Page 40 of Chasing Blue
“And now? How’d you feel about her now?”
“I . . . I don’t know, but there’s something there. We have shit to sort through, but I’m not gonna lie to you, there’s still something there.”
“For you maybe. But she’s out tonight looking for a hook up according to her friend.”
“And if that happens, I’ll deal, but it won’t change how I feel, and I don’t think it’s fair to stay with you while I’m sorting through whatever the fuck it is I have going on with Scarlett.”
“Fucking great,” she looks up at the ceiling and states. “That’s why you haven’t wanted to see me all week. You sawherMonday, then flipped me off all week with excuses. So what’s tonight all about? Why even bother seeing me tonight?”
“I’ve . . . Yeah, I’m sorry. Tonight hasn’t gone as I planned. I’ve spent all week trying to get my head around things.” I rake my fingers through my hair as I talk, feeling like an absolute tool but not wanting to lie to her. “I should have ended things with you immediately after I realised I still have feelings for Scar . . .”
“Stop saying her fucking name. I don’t want to hear it.”
This time it’smyhead that jerks back to dodge the venom in her voice. I watch as Julia raises her hand and gets the attention of the waitress who served us when we first sat down. We both order another drink; I ask for a double.
“So, what’s next? You’re going to pursue the interior designer, then skip off up the East Coast with her?”
“I honestly don’t know. Right now, she’s pretty pissed off with me. We have a lot to talk about, then we’ll take it from there I suppose.”
“And me? Where do I fit in this great romance of yours?”
“Jules, even before Monday, before Bl—before I saw her, things with us weren’t working for me.”
“Fuck off. They were working fine before that little bitch turned up. And don’t tell me she didn’t know you were living down here. Your brother’s shows on the telly nearly every night of the week, everyone down here knows you both.” Her venom toward Scarlett is not what I was expecting. I thought it would be aimed at me, but like I told Shann earlier, I’ve never done this before, so I didn’t really know what I should expect.
“People down here know my brother. They don’t necessarily know me or even that we’re related. Anyway, my brother’s got nothing to do with any of this.”
“Of course he has. She just wants bragging rights; it’ll be good for her shitty little business if she can tell everyone she’s dating Shannon Cole’s brother.”
I look around for the waiter or waitress with our drinks because I’m now in desperate need of one. She can take a pop at me all she likes, but my feelings are mine and not Scarlett’s fault.
“Scarlett doesnotneed my brother’s name to make her business a success. You just said yourself she’s one of the best in town, and from what I’ve been told, that’s the truth, so she’s doing pretty well without any publicity hooking up with me might bring her.”
Julia’s eyes are on the waiter moving towards us with our drinks as I talk, but I continue on anyway.
“Why are you so pissed at her? This is on me. Scarlett turning up, and my reaction to seeing her confirmed things between us weren’t working for me . . .”
I trail off as Julia pulls out her phone and starts tapping something into it, only looking up to thank the waiter when he sets our drinks on the table.
Knowing that I’m probably making things worse, I choose to shut up and take a long swig from my glass. Watching as Julia stands and pushes her chair back noisily before chugging her entire drink. As she puts on her jacket, I spend a moment wondering what I should do, she’s pissed off, and I get that, but I can’t let her storm off into the night on her own.
She puts her hand up to halt me as I begin to stand.
“Stay there. I’ve got an Uber outside, I don’t fucking need you. Have a nice life, Jack.”
She turns and heads towards the door. “I’ll be back,” I tell the waiter who delivered our drinks, and follow her out. I don’t get a chance to say another word before she jumps into her ride and flips me both her middle fingers as they pull away.
I go back to my table, sip on my vodka, and text my brother.
Jack:Well that went well! Knew there was a reason I didn’t do face to face breakups.
My phone vibrates almost immediately with a call. Shann’s name is displayed on the screen.
“Bruh,” I use one of Finn’s favourite phrases to answer.
“What the fuck happened?”
“We bumped into Scarlett as we were waiting for our table.”
