Note: Again, thanks for the reviews!
Disclaimer: I do not own The O.C. If I did things would be A LOT different.
5:13 P.M.
Julie awoke several hours later with a groan. She had a splitting headache and felt sick to her stomach. Sleeping on the bathroom floor probably had something to do with her aches, but most of it came from the news she had received earlier that morning.
She very slowly sat up, pushing herself off the floor with her hands. She blinked, adjusting her eyes to the darkness. It was pitch black in the room.
Julie got to her knees, not daring to stand upright, and made her way to the sink. Her hands hit the cold marble with a thud and she used the sink to steady herself whilst she stood up.
As she hit the switch, she covered her eyes with her free hand, the bright lights being a bit of a shock to her.
Once her eyes became attuned to the lighting change, Julie slipped her pink cotton bathrobe on over her clothes. With a sigh, she walked out of the bathroom to find Neil.
He wasn't in the kitchen, the living room, or anywhere else in the house that she had searched. Julie crossed her arms in front of her chest as she strode to the sliding glass door, hoping to find her fiancé outside somewhere.
The door wasn't locked, so she simply slid it open and stepped out. For the middle of June, it wasn't bad outside. A little hot but nothing unbearable. She looked to the left. No sign of Neil. Then to the right. He wasn't there either.
She started walking toward the pool. "Maybe he's swimming," She thought.
"Julie?"
She spun around and found Neil standing in the doorway to the house. He looked worried, which somewhat surprised her.
"I was just looking for you," She quietly replied.
"Do you need anything? Are you hungry?"
Julie shook her head 'no'. She walked to where Neil was standing and when they were inches apart, she rested her head on his chest. He wrapped his arms around her, then guided her into the house.
"Will you lay next to me?" Julie asked. She was fighting back tears and it was evident in her voice.
"Yes."
As he helped her get underneath the blankets, a single tear fell from her eye.
"I really am sorry, honey," He softly told her as he sat down on the edge of the bed.
"Things were going to be different," Julie whispered through her tears. She was sobbing, as she had been earlier. The crystal tears simply slid down her pale cheeks without showing how devastated she truly was. "I can't believe she's dead…"
Neil pulled her into his arms, stroking her hair and whispered soothingly into her ear, hoping to give her the comfort she so desperately needed.