Rekindled Love~ Julien Baker🖤

Prologue

Warning: Chapter contains brief discussions about abuse and addiction

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"Julien, please. Please we can work through this." Betty begged as she watched Julien start packing up her stuff from their shared place. Julien continued packing, her heart hurt, and she couldn't believe she was doing this. Leaving the love of her life. But she was starting her tour soon and couldn't do a long-distance relationship. It would hurt more than anything.

"Betty, please stop," Julien begged; tears clouded her vision as she finished packing what was hers.  Betty had gotten off the bed and was trying to hold onto Julien's arm to stop her from leaving, but it was no use, Julien pushed her off, grabbing her suitcase as she made her way to the front door. Betty was following her, hot on her heels.

"Julien, please," Betty begged.

Julien abruptly turned around, her eyes filled with sadness and frustration. She was breathing heavily and was trying not to cry in front of Betty.

"This is for the better. You need someone who will be here for you." Julien said. Her tone was stern but also filled with sadness. Betty's heart broke and it felt like it shattered into a million pieces. This was the love of her life, and now she was leaving her. Betty stood there in shock as Julien gave her one last look before leaving. Betty stood there stunned before breaking out into hysterical sobs. She fell to the ground, holding herself. Wishing she could just disappear at that moment.

Julien started to cry as she drove away. She turned the radio up loudly, trying to drown out her thoughts. She had texted Phoebe to let her know that she needed a place to crash for a bit. The drive felt long and painful even though it was only a 10-minute drive. When Julien pulled up to Phoebe's apartment complex, she parked and sat there momentarily to gather her thoughts. She knew Phoebe would have questions and would probably tell her that this was stupid and that Betty and her could work things out.

As Julien made the walk from the car to the inside of the building, she could hear Betty's voice replaying over and over in her head. The desperation in her voice as she begged Julien not to leave her. Maybe Julien had been a bit cold to the girl. They had spent so much time together that this wasn't going to be an easy transition. Betty was the first-person Julien had made friends with, in college. They practically were in every class together. The two of them tried to fight their feelings for one another for so long. But it was no use, they were meant to be.

Julien stared down at the promise ring on her ring finger. She still hadn't taken it off yet. A part of her didn't want to, but then the other part of her knew that she couldn't cling to this. Julien and Betty had each given each other a promise ring within the first year of dating. Was it a bit early? Maybe. But it didn't matter to them. They had always said to one another that they would eventually get married. Have the dream wedding that they both longed for. But that dream was now just a thing of the past.

Phoebe's apartment door opened before Julien had the chance to even knock. She had been watching Julien through the window as Julien got out of her car. Phoebe's heart broke for her friend. She had always adored the relationship that Betty and Julien shared. She had to push down the comments about why Julien was being stupid so that she could console her friend. Phoebe's arms held Julien like a protective shield. Julien started to cry into her shoulder as she held onto her, almost like Phoebe would disappear at that moment.

"Let it all out J." Phoebe's soft and soothing voice said.

They stood like this for a while. Julien let her emotions out while Phoebe ran her fingers through her friend's hair in a soothing manner.

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A few days later...

Betty had not stepped out of her apartment in days. She barely slept, barely ate, and would mostly cry. She almost felt numb and a piece of herself was now missing. She had been mostly sitting on the kitchen floor, self-medicating herself with alcohol. Betty had a history of alcohol abuse. As a teenager, she grew up in a pretty abusive household. Her father was an alcoholic and her mother died when she was young. Betty had been verbally abused most of her life and she didn't have any siblings to lean on for support. She had limited friends growing up. Her one true friend that she had throughout her teen years was Gracie.