What About The Girl?
By Risty Maskell
Disclaimer: If you recognise it, I don't own it. If you don't recognise it, it's mine.
Summary: It's getting more intriguing...even to me! Read and Review like a good little reader, now, okay?
Author's Note: THis chapter may kinda suck... but please, no flames... my plot bunny went away ::cries:: L.B! I need the carrots!
~*~*~
1995
~*~*~
The weeks after Juliette had found out about her father's escape flew by. When she'd come home from school one day, she'd found a package for her, written to her in loopy writing. Her breath caught in her throat as she recognised the writing to be her fathers. Alex looked curiously at the square package.
"What's that?" She asked. Juliette frowned a bit and then smiled.
"Oh it's from Peta!" She said, grinning. Another good call...
"Who's Peter?" Alex grinned, her eyes twinkling. Juliette rolled her eyes.
"Is that all you ever think about, Alex? Peta is Thomas' daughter! She's my age!"
"Well sor-ree! I just thought you had a boyfriend you left behind in the States." Alex said, grinning wickedly.
"No bloody likely! I'm twelve!" Juliette said, pushing Alex's shoulder.
"So what is it? Looks pretty posh." Alex said, her curiousity getting the better of her.
"Oh it's probably something from a magazine. She was always getting stuff from magazines and halving it with me."
"Cool. Can I look?"
"Umm... can I just open it in private, Alex? I mean, you know... between best friends and stuff?"
Alex nodded. "Okay... show it to me later, okay?"
"Sure!" Juliette smiled and ran up the stairs to their shared room. She sat on the bed and opened the box, her eyes going wide at the bracelet she saw inside. It was engraved with intricate designs. She picked it up carefully and examined it. A piece of paper fluttered to the floor. She picked it up and read it.
"See you soon."
~
Dr Adonis Fell leant against the wall of the Capponi Library, reading a newspaper. Well, not really reading it but more watching through the act of reading. He idly turned a page as his violet eyes roamed the street where tourists, merchents, school children and others walked on their way to their destinations. He smiled when he spotted a lone girl, long black hair tied in a pony tail, and wearing a blouse and neatly pressed skirt with white socks up to her knees and black shoes sidled by, slowing her trek to look up at the Library.
Juliette looked up at the Library, debating silently whether to go and research some more on her father, or to go straight home. Alex was home with the flu, having caught it after being out in the rain when running home from the store. Juliette sighed. Two weeks ago, she'd recieved the bracelet from her father, and she'd not heard or seen hide nor hair of him. She downcast her eyes and pulled idly at the strap of her shoulder bag. She scuffed her feet on the pavement and wandered past the library, silently wondering where her father was now. She didn't see the man in the white fedora behind her. She blinked slowly, her vision becoming blurry for a second before passing. She sighed.
As she continued to walk, the man in the white fedora walked behind her, getting closer and closer until he was walking beside her. She didn't look up, just watched his shoes move with hers, thinking he was just passing her by.
"Love the bracelet." He said, hands clasped behind his back as he walked, the newspaper tucked under his arm. She started before nodding.
"Thanks." She said, looking at her shoes.
"Aren't you going to look at me?" Dr Fell asked, a smile playing on his lips. She looked up at him and her eyes went wide.
"What if you're seen?" She almost whispered, watching her fathers face. She wasn't scared of him anymore than he was scared of her. She still didn't understand why he did what he did, but she did understand that her love for her father would never go away. He was her only immediate family. She smiled slightly. Dr Fell chuckled.
"Worried about me, are you? Well, never mind. I escaped and I'm here."
"Why?" She asked, tugging the strap of her bag again.
"Why? Thought it would be perfectly clear, my dear." He said, a laugh evident in his voice.
"To see me?" She asked, guessing correctly. "But isn't it a little soon? The Fordman's think I got the bracelet from Peta Bradley."
Dr Fell smiled. "I haven't seen you in almost three months, Juliette. I felt the need to see you. You look very beautiful."
"Dad." She whispered so no one would hear her but him. "Or what name are you using now?"
"Dr Adonis Fell." He answered, eyes glittering. "Come with me. I want to talk." He took Juliette by the arm, gently and led her to a small coffee shop. Juliette gratefully put down her bag and sat down. Her father sat across from her. A waitress came over with a pad of paper.
"Che cosa pu? io ottenere oggi per voi, Dott Fell?" She asked, smiling at him.
"Un cappachino e un caffè del latte per la ragazza." He said, smiling back. "Grazie, Bernadette."
Bernadette smiled and jotted the order down on her pad of paper before retreating back into the kitchen. Juliette looked wide eyed at her father. "How long have you been living here, Dr Fell?"
"Long enough for Bernadette to know me." He laughed. "Now, tell me. How have you been?"
"I've been good. Getting on well at school," she said, tracing circles on the glass tabletop. "Dad... did you get my last letter?"
"Yes, I did. I see you found out about my... habits." He said, watching her carefully. "And in answer to your question, no. I did not feed you anything... unnatural. And no. You're mother didn't know about it. It was a far cry to tell her what I really did on business trips." He smiled at Bernadette as she set down the drinks. "Grazie, Bernadette."
"Why do you do it, Dad?" Juliette asked, stirring her milk coffee with her spoon. She blew the steam off it and took a tentative sip. She set the cup down and looked at him. Bernadette had gone and he was carefully spooning the foam off his cappachino.
"You aren't mad at me, I gather." He said, looking her straight in the eye. Juliette shook her head. "You've inherited your mothers curiousity, anyway." He smiled. "Why do I do it? Well, if I told you, you'd probably be sick. I think it's best to wait a little while, Juliette."
Juliette frowned. "Best if I waited? Why? Is it some horrible kinda of answer that you think I'd probably throw up at?" He nodded slightly. Juliette's eyes went wide. "Oh, okay. I'll ask again, though!" Dr Fell chuckled.
"I know you will, Juliette. Now, it's getting quite late, you know. The Fordman's will probably be getting worried about you." His eyes twinkled.
"Doubt it." Juliette said. "They'll probably think I'm at the Library again."
"Doing what?"
"Researching you." There was a silence. Juliette looked down at her lap. "It was Zia Katrina who gave me the idea..." She said quietly. She glanced up at her father. His face had gone hard, and he was looking at her, a fire she'd never seen before in his eyes. "What?"
"Nothing." He said, the look on his face, disappearing. "It just took my by surprise that you've been 'researching' your own father."
"I'm sorry, but I really needed to know why you were in jail. I was feeling vun...vune...?"
"Vunerable?"
"Yeah." She wrinkled her nose and smiled. "But like you said. I inherited Mum's curiousity." He smiled at that.
"You most certainly did. Go on. You'd better be off. I'll be here for a matter of weeks, yet."
"You aren't staying?"
"Juliette, I do have some things I have to take care of. Besides, there is one little matter..."
"I know, it's just that I thought you'd stay here for a lot longer than a few weeks."
"I'll be back, don't worry. But I have some things to do."
"Oh." She shrugged. "Well, it's your business and you always told me when I was little not to pry." He chuckled.
"At least you haven't forgotten your manners. Now scoot, go on." Juliette smiled and picked up her school bag. She gave him a hug and smiled at his surprise.
"I haven't change completely, you know." She said, grinning. He smiled and hugged her gently back. She blinked and walked quickly toward her home. He watched from his seat at the coffee shop.
~
"Where the hell have you been?!" David Fordman yelled as Juliette came through the door. "We've been worrying sick about you!" He didn't bother to use her name. In recent weeks, he'd seemed to take a real disliking to his niece.
"I was at the Capponi Library! I was studying with friends!" Juliette said, looking calmly at her uncle. She didn't like him. Sure, he'd seemed nice when she met him at the airport when she first arrived, but after that, her liking had quickly deteriorated.
"Well, you could have called home to tell us where you were! Your aunt had been worried sick!" He yelled, totally contradicting what he'd said about all of them worried about her. Juliette glared and stormed up to her room. Alex looked up from reading a book in her bed. She sniffled.
"What are you doing home so late?" She asked, unfortunately asking at the wrong time. Juliette glared at her.
"I was at the Capponi Library, studying for one of my exams." She hissed. "Don't talk to me at the moment, Alex. Uncle David is angry enough at me as it is." Alex looked shocked, she'd never seen her cousin like this. She stayed silent. Juliette lay on her bed, face into the pillow. She began to cry, quietly, so Alex wouldn't see.
~
Dinner was an unusually quiet affair that night. David did not make eye contact with anyone and refused to acknowledge Juliette's pressence.
"David, what is the matter?" Katrina asked. "You don't look happy. Did you have a hard day at work?"
"You could say that." He said tightly. He stared at his potatoes but didn't eat them. Renee and Timothy did the same, staring at their plates. Juliette at her dinner in silence, wondering why David was so mad.
"May I please be excused?" She asked, and, without waiting for an answer, got up, took her plate to the kitchen and went upstairs. Alex came up soon after and smiled at her.
"Want to come to a party?" She asked. "There'll be a lot of cute guys there."
"No thanks, Alex." Juliette said. "Why're you going out anyway? You should be getting rid of that cold."
"Sneaking out." She said. "Dad is just being overprotective... you know."
"No, I don't know, Alex." Juliette said. "And no, he hates me. We both know it, but I don't know why."
"Can't help you there." Alex said. "I'll be back later. Probably around early morning. Be a pal and don't tell mum and dad, okay?"
"Okay, but you owe me." Juliette said, a half-smile on her face. Alex grinned.
"Right." She climbed carefully out the window and down the vines. Ironically, it reminded Juliette of Romeo climbing up to kiss his love goodnight. It didn't help that her name was, of course, Juliette.
~
Juliette woke suddenly. What had it been? A dream? A sound? What? She blinked the haziness out of her eyes and yawned. She yelped in surprise when a weight fell on her legs. She tried to struggle, but the weight wouldn't budge. A rough hand clamped on her mouth and David's leering face came into view. Juliette's eyes went wide and she tried to scream. David ripped the blankets off her and tried to get nearer to her. Juliette kicked her legs free and one shin connected with its destination - his crotch. With a soft grunt, David fell off the bed and onto the soft carpet with a thump. Juliette sat up in her bed, arms wrapped around her knees, she rocked back and forth, afraid to go back to sleep.
David groaned slightly, shifting. "You stupid little cow." She heard him say softly. "I'll get you for that, and you'll be sorry." He got up and stumbled out of the room, hunched over. Juliette buried her face in her pillow and began to cry. Tears of rage, fear, sadness and happiness flooded down her cheeks. Rage at what David had tried to do... Fear of what his threat might mean... Sadness that her so-called happy life was not a happy as people thought it was... and happiness... but she didn't know why she was happy... she really didn't.
Author's Note: If you would like to see a picture of Juliette, that my friend Jemibub (thanks Jemibub!) did, here is the link:
ALso, I'm sorry for the very bad cliffie... but I've been stuck on this chapter for more than 24 hours... L.B! Gimme the carrots, now! Quick!
By Risty Maskell
Disclaimer: If you recognise it, I don't own it. If you don't recognise it, it's mine.
Summary: It's getting more intriguing...even to me! Read and Review like a good little reader, now, okay?
Author's Note: THis chapter may kinda suck... but please, no flames... my plot bunny went away ::cries:: L.B! I need the carrots!
~*~*~
1995
~*~*~
The weeks after Juliette had found out about her father's escape flew by. When she'd come home from school one day, she'd found a package for her, written to her in loopy writing. Her breath caught in her throat as she recognised the writing to be her fathers. Alex looked curiously at the square package.
"What's that?" She asked. Juliette frowned a bit and then smiled.
"Oh it's from Peta!" She said, grinning. Another good call...
"Who's Peter?" Alex grinned, her eyes twinkling. Juliette rolled her eyes.
"Is that all you ever think about, Alex? Peta is Thomas' daughter! She's my age!"
"Well sor-ree! I just thought you had a boyfriend you left behind in the States." Alex said, grinning wickedly.
"No bloody likely! I'm twelve!" Juliette said, pushing Alex's shoulder.
"So what is it? Looks pretty posh." Alex said, her curiousity getting the better of her.
"Oh it's probably something from a magazine. She was always getting stuff from magazines and halving it with me."
"Cool. Can I look?"
"Umm... can I just open it in private, Alex? I mean, you know... between best friends and stuff?"
Alex nodded. "Okay... show it to me later, okay?"
"Sure!" Juliette smiled and ran up the stairs to their shared room. She sat on the bed and opened the box, her eyes going wide at the bracelet she saw inside. It was engraved with intricate designs. She picked it up carefully and examined it. A piece of paper fluttered to the floor. She picked it up and read it.
"See you soon."
~
Dr Adonis Fell leant against the wall of the Capponi Library, reading a newspaper. Well, not really reading it but more watching through the act of reading. He idly turned a page as his violet eyes roamed the street where tourists, merchents, school children and others walked on their way to their destinations. He smiled when he spotted a lone girl, long black hair tied in a pony tail, and wearing a blouse and neatly pressed skirt with white socks up to her knees and black shoes sidled by, slowing her trek to look up at the Library.
Juliette looked up at the Library, debating silently whether to go and research some more on her father, or to go straight home. Alex was home with the flu, having caught it after being out in the rain when running home from the store. Juliette sighed. Two weeks ago, she'd recieved the bracelet from her father, and she'd not heard or seen hide nor hair of him. She downcast her eyes and pulled idly at the strap of her shoulder bag. She scuffed her feet on the pavement and wandered past the library, silently wondering where her father was now. She didn't see the man in the white fedora behind her. She blinked slowly, her vision becoming blurry for a second before passing. She sighed.
As she continued to walk, the man in the white fedora walked behind her, getting closer and closer until he was walking beside her. She didn't look up, just watched his shoes move with hers, thinking he was just passing her by.
"Love the bracelet." He said, hands clasped behind his back as he walked, the newspaper tucked under his arm. She started before nodding.
"Thanks." She said, looking at her shoes.
"Aren't you going to look at me?" Dr Fell asked, a smile playing on his lips. She looked up at him and her eyes went wide.
"What if you're seen?" She almost whispered, watching her fathers face. She wasn't scared of him anymore than he was scared of her. She still didn't understand why he did what he did, but she did understand that her love for her father would never go away. He was her only immediate family. She smiled slightly. Dr Fell chuckled.
"Worried about me, are you? Well, never mind. I escaped and I'm here."
"Why?" She asked, tugging the strap of her bag again.
"Why? Thought it would be perfectly clear, my dear." He said, a laugh evident in his voice.
"To see me?" She asked, guessing correctly. "But isn't it a little soon? The Fordman's think I got the bracelet from Peta Bradley."
Dr Fell smiled. "I haven't seen you in almost three months, Juliette. I felt the need to see you. You look very beautiful."
"Dad." She whispered so no one would hear her but him. "Or what name are you using now?"
"Dr Adonis Fell." He answered, eyes glittering. "Come with me. I want to talk." He took Juliette by the arm, gently and led her to a small coffee shop. Juliette gratefully put down her bag and sat down. Her father sat across from her. A waitress came over with a pad of paper.
"Che cosa pu? io ottenere oggi per voi, Dott Fell?" She asked, smiling at him.
"Un cappachino e un caffè del latte per la ragazza." He said, smiling back. "Grazie, Bernadette."
Bernadette smiled and jotted the order down on her pad of paper before retreating back into the kitchen. Juliette looked wide eyed at her father. "How long have you been living here, Dr Fell?"
"Long enough for Bernadette to know me." He laughed. "Now, tell me. How have you been?"
"I've been good. Getting on well at school," she said, tracing circles on the glass tabletop. "Dad... did you get my last letter?"
"Yes, I did. I see you found out about my... habits." He said, watching her carefully. "And in answer to your question, no. I did not feed you anything... unnatural. And no. You're mother didn't know about it. It was a far cry to tell her what I really did on business trips." He smiled at Bernadette as she set down the drinks. "Grazie, Bernadette."
"Why do you do it, Dad?" Juliette asked, stirring her milk coffee with her spoon. She blew the steam off it and took a tentative sip. She set the cup down and looked at him. Bernadette had gone and he was carefully spooning the foam off his cappachino.
"You aren't mad at me, I gather." He said, looking her straight in the eye. Juliette shook her head. "You've inherited your mothers curiousity, anyway." He smiled. "Why do I do it? Well, if I told you, you'd probably be sick. I think it's best to wait a little while, Juliette."
Juliette frowned. "Best if I waited? Why? Is it some horrible kinda of answer that you think I'd probably throw up at?" He nodded slightly. Juliette's eyes went wide. "Oh, okay. I'll ask again, though!" Dr Fell chuckled.
"I know you will, Juliette. Now, it's getting quite late, you know. The Fordman's will probably be getting worried about you." His eyes twinkled.
"Doubt it." Juliette said. "They'll probably think I'm at the Library again."
"Doing what?"
"Researching you." There was a silence. Juliette looked down at her lap. "It was Zia Katrina who gave me the idea..." She said quietly. She glanced up at her father. His face had gone hard, and he was looking at her, a fire she'd never seen before in his eyes. "What?"
"Nothing." He said, the look on his face, disappearing. "It just took my by surprise that you've been 'researching' your own father."
"I'm sorry, but I really needed to know why you were in jail. I was feeling vun...vune...?"
"Vunerable?"
"Yeah." She wrinkled her nose and smiled. "But like you said. I inherited Mum's curiousity." He smiled at that.
"You most certainly did. Go on. You'd better be off. I'll be here for a matter of weeks, yet."
"You aren't staying?"
"Juliette, I do have some things I have to take care of. Besides, there is one little matter..."
"I know, it's just that I thought you'd stay here for a lot longer than a few weeks."
"I'll be back, don't worry. But I have some things to do."
"Oh." She shrugged. "Well, it's your business and you always told me when I was little not to pry." He chuckled.
"At least you haven't forgotten your manners. Now scoot, go on." Juliette smiled and picked up her school bag. She gave him a hug and smiled at his surprise.
"I haven't change completely, you know." She said, grinning. He smiled and hugged her gently back. She blinked and walked quickly toward her home. He watched from his seat at the coffee shop.
~
"Where the hell have you been?!" David Fordman yelled as Juliette came through the door. "We've been worrying sick about you!" He didn't bother to use her name. In recent weeks, he'd seemed to take a real disliking to his niece.
"I was at the Capponi Library! I was studying with friends!" Juliette said, looking calmly at her uncle. She didn't like him. Sure, he'd seemed nice when she met him at the airport when she first arrived, but after that, her liking had quickly deteriorated.
"Well, you could have called home to tell us where you were! Your aunt had been worried sick!" He yelled, totally contradicting what he'd said about all of them worried about her. Juliette glared and stormed up to her room. Alex looked up from reading a book in her bed. She sniffled.
"What are you doing home so late?" She asked, unfortunately asking at the wrong time. Juliette glared at her.
"I was at the Capponi Library, studying for one of my exams." She hissed. "Don't talk to me at the moment, Alex. Uncle David is angry enough at me as it is." Alex looked shocked, she'd never seen her cousin like this. She stayed silent. Juliette lay on her bed, face into the pillow. She began to cry, quietly, so Alex wouldn't see.
~
Dinner was an unusually quiet affair that night. David did not make eye contact with anyone and refused to acknowledge Juliette's pressence.
"David, what is the matter?" Katrina asked. "You don't look happy. Did you have a hard day at work?"
"You could say that." He said tightly. He stared at his potatoes but didn't eat them. Renee and Timothy did the same, staring at their plates. Juliette at her dinner in silence, wondering why David was so mad.
"May I please be excused?" She asked, and, without waiting for an answer, got up, took her plate to the kitchen and went upstairs. Alex came up soon after and smiled at her.
"Want to come to a party?" She asked. "There'll be a lot of cute guys there."
"No thanks, Alex." Juliette said. "Why're you going out anyway? You should be getting rid of that cold."
"Sneaking out." She said. "Dad is just being overprotective... you know."
"No, I don't know, Alex." Juliette said. "And no, he hates me. We both know it, but I don't know why."
"Can't help you there." Alex said. "I'll be back later. Probably around early morning. Be a pal and don't tell mum and dad, okay?"
"Okay, but you owe me." Juliette said, a half-smile on her face. Alex grinned.
"Right." She climbed carefully out the window and down the vines. Ironically, it reminded Juliette of Romeo climbing up to kiss his love goodnight. It didn't help that her name was, of course, Juliette.
~
Juliette woke suddenly. What had it been? A dream? A sound? What? She blinked the haziness out of her eyes and yawned. She yelped in surprise when a weight fell on her legs. She tried to struggle, but the weight wouldn't budge. A rough hand clamped on her mouth and David's leering face came into view. Juliette's eyes went wide and she tried to scream. David ripped the blankets off her and tried to get nearer to her. Juliette kicked her legs free and one shin connected with its destination - his crotch. With a soft grunt, David fell off the bed and onto the soft carpet with a thump. Juliette sat up in her bed, arms wrapped around her knees, she rocked back and forth, afraid to go back to sleep.
David groaned slightly, shifting. "You stupid little cow." She heard him say softly. "I'll get you for that, and you'll be sorry." He got up and stumbled out of the room, hunched over. Juliette buried her face in her pillow and began to cry. Tears of rage, fear, sadness and happiness flooded down her cheeks. Rage at what David had tried to do... Fear of what his threat might mean... Sadness that her so-called happy life was not a happy as people thought it was... and happiness... but she didn't know why she was happy... she really didn't.
Author's Note: If you would like to see a picture of Juliette, that my friend Jemibub (thanks Jemibub!) did, here is the link:
ALso, I'm sorry for the very bad cliffie... but I've been stuck on this chapter for more than 24 hours... L.B! Gimme the carrots, now! Quick!