A Sensitive Arrangement

Chapter 3

The rest of the week passed uneventfully. Between a flurry of end of term tests and essays, I barely had time to think about Julian. That didn't stop me from doing it anyway. By Friday evening I was a bundle of excitement and nerves. He'd texted to say he was about half an hour away and I couldn't sit still. I think I had organized and reorganized my closet three times already, just trying to keep myself busy. When I heard a car pull into the driveway I ran downstairs faster than I had even realized possible. Olivia gave me a knowing smirk. I even thought I saw a similar glint of humor in Ella's eyes. She was dressed to the nines for the annual Winter Solstice Charity ball. She probably should have left an hour ago, but she wanted to wait to see Julian. I'm sure Max was still working away at the office anyway. When Julian finally came through the door, I was the first person he noticed.

"There's my Ali Cat." He exclaimed, pulling me into a big hug. I practically melted. The only thing I enjoyed more than his nickname for me was when he put a "my" in front of it. I know, it's stupid and probably not very feminist of me. But I couldn't help myself. "Wow, I think you might have actually grown a whole quarter of an inch this time." He teased. It was true. I seem to have peaked at about 5'2". I didn't mind though, I even kind of liked the foot of height difference between Julian and I.

"Julian, it's so nice to have you home." Ella said, getting up from the couch and pulling her son into an embrace. I saw his whole body relax. There are some things only a mother's hug can ease. Luckily Ella was generous in extending her warm hugs to her surrogate daughter as much as she was her own children.

"What's up shortstop?" Julian joked, pulling Olivia into a side hug and rubbing her head a bit.

"I'm at least five inches taller than Alice." She retorted, pretending to be unamused.

"Yeah, but you're my little sister." He replied. My heart fluttered. Did that mean he didn't think of me as a little sister? No, it was probably just an excuse he was giving so he could call Olivia more silly nicknames.

"Do you need food? A shower? I could make you some tea." Ella said, her mothering instincts never too far from the surface. And when Julian was home they came out in full force.

"I think I'm going to put my bags upstairs, and then, I want to spend some time with my family. Plus you obviously have somewhere fancy to be." He smiled. God that smile.

Get it together Alice. I scolded myself in my head. Maybe I should tell him about my feelings. Otherwise I might go crazy waiting for him.

"You okay Ali?" Julian asked, noticing my somewhat vacant stare.

"Yeah, sorry, just lost in thought." I answered.

"Help me take my bags upstairs and you can tell me all about it?" He offered.

"I can do one of those things." I replied, grabbing his small backpack. To be honest, he could have easily taken both his bags up himself, or asked one of the staff to take his things for him, but I was glad for the excuse to spend more time together.

We headed up the stairs to his bedroom, which laid untouched for most of the year. Other than a few upgrades that summer before he went to college, the room was pretty much the same as it had been when he was thirteen. For some reason, I never dared come in here the rest of the year, even when it stood unoccupied for so many months at a time. But when he was home it was my favorite place in the house. It held memories of comfort. Yes, there was definitely sadness as well, but it was masked by the overwhelming amount of affection that I had been shown in this bedroom when we were just children.

"So, movie night tomorrow?" He asked, breaking me out of my reverie once again.

"I can't tomorrow night, I kind of have a date." I said reluctantly, not entirely sure this was the best way of breaking the news. I risked a glimpse into his eyes and for a split second, I almost thought I saw some hurt in them. But he immediately masked it as he pulled his lips into a smirk.