Page 10 of Vicious Sentiments

“I haven’t touched her, Ma.”

“Yeah, that’s right.” I can feel her head bobbing while I’m pressed into her cushiony bosom. “I raised you better than that.” She pulls back to look at me.

“How old are you, Peach?” Her hands warm my shoulders.

“Seventeen,” I whisper.

“Oh my goodness, youareyoung. Jules, don’t just stand there. Goput on some coffee before I go into withdrawals.”

Julian slips from the wall and passes behind his mom and into the kitchen. I watch him like a baby duck that wants to follow but I’m pinned to the spot by this woman that smells like warm vanilla and I feel tears irrationally pooling in my eyes. I need to get a hold of myself.

“Come on, sweet girl. Tell me your name.” She wraps an arm around me, rubbing my shoulder and leading me towards the bar-stools that loop around the massive marble island.

I tell her my name in a shaky voice and take a seat, but she doesn’t sit next to me. She goes around the island, pushing Julian out of her way with her hip and taking the pot he was filling with water away from him.

“Hailey. Hailey,” she repeats my name, busying herself with the coffee machine. “That’s beautiful. A beautiful name for a beautiful girl.” She shrugs her hands into the air, little beads of water flying.

I tuck my own hands into my lap, trying to still the emotion in my chest and find Julian’s eyes. He’s leaning over the counter, both forearms holding himself up and smiling at me.

“Everything is fine,” he says with an encouraging nod, and I wonder what I must look like for him to feel the need to reassure me.

“Of course everything’s fine.” His mom rears around and elbows him in the side. “Get off my counter.”

I bite my lip to stop from snorting, my emotions like a roller-coaster. Julian is not little and his mom must be two feet shorter than him but she’s treating him like a child, and for some reason it’s comforting. I’ve never seen a woman have so muchpresencearound a man.

She eyes me, seems to note my half-smile and continues. “Always on my counter. Draping himself on furniture like he’s Adonis himself.” She makes big swirling gestures with her hands. “I tell you, the amount of draping this kid does would make you think he’s a curtain.”

“Alright, Ma,” Julian says, a pink tinge on his cheeks.

“Alright, what? It’s true. Youandyour brother. Drape here, lean here.” She theatrically throws herself against the giant stainless steel fridge, posing with her arms crossed. “Like bronze statues, as if everything’s your pedestal.”

Julian rolls his eyes, but I can see what she means. Heishandsome just like a bronze statue, and I wouldn’t mind gawking at him from afar in one of his drapes or leans. I would blush if he caught me but part of me thinks he would like it.

Chapter Nine

Margo, Julian’s mom, brews me a cup of coffee so delicious that I bet it would put Starbucks to shame. She then leads us out to one of the balconies that overlooks the ocean. She tucks me into a cushioned swing, done up in knit blankets and cream-colored throw pillows. It’s angled towards the setting sun, with equally lavish chairs around it. She strips my jacket from me, saying sunlight will do me good, and then freezes when she sees the bruises. She recovers quickly from the sight, pretending not to notice and thankfully doesn’t ask any questions. But from beneath my hair, I catch her giving Julian a look. He doesn’t reciprocate and instead looks at me as if he knows I’m watching.

For a bit, while the sun sets and the air cools, Margo continues to pick on Julian. I sip on the coffee that is full of fancy syrups and keep my hands warm with it. Once it’s empty, I set it down on the table in the center of us. Julian leans forward, and at first, I think he’s going to offer a refill, but instead pushes some hidden button that ignites the table into a mesmerizing fire.

I’m content listening to them lovingly bicker, as I float above myself. It all feels unreal again. Despite the coffee, I’m somehow falling asleep. The fire is so warm, and the swing so soft, and while I don’t know what is going to happen, I feel safe. I watch myself curl up with one of the pillows, and then as Julian drapes a blanket over me.

It just isn’t possible that this was happening to me. My luck would have had me attacked by the stranger on the bridge, not whisked away like Cinderella. I never even believed in prince charming from the fairy tales. Every man I had ever known was so far from charming that they eroded all glimmers of hope I possessed.

Some similarities existed between real life and fairy tales though. In both, men were strong, taking down enemies and showing off their strength. They were in charge, making demands that left no room for negotiation. It was unfortunate that in the real world, men used those traits to inflict pain.

It’s probably rude to fall asleep at Julian’s mom’s home. I try to stay awake but the most I can manage is an in and out type of consciousness. At some point, I tune into whispering but can’t open my eyes to see.

All I hear is,poor thing,andyou did the right thing.

Chapter Ten

Iwake to smells so foreign that I keep my eyes shut, trying to stay in the blissful dream. There are scents of linen, cotton, and lavender with aromas of bacon and toasty bread. They permeate the air like wisps of heaven. I breathe deeply, clutching the blanket and waiting for the pleasant fragrances to be replaced with rot and mildew. I don’t want to wake up and tiptoe past my father. If he drank too much the night before he will be in a pool of vomit, angry and too hung over to pull himself out of it. He will force me to clean him up, a backhand here or there if I gag.

But if I stay asleep too long the backhands will be fists. I reluctantly open my eyes and then blink a few times in disbelief. The ceiling isn’t marred with water damage or mold, and the heavenly smells don’t vanish. I take another deep breath that comes shakily and my eyes well up.

It’s not a dream.

I rub the soft blanket between my fingers and stretch my legs, feeling the downy sensation against my skin. The past few days come back to me in a blur. I really must have had a breakdown because everything is hazy and I can’t really believe what I’ve done.

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