"How are you this morning, Twig?" Auggie asked the next morning at breakfast. Juliette was sitting alone.
"I'm okay, I guess. I mean, how am I supposed to feel?" Juliette said to her plate. She was quiet for a few minutes. "I'm sorry I didn't talk to you yesterday after the police came."
"Thats okay, Jules. Peter told me what happened. I'm sorry it turned out the way it did."
"Well, I don't even know how its going to turn out. I'm kinda scared, Auggie."
"It'll be okay, Jules. I bet the worst is over."
"No, the worst will be over after I talk to my mom. Then, if she decides to take me home, then it'll never get better."
"Peter won't let her take you home. He didn't when you cut yourself last."
"But that was a cut, something I did more often. It was easier to talk my mom out of it."
"Don't get your hopes up so early, Twig. I'm sure there's hope," Auggie said, squeezing her hand. Juliette tried to smile. It meant a lot to her that Auggie was willing to stick by her even with all that happened.

For the rest of the morning and on into the afternoon, Juliette was tense and nervous.
"Calm down, Juliette. Stop pacing. I feel like I'm watching a tennis match or something," Shelby said.
"I can't calm down. I'm too worried about my mom. And don't watch me if you feel that way," Juliette snapped. She sat down on her bed and hugged her bear, anyway.
For the rest of the afternoon she sat there. Jet, Daisy, and Shelby all tried to calm her down, but it didn't do any good. Finally, Sophie came in around 5. She told the girls to go to the lodge while she talked with Juliette.
"Peter's talking to your mom right now," she said.
"And?"
"Well, I can't tell where the conversation is going. But I know Peter will want you to talk to her and give her your opinions and stuff, so lets go."
"What if my mom won't listen?" Juliette asked on the way.
"Peter is an expert at convincing people to do things. He has to be, otherwise Horizon wouldn't be doing so well. But Peter will do everything in his power to let you stay. He knows your mom's actions were the reason why you came here." Sophie's words didn't seem to reassure Juliette. When they got to Peter's office, he motioned for them to come in.
"...yes, yes, I understand that. Here she is, let her talk to you," Peter pressed the mute button on the phone. "Jules, your mom isn't leaning towards you staying here. You gotta do some serious convincing. If that doesn't work, Sophie will talk, I'll talk more, I'll even try to get Auggie to talk to her. She's met him, right?" Juliette nodded. Peter handed her the phone and took it off mute. Very, very slowly she put the receiver to her ear.
"Hi, mom," she whispered.
"Juliette, I want you to pack up and come home. I'll come get you tomorrow. Well, actually, I probably won't get there until Tuesday or Wednesday. God, I can't believe that someone in their right mind would put a rapist in a school for messed up kids!"
"Mom...you think I'm messed up?"
"I didn't mean that...exactly."
Juliette was hurt. "Mom, can I please stay here?"
"With that crazy boy? No!"
"But he's being taken away! Tomorrow!"
"And until tomorrow he'll still have the chance to rape you again!"
"No, no he won't! He's in quarentine. Under 24-hour watch! He won't be able to get out of the room until he leaves!"
"Juliette, I'm not going to argue. I'm picking you up Tuesday."
"Mom, please, hear me out. I'm doing so well right now. I haven't done anything. If you take me away, it'll all go away. I'll start taking pills and throwing up my food and cutting. I promise! All my friends are here, Peter is here. If I leave, I'll go downhill. Taking me away is wrong, mom. Yeah, what Kurt did terrified me and I'm still scared. But I know I'll feel safer here than I will at home. Please, mom, please!" Juliette said, trying not to cry.
"Why do you want to stay so badly?"
"Because I don't want to go home! If I do, all you'll do is constantly nag me about how I look and what I eat and what I do. I won't be able to handle it! I never have been able to!"
Her mother's voice turned icy and cold. "If you don't want to come home, you don't have to. Let me talk to Peter." Wordlessly Juliette handed the phone back to Peter. Sophie took her right outside the office. Juliette buried her face in her hands.
"She was so cold and heartless. She didn't even ask me if I was okay! She didn't sound concerned at all!"
"I'm sure she was just angry at what Kurt did," Sophie said.
"Yeah, but you and Peter - and God, even Shelby - were more concerned than my own mother!" Sophie rubbed her back.

Meanwhile, back in Peter's office, the conversation was taking a drastic turn.
"If she doesn't want to come home, she doesn't have to - ever."
"Excuse me?"
"Yes. I don't want to have a defiant teenager whose hormones and emotions are that far out of whack. She's right. She is better there. She's out of my hair that way. I won't have to listen to her complaining. She's not pure anymore. I don't want impurity in my house."
"Please re-consider what you're saying. Juliette needs you and your support right now. As I told you, she feels safer here and has made progress, but she really isn't ready to leave - whether or not she was raped," Peter said.
"Well, I'm not promising anything. I'll call back later," and with that she hung up.
"Yeah? When? When its convienient for you in about five months?" Peter said into the phone. He hung it up. Then he went out to get Juliette and brought her back into the office.
"When do I leave?" Juliette said solemnly.
"You're not."
Juliette's eyes lit up, but the expression on Peter's face made her realize something was wrong. "So, whats the catch? I get to stay till the end of the year?"
"No, not exactly." Peter sat down next to Juliette. "Your mom went a little off the handle, Jules. She said some things she didn't mean. She said if you didn't want to go home, you didn't have to - ever. She also said your hormones were running wild and it would be better if you stayed here. What I think she meant by that is she knows how fragile you are and she probably realized if you do go home, things might get worse. She knows this school is safe and your in good care. She was probably too embarrassed to admitt that. Juliette, I'm sorry." He put his arm around her.
"She doesn't want me, does she?"
"Thats not it Jules. You know that. Don't take things the wrong way and get yourself worked up. Listen. Your mom loves you. After all thats happened, she's just in shock."
"But it didn't happen to her! It happened to me! Why should she act like this if I'm not?"
"Juliette, you're stronger than she is. You've already shown that by talking to the officers, to us, to your teammates. Please try to see it in a positive light. I know what she did sounds harsh, but she's doing the right thing, and you do get to stay here, probably until you graduate."
Juliette took a few deep breaths. What her mom said hurt her immensly. But she knew Peter was right - it probably was for the best. She knew she had to work on getting over her fear and everything that went with rape. And she did get to stay at Horizon. She nodded and Peter gave her a hug.

The next day, Kurt got taken away. He went in a police car. Juliette watched him from the saftey of the lodge. He searched for her, she could tell. He looked wild and angry. A large part of her felt relieved that she would never see him again, but an equally large part of her knew it would take a long time before she would feel safe again.


Well, thats it! I hoped y'all enjoyed it. If you think I should continue it, put it in the review or e-mail me. And as always...
please review!