Fate

19

Chapter 19

Kellan lived in an expensive apartment. There were BMWs in the parking garage and security that checked everyone before letting them into the building. It was like nothing I'd seen before.

Except in movies.

The elevator took us to the fifth floor and Kellan had to use a key to get us off the elevator on that floor. I never expected him to have such security measures. He always seemed like the type to sleep in a cardboard box and be totally fine with it.

Kellan walked out first and Lucy followed. I realized quickly that I was the only one who hadn't seen the apartment. That didn't surprise me at all.

I missed so much by being so young. Holden, Lucy, Aryan, and even Kellan spent years traveling and exploring and seeing the world. My world was limited to something small and claustrophobic. The hospital, the lab, Lucy's house, and now Holden's hospital and Kellan's apartment. If someone looked at my life, they wouldn't envy it. They wouldn't want to be me. They'd pity me.

Kellan opened his door and walked inside. Lucy said something as she entered but I didn't hear it. I was sure it was about Kellan's cleaning skills.

Aryan and I walked inside and I was surprised. It was clean. Lucy clean. The room was open with no walls separating the kitchen from the living room. A flat screen tv sat on one wall, in between two large windows. The curtains were drawn shut, making the room darker. There was a couch and two chairs facing the tv and windows.

The apartment smelled like vanilla.

"Julia, you can sleep in the guest room." Kellan said to me. He put a hand on Aryan's chest before he could follow me. "You're on the couch."

I rolled my eyes and took Aryan's hand. "This is the last place we'd want to have sex."

Lucy laughed and quickly covered her mouth.

"Fine. But he's sleeping on the floor."

I sighed and went down the hallway. The guest room door was the first door on the right. The door straight ahead led to Kellan's room, which wasn't as clean as the rest of the room.

Aryan opened the door and set the luggage on the floor. He flipped the light switch on. "You know, I expected more from him."

"What?"

"This place was a great bachelor pad."

"Is that all guys ever think of?"

He smiled at me.

I walked over to the lone window in the room and peered out it. The apartment wasn't as high up as I expected but it was certainly not a pleasant drop to the ground. The buildings around were just as tall with shinny windows that reflected the apartment building. It was nice and fancy but definitely not something I saw myself owning or living in.

Aryan walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me. "What are you thinking about?"

"Do you think everything will ever be normal again?"

He nodded and rested his chin on my shoulder. "I do."

"How can you be so sure?"

"You've been through Hell and back and you're still the same Julia I met months ago."

"How can you say that?" Tears pricked my eyes.

"Because I know you and I know what you're capable of."

"Things are different now. I'm not running from Kellan or Lucy or the whole Angel thing."

"It is different. You have me and Lucy and Kellan and even Holden. We'll figure this out."

"What if he hurts one of you? What if he kills you?"

"If he wanted to kill me, he would have done it by now."

"But we made him mad because we got out-"

Aryan shushed me and kissed my shoulder. "Don't think about it now. You're safe. We're all safe here. You don't have anything to worry about."

I shook my head and took a deep, shaky breath. "I know I should be safe and feel protected but... you've seen what he can do. He kidnapped you right from under us. In Lucy's house that was supposed to be a safe place. He could just as easily get us here."

He turned me around and hugged me tightly. "I'm not going to let him hurt you again, Julia. You have my word."

We stayed silent for several minutes before I broke the silence, hating how quiet it was. "Can we get something to eat? I'm starving."

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"You need to sit and relax, Julia." Aryan said, watching me from his spot on the couch.

I bit my lip as I paced. I'd eaten two full cartons of lo mein and three egg rolls. I was stressed and hungry and... stressed. I hated waiting and I hated not knowing what was wrong with me. Holden was an angel and probably the best doctor ever. He should have been able to speed things along.

"You know Holden will call once he knows something." Lucy said.

"I don't know. I don't know if Holden's going to tell me that I'm screwed and my life is over. I don't know if I'm ever going to be me again."

"Julia, this isn't the end of the world-"

I stopped pacing and threw my hands up in the air. "You don't get it. None of you get it. I can't just sit around and act like everything will be okay."

Lucy stood up and walked over to me. She took my hands in hers, forcing me to stop and look at her. "I can't tell you everything's going to be okay. But we'll be here for you and we'll help you as much as we can."

I hugged her, feeling tears about to spill over. "I just want to be normal."