Emily knocked on Julia’s door, counting the seconds tick by as she waited.
The text had come when she was in the shower. “Not feeling well. Taking the day off. Sorry.”
Then… nothing else.
By midmorning, Emily had already tried calling her twice. Julia never called in sick. At eleven, she grabbed her keys.
Impatient, she knocked again just as the door swung open.
Julia looked like she hadn’t slept. Pale. Shadows beneath her eyes. Holding herself carefully, bent slightly forward, as though every part of her hurt.
“Oh, honey. Is it the flu?” The finger-shaped bruises on her throat told Emily it wasn’t. “Julia, my God!”
“It’s not as bad as it looks,” she said, sounding raspy. When her hand rose to her still-sore throat, Emily stared at the dark bands circling her wrist.
“Jules—”
“Okay, it is that bad. Come in.” She turned and walked inside with unnatural stiffness.
Emily followed, closing the door behind her.
“I’m done,” Julia said, flat and final, as she lowered herself onto the couch.
Emily didn’t argue, focusing on the immediate—her condition. “Have you taken anything? Tylenol? Ibuprofen?”
“Not since last night.”
Emily disappeared into the kitchen without asking and returned with a glass of water and three tablets. “These should help.”
Julia tossed them back and took a small sip, grimacing as she swallowed.
Emily took the glass and set it on the coffee table then grabbed the throw from the couch and tucked it around her. She sat next to her, not crowding her, just there.
After a moment, she asked, “What happened?”
Julia stared at the floor. “Bad scene.”
“That’s obvious.”
Color tinged her cheeks as she acknowledged with a twist of her lips, “Yeah.”
Emily let it sit. “You went back to The Underground?”
Julia shook her head immediately. “No. I promised I wouldn’t. It was a private party.”
“With people from the same circuit?”
Julia exhaled, rubbing a hand lightly over her throat before catching herself. “No. I met a sub there who told me about it. She didn’t like the vibe of that club, either,” she admitted.
Emily’s brow lifted slightly. “But you met her there.”
She released a quiet, humorless breath. “I really am an idiot.”
“No,” Emily said. “You expected what you’ve had before, safety and respect. This guy didn’t deliver.”
Julia didn’t argue that either.
Emily watched her for another moment. “Alec needs to know.”
