Page 37 of Forgive You

In my head, I’m thrown back to the many hospital visits we had with Elizabeth, but this time, it’s my hair that’s gone, a bald head hidden underneath a hat, and my legs shuffle over the linoleum floor.

Oh my god.

Nope, not thinking about that.

Breathe, Jules.

I recover myself, inhaling deeply, exhaling with intent, then conjure a smile on my face that’s meant to seal the deal.

Pulling the Cheetos out of the bag, my lips curl wider before it quickly turns into a frown, and I squeeze my lashes together to prevent the tears from escaping.

A lump the size of North Carolina painfully throbs in the back of my throat. And just like that, I’m being thrown into the next piece of hardship of my day-to-day.

It still feels like yesterday when Ruben and I would flip the whole bag over and start counting every single one of them to make sure we’d divide them evenly and negotiate. He was always better at it than me until we’d finally come to an agreement. But being my big brother and my best friend, he always,always,gave me one more.

My phone vibrates loudly on the glass surface of the induction cooktop, and I wipe away any excess moisture that still stains my cheek before I swipe up the device.

Jacob.

You have gotta be kidding me.

“I told you to stop calling me.”

“You really don’t have to be so nasty, Jules.” Jacob’s slimy composed voice ticks me off, but it’s the way he draws out my nickname that makes my skin crawl.

“Don’t call me that. In fact, don’t call me at all.”

“How was your yacht party?”

What in the actual fuck?

A cold shiver runs down my spine even though all my windows are closed.

“Are you keeping tabs on me?” I glare into my living room while an unsettling feeling washes over me.

“You sound paranoid.”

Cautiously, I amble over to the window on the other side of my apartment, then glance out onto the street. He’s not seriously having someone follow me, right?

Would he go that far?

Other than a few cars driving by and some people strolling down the street, I don’t see anything out of the ordinary, but there’s still a pit forming in my stomach.

He wouldn’t, right?

He’s just trying to scare me. I bet he saw photos of us all together on Jordan’s Instagram or maybe even Ford’s. Yeah, that has to be it. But then again, I was with them for just five minutes before I got the hell out of there.

“I’m hanging up.” I’m not going to give him any more satisfaction than he already got in my thirty seconds of silence.

“Don’t hang up, Julie.” There’s something diabolical about the way he says it, and I freeze. “I just wanted to give you a heads-up. Your dad’s lawyer came today.”

Of course he did.

Son of a bitch is not wasting a minute, is he? As soon as Monday hit after the gala, my phone was flooded with texts and calls from my dad. I didn’t reply to any of them. Because he’s gonna ask me questions I can’t answer without lying.

I don’t wanna lie to him.

“Julie? We’re still on the same page, right?” Jacob asks when I still don’t say anything.

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