Tae rubbed circles on her back, chanting to himselfI love you, Juliaas he made the motions. But he wasn’t ready to say it aloud. He didn’t have all the answers yet. And he needed them before he could confess his feelings to Julia.
“Tae, have you thought of what’s next for you, now that you’re committed to staying?” And of course, leave it to Jules to not let the million-dollar question go unasked. His hand stopped moving, and his body tensed.
Julia raised her head to look at him, sensing the change in his disposition immediately.
Tae swallowed back the sense of dread creeping up his throat over this topic.
“Now that my dad’s okay, I’m not really sure what’s next. What kind of asshole am I that I’m worried about what my dad’s clean bill of health means for me?” Tae shook his head. He was afraid to meet Julia’s gaze and see whatever expression was waiting for him in response. “I guess I gotta figure it out, though. Because the medical bills are not going away, and, well, there’s my future too. I guess I gotta think about that.”
Julia lowered her head back onto his shoulder and didn’t respond. Great, surefire way to turn a successful woman off was confessing what a loser you were. Julia had never made Tae feel less-than, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t fighting the thoughts himself.
And there was still that one thing he wanted to come clean to Julia about: the job offer between him and her grandmother. He had to tell her now. He couldn’t risk there being any misunderstanding or hurt feelings. Julia and Tae were probably two people who knew best how families and their best intentions got all up in your business. It was something they would likely laugh about... as long as it was out in the open.
“Julia, there’s something I need to tell you, about your grandma,” Tae said.
She snuggled herself a little closer to his chest. “Oh, I know. I suspected it the moment she asked to speak to the doctor on her own. She didn’t want him to tell me she was okay, right? She needed to make sure I stuck around till the end of all three dates, huh? How did you hear? I know she has the best intentions, but I don’t exactly agree with her methods. I was really scared when she first thought she was sick. It’s kinda cruel to let me continue to worry. But damn, it’s hard to be mad at the woman.”
“Yeah, uh, speaking of your grandma’s best intentions, and, I guess, her questionable methods—”
Julia’s phone rang out in the other room. She raised her head, looking out the door toward the sound, and then down at Tae. She sighed as she pushed herself up. “I should get that. It could be a work emergency.”
She grabbed a silk robe off the back of her bedroom door and tied it around her, hustling out to grab her phone and answer the call.
Tae crossed his arms behind his head and leaned back in bed. Tonight he had to tie all the loose ends. Make a plan to sever ties with Chicago. Talk to Julia about her grandmother. And then tell Julia how he was feeling. Say the three words to her that had been on repeat in his head all night. He wouldn’t let self-doubt get the best of him when it came to Julia.
“Tae?” Julia stood in the doorway, looking down at her screen. “It’s Min.”
“My brother, Min?”
She nodded as she walked to the bed and swiped to answer the call. What the fuck was Min doing calling Julia?
“Hello?” she answered.
“Julia, are you with Tae?” Tae could hear his brother’s voice through the phone. Something didn’t sound right.
“Yeah, hold on...” Julia passed the phone to Tae. Tae realized he’d turned his phone to Silent before Julia got home.
“Min, what’s up?”
“Tae, it’s Mom and Dad. There’s been an accident...”
25
Paid in Full
Tae
Why was the traffic so freaking bad? God, he had to get to the hospital, and at this rate it was going to take them two hours to do so. Tae contemplated the feasibility of jumping out of the car and running his way there. That was a good indicator of how out of his mind with worry he was.
Tae’s knee bounced anxiously watching the freeway as Julia weaved in and out from lane to lane to maneuver them through the sea of red brake lights. She was doing her best, he knew. But he was getting increasingly frustrated that they were barely moving.
She’d insisted on driving. She was worried Tae was too freaked out. And she was right. If it weren’t for Julia, he’d probably have been in a fender bender by now.
Tae gripped his phone, waiting for any updates from Min about the status of his parents.
Had it been raining all evening? Tae was so engrossed in his time with Julia, he hadn’t paid attention to the rain. And now, he was stuck in traffic with a bunch of people who couldn’t drive at the sign of a raindrop. And his parents were in the hospital because theywerethose people.
“Tae,” Julia said softly, stealing a glance at him. She reached over and placed her hand on his. “They’ll be okay. It’ll be okay.”
