Navigating Hermes (Book Two)

Chapter Nineteen

So sorry for being a day late! The long weekend got to me this time and I forgot it was Monday instead of a normal Sunday. I'm hoping to remain consistent for the rest of the chapters, even through my upcoming move, but if not, I'll make sure I upload the next day if I miss any Mondays again. Let me know your thoughts on this chapter as I'm sure some of you will have opinions or theories! See you next week! - Amy

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     On Wednesday, Julie finally mustered up the willpower to leave her office for lunch. She hadn't seen Hamish since before the weekend and she knew he deserved better than that. After several internal battles with herself, she put her big girl pants on and walked down the street to his office.

     "Julie," Hamish greeted her outside the entrance with a big smile. He welcomed her into his open arms and squeezed her tight. "I missed you."

     Julie looked up at him and smiled. "I'm so sorry I kept cancelling our dates."

     Hamish shook his head. "Don't apologize. I could tell you needed your space. Come on," he motioned to the door. "Let's go to the cafeteria before all the good stuff is gone."

     The office cafeteria reminded Julie of a stereotypical school cafeteria that she'd only seen in American television shows growing up; Only, the food looked better. 

     Julie's appetite had gone down since learning the truth about Hermes, so all she ordered was a cream-cheese bagel. She didn't even want a drink, but Hamish insisted and bought her an apple juice box.

     "I feel like a toddler," Julie joked, attempting to stab the sharp end of the straw into the juice box.

     Hamish chuckled and took it away from her to help. "You have to twist it a little bit while putting pressure on it. See?" The juice box had indeed been punctured.

     "My hero," Julie said with sarcasm.

     Hamish's smile dropped slightly as he watched Julie.

     "What's wrong?" she asked.

     Hamish sighed. "What happened these past few days, Julie? After I dropped you off at work on Friday you've been really distant."

     Julie looked down, avoiding eye contact. "It's... a bit complicated."

     Hamish took her hand and gently squeezed it. "You don't have to tell me what it is, but I just want to know if it was something that I did."

     "No," Julie looked back up, shaking her head. "It wasn't you at all." She closed her eyes and let out a deep breath. "I don't know if I can be friends with Harry anymore." Her eyes opened, meeting Hamish' gaze.

     Letting go of Julie's hand to return it to his lap, Hamish frowned. "Are you experiencing romantic feelings for him?" he asked.

     Not anymore. "No, nothing like that," Julie denied. "He just did something that has made me lose any trust I used to have."

     "Did he try to force himself on you?" Hamish asked, seemingly angry.

     Julie shook her head immediately. "God no, Harry would never do something like that." Once the words had left her mouth, others passed through her head. You also didn't think he was capable of murdering an innocent being and deceiving you for years in order to control you. "Look," Julie sighed again. "I don't want to talk about what he did and would love to put it all behind me."

     Hamish smiled slightly and lightly caressed her face with his hand. "Of course. It's his loss anyway." He laughed to himself and his smile grew. "I told you he looked like an egg."