xxviii
I drove back to my Father's promptly the next afternoon, with Julia in the passenger seat. Even so, the car felt empty. My Mom made me promise that I would not have some sort of physical freak out over what he tried to pull, and Julia was by my side to ensure my commitment; otherwise, it would have been just me making the drive. Dealing with my Father is something that I choose to do alone, because I need to do it alone, because if I don't the conversation will turn into a verbal world war—a cold war, I guess if it were to be put in literal terms. I did not mind taking Julia with me, but I did mind the fact that, despite my promise, I knew it would be difficult for me to ultimately have a positive interaction with the man; and if I did perchance have some sort of outburst, physical or not, I would rather Julia not bare witness. Nonetheless, she sat, humming along to the radio, in the passenger seat looking as dependently independent as always.
Upon entering the building, my nostrils felt stale with discontent and the warm air inside the office made me sweat with rage—I hoped that it would sweat out the rage, truly. I did not confront the secretary, because she did not deserve any discourtesy; and I wanted to save all that I had to say for my Father. I somewhat shoved open the door to his office, and as I did so Julia grasped my right forearm. I held the papers in that hand. Her delicateness with me, and the plush touch of her fingers on my skin made my insides grow fragile for a moment before stepping through the horribly vexing threshold. When I entered his office, his eyebrows squeezed and puckered towards me as his eyes tracked my movement like he was some sort of wolf bred for hunting. Wordlessly I tossed the papers on his desk, and with a flat thump I left the room and walked back out of the building and got into the car; Julia followed close behind me, and after I left the office I heard her say: "I decline," very gracefully.
Once I started the car, and we made our way back to town she spoke again.
"I am very proud of you," she said, and the fragility returned.
YOU ARE READING
Unsuspecting Blessing.
RomanceAfter an accident, Julia, a college sophmore, finds herself in a life-altering situation with a boy she barely knows. He vows to be her crutch on the road to recovery, but is he prepared to truly devout himself to such a task? Will the two of them...
