“You said you would stay.” Julian looks like he’s pouting. The slight downturn of his lips and furrow of his brow are the hallmarks of a pout, so yes, he’s fucking pouting.
I shove his chest. “That was before you said you were dead and called me your wife.”
“So you can handle mate but not wife?”
I gesture towards the door weakly. “I didn’t say that. Just open the door before they start recording us.”
“As you wish.”
I cross my arms over my chest. My feet are still off the ground when he opens the door for the delivery driver. I almost groan when I see that it’s Maxine. She’s going to blab. She’s the daughter of the owner and I was a grade ahead of her in school. I think the reason why her family’s restaurant still delivers to me is because of Maxine. She was quiet in school and I was nice enough to invite her to the parties we had. It’s not like Vesper Point High is huge, it didn’t make a whole lot of sense to not invite everyone. Who wants to have a bonfire with the same five people you see every single day? A lot of places in town don’t deliver when I call. They say it’s because I live too far away because I’m at the top of the hill but I’ve seen them deliver to my neighbors plenty and they never had an issue with where I lived before…well,just before.
“Oh wow. It really is the doctor.” Maxine looks between Julian and I with wide eyes and holds out the bag to him. “Um, here you go or do you want me to put it somewhere since you’ve got your hands full.”
I want this interaction to end as quickly as possible so I hold out my hands to her. “I’ll take it.”
She gives me a sympathetic smile. It’s easy to see I’m sour about how I’m being held. I don’t miss the quick look she gives Julian. The universal sign in girl code for ‘are you good?’ not to be confused with ‘do you want me to hit him with my car so we can ditch?’ but both have the same desired end game.
Safety.
She’s a good person to even think about checking on me. We’re not friends and I’m me.
I give her a slight nod when she hands me the food to signal I’m fine even if I look pissed hanging from Julian’s arm as he gives her a hundred from his pocket.
“No change.”
Maxine’s eyes light up and she smiles wider. “Really? Thank you! It’s been such a slow night. We almost closed up early. Guess it’s a good thing we didn’t though.”
“Very fortunate. Maris told me how much she enjoys the dumplings. I’ve been looking forward to them.”
“They’re the best,” I deadpan and hold the bag up. I don’t know where the adrenaline and fear have gone. Just a few minutes ago I was convinced he was going to kill me. I even asked him if he was and now I’m acting like a surly teen. I have no fucking sense of self-preservation. I can’t help it though. I feel like a sponge that’s been wrung out and left to dry in the sun. I don’t have anything else in me to give.
I’m exhausted. The energy I woke up with this morning is gone and if I wasn’t so hungry, I might fall asleep even withbeing held the way I am. I’m too tired to be scared anymore, I guess.
Maxine looks between the both of us while she pockets the money and I see the exact moment that she realizes Julian is bare-chested. I see it because her eyes go big as saucers and she stares right at him like she’s trying to take a picture.
I don’t like the way that makes me feel. Not even a little bit. She might be a good person but she doesn’t need to stare at my-I stop myself before I think one more thought about how Julian could bemy anything.
“Um, well, you two have a good night. Give us a call if you need anything else, and I’m-I can give you my number if that makes it easier. Like, my personal number.”
I glare daggers at Maxine. She’s trying to pick Julian up right in front of me. So much for fucking girl code.
“Oh, I don’t think that’s necessary.” Julian takes a step back and I see my opportunity to at least end one thing I don’t like.
“Good night, Maxine,” I tell her and kick the door closed with both feet. It slams shut so hard that it rattles in its frame. I’m lucky I didn’t put my foot through the damn glass panel. I almost did. I jerk the curtain shut before Maxine can get another eyeful of Julian.
“Put me down.”
Julian puts me down. I don’t even look behind me to see if he’s following. I start marching towards the kitchen when there’s a thump and a roll above us. Julian goes on high alert instantly. I know it because he grabs me and slows me down, puts himself in front of me and looks up at the ceiling like he’s expecting someone to drop through the ceiling from the second floor.
Thud. Thump.
Hmm, maybe it’s on the third floor, sometimes it echoes.
Julian looks from the ceiling to the stairs. “Someone’s here.”
I shake my head. “No one’s here.”
There’s another thud, this time louder and above us. Definitely second floor.
