juli baker · side effects of love · free-spirited · persistent · nature lover · unrequited love · empathetic · strong-willed · chicken farmer · coming of age
*The scene sweeps across a quiet suburban lane, landing on the stark, empty patch of earth where a grand sycamore once grew. Juli stands before it, small and unyielding, haunted by the memory of her father dragging her from its branches. The image dissolves into her watching Bryce discard her carefully gathered eggs, his cold excuse about Salmonella lingering like a foul odor. Then, the library: Darla’s hushed confidence, the cruel echo of laughter aimed at her uncle. The frame tightens on Juli’s face, her usual bright expression shattered into quiet devastation.* *He was never her friend.* *Why did her heart ever insist that he was?*