33. Jules #2
“Hey, are you at your shop?”
I glance out Maggie’s front window, and across the street, standing on the sidewalk and peering in the window of my coffee shop, stands Lissette.
“Uh, no.” Before I say anything else, her shoulders drop, her chin falling to her chest, and that little piece of my heart that has been reserved only for my best friend pinches.
We really need to settle this divide between us.
“But lucky for you, I’m across the street at the bakery and can be there in a sec,” I say, infusing my tone with the joy I was feeling before I saw her obvious discomfort.
Pausing to gesture to Maggie that I’m headed out but will be back, I push through the door, waving to Lissette even as I end the call and slip my phone in my pocket .
“Hey, you didn’t have to stop what you were doing,” she starts, but I wave away her concern.
“It’s not a problem,” I say, avoiding meeting her eyes by making a big show of slipping the key into the lock.
With a flourish, I invite her in. “I’m glad you’re here. Come on in.”
Just inside the door, she pauses. “Wow. This looks so great.”
Relief is heady and instant, washing over me as I blow out the breath I’d been holding. “I didn’t realize how much I needed to hear you liked it.”
Wide, expressive eyes whip to mine. “Oh, Jules. I’m so sorry. I’ve been a shitty friend. I should’ve been here helping you all along, instead of just giving you lip service.”
I want so badly to just wipe the past few weeks away.
To forget that there’s a giant divide between us.
Maybe we’ll never get back to the close friendship that we had before.
Maybe I didn’t realize that I even held resentment for all the ways we haven’t been there for each other, but in this moment, I’m just glad that she’s here.
“Thank you for saying that. And thank you for being here now. Now come on in, I have so much to show you.”
She doesn’t stay long, and by the time she leaves, we’ve cleared the air between us.
Dani comes in with a sleepy Charlie and takes her upstairs for a nap with a plan for her to come get me when Charlie wakes, and then we’ll go have a celebratory dinner with Cal at the station.
I take a few moments to light the candles on the tables and in the front window, take some photos for my website, and then spend the next few hours soaking in the ambiance I’ve created while updating my website and social media sites .
My phone buzzes on the countertop next to me. I snatch it up to see Maggie’s contact. The front door chimes as I click finish on my last update. “One sec, Dani. Almost done.” I swipe to accept Maggie’s call. “Hey, girl.”
“Oh my god, Jules, I think I just saw Dani’s creepy dude.”
An ominous click makes me freeze, and I cut my eyes to the door.
“Jules?” Fear laces her voice.
I swallow, staring at the barrel of a gun and the wild eyes of the man holding it. He gestures for me to put the phone down.
“Thanks, Maggie. Can I call you back?” I end the call without waiting for her reply.
“Where’s the bitch?” His voice isn’t nearly as sinister as he wants it to be. He’s small, short, and wiry. His clothes hang off of him. If it weren’t for the gun, I think I could probably take him.
“Who?” Maybe I can distract him long enough to get the gun away from him.
He keeps it trained on me and begins inspecting my shop, walking over to the gas fireplace. “The bitch you were expecting me to be.”
Shit .
A thousand thoughts go through my mind in the seconds it takes him to cross the floor, and they all come back to one. I need to keep him away from Dani and Charlie.
Slowly, I extend my hands, palms out. “Dani’s not here. Why don’t you put the gun away, and we can find a different solution.”
“I know she’s fucking here. I watched her cross the street.”
Yeah, but thank god this dumbass didn’t see her go out the back door and up to the apartment. He’s not here to talk. He’s here to hurt.
“Okay, let’s calm down…”
Absolutely wrong thing to say. Everything happens in slow motion. He whirls about, cursing me, Dani, everything and everyone, and upends the nearest table. As my pretty display crashes to the floor, I stand and round the table.
“Wait, just please wait. Let’s talk about whatever it is that has you upset.”
“That bitch stole my kid.” His wild eyes dart around the shop, searching and not finding her.
“She thought I’d never know. Thought she could have a kid in secret and never tell me.
” He swipes his forearm under his nose, his chest heaving with the force of his anger. The gun hangs forgotten in his hand.
I just need to get it away from him.
From the front window, there’s a small whoosh . Over his shoulder, an orange glow illuminates the window.
He’s still ranting about Dani, flipping another table.
Time’s up for this asshole. I have no weapons, nothing to defend myself with.
But I’m not going to stand by and let him trash my dream, and I am not letting him get to Dani or Charlie.
Not going to let him hurt Cal by hurting those two.
Having Cal and Charlie in my life has brought me back to myself.
He’s helped me realize a dream merely because it was important to me.
And Charlie… I didn’t want kids of my own, but this little girl has helped me find myself again.
Helped me honor the little girl in myself that I pushed aside and quelled growing up, trying to fit other people’s mold of who they thought I should be.
No. I’m not letting him take that away from us.
I charge, crashing into him while his back is turned. The gun fires as we trash yet another table. We hit the floor and roll. The small candle jar stops just out of reach of my fingertips. Maybe if I can get a hold of it, I can use it…
He flips us over, trapping my arms with his knees. Too late, I realize that perhaps I underestimated him.
I squirm, bucking and kicking, trying to get him off me.
Blinding white-hot pain explodes across the side of my face. I cry out as another blow glances off my cheek. This motherfucker thinks he’s going to pistol-whip me.
I slump as if I’m passed out. Around me, heat grows, flames flickering brightly behind my closed eyelids. He relaxes ever so slightly, and I wait.
A weight lands on my chest, pushing me into the floor. It takes everything in me not to grunt from the pain. But the pressure on my arms releases. He’s pushing up off me.
I open my eyes the tiniest slit. He’s standing, walking away like he’s going to leave me here in this burning building.
I roll and stand in a move years of play fighting with my brothers taught me, swiping the remains of a chair leg as I stand.
He’s not even two steps away, but he turns and raises the gun. My wild swing connects with his head as the gun fires.