iluvroadrunner6: ([charmed] eric)
Emily ([personal profile] iluvroadrunner6) wrote in [community profile] fandomweekly2023-06-15 09:09 am

[#181] I Can't be Trusted Around You (Original)

Theme Prompt: #181—Broken Promise
Title: I Can’t Be Trusted Around You
Fandom: Original
Rating/Warnings: PG-13
Bonus: Yes
Word Count: 667
Summary: Lily and Julian finally talk about their situation. (Follow up to this, sort of)



“You had me arrested.”

Lily stares at Julian through the bars of the holding cell. She won’t deny that in any other situation, that would be the sane thing to do. She feels that he should have stood there and taken her punishment a little while longer. Wimp.

“I’m dropping the charges.”

She has a feeling that’s supposed to make her feel better. It doesn’t. “You had me arrested.”

“You were scaring me. I didn’t know what to do.” Julian looks frustrated, like he’s not sure how he got into this situation, even though he does. The entire thing is his fault. “I thought we were going to talk about this like sane people.”

“Yeah, we were. But when I got home, your side piece—”

“Ex.”

“What?”

He has the decency to look ashamed. “Ex-side piece. She didn’t know she was a side piece and didn’t really take it well when she found out she was one.”

Lily hesitates when she realizes Mellie was likely there to apologize to her. She feels slightly bad about that miscalculation, but the woman was sleeping with her husband, so she doesn’t allow that feeling to take too strong a hold.

“Well, she was there, and she was trying to talk to me, and I threw her out. But once I did, it was like this angry bubble burst inside me. I needed to put it somewhere, or I was going to murder you, and I may have been angry but not going to prison for the rest of my life angry.”

Julian’s head drops, letting his forehead rest against the bars. “I’m sorry, Lil.”

“Are you? Because I gave you plenty of opportunities to come clean and you didn’t. You kept lying about it. Doesn’t really give me the impression of someone who’s actually sorry.”

“I was scared of how you’d react.” He gestures up to a cut on his forehead, now bandaged and stitched up. “A fear I was correct to have, I might point out.”

“No, Julian, because if you had come clean when you had the chance, I wouldn’t have been angry.” She’s not sure if that is a lie or not, but it feels true at the moment. “Sad, sure. Yelling, probably. But all that anger is from months of gaslighting me into thinking I was losing my mind. If Terry hadn’t come clean, would you have ever told me?”

Julian just lets the silence sit between them, and she doesn’t need to hear more than that. The answer is clear enough. She deflates on the bench where she’s sitting, and that’s when the tears finally sneak past the rage.

“You made me a promise.” Her voice cracks and she swallows hard, before pushing through. “You gave your word. In front of all our friends and family, you promised it would be just me for the rest of our lives. And you broke it. Why?”

He takes a deep breath, eyes darting to the side. He could never handle seeing her cry. Especially when it was his fault. “I don’t know,” he finally answers, and that isn’t nearly satisfying enough.

“Not good enough.” She shakes her head as she leans back against the wall. “I want a divorce.”

“I understand.”

“I need you to not be here anymore, so if you really are letting me go, just go do that and leave.”

“Where are you going to go?”

That he intends to keep the house sends another flash of rage through her, but it’s more the assumption than the fact that she actually wants to be there. “I’ll figure it out.”

“Lily—”

She holds up a hand because she doesn’t want to hear any more. Not right now. Probably not for a long time. “Just go, Julian.”

Julian huffs before nodding and heading back into the bullpen of the police station. She leans back against the cement wall and sighs heavily. “That fucker.”

Now that she’s alone, she can finally allow herself to cry.


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