Page 164 of The Hookup Situation
I squeeze her shoulder. “I’ll answer it.”
“Okay,” she says.
I open the door, and Mrs. Patrick speaks.
“We’re here for Julie! That bastard Craig needs to burn in hell for what he’s done!”
They sweep in like an avenging army of grandmas, surrounding Julie with a fierce, protective energy. I try to stay professional while these women plot Craig’s demise.
“The whole town’s talking about it,” Mrs. Caldwell says. “But not how Craig wanted. This is criminal.”
“Sarah’s at the police station right now,” Mrs. Patrick tells us. “Apparently, he did the same thing to her. Posted her photos on some disgusting website months ago.”
“Sarah?” Julie looks up. “Craig’s pregnant ex-girlfriend, Sarah?”
Mrs. Patrick nods. “She’s been too ashamed to report it until now. But seeing what he did to you gave her courage.”
Julie looks stunned, her face pale as she processes what Mrs. Patrick just said. “He did this to Sarah?”
The Fairy Godmothers nod, sharing their outrage; their voices surround us.
“You did nothing wrong, Julie,” Mrs. Mooney insists, patting her shoulder. “It’s shameful he went this low.”
Mrs. Henderson adds, “The whole town knows it. We’re furious for you. And we’re not going to let this go. I’ve already had choice words with his mother.”
Julie leads them into the kitchen, where they set their casserole dishes on the counter. “I thought … I thought this would ruin me.”
I slide my arm around her. “You are not ruined. You’re the strongest woman I’ve ever met. I’ll burn the world down before I let anyone make you feel like less.”
Her eyes glisten, but I see something spark behind the tears. It’s pure anger.
Mrs. Patrick crosses her arms. “Sarah’s already pressing charges. We’ll all testify if needed—because many of us were in the coffee shop the day you told him to leave. Men like Craig don’t get to keep destroying lives in this town.”
The other women agree. Their voices are a chorus of determination.
Julie looks around at them, at me, then takes a shaky breath. “Then I’ll press charges too. He doesn’t get to take any more from me. Not my privacy, not my peace, not my future.”
I’m filled with pride and fury as I kiss the top of her head. “Asher’s already mobilizing PR and legal. Craig has no idea what kind of war he just started.”
The Fairy Godmothers clap like it’s settled.
“We’ll handle the gossip,” Mrs. Patrick says. “You handle the lawyers.”
Mrs. Mooney smiles. “I know this is hard to handle right now,but, honey, when you’re my age, you’ll be proud of a body like that. If I could go back in time, I’d personally walk around naked everywhere I went. I didn’t realize what I had in my youth.”
Julie bursts into laughter. “Thank you. I guess that’s a silver lining.”
And as the women around us talk strategy and vengeance, I know one thing for sure: Craig Downing picked the wrong woman to cross. He hasn’t gone after just Julie, but after every single one of us. He won’t win.
Once everyone has left and we’re alone, Julie leans into me. “We’re in this together, right?”
“Always,” I promise.
She seems to relax.
Four hours later, Asher arrives and doesn’t bother with pleasantries. Behind him are two people I don’t know.
“Status?” he barks at one of them as soon as he enters Julie’s condo.
