Julia

Four

I spent the rest of the day with Nate. He was my whole world. My father died when I was three. My mother and I hadn’t spoken since I had moved out. I wasn’t really the type to keep friends. But then I found Nate. He knew the real me, and I wanted him to.
We were at his new apartment watching a movie. He was laying on the couch and I was in the armchair next to him. He had laid his head on the armrest and I was playing with his hair. I guess that put him to sleep. His hair was soft and I was enjoying running my hand through his locks over and over. The movie had just ended and I reached over and turned off the tv. The house began to settle into a peaceful quiet, and I felt my eyes beginning to grow heavy. I heard Nate get up and close the door to the bathroom. I closed my eyes for a moment.
Then I felt cool fingers running through my hair.
“Nate, five more minutes.” I muttered.
“The box!” A voice said. My eyes shot open. I opened my mouth to speak, but a hand from behind me clamped over it.
“Let me go!” I tried to scream.
“The box! The box! The box!” The voice began chanting. The hand let go of my mouth and moved to my neck. The hands started squeezing and I couldn’t breathe. I tried to pry them off but they only squeezed harder.
“Let go! Let go!” I was screaming in my head while I tried to get them off me. I was breathing hard now.
“Think girl! Where is the box?!” The voice demanded of me. The hands loosened slightly to let me speak.
“His room.” I rasped out. I motioned toward Nate's room with a shaking hand.
“Stay far away from what’s mine” The voice demanded as the hands around my throat finally released me.

“Emily! Gosh dang it Emily! What are you doing?” Nate was screaming at me. He had my arms pinned at my sides. I saw a shadow out of the corner of my eye. I turned. I could just catch a glimpse of brown hair disappearing around the corner.
“Nate?” I asked. My voice was weak. My throat was hurting. “What was that woman doing here?”
“Woman? Em, what woman? You were screaming in your sleep and choking yourself!” Nate told me panicked. I didn’t register what he was saying.
“She was just here. You…you even smell like her perfume.” I said disgustedly. He smelled faintly of roses.
“Em, what are you talking about?” 
“Why did you never tell me about Julia?” I blurted out.
“Jul-I- What do you mean?” His face contorted into a pained look.
“Julia. Your “old best friend”. I see the way you look when you talk about her.”
“Babe, Julia and I were friends in highschool. She was my best friend. She moved away for college and we haven’t really spoken since we graduated. What are you trying to get at?” Nate was seeming panicked at this point.
“Baby, I’m going to get you some hot tea so you can relax. I don’t think you're okay.” He said, and he scooped me up in his arms. He carried me to his room and set me down on the bed. I was crying like a toddler.
“I’ll be right back okay?” He told me. I just nodded.