That Summer - Jure Maček

Will we be okay?

I pick up the phone, but can't even dial the number because my hands are shaking so badly. I'm in complete and utter panic.

"Hey, hey. Calm down," Jure has one hand on a rag I gave him to hold against his face, and he softly rubs my shoulder with the other one.

"How can I calm down? You're hurt!" 

"I'll be alright. The most important thing right now is to get that asshole out of here," he assures me.

I nod and sniff, and manage to dial 112.

Me and Jure sit inside in silence for a couple of minutes, before I hear the wailing of the police car in the distance. I sigh and we step out together. 

I can't even consciously process all that's going on. They take a heavily protesting and cuffed Vic into the car with them. I can hear he's screaming something at me. I don't hear what it is. We watch the car pull out and drive away.

"We should get Jure to a doctor," Bojan says.

"That's not necessary," Jure frowns.

"It is," I rub his arm.

"You should really get it checked, otherwise it will get worse," 

"Okay. Okay, you're right," he nods.

I start to walk towards the car with them.

"Actually, Julia, I don't think you should come," Jan blocks me from getting in the back.

"What? Are you serious?" I chuckle, as if he's making a stupid joke.

"I am,"

Jure starts to protest a bit, but he looks too tired to really give it a go. 

"We'll update you," Bojan assures me.

They drive away and leave me behind. I'm a bit stunned, but not all that surprised. I kind of expected it. I feel like this is my fault for some reason. I mean, it probably is...

All I can hope is that Vic will say away from me for the rest of my life, because that man has brought me nothing but trouble.

It's now 11PM, it's completely dark outside. I put my head in my hands, and try to calm myself down. I don't want to be alone tonight. I think about giving my parents a call, asking them if they could sleep here instead of at their friends' house, which is where the party is.

But suddenly, my phone starts ringing. It even startles me a little bit, sitting all alone in the dark living room. I pick it up and see it's Lauren and Lucia in a Group FaceTime call. I told them I would be with Jure today again, and they're probably wondering how it was.

I do owe them the truth about what happened, no matter how embarrassed I am to tell it. They know every little detail about my life, and if anyone is able to help me, it's them.

I accept the call.

"Hey Julia! How was your day with Jure???"

"It was great, until like an hour ago," I sniff. They then notice that I'm crying.

"Oh my god, what did he do to you?" Lucia asks, already getting ready to throw hands.

"No! He did nothing. The day was amazing, we admitted our feelings to each other and I couldn't be happier. But then when they took me home, Vic showed up," I explain.

Lucia and Lauren had been there for me when things with Vic got worse. When we broke up, they even came all the way to Croatia to console me.

"No fucking way, that asshole! What happened?" Lucia gasps.

"He was drunk and high, and he was picking fights with me and the guys.. and then he punched Jure," I still can't believe it somehow, even though I saw it happen.

"What??" the girls scream out at the same time. 

"Is he okay?" Lauren asks.

"I- I don't really know. They asked me not to come with them,"

"That's insane, you deserve to know if he's alright too," Lucia is looking at me with big eyes. I think about this for a second, but do I really deserve that? 

"He's with his friends, he's safe, and they've only known me for a couple weeks. I kind of understand they didn't want me to come, and I've probably fucked this whole thing up. I wouldn't be surprised if this was just a dead end and I'll never see him again..." I ramble, but the girls cut me off.

"This is not your fault Julia, don't even think about it. Vic is insane, and considering he's been in touch with the police before, I don't think he'll bother you again," Lucia begins.

"I agree. We can see how happy you are around Jure, and even if you two are only in the early stages and haven't known each other for long, who cares? You care about him so you shouldn't give up so easily," Lauren fills in.

"Thank you. I really needed to hear that," I sigh. The girls do really give the best advice. And maybe they're right. I shouldn't just give up like this if this could be my second chance of love.

That's when my phone rings, and I see it's a DM. I open Instagram, and to my relief, it's a message from Jure.

"I should go girls, if there's any updates I'll call you back," they nod and say goodbye, before I take a breath and open up my messages.

@juremacek: how are you doing?

@julianahoffmann: I think I should be asking you that...

@juremacek: my nose is alright. Just a little bruised. 

@juremacek: I wish you were here. I'm sorry I didn't let you come with.

My heart starts to flutter.

@julianahoffmann: it's not your fault.

@julianahoffmann: we could still see each other? I'm not sure if it's a good plan for you to drive all the way back to Ljubljana now.

@juremacek: what do you suggest?

I think about this for a second, before actually proposing this idea. But I have nothing to lose, right?

@julianahoffmann: you could all sleep here? My parents won't be home tonight.

@juremacek: are you sure??

@julianahoffmann: of course. If you can convince the others to come with you, you're more than welcome. It's the least I can do.

@juremacek: I'll talk to them. 

I turn off my phone and I go upstairs to take a quick shower and change into something more comfortable than my sandy clothes. It feels like I'm getting scrubbed every time I move.

I haven't heard back from Jure, and I'm starting to lose hope that he'll even text back, when I hear my phone chime downstairs in the empty living room.

I run towards it, and almost fall off the stairs while doing so. I pick up my phone to look at the message.

@juremacek: we'll be there in 15 minutes!

Thank God. There's still time for me to make this okay. And I really hope I do. Because I can't lose Jure. Not now that we've finally admitted our feelings for each other. Not now that I'm finally feeling happy after a really long time, like the girls said.

I'll be able to make this right.