Chapter
4:
5 years later, the girls turned 21
and their careers were still going strong. Juli sat on her hotel bed in Los
Angeles, the Grammy's were being held again and as tradition goes, they showed
up for publicity and hopes to sweep another award. She sat on her stomach,
scribbling something furiously into her journal. Whereas Heather grew into a
blossoming woman, Juli remained her tomboyish self. Both have come out to the
public who just embraced it.
Heather burst in, waving a piece of
paper in the air. "Juli! Juli! Juli! Juli! Juli!" she squealed as she
jumped up and down on the bed. Juli quickly shoved her journal away.
"Juli, guess what?!"
Juli smiled and caught hold of her
friend. "Calm down, for one. What?" she asked.
"We’re. Performing. At. The.
Grammy’s." Heather squealed with delight.
Juli shook her head. "What's the
difference between showing up and performing?"
"We're performing as Most
Respected of the Year. Only Madonna had been able to do that." Heather
smiled. Juli's eyes widened as they both jumped up and down. "What song
are we going to sing?"
Juli's eyes showed a hint of sadness
before saying, "Don't worry, girl, leave it up to me. But right now, we
got a rehearsal to get to." she laughed as she dragged Heather out the
door.
Grammy night rolled around. Mr.
Drake, William Buxton, and Heather waited outside Juli's door. Mr. Buxton
knocked on it. "Are you all right in there, pumpkin?" he asked in his
English accent. "We're leaving for the Grammy's right now."
"Ok!" Juli called back. The
door was thrown open as she stepped into the hallway with a duffel bag and a
smile.
"I say, are you planning to move
out on us?" Mr. Buxton joked.
"You got it, Daddykins."
Juli affectionately replied.
They arrived backstage as the fathers
take their seats. "Ok, Juli, you have Dressing room #9 and Heather, you
have dressing room #7. By the way, my son is a BIG fan of you." the
backstage director laughed.
The girls laughed. "Ok, we'll
have autographs for him after the show, ok?" asked Juli. Heather nodded
and they both went into their respected rooms.
Juli turned off all of the lights in
her room and turned on only one lamp on the desk. She shrugged off her duffel
bag and opened her journal, while taking out a pen. Juli cried as she started
to scribble into her worn out journal. A bottle of pills sat next to her hand
as well as a picture of the two of them, their first time in Paris...where they
shared their first kiss. She held the picture close to her chest as she
remembered that day.
*~Paris, France~*
"Isn't the view just beautiful,
Juli?" asked Heather. She wrapped her arms around the dark haired woman.
"So romantic."
"It's absolutely
breathtaking." Juli breathed as she turned towards Heather. The winds of
the city whipped around them as they stared into each other's eyes.
"Feather, I..."
"Shh..." Heather whispered.
Their faces closed in and their lips gently touched for the first time.
*~Grammy's~*
She laid out the journal open to the
last entry before getting dressed in her outfit. The tight, green shirt
sparkled in the low light, matching the dark denim, low ride jeans and black
boots. She walked over to the orange couch, carrying a few sheets of music. She
propped her guitar against the couch and laid down with her bottle of pills.
Heather excitedly knocked on Juli's
door for their pre-show talk. She dressed in her dark blue shirt with the same
jeans and the same boots. Her hair was partly tied back to reveal her beautiful
face. "Juli!" When she heard no response, she walked in only to be
greeted by silence. "Juli?" she asked the dark room.
"Ju--Aaah!" she screamed when she saw the lifeless body on the orange
couch. Papers were resting on her chest while a bottle of pills were on the
ground near her hand, empty. "Juli..." she cried, sinking to the
floor. She looked up and saw the journal.
Pulling herself up, she read through
the last entry:
Dearest Feather,
Finally, I am able to
explain all of my strange behavior without fear that Maya’s boyfriend will hunt
me down. You see, Feather, he is a control freak, meaning he likes it his way.
He would beat Maya and me all the time, scaring the shit out of me. I didn’t know if I would make it out alive but I guess I did. See, he killed Maya after she said that she absolutely will not share the money with him. So, he killed her. Lucky for him, he got away with it.
Meanwhile, that day that I came home a bit late. (I’m sure
Officer Rameirez filled you in on that) That was him too. He got arrested for
beating, rape, and murder. I thought I would get a peace of mind when he was
gone. Then I was afraid for you. what will happen when he gets out of jail?
If anything, I did the right thing…I’m protecting you. If I still
lived, I would only bring you harm and I want you to live the life you deserve.
You’re beautiful, talented, and well mannered. I know you will be able to
succeed in this world.
And always, I will watch over you…
Love,
Heather sat numbly in her chair and
began to read the other entries in the worn out book. A few hours later, she
heard the knock of the stage manager. “One minute for Hi-Jacked!” he shouted.
Heather grabbed the guitar and ran
her fingers over the worn metal strings. She stood up and took the music out of
Juli’s limp arms. A small, yellow stickie caught her attention. “Feather, sing
this song for me. I wanna rise to heaven (or fall to hell) hearing your beautiful
voice one last time…”
She walked out to the empty stage
where only a stool, music stand, and microphone sat. A spotlight fixated on her
and glimmering tear-streaks were visible. “This new song is called “the Juli
Project” written by Juli.”
She began to play the soft and emotional
song. The Grammy audience both of its Alumni and new contenders were spellbound
by the power of her voice.
A few weeks later, a funeral was held
for Juli. Fans wept at home while close friends and family wept at the
gravesite. Paparazzi crowded at the gates, making up juicy stories so that
people would buy their magazine. After a cold glare from Heather, they stopped
and departed.
The tombstone had an angel sitting
leisurely on it with Adidas sneakers. Below, the writing said,
“Daughter, Friend, Performer, Lover. You’re always with us, for now and forever.”
Heather didn’t cry. She cried enough
nights before. Rain dripped off her black hat. Everyone left for mourning at
home. Heather walked up to the casket and amidst all the black flowers, she
placed a blue-white rose. She kissed two fingers and pressed them onto the
coffin. She stood up and left behind the greatest woman she had ever known.
She performed the moving song again a
few nights later, bringing tears to their fans’ eyes. An awed hush fell over
the crowd as Heather looked up and saw Juli’s spirit above the audience with
wings and a soft, golden ring…Only one name uttered from her mouth, “Juli…”
End.