Chapter 10 #2
Alicia flicked her eyes to Julia’s. “Not the kid…I’m talking about Grant. I mean, five wives, countless women, apparently. And this is what you left Luke for?”
Julia’s shoulders slouched as her sister tested her loyalty to past and present. “That’s not fair.”
“Isn’t it? Say what you want, but Luke never cheated on you.”
“Neither has Grant,” Julia countered.
“No, but he has no reason to. He’s already been with the entire state of Louisiana. Luke, on the other hand, I can’t even remember him really dating anyone else. At least not seriously. He’s had a thing for you since you were in high school.”
“Oh, come off of it, Ally. What about…what’s her name? The one with the weird voice.”
“Oh, Jen. Right, that lasted really long. Three whole dates, I think.”
“Well…still…”
Alicia heaved a sigh. “You’re right. He’s a real womanizer. He beats out Grant any day of the week.”
“Not funny, Ally.” Julia’s eyes turned pleading. “Please, please try to be supportive here.”
Alicia rolled her eyes. “I hate when you give me the little sister look.”
Julia let her lower lip slide into a pout.
“Oh, wow, you’re really working the poor puppy dog thing.”
“Ally, I’m serious. I’m not sure how much more I can take of this. It’s a constant battle between past and present, and I’m nearly ready to lose my mind. And Lydia tracking us down really ices the cake.” Julia cocked a hip as she ran her fingers through her hair.
“Hey,” Alicia said, slipping an arm around her sister’s shoulders, “maybe you need to take a breath.”
“That’s what I’m doing.”
“No, I mean…a longer one. Maybe you need to just…take some time for yourself to think. Why don’t you come to our place and–”
Julia wrinkled her brow. “Think about what?”
“Everything,” Alicia said. “Julia, I don’t like this. I don’t like how stressed you are. I don’t like him. I don’t like any of it.”
“Yeah, you’ve said,” Julia said. “But I’m married to him.”
“Juju, if you need help–”
“I don’t,” she snapped, tugging away from her sister and returning to the sink. She eyed herself in the mirror, regretting the sharp statement already. The truth was she was drowning, but no one understood, too focused on their agenda.
Alicia crossed her arms, eyeing her through the reflection.
She sucked in a sharp breath as she shook her head before she threw her arms in the air.
“Okay, fine. I’ll do my best to be supportive.
But I don’t like this, Julia. And I want to protect you.
I’m your big sister. And with Mom and Dad gone, I feel like… I worry. I just want you to be happy.”
Julia breathed a sigh of relief as she spun to face her sister. She reached for her hand, giving it a squeeze. “Thank you. Now, let’s go back and wrap this up.”
Alicia wrapped her arm around her sister as she led her from the bathroom. As she swung the door open, a figure blocked them.
Lydia’s lipsticked lips curled up into a devilish smile. “Hi, ladies! Everything all right?”
“Of course,” Julia said.
Lydia stepped into the bathroom, her heels clicking across the tile as she backed both sisters up. “Oh, Alison, is it?”
“Alicia,” Alicia answered.
“Right. I need a minute with Julia…private wives of Grant type of stuff. Do you mind?”
Alicia tightened her grip on Julia. ”Actually–“
“She doesn’t,” Julia said with a smile at her sister. “Go on ahead, Ally, I’ll be right there.”
Alicia flicked her eyes between the two of them before she set her jaw and begrudgingly stalked to the door. “Fine.”
“Well, she’s a pleasant little thing, isn’t she?” Lydia asked as the door slowly eased shut.
“What do you want, Lydia?” Julia asked.
Lydia arched an eyebrow. “Answers.”
“To?”
“To why you disappeared with my family and didn’t tell me.”
Julia sighed. “They’re my family, too. And we went on a vacation. Sierra planned it and told us about it less than twenty-four hours before we left.”
“You couldn’t have left a note?” Lydia’s eyes narrowed.
“I didn’t know I had to inform you of our travel plans. Besides, I had no idea where we were going. Sierra didn’t tell us until we were here. Believe me, had I known we were coming to Harbor Cove, I would have jumped off the plane.”
Lydia smirked at her. “Yes, it seems you’ve got yourself in quite the little pickle here, Buttercup. The truth comes out that you’re not quite so innocent, parading around wearing a promise to one man around your neck, while you sport a vow to another on your finger.”
Julia’s shoulders slumped at the words. She had a point, though her vows to Grant were in name only, but Lydia didn’t know that.
Lydia stalked a few steps closer, getting into her personal space. “I just wanted to let you know that if anything like this happens again, I’ll ruin you. And this time, I know Grant will believe me.”
Julia shifted her weight as she shook her head.
“You’re treading on dangerous ground, Sweet Pea. One more slip-up, and you’re finished.”
Lydia spun on a heel and stormed out of the bathroom. Julia stood in the stark lightning, staring after the woman. As if she didn’t have enough on her plate managing her past and present, but now she had another threat from Lydia looming. When would this end?