The Town of Last Haven: A Zombie Novel

Part 31

Luke was fuming by the time his mind stopped reeling over the shock of Tanner having tried to attack Julia. His girlfriend.

"Next time Julia needs you for something, asshole, listen to her." Natalie's expression darkened, and her hands curled into tight fists, her nails digging into her flesh. And it was only until Jake reached out a hand to touch Natalie's wrist that she realized she'd torn her flesh with her fingernails. "Damn," she muttered a curse, then looked to Luke. She lunged at him, punching him hard in the jaw. He was sent flying back, staggering into the desk chair. He let out an oomph with a hand rubbing his jaw, a bruise forming, but he wasn't angry about it.

"Alright, I deserved that one." Luke came back to a standing, upright position.

Jake had to pull Natalie away from attacking Luke herself--he held onto her as she tried to take another swing at him again. One wouldn't believe the strength in the small-statured Brown sister. "You deserve to be hit with a car for your selfishness. How could you turn your back on Julia when she needed you to join us in talking with Tanner?" Natalie snarled, spit flying from the corners of her mouth.

"Natalie, Jake, let's leave them to talk." Austin suggested, helping Jake with taking Natalie out of the room. Austin was angry with Luke for his selfish stunt, but even more angered by Tanner--Julia's friend--trying to have his way with her. He didn't want to think about what would have happened had Natalie and Jake not been there...

Frightening stuff.

Natalie slammed the bedroom door shut as she followed Jake and Austin in leaving, Julia and Luke now alone to talk things over. Luke watched a silent, pale-faced Julia. She swallowed hard, and Luke's throat went dry. He came to kneel before Julia, taking her hands in his. He looked up at her with tearful, pleading eyes. "Julia, I can't tell you how sorry I am. I just... My hatred for the guy blinded me. I know your sister won't forgive me for this--probably never--but I never meant it to hurt you. You know that... right?"

Julia remained quiet. Her blue eyes had turned grey and distant, but now she looked to Luke. "I know you never meant to hurt me, but..."

"But what?" Luke squeezed Julia's hands, rubbing his thumbs over the backs of her palms.

"But it was like a slap in the face when you wouldn't do this for me." Julia's eyes welled up with tears. Luke knew if Julia started crying, Natalie would assume the worst and try storming in again--try to kill him this time. With or without Julia's blessing on the matter. "I needed you, but you weren't there for me when I needed you." Julia pulled her hands away and brushed her tears from her face, still crying silently. "Luke, I don't want to lose you, but... but I don't think as I did before. How can we ever work out? I mean, you've been selfish when I've been there for you... You know I love you with all my heart, but we can't keep playing these games." Julia was openly crying. She'd not wanted to break up with Luke--not again--but she couldn't allow herself to keep getting hurt.

"I'll be moving with my sisters and brothers back into our old house," Julia said quietly. "You'll still see me, and I'll still see you; we'll still be friends, but we can't keep going in circles, can we?"

Luke sat on the floor across from Julia, his elbows on his knees with his face in his hands rubbing his temples. "Julia, I can't lose you," he said again. "You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. I know it'll take some time to forgive me, but please don't go..." Luke looked as if he was to cry too.

"Luke, don't you realize I've reached my breaking point? Maybe this breakup is a good thing. It'll give me time to think, give time for you to learn. Perhaps one day you'll tell your kids about me, and I'll tell my kids about you." Julia chewed on the inside of her cheek, then tasted blood when she bit down too hard amid the silence in the room. "Luke, I'm sorry, but we're done... We're over..."

Julia stood up silently--quiet as a specter--and left the room, closing the door behind her. Luke curled up into a fetal position on the carpet, allowing himself to cry. Cry tears of sadness, cry tears of anger, cry tears of both. He stared up at the ceiling, thinking about what he'd done to hurt Julia. None of it was intentional, but he'd still hurt her. If he were her and she were him... well, he couldn't blame her for doing any of this. And he didn't.

"I thought we'd be together forever--a happily ever after at the end of the world," Luke whispered to himself, hands curled into tight, white-knuckled fists as he heard the low murmurs of conversation from downstairs.

Julia was leaving him. Her sisters and brothers were leaving, too. They'd not forgive him for a long time--forever, perhaps, but would Julia? Natalie would help Clarise pack up her things before she packed up her own belongings, Austin and Trent would do the same, Julia the last. And they would leave. Perhaps Natalie would find an unoccupied car and hit him with it. Maybe that way his pain would end, but... but that was still a selfish thought, wasn't it? Luke asked himself that, mind reeling as far as anything else in this cruel world.

"Jesus Christ, I lost my girl..." Luke murmured to himself, cursing again. He sat himself up, looking to the sun through the window. It was after midday, and Tanner would be sentenced to live outside the walls. "At least Julia will be safe." Luke brushed his rough hands against his cheeks to wipe away his own tears, thinking that with Tanner out of the picture--not even thinking that he could move in on 'his' territory... former territory, he should have thought--Julia could be safer, sleep at night knowing that she wouldn't be eyed and hunted by the friend who turned into an enemy.

Luke imagined a world where Julia and her sisters and brother could be--would be safe; safe from Tanner, safe from the wanderers outside the gates around their town, safe from everything that meant them harm. Julia would be free and smiling again, Natalie would be with Jake, and Austin, Trent, and Clarise would have their own adventures with Opal tagging along with them. Luke breathed in slowly, moving to the window. Natalie was outside with Jake and Austin now, the second-eldest Brown sister pacing back and forth; the unknown of his conversation with Julia was killing her--he could see that in Natalie, read that like a book.

That was possibly the most selfless thing he'd said in days, perhaps weeks. And it wouldn't change a thing. Luke damned himself that day, regret the only thought in his mind. He could have done more for Julia, done differently for her, done selfless acts for her, but no. No, she was gone.