The Weight of Dreams || Greta Van Fleet

Chapter 67: King of My Heart

Josh's P.O.V

"But.. she's good to him, right?" Mom asked, her eyes glued to the front door of the bar. She had been a nervous wreck ever since Jake had first mentioned Juliette, as were the rest of us. We all knew that when he fell, he fell hard. And like always, we were going to have to be the ones to pick up the pieces all over again when it inevitably fell apart. But this time felt different.

"Honestly, from what I've seen.. yeah." I assured her. "She seems.. crazy about him." Her face relaxed, giving me a gentle nod, refusing to look away from the door.
"Well, that's nice to hear, I guess. You know, I just worry about him."
"I know." I sighed. "Me too. But.. you didn't tell anyone, did you?" She shook her head, giving somewhat of a half shrug.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" I laughed. She smirked back at me.
"I didn't tell anyone about them, but.. I mean.. they're not exactly doing a great job at hiding it either. He was holding onto her for dear life back at the house. They were practically tangled up together. Anyone with eyes can see they're more than just.. touring together." I couldn't help but laugh. She wasn't wrong. Despite their poor efforts of keeping whatever they were a secret, I'm sure that anyone who saw them knew exactly what was going on.

But he seemed so happy.
And I was happy for him.

"I just worry." She muttered again. I nodded, giggling to myself.
"You know I'm always there for him. He talks to me about her. He seems happy, he just.." I stopped myself, my voice now trailing off, debating whether or not to even bring it up.
"He just what?" I shrugged.
"He's just nervous that.. in the end, she's not gonna pick him. And.. I understand. We might not like it, but.. it's not that easy. I know she wants to be with him but.. a lot is riding on her marrying Don, and she's nervous too, about what could potentially happen to her if she doesn't." She held her stare on me, no more convinced than she was a second ago.

"I don't see what's so hard about it. Jake would take care of her, more than what's his name ever could. Money isn't everything." She sighed. I nodded, biting down on my lip.
"Well, she's missing the Grammy's to be here for him." I said softly. She turned back to face me, her eyes instantly lighting up. I nodded.
"And.. apparently she's supposed to win. That's what Jake told me anyway. And.. Don was planning on proposing after she made her speech, but when she found out.. she decided to come here with him instead." Her face eventually relaxed into a gentle smile, turning her attention back towards the front door.

"Well.. I like that."

Juliette's P.O.V

Jake took my hand, squeezing it tight as he guided us through the doors where I was instantly hit with an overwhelming cloud of smoke and whisky. I didn't know you were still allowed to smoke indoors, but it didn't seem like a lot of the rules I was used to applied out here. He looked around until he finally found the table in the back, filled with people already waving him down. I felt myself start to get nervous all over again. He gave my hand another squeeze and lead us over.

I saw Josh, now standing up and waving, making me feel somewhat better. A familiar face, at least. He was sitting next to his mom, who stared at us the entire walk over. I don't know what it was, but I was the most nervous about meeting her, wanting nothing more than for her to like me.

"We didn't think you guys were gonna make it." Josh laughed, pulling Jake into a tight hug. I could tell he had already started drinking, always getting extra affectionate with everyone after every show when the drinks started pouring. Jake playfully rolled his eyes, moving out of the way, motioning for me to slide into the booth.