Chapter 9
Kurt
After I ushered Callum out of the apartment, I forced him into a cab ignoring his half-assed, Bond villain, threats and easily dodging his swinging arms. He kept swearing incoherently and threatening to expose our fake relationship. This statement gives me pause, but I know his words mean nothing, just a drunken exclamation. Callum recovers his pride enough to tell the cab driver his address before slamming the door shut and staring off ahead of him, pouting like a small child. His new demeanor makes me smile and I wave as the cab drives off, then head back into the apartment building chuckling to myself.
I wait until the cab disappears, just to make sure he isn’t going to try to come back tonight. When I’m sure he’s gone, I go back up the stairs to Juliana’s apartment. When I go down the hall to her apartment, I notice the door is still open and I see her sitting on the floor in the middle of the room. She is cradling her head in her hands.
“Juliana? Are you okay?” I kneel next to her and lift her face to look up at me. As I search her face for any signs of emotion, I notice that her eyes are red and she looks like she’s barely holding back more tears.
When I came back to her apartment I watched as her face went blank and she hid all emotion from me. I wonder why she thinks she would need to hide her emotions from me.
She nods then pushes my hand away from her face but I grab onto her elbow to help her stand. She brushes imaginary lint off her legs when she stands up.
“Thank you,” she says quietly, her voice devoid of emotion.
Why is she shutting me out? I think to myself. I guess we don’t know each other very well. Hopefully, that changes over time. I know I did the right thing when I agreed to go along with this fake fiancé idea. Especially after everything I’ve seen so far from Callum’s behavior and how Juliana reacts to him. She is starting to hold her own against him but when he left, she completely collapsed and shut down. I can see how emotionally draining her relationship with Callum was. Maybe our relationship can help brighten her spirit again. Even if it isn’t quite real, I can still show her what a good relationship should be. Or at the very least, we can have fun as friends.
“It’s not a problem,” I say, brushing away her thanks. “I’ve got your back,” I reassure her with a smile.
“Thanks for everything. I know this isn’t exactly how you pictured this night to go. But I am grateful for your patience.” She speaks formally and for some reason, I know I shouldn’t push her. I nod, accepting her thanks this time, and take a step away from her.
“Well, then I guess I should be going. Are you okay to be here alone?”
“Yes,” she says again, formally. She looks around the apartment gathering her purse off of the floor.
“Okay, well I should head home. Probably have a lot of explaining to do where Ashley is concerned. If she is even still there.” She nods and I catch a hint of emotion flash across her face but it quickly disappears. I grab a pen and notepad near the door and jot down my cell number. I tap the notepad to get her attention, “I’ll leave my number in case you need to call me.” I pause, waiting for a response, she turns to face me and I continue, “We should probably get together tomorrow to discuss a few rules. I’ll pick you up. For coffee or something. Is that okay?”
“I have work tomorrow but I get off at 2 p.m.” She accepts my offer of coffee and I smile, feeling as if I’ve made some progress.
“I’ll pick you up at 3 then, here.”
“Okay. Thank you, again.” I laugh because this may be the hundredth time she’s said thank you in the last two hours. Wow, has it really only been two hours? It feels like it’s been many more.
“I’ll see you at 3,” I say before shutting the door on my way out.
When I reach my car, I sit in the driver’s seat for a few minutes. Then, for the first time since this whole fiasco began, I check my phone. I have multiple missed calls from my mother. One from my father and I also have a few missed calls from my sister and of course, Ashley has left a few messages. I sigh and put my phone away. If Ashley is still at my apartment I’ll deal with her but everyone else can wait until tomorrow. I’m too tired tonight.
I pull into the parking lot of my apartment building and park my car in my spot, taking a deep breath when I see Ashley’s car still in the guest spot. I get out of my car taking my time, thinking about how to explain. When I reach my apartment, I pause before entering, then open the door.
“Ashley?” I call out. “Are you still here?” I toss my keys in my bowl on the kitchen counter and flick on the light. I don’t see her in the kitchen or in the living room but as I head down the hall, I notice my bedroom door is open slightly and a light is on. I push open the door further and am about to speak when I notice Ashley is fast asleep on my bed. I must have been gone longer than I realized. I cover her up with a blanket and head back into the living room. I sit down on the couch and listen to a couple of voicemails.
Hi, honey, it’s mom. How are you doing? Are you still coming to church this Sunday? We would all love to see you there. Anyway, I heard some news recently but just wanted to check in with you first. It’s getting late so I am going to bed in a few minutes. Call me tomorrow. Goodnight. Love you.
I laugh, my mother is so polite. She must know about what happened tonight. I wonder how she found out. I guess she will tell me tomorrow.
I lay down on the couch stretching out my legs. My couch is huge so I have plenty of room when I stretch. I prop a pillow under my head and drift off to sleep.