was tempted to laugh. Rachel would like this guy. She'd always wanted someone to run him over. "Yeah, well I don't have a bus." She said.
"You should leave him. 'Fore it gets worse." He said and went back to his drink. This conversation got real serious real fast and he was beginning to feel uncomfortable about it even through the haze of the alcohol. He was pretty sure his father had cheated on his mother and that's what drove her to do what she did. But no matter what the circumstances violence against women was something he'd never stand for. If his father had learned to deal with things another way his mother would still be alive.
Juliet knew he was right. Edmund had never touched her before, but now that he had she was concerned about what would come next. They continued drinking. No other words were spoken. Eventually, Juliet got up and left without a word. She'd made a decision.
She drove the twenty minutes to the other side of town. It was late, but she didn't care. If she didn't do something about it now tomorrow when the alcohol wore off she'd be too scared to do anything. She pulled in a driveway and went up the door. She knocked.
Rachel was confused when she heard a knock at the door. She looked out the window and saw her sister's car. What is she doing here? It was late. This wasn't like Juliet at all. She opened the door.
Juliet looked as though she'd been crying. Rachel could smell the alcohol on her. Juliet never drank. She pulled her sister in the door and wrapped her in a hug. "What's wrong?" She asked softly.
Juliet pulled back and looked at her sister. She could see the confusion in Rachel's eyes. "I'm filing for divorce." She finally said. "On Monday."
Rachel didn't know what had happened to cause this, but she was happy to hear the news. She pulled Juliet close and hugged her tight.
The next day neither Juliet nor Sawyer could clearly picture the face of the person they'd talked to the night before. Their features were clouded by the alcohol they'd consumed and the distinctions of their voices got lost in their head, mixed up with the rest of the sounds they'd heard in the bar. They'd never exchanged names.
Sawyer would forget the encounter soon enough.
Juliet would never remember the details of the man who'd convinced her to leave Edmund. She might have let the entire night slide, but that's why she'd gone to Rachel. Rachel wouldn't let her back out of her decision. She filed for divorce on Monday.