Julie ran outside, only to collapse on the school steps. She needed to calm down. So many thoughts were racing through her head.

She had wanted Romeo to kiss her. What was wrong with her? She was leading herself down a path of pain, and only pain. Had she gone insane?

Julie placed her head in her hands. She had almost made a huge mistake... But had she already made a huge mistake?

Why had she nearly kissed Romeo? That was the question, wasn't it? Why?

She wasn't falling for him, was she? No she couldn't be. She didn't believe it. Love, she admitted to herself, only led to pain. She had always told herself not to let herself fall in love. She couldn't. It would destroy her.

Julie had thought she had done a good job keeping her heart locked up, but it seemed that someone had found their way in.

Well, from now on she would just have to do a better job keeping her heart locked up. She would have to turn off her feelings.

Julie took a deep breath and resumed her denial. She did not like Romeo in any kind of romantic way. She couldn't.

Speak of the devil. Romeo rushed out the doors of the school and spotted Julie sitting on the steps.

"Cameron, I'm not really in the mood right now." Julie mumbled. Romeo spoke up as soon as she finished.

"I just want to know what happened back there. Is everything okay?" His green eyes were full of genuine concern. Julie sighed dramatically. Why did he always have to be so sweet?

"I don't know. I'm just confused, that's all." Julie told him.

"You don't just seem confused. Before you ran off you looked horrified. Juliet," He sat down next to her on the steps. "What is with that scar?"

Julie tugged on a loose strand of hair trying to cover up the scar. She looked down into her lap.

"I don't mean to pry. I just want to make sure your okay. You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."

They sat in silence for a couple minutes until Julie finally made up her mind. She had to stop running. She sighed deeply.

"Like I said I'm confused. I don't know." Should she tell him? Part of her wanted to because he was her friend and thought he deserved to know. Another part thought she shouldn't let him get any closer than he already was.

"Then don't say anything." Romeo suggested.

"How did you know that that scar wasn't just a childhood accident or something?" Julie asked.

Romeo shrugged. "I guess it was the look on your face. Me discovering that scar startled you. Just forget I said anything." Romeo told her. Julie shook her head. Telling him about it wouldn't be that big of a deal. No it was a big deal to her. She couldn't tell him. Eventually one side of the her won out and she opened her mouth somewhat reluctantly.

"No you should know. I need to stop running away. You've probably guessed what happened by now already."

Romeo gave her a confused look. "No I haven't."

"Then let me spell it out for you. Around the same time your dad died I was having my own problems. I wasn't even nine years old. My dad had an awful temper. I don't know why. He didn't drink and I don't think he did drugs, it might have been because of stress or the way he grew up. I'm not really sure why but he had a horrible temper." Julie began in a shaky tone. Romeo put a hand on her shoulder. It clearly brought back bad memories.

"You don't have to tell me."

Julie shook her head. "You're right, I don't. But I'm going to. Not for you, but for me. I need to stop running away from my past. And I want you to know me." She took a deep breath. "When I was around five or six my parents started to get in heated arguments. It happened all the time. When I was older I started to be a little more observant. After these fights my mom would have bruises all over." She tried to keep her voice calm but she wasn't successful. She sounded shaky.

"Eventually he stopped caring about not letting us see what he was doing to her during these arguments, which tended to be pretty one-sided. We would see that he was hurting her. A man should never raise a hand against his wife. Scratch that, nobody should ever beat their spouse." Julie was angry at the memory. She curled her hand into a fist as she spoke.

"Oh wow..." Romeo mumbled. This was heavy. It was some serious information. Although things were starting to make sense. That's why she never mentioned her dad.

"One day my brother got mad at my dad for hurting Mom and Will talked back to him. Dad didn't stop at just hurting Mom after that. Anytime he felt like it."

Juliet brushed back the hair that was blocking her scar, so Romeo could see it better.

"One day he got especially angry. Mom was done with him. She demanded a divorce. My father of course refused. The two got into another heated argument that ended up with my mom knocked out. Dad had punched her and knocked her into our glass coffee table. The neighbors heard a commotion and called the cops, but they didn't get here fast enough. My father began taking his anger out on my brother and I. My dad began throwing bits of broken glass as us, grabbing the first thing that he saw."

Julie turned away from Romeo. She showed him the back of her shoulder. It had a larger, deeper scar.

"I have them all over from where the glass hit me. If you were ever to see my brother up close you would see he's got it a lot worse. The entire right side of his face is full of them. He tried to get me away from my father's attacks, you see." Julie told him.

Romeo just sat there in shock. He had had no clue that Julie had been through that. So many things made sense now.

"The police arrived, my father was taken away, and Mom was taken to a hospital. I haven't seen or talked to my dad since that night. So can you see now why I don't talk about my dad? Why I have these scars? Why I can't believe in love?"

Juliet continued. "The only couples I ever saw work out were all fictional. You did me a favor by ruining Once Upon a Marigold. You helped me get over fairy tales. Happily ever afters aren't real, neither is Prince Charming. You can't trust people with your heart. They will only break it. I'm not going to get hurt like that again. I don't want to be like my mom. I don't want to get hurt like she was." Juliet finished.

"Julie," Romeo started, but Julie shook her head knowing what he was going to say.

"It's nothing personal. It's just me." Julie choked out. Her mouth was dry and she had to force herself not to cry after reliving those memories. Juliet stood up. "It looks like the night is nearly over anyway. See you around, Romeo." She gave him a small smile in an attempt to lighten the mood.