TW: death, grief, dead character, violent crime, gun violence, wrong place wrong time
[name_f]Julia[/name_f] [name_f]Odette[/name_f] [name_m]Jones[/name_m] ‘ [name_u]Julie[/name_u] ’ (would be 32) is/was Shain’s niece, Maisie’s cousin, and Kiera’s older sister. She was always close with [name_m]Shain[/name_m] because he was only 11 years older than her. She used to introduce him to people as her “bruncle” or an uncle who’s more like a brother. They watched [name_u]Monty[/name_u] Python movies together and quoted them at family gatherings, they baked desserts and made decorations for the holidays together, and they had a bet going for several years about who could read the most books.
The book competition was actually part of the reason [name_m]Shain[/name_m] met the love of his life. When [name_u]Julie[/name_u] was 15 and [name_m]Shain[/name_m] was 26, she found out that he had a crush on a girl he’d gone to high school with and saw every few weeks at the book store she worked at when he went to get more books. [name_u]Julie[/name_u] came up with the idea to pretend they were in a book club, and to invite his crush. There were sparks from the very first fake-but-technically-real book club meeting, and a few months later, his crush got the nerve to ask him out officially. They had [name_f]Maisie[/name_f] a little over a year later and got married when [name_f]Maisie[/name_f] was 3. [name_u]Julie[/name_u] was the “best woman,” and [name_f]Kiera[/name_f] (11) was a flower girl along with [name_f]Maisie[/name_f].
[name_u]Julie[/name_u] was extremely close with [name_f]Kiera[/name_f]. [name_u]Julie[/name_u] had always wanted a sibling and was so ecstatic when [name_f]Keira[/name_f] was born. She tried to help her mom name [name_f]Keira[/name_f], actually, but her suggestions of [name_f]Buttercup[/name_f] and [name_f]Rainbow[/name_f] [name_u]Dash[/name_u] were (lovingly) shot down. As [name_f]Kiera[/name_f] grew up, they shared a room, so it made sense for [name_u]Julie[/name_u] to tuck her in bed instead of Mom. Naturally, [name_u]Julie[/name_u] read to her every night. Sometimes she got in trouble for keeping her up too late to read “just one more story” or sing a song to scare away monsters or to have an impromptu dance party while they brushed their teeth in the bathroom. They had a lot of fun, silly memories like that.
There were a couple years when sharing a room was difficult for the two sisters, and they barely spoke to each other unless it was to bicker, but things smoothed out once [name_u]Julie[/name_u] found her passion: crafts. Literally any kind of craft. She just loved making things with her hands and using bright colors and cool textures to create a story. And that was what she and [name_f]Kiera[/name_f] realized they had in common: story-telling. [name_f]Kiera[/name_f] did it with words; [name_u]Julie[/name_u] did it with objects. They found their connection again by sitting in the same room together while they did their own thing. And of course, they became each other’s biggest supporters.
[name_u]Julie[/name_u] lived at home for several years after she graduated high school. She created an Etsy store to save money for college, and she worked at the same book store that Shain’s wife worked at and later took over as owner. When she was 25, she went to community college for [name_m]General[/name_m] Studies to figure out what she wanted to do, and at 27, she switched to a 4-year college half a day’s drive away to study [name_m]Art[/name_m] & Anthropology.
But she never got to complete her degree. She was killed in a senseless act of violence when she was 29. She was pulling into a gas station to fill up the tank on her way home for summer break, when a man ran out of the convenience store and in front of her car. She slammed on the brakes on instinct, and only had a second to realize he was wearing a mask and holding a gun. The robber didn’t give her another second to think or say or do anything else. He shot her through the open window, stole her car, and left her there on the blacktop. Her family didn’t find out what happened until almost the next morning. The workers at the gas station and local police had no way of identifying [name_u]Julie[/name_u] since her wallet and phone had been in the car, and her college/dorm was in a few towns over. But of course her family knew something was wrong when she didn’t arrive at the time she said she would, and phone calls went straight to voicemail. After hours of talking to the police and Julie’s roommates (once they answered because most were traveling home, too, and the one staying behind for the summer worked until late), they finally learned what happened. That summer was obviously full of grief—and anger, because the guy may have gotten caught but he got a lighter sentence than he deserved. But the thing about grief is that even though it never actually goes away, you learn how to live with it, because you have to. They all do in their own way. [name_m]Shain[/name_m] still keeps track of how many books he reads and writes little reports addressed to her, Shain’s wife renamed the bookstore in her memory, [name_f]Maisie[/name_f] wrote several songs for her, [name_f]Kiera[/name_f] dedicated her whole career to seeking out truth and justice for victims of crime and violence and their grieving families, and Shayauna’s sister is planning something special to honor [name_u]Julie[/name_u] at Kiera’s upcoming wedding.
More than just the people who knew her, but everyone who ever purchased her crafts and/or were inspired by her to create their own art or read a certain book, all carry a piece of [name_u]Julie[/name_u] with them. It doesn’t take away the loss or change the fact that there’s an entire human being who should be here today but isn’t… It’s just nice to feel like she’s always close by. Always finding ways to bring color and fun and silliness into the world. Always willing to tell one more story.
(brb gonna go cry)