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JULIE HAD BRAIDED her hair for the funeral. Her mother used to braid her hair all the time, telling her daughter how gorgeous her long blonde locks were, so the hairstyle felt like a tribute to her mother.
Looking at her reflection in the mirror, the long braid on display, made her see her mother. She almost felt like Susannah Fisher was next to her as she twirled the end between two shaking fingers.
Susannah had braided her daughter's hair when they last saw each other. It had been night, and Julie should probably have went to bed a long time ago, but instead, she stayed up with her mother, not caring that she had school the next day; not caring that it was bad for Susannah's health to be awake for too long.
The mother and daughter had been sitting in Susannah's bed, the older woman playing with her daughter's hair before deciding to braid it. They had talked about college. Julie would be graduating that summer, and she had applied to all the best university's near their house in Boston.
She knew that getting into an Ivy League school was difficult, but she immensely hoped that she would get into Yale. That way, she could stay at home with her mother while still living out her dream.
That didn't matter now. She could go to college in California if she wanted, and no one would miss her presence at home.
Susannah had always talked so highly of her college time. It was in college that she met Laurel, and Julie had always looked forward to going to college herself, while Susannah had looked forward to live through her daughter as she experienced it.
Now, she would have to do it herself.
Just like she would have to do everything in her life all by herself from now on.
Her mother had told her that she'd never be alone. She had completely believed in her words. She had believed in everything her mother said. She had believed her even when it became inevitable that she would die. You will never be alone, Julie. That had been the only promise she didn't keep.
Things had been really bad. Laurel had practically moved into their house to help take care of her mother and make sure that the three teenagers took care of themselves.
Still somehow, Laurel hadn't been there when Susannah died. For once, the older woman had gone home to sleep. And that had been the time that they needed her the most.
Julie had been the one to call the Conklin family. Heck, she had been the one to call everyone. Her brothers had cut themselves completely off from the world, leaving the girl all alone with the responsibility.
Never in her life had she been as relieved as she was when Laurel arrived later that day and promised that she would take care of everything.
Laurel had kept that promise. Up til that moment, Laurel had done everything she could to make sure that Susannah's death and funeral were as crinkle free as possible, and Julie couldn't be more grateful.
☼ ☼ ☼ ☼
CONRAD HAD BEEN completely emotionless through your the entire ceremony. Not once while the preacher delivered the eulogy or one of the family members had said a speech did he cry. He just sat there, stoic as ever.
The same couldn't be said for his siblings. Julie had thought that she had cried all her tears out the night before, but the tears just kept flowing.
She thought that she knew heartbreak. All the times before, where she thought that she was suffering, completely paled in comparison to this, though. This was real heartbreak. Her heart ached in an indescribable way and her eyes burned from the tears that just kept coming. She wished that it would stop, but she knew that it wouldn't—it wouldn't for a long time.
When it was time for everybody to offer their condolences, Julie felt numb. She merely nodded at people, accepting their hugs or handshakes while wishing she was somewhere else. Somewhere where her aunt wasn't telling her how sorry she was that she now was motherless.
Sooner than later it became the Conklin family's turn, and Julie finally found comfort in one of the hugs she had received. Laurel kissed her cheek and Belly rubbed her bag soothingly, but Steven held on for a good while.
The next people in line must have been getting impatient, but Julie couldn't care less. She burrowed herself in his warmth, holding on just as tightly to him as he was holding her.
No words were exchanged between the two, but in that moment, they didn't need words. They needed each other's comfort.
✸ author's note ✸ i just want to say that i've never lost someone close to me. i can faintly remember my great grandparents dying when i was younger, but i don't think that can be compared, even in the slightest, to losing a parent. therefore, if you feel like i didn't describe the feelings well enough, please don't hesitate to tell me.
i also wanted to let you guys know that i will be changing some things from the show to make it fit this story better. i'm sorry if you feel like i'm changing too much, but i'm trying to make this act better than the first one ❤️❤️
