Unexpected Love

Chapter 36

Alma grew concerned about what Horace had told her as she walked back to their bedroom, the thoughts she had earlier leaving as she opened the door. She shut the door behind her, gasping slightly when she felt Julia walk up behind her, pushing her into the wall and she let out a small noise when she felt her place kisses down her back, sliding her jacket off, satisfied when she didn't find a shirt underneath.

"Julia, no." She says softly despite enjoying the affection and the woman immediately pulled away. "I need to talk to you."

"I'm sorry, was I going too fast?" She says and Alma gently shushed her.

"No, nothing involving that. Come sit down, love." She says, gently taking her hand and guiding her over to the bed. Julia looked at her confused, sitting down on the edge beside her and gently placed a soft kiss on the woman's face, peppering her face in gentle kisses and Alma managed a smile.

"Horace explained to me what he seen in his dream." Alma says softly, taking Julia's hand and running her thumb over her palm.

"Wait, did he see-"

"No, no!" Alma says with a small chuckle. "No, thankfully not." She says, her cheeks turning red.

"Then what?"

"It's about Barron." She says gently and Julia dropped her gaze to the floor, Alma giving her hand a gentle squeeze.

"Horace had a vision that he was going to be here soon. Looking for ymbrynes since I don't believe he's aware you're here." Alma says, meeting Julia's gaze. "I can keep you safe. If he doesn't know you're here, you can hide."

"What about you?" She asks and Alma looked down for a moment.

"Never mind about me, the point is to keep you and my children safe." She says firmly and Julia looked at her with a hurt glare.

"You can't if you turn yourself over that easily." She says, her tone growing irritated and Alma watched as Julia looked down, seeming to mentally scold herself.

"Jules." Alma says softly and took both of her hands, holding the close in her lap as she looked over her.

"Alma, you're the only thing I have left! Matthew left me, Barron left me and now he wants me dead, please, please don't leave me too." Julia begs her, looking desperately at the woman. Alma looked at her concerned, not liking how the woman was practically on the verge of tears and seen the panic in her eyes.

"Julia, please don't-"

Alma cut herself off when the woman brought her into a tight hug, her nails digging into the back of her jacket and Alma tried helping her relax, rubbing her back but knew there wasn't much she could do to help.

"Jules, I promised you I would keep you safe." She says softly and the woman didn't let go.

"I don't know how to do anything with the loop, Alma. You can't just leave." She says, her shoulders shaking slightly.

"I will send you and the children to a different loop, a private one-"

"No you are not!" Julia snaps, pulling away and Alma seen the red glow in her hands, the woman clenching her fists to make them go away.

"Why are you so insistant that I stay?" Alma asks, growing irritated herself and Julia looked at her with a glare, a tear running down her cheek.

"Because I love you!"

A silence filled the room and Julia looked down at the ymbryne, upset as Alma felt her glare soften, shocked that for the first in however long it's been that she admitted how she felt.

"I love you, Alma." She repeats, her voice shaking, but she sustained her glare. "I love you so much and I don't want anything happening to you. Just please, let me handle him."

The ymbryne didn't say anything for a bit, unsure what to make of it all and Julia looked down at the floor, wiping her tears away harshly.

Alma went to reach out and take her hand when the woman suddenly stood and walked past her, leaving the room. The older woman looked at the door, badly wanting to follow her and tell her she's always loved her so much and didn't want any harm to come to her, but she didn't know if she should follow or not.

With a sigh, she stood up and quietly opened her door, heading downstairs. She wasn't going to leave her alone again when she was upset. She knew the younger woman didn't like letting her walls down in front of people, but she needed her to know that she wasn't going to judge her.

"Julia?" She says softly, seeing her sitting on the couch, her head in her arms. She stood by the door way for a moment, hoping for a response but when she got none she walked over to where the woman was sitting.

"I know your upset and it's okay to be, I'm not judging you for how you handle this all. It's a lot." Alma says quietly, looking over her, but Julia said nothing, her nails digging into her palms and Alma gently brought her hand over, stopping her.

"I will find a way to keep you safe and not have Barron take any of us away. I promise. But I don't know how much time we have left until he gets to the loop, so I need you to talk to me." She says in a soft but firm tone and tried managing a smile. "I'm up for a hug if you'd like." She says half heartedly and Julia looked up over at her, Alma sending her a hopeful glance.

The younger woman gave in, gently pulling the older woman over in her arms, her chin resting on the top of her head as she hugged her. The ymbryne relaxed in her arms, feeling the warmth in the woman's hands leave when she calmed down.

"I'm only doing this because you asked for it." She says and Alma smiled a bit, knowing that wasn't true but let it slide.

"I know." She says softly, feeling the woman tighten her hold for a moment. "I'll keep us safe."

"I'll kill him if he even lays a hand on anyone." Julia says firmly in a low tone, Alma's smile dropping for a moment, her cheeks burning slightly.

"I'm sure it won't come down to that." Alma assures her, growing more flustered when she felt her press a soft kiss on her forehead.

"I still will." She says, meeting the womans eyes and Alma looked over her before slowly leaning in, Julia meeting her half way and planting her lips against hers. The older woman deepened it, her arms going around the younger woman's neck and Julia soon pulled away, placing more down her neck to get a small chuckle out of her.

"Why don't we head back upstairs? It's getting awfully late." Alma says with a small smile and Julia placed another kiss on her cheek before lifting her up, the older woman letting out a small noise at the sudden action.

"Alright toots, let's go." Julia says with a smug smile, Alma rolling her eyes with smile.