A Lily Among Thorns

𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝙴𝙸𝙶𝙷𝚃𝙴𝙴𝙽

✞ J U L I A N W E S T B R O O K ✞

The door closes behind Celai and Julian walks to his side of the car, his lips curled into a smile, which is nothing new when he's around Celai. He can tell she had a good time and is just as eager to go on a second date as he is.

The thought repeatedly crossed Julian's mind that they were moving too fast, but the idea didn't feel like it was from the Holy Spirit, so he never entertained it— God knows best and has the final say after all.

He pulls out his phone after he's settled in his car. From the moment Julian set his eyes on Celai, he hadn't touched his phone, so the amount of notifications present is overwhelming. But immediately, he notices something wrong: he has several missed calls from Nyomi with a matching amount of texts, all telling him to answer her calls.

Julian closes his eyes and takes a deep breath as he thinks back to Mama Ruth warning him of Nyomi's situation. In the next instant, he drops his phone in his lap and speeds out of Celai's neighborhood.

He sighs hard and starts praying that he's overthinking everything, but even still, his mind continues to poison itself with a flashback.

Julian came back from his workout and saw his phone in his car cup holder where he left it. He rolled his eyes, knowing he spent twenty minutes looking for it, but he pushed past his irritation and got in his car.

His phone silently brightened and a long list of notifications covered his screen, all saying the same thing: Missed Call from Nyomi. Julian picked up his phone, not thinking much of it, and he called Nyomi back. If anything, he thought she was just deciding to bother him like little sisters tend to do.

On the last ring, she picked up and Julian furrowed his eyebrows at how quickly he could tell something was wrong, just from the way she was breathing. "What's up, you good?" he asked.

"Julian, I..." Nyomi shuddered out. Julian is even more alarmed and he stayed as still as possible and attempted to decipher what she was saying through her tone. She began to whisper. "I see Mom..."

"Ny, are you okay?"

She breathed in and let out a shaky breath. "Every time I look in the mirror," she continued. "I see Mom." She started laughing and it turned into a painful groan. "It hurts, Julian."

"What hurts?" he asked, his heart beating so loudly he could hardly hear.

"I'm just like her."

Julian's stomach churns as he pulls up to Nyomi's townhouse and he gets déjà vu. The last time, he had to kick the door in, but this time, he knocks, or rather bangs, on the door. The split second there isn't an answer, his anxiety goes through the roof. He bangs on the door again and it opens quickly.

"What?!" Nyomi yells. She gives him a look of disgust and annoyance. "What's wrong with you? Why are you banging on the door knowing it's late?"

"Are you okay?" he asks, looking her in her face and disregarding her questions.

She pulls back. "Um, yes. What's your issue?"

Julian shows her the amount of texts and calls she left him. "Remember doing this? What's your issue in doing this? You had me thinking you were laying in your own vomit again."