Anywhere With You • {J.C.}

||Eighteen|Lie To Me||

"Last night, she said, "Oh, baby, I feel so down
See, it turn me off when I feel left out."
-Last Nite

There was another car parked in the driveway—Sam and Jeanette were home. Although Harlow knew Julian's parents would be, it still didn't stifle her hope that maybe they wouldn't.

She parked on the street, killing the engine with a sigh. She put her keys in her purse and started to get out of the car, but something told her to assess the damage Alex had done. Harlow had yet to look—not because she was too frightened of what she might see, but because all she could think to do was to see Julian.

She pulled down the sun visor—the side lights of the mirror shining dimly onto her face. The corner of her lips were swollen, her upper lip split. She lifted the puffy flesh, revealing that when Alex had struck, her tooth sunk into the skin. It was already purple—with an imprint of her tooth resembling a hole.

It was noticeable—there wasn't a chance she could hide it from Julian.

Harlow huffed, pushing the sun visor back up before climbing out of the car. She thought quickly, scavenging the side of the road for rocks. She picked up small pebbles from the pavement, making her way around the side of the house, looking for Julian's window.

The light was off, indicating that Julian was probably in bed—or maybe not even home. Her stomach turned at the latter thought; she needed him to be there.

She threw a small piece of rock up at Julian's window, missing on the first try. She mumbled profanities under her breath as she tried again. Movies made this look easy, but it was anything but.

She caught the window on the third try, finding her rhythm. The clinking sound of the pebble hitting the glass was somehow rewarding, throwing rock after rock.

"What are you doin'?"

Harlow jumped at the sound, causing some of the rocks to fall out of her hand, onto the lawn. When seeing that it was Julian, she let the rest of the pebbles go. She wiped the dirt off of her hand onto her denim skirt, glancing up at the window and then back to Julian.

"Um... throwing rocks up at your window?"

"That's not my window." Julian chuckled. "That's my mom's office."

"Oh, shit." Harlow breathed, taking a step back.

"Why didn't you just... you know, ring the doorbell?" Julian chuckled again, inching closer. She could barely see his face, but saw the outline of his tall frame from the streetlight glowing behind him.

"I saw your parents were home and didn't want you to feel obligated to invite me in because of them. You know, incase you didn't wanna see me."

Julian scoffed, closing the space between them. He was getting too close; he was sure to see her if he took another step. She put her head down, looking to the ground beneath her feet, clearing her throat.

"It's not that I didn't wanna see you, I've just been busy. I had to get this place cleaned up before they got back, and then yesterday-" Julian stopped mid sentence, freezing in his tracks. "The fuck's wrong with your face?"

"It's nothing." Harlow turned, taking a step back. Julian walked up to her, grabbing a hold of her wrist and pulling her near. She stumbled a little, keeping her eyes averted from his.

"Look at me... Look up." Julian wasn't asking, he was demanding.

"Jules, it's nothing... really."

"If it's nothin' then you'll look at me." Julian's hand went to the side of her face, gently tilting her head back into the light shining from the dining room of the sliding glass door of the house. Her face fell, gazing up into his dark eyes filled with confusion and scrutiny. "What the fuck happened?—it looks like someone sucker punched you."