Murder Mystery - H.S

58

Juliet.

Walking out of the dimly lit funeral home,
my heart continued to beat faster, and my thoughts were filled with confusion, sadness and anger. The weight of grief hung heavy in the air. The sky above was a somber gray, matching the sorrowful of the occasion, and a cold breeze whispered through the trees, sending shivers down my spine.

I can't believe what I just experienced and who I just saw. Who he saw. What am I supposed to now? How am I supposed to live now? I can't run. But can I? I could feel the air in my lungs disappear with each step I took. "Wait. Wait." I tell Denver and swallow roughly. Tears welled in my eyes, blurring the world around me as I struggled to make sense of the emotions swirling within.

"I need to catch my breath, please." He immediately takes Sunlea from my hands, and I take a step back, each breath sending daggers to my heart, making it almost impossible to breathe. My heart thumped in my chest, and I closed my eyes, focusing on my breaths.

"What's wrong?" Denver asked, and I looked up into his brown eyes. "Are you okay?" Worriedness consumed him and he stared at me carefully, like he was scared himself he was about to trigger something in me. Denver looked at me so frágil, so sweet and caring—He was a good friend and I didn't deserve him.

" I'm fine." I swallowed looking away. "It was just a lot to take in—seeing him, being around him, him seeing Sunlea and I just couldn't stop overthinking about everything and it was getting hard to breathe and you know." I bit my lower lip and looked into his eyes.

I couldn't stop thinking about what Harry thought about me. I looked different. I am different. What he thought about Sunlea and Denver. It was a bunch of thoughts that made my head blurry and dizzy.

"Uhm, is that your ex-husband, right?" Denver whispered once I'd calmed down, walking down towards the car. I glanced over at him from my shoulder and nodded, furrowing my eyebrows.

" I mean Jesus—-now I know why you married him." I let go of a laugh. " But he seems like a fucking asshole. Full of shit just cause what? He's carrying a gun?"

"He's not that bad—he is very overprotective. He was my bodyguard." I swallowed. Talking about Harry hurt. More than I ever imagined. It was a love story that shouldn't be unraveled. You learn from it and love from it. I always thought I let it go, but deep down, I know he will always be that one special person who will always mean so much to me, no matter the years.

" That's how you guys met?" A scene of shock fills his voice and I could feel his stare burn into the side do my face. " He was your bodyguard even though he was—" Denver stops himself from continuing, like he himself was too shock to understand.

"Yeah," I admitted with a heavy sigh, memories flooding back like a relentless tide. "It's a long story." I purse my lips.

A long and tragic story

As we reached the car, I settled Sunlea into her car seat. Denver hovered nearby, his presence silent, like he was thinking about his own thoughts. I knew they weren't good—they always make me confused. But sometimes it was nice to talk to someone other than my therapist.

"Why do you defend him so much, Juliet?" The question froze me. "Yes, he is a bad guy. Maybe he treated you well sometimes—but was it always?"

Why did I defend Harry, a man whose flaws were as glaring as the sun on a cloudless day? The truth lay buried beneath layers of pain and love, a tangled web of emotions I couldn't unravel.

"Believe me, Harry and I have our history," I explained, my voice tinged with raw emotions. "But he's not all bad. He's just... complicated." I was lying to myself, right? "But aren't we all. And no, I am not defending him for his actions. His apologies meant nothing to me."