"Party at my place tonight," Roman's voice came through the phone.
"Will Seth be there?" Juliette asked.
"You know he will. The party is to celebrate his comeback," he answered. "And I'm not taking no for an answer. You don't have to talk to him. But be there for me. Please."
"Fine," she sighed. "I'll stop by."
"Great. 8 o'clock," he said.
She hung up and looked at the text she had received while being on the phone with Roman. To no surprise it was from Seth.
"Are you coming to Roman's party tonight?"
She put the phone back down and started to move out of the room. Four steps later she spun back around and walked back to the phone to answer him. He didn't deserve her attention, but she couldn't help it. There was so much past between them, and she still loved the man. She didn't trust him, and she didn't think she could ever be with him again after what he had done, but damn it if she still didn't love him.
"Yes."
That was all she was willing to give him right in that moment. His answer came less than a minute later.
"See you there, sweetheart."
A little smile appeared on her face for a second. She could see the old Seth was back, and old Seth always made her smile. It just wasn't enough in the long run. But maybe they could become friends in time. It wasn't like he was going away, so they had to be around each other.
She showed up in a pair of light blue jeans and a black, long sleeved t-shirt. Her eyes met Seth's before she chose to walk to the other end of the living room. She sat down next to Drew and Dolph and started talking. It hurt Seth to see her ignore him like that. Roman had warned him that might be the case and also told him not to do anything about it. Seth never had been good at following orders, so around 30 minutes later he walked over to the table and sat down on an empty chair.
"Hi guys," he said.
"Seth," Drew smiled. "Good to have you back, buddy. Are you ready for your first match next week?"
"Roman's probably the best guy to have my first match against. He won't let anything happen to me," Seth said.
"Forever brothers," Dolph chuckled.
"Yeah," Seth looked at Juliette. "Forever."
"I think it's good you two kept in touch," she said.
He broke out into a smile. Was she actually trying to talk to him like everything was normal? He would take whatever little she would give.
"Yeah?" He asked. "Yeah, you're right. He's a good friend."
"That he is," she said. "He's always there for people whenever they need someone to talk to or a shoulder to cry on."
"I know," Seth said.
He wondered just how many times she had cried to Roman because of what he had done. Way too many no matter what the answer might be.
"Excuse me," she stood up.
She walked over to Roman and hugged him goodbye.
"Leaving already?" Roman asked.
"I told you I'd stop by. Not that I'd stay all night. I'm sorry, Roman, it's just hard," she said.
"I know," he stroked her cheek. "Thank you for coming. It means a lot that you're able to be in the same room."
She walked out in the hall and put her shoes and jacket back on.
"Wait," Seth came walking out. "Can I walk you home?"
She looked at him for a few seconds while thinking about it.
"I won't let you inside," she said.
"That's okay. I just wanna make sure you make it home safe," he said.
"Okay then," she said.
He quickly put on his shoes and jacket too and went outside with her. It felt awkward and familiar at the same time to walk side by side with her. He struck up a light conversation and she answered back just as lightly. He could do this. He could work his way back and make her trust him again.
"You live here?" He asked surprised. "With Alicia?"
"She had a spare bedroom and wanted a roommate," she answered. "Where else was I supposed to go, Seth?"
"I didn't kick you out," he said.
"I wish you had so I wouldn't have gone through what I did," she said.
"I'm sorry," he said.
He didn't care if she pushed him away. He took both her hands and leaned his forehead against hers. This was as close as he dared to get, and it felt good feeling her hands in his again.
"Tell me how I can fix it. Tell me how I can make you trust me again. Tell me where we go from here," he begged.
"You know what I want," she said.
"I don't remember most of it," he said.
"Guess we're at stalemate then because I can't forget," she said.
"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I'm so fucking sorry," he said.
"Sorry isn't good enough," she said.
She took a step backwards. Her forehead left his, and her hands slid out of his. He watched as she unlocked the door, opened it and then looked back at him over her shoulder.
"Can I still text you?" He asked.
"Yeah, that'll be alright," she answered. "Goodnight Seth."
She moved inside and closed the door. He took out his phone while listening to her locking the door. He quickly typed in a text and sent it to her.
"Goodnight sweetheart. I might be pushing my luck for saying this, but I wish I could hold you all night."