Julian
thirteen
Dante
“Like we would.” Bull replies. “I guess we kill them straight out seeing as you already have the locked room occupied.”
“I had to do it.”
“You didn’t have to do fuck all.” I sneer. “You literally kidnapped her off the fucking street, Julian. If you didn’t want her to see the big boss, you should have left her at her home. But instead you throw a fucking tantrum and break into her apartment.”
“You can shut the fuck up. If you never took her on a date I wouldn’t have had to go as far as I did .” No, he can’t blame me for this. He was completely fine with it this morning - unless he was putting on a front.
“Bullshit.” I pull over and stop the van. “You know that’s complete fucking bullshit Julian. She told me she told you she wanted space, and you follow us. I told you it was Nico that invited her out.”
“It wasn’t Nico that was looking at her like they wanted to rip her fucking clothes off.” He laughs darkly. “Last week you hated her, so what’s changed? Because she was nice to your child. Or because she’s mine?”
“She belongs to no-one. It’s about time you see that.”
“She belonged to someone once.” He slams a book into my chest, one he takes from his jacket pocket.
I flip through the pages and recognise the handwriting instantly.
“She said so herself, she belonged to her Pa, then she belonged to her boyfriend, then me.” Shit, did she write my name in here?
Does he know? “And now all her feelings have come back for this guy, he didn’t care for five fucking years and she wants to go back to him.
” She does? “She told me this morning that she wants to maybe try and give it another go with this guy.” He smacks his chest. “I was the one who protected her for years, and now she wants to leave me like I’m nothing .
I’m not nothing, God damn it!” His voice cracks a little in the last sentence as he slams his fist down on the dashboard.
“I’m not nothing.” He whispers. “I told her I’m okay with her going back to him, I told her I don’t want to know who he is, and I really don’t.
I just thought she would have chosen me. ”
He doesn’t know it's me. I breathe a quick sigh of relief. And she wants to give us another chance. I smile slightly under my mask. Then my heart drops at his final confession. We both want her. And she loves us both. God help us.
“Were you even in an exclusive relationship?” Bull asks.
“Not exclusivel y , no, but I told her all the time that I love her. She told me too last week.” Yeah, don’t remind me.
As Bull tries to explain that just because two people love each other it doesn’t mean they have to be together.
I flick through more pages. There’s many pages detailing everything her adoptive parents put her through.
It makes me feel physically sick. I know they abused her, I just didn’t know how.
“Say what you want. We were in a fucking relationship and now just because her memory’s come back she wants to end things. I won’t allow it.” He snatches the book from my hands. “We have a job to do. Now drive.”
“Her voice has been taken from her for most of her life.” I grit my teeth. “And now you won’t allow her to walk away from whatever you guys had. You aren’t respecting her decision, Julian .”
“Try and fucking say I’m as bad as them assholes and I will have no qualms about slicing your throat this second.” He removes the boxcutter from his jacket pocket and fiddles with it. He wants blood to spill, he needs to stab someone, to slice someone up.
Including me.
I won’t be able to grab my gun fast enough to stop him, so start the engine back up. Going back to work and ignoring my best friend's anger.
I narrow my eyes and look in the rearview mirror towards Bull .
He tenses and relaxes his fists, just as frustrated at me.
He gives me a quick nod and I smirk. Julian is in for it after this job.
And for once in our lives, I won’t be there to fight his corner.
Bull is the only one who can overpower Julian when he gets like this.
I’m the one who can normally talk him down, but right now.
He can go and fuck himself. I was tempted to pull the big boss aside and tell him everything.
I would have too if I knew with all my heart he wouldn’t have hurt Natalie.
But I can’t guarantee her safety when it comes to him.
I knock on the door of the rapist assholes. Bull has his karambit ready. My gun hides nicely in my waistband in case anything goes wrong. Which it doesn’t when Bulls involved .
“Foods arrived, time to celebrate.” I hear one of the pricks say.
If they have takeout coming we best make this quick, Bull has the same thought as he nods at me.
The door opens and we act quickly. I pull my gun out, pointing it at the bloke's head. Bull spins him quickly, snapping his neck with a loud crack. Being a doctor, and having the strength of an ox, he can kill people with just a few swift movements. Although it’s not his preferred method, this is the quickest and less messy way to do things.
“Hurry up bro. I’m hungry.” The other calls.
He sounds drunk, I let Bull take the lead as he goes searching for rapist number two.
We find him sprawled out on the couch, a naked, unconscious woman lies on the floor in front of him.
She doesn’t look much older than nineteen, bruises are starting to form on her chest and abdomen.
I see the indents of footprints on her face from where the bastards kicked her unconscious.
Semen pools between her legs. They celebrated being found not guilty of multiple rapes by raping another. Are they stupid?
“Who are you guys, and where’s Mik?” He hiccups, not bothering to try and run.
He takes another swig of his beer and smiles.
“Oh, so you're the guys who are here to take us out huh?” He laughs. “That slag said she will have us killed. Or what did the courts call her. Oh yeah, victim number four. They weren’t victims. They were asking for it, dressing like they did .”
Bull cracks his knuckles. This asshole’s done for now.
Crack.
I check the girl's pulse as Bull breaks another neck. It’s there, but very faint. I dial 911 from the girl's phone and we walk out of the building. Bull updates the big boss, leaving him to deal with the clean up .
I don’t speak on the way back to the warehouse, nor do I go in to debrief with Julian about what happened.
Instead I go straight home. I prefer the clean kills.
Quick, easy and less messy. No need to get washed up before going back to see my boy.
I know I need to get a more legal job. Go back to school and finish getting my teaching degree perhaps.
But I have a commitment to make sure Julian doesn’t do anything stupid.
He has saved my life many times. Too many to count in fact.
I owe him my life. He is my best friend, my brother, and in love with the same woman I am.
Fuck this is going to be a chaotic situation.
She wants me back. Did she really say that?
Or did Julian take a few of her words and mix them up, filling in the rest with his fucked up imagination?
It wouldn’t be the first time, and surely wouldn’t be the last. Another thought comes to mind - did Pea manage to get Natalie out?
By the way Julian is blowing up my phone, I sure hope so.
Pulling into my driveway, I see three silhouettes through the curtains and my tense body finally relaxes. She is safe. They’re both safe. My son and the woman I love. Love . I shouldn’t use that word. I shouldn’t even feel like that towards her, not until I know how she truly feels.
Hearing the laughter coming from the living room as I walk through the front door makes me smile.
I2I from A Goofy Movie plays loudly with them all singing along to it.
I slump against the door still in my work ‘uniform’.
We didn’t get bloody tonight so I don’t need to change straight away.
I removed my jacket, hanging it up next to Peas' matching one. Leaving me in my black jeans and navy blue tee. I’m glad she managed to get Natalie out of that room and brought her back here.
So fucking glad. Not only will she be safe here, but we will be able to talk freely without the cameras, without the risk of Julian listening in and hearing something he shouldn’t.
I was so worried when she broke down on me that day, repeating over and over again that she didn’t leave me.
Julian didn’t say anything to either of us though, so he didn’t hear.
If he did things would be completely different.
He wouldn’t have let her anywhere near me knowing how I felt, knowing how heartbroken I was when I thought she left.
“Papa, is that you? Come dance with us.” Nico demands while giggling.
Slipping off my shoes I join them in the random dance party, Natalie is swinging Nico around in her arms. I catch her wincing a couple of times when he isn’t looking, when she thinks none of us are looking.
The smile she wears seems genuine, but I have seen her fake her smile many times.
And the one she is giving me right now is faked.
I lift the corner of my lips slightly and her face falls.
She knows I know. “Yay, papa is home!” Nico wriggles in her arms and she puts him down.
He runs straight for me, takes my hand and drags me to the makeshift dance floor.
They have moved the couches to the edges of the room and found out the disco light I thought I hid.
Peas phone is connected to the speaker beside the television. “Now time for the competition !”