Deteriorating Hearts

11 || Uncharted Territory

// for Hasnita, who made the gorgeous covers in the multimedia section //

This chapter was slightly hard to write and while it seems like a filler, it's not, because it's essential for the plot/moral of the story; old habits don't die so easily. I'd love to hear your thoughts so please don't hesitate to drop a vote and comment on what you thought of the chapter!

I've written a couple of chapters ahead and hopefully I can finish this very soon. It would be lovely to get a boost from you all! For those interested in how my French orals went: it went okay-ish. I was nervous through the whole thing and I think I did fairly well. I'm just worried if I messed up my tenses or something.

E N J O Y !
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CHAPTER ELEVEN
Uncharted Territory

Juniper Stauff and Dimitri Remirez spent the next two days at home, both of them still living in the events that occurred the previous night.

Juniper begged her parents to stay home and they reluctantly agreed on the condition that she was to prepare them lunch on the weekends as well as the two days she took off. It wasn't much of a fuss considering Juniper loved to cook. Well, she loved to bake but how different could cooking be from baking? This was her time to go all out and impress her parents - a way of saying sorry and earning extra cookie points.

She was grounded till God knows when. Her parents hadn't really made up their mind. She suggested graduation but they thought six months was too short of a time. She knew they would cool down eventually but for the moment being, they were furious.

"What in Heaven's name were you thinking?" her mother burst, her dark face glowering in anger when they arrived home from the police station.

"We know how much you care for that boy but June," her father exclaimed, "you were out there alone in the night. God knows what he could have done to you."

"Dad, he's Dimitri! He wouldn't do anything to me," she replied defensively even though a small part of her was angry at the rejection that Dimitri gave her.

"I know, honey, but what the hell were you thinking? You can't just trespass areas. It was a fenced off area for a reason, Juniper!"

"You two don't get it," she cried. "That place is like my second home-"

"Well, you should have let it go when that area was fenced! I don't know what construction is going on there but that is now private property and you have no right to venture into zones like that. Who knows what they are doing there or what hazards lay there? You could have gotten hurt."

"Look at me. I'm alive."

"Are you trying to be sarcastic, Juniper Anna Stauff?" her mother scolded, her dark face glowering even more. "Don't you dare talk back to your father in that manner!"

"Get it into that fanatical brain of yours. June, stop living in the fantasy world and start living in the real world."

Juniper was recalling this conversation that had happened as she sat on her bed, her mind still reeling with the recent events that led up to her present. She never let her father's words hurt her. She knew better than to take an angry man's word to heart when he was merely trying to protect his only child. She knew her parents better than anyone. While they never gave out harsh judgements, they gave out extreme punishments to ensure that history would not repeat itself. They were simply scared out of their wits to what could have happened to their daughter.

She reached over the bed and grabbed her phone before lying back down on her pillow. She stared at her cell for a while as she contemplated calling Dimitri. Should she call him? Would he even pick up? Dimitri was well known to have his phone on him for the most part of his life. Giving in, she pressed the third number on her speed dial.