You Again (Completed) ✔️

9.

After 6pm, Veronica and I get out of bed and change into something else. She looks at me. "What do you want to do tonight?"

"I was thinking about spending time with my parents before heading to the local nightclub. Are you in?"

A smile spreads across her face. "Of course, I'm in when it comes to drinking and dancing. Do you think there will be any cute guys there for me?"

I shrug. "I have no idea who's around here anymore. Wish me luck finding a guy who wants to make out with me in a corner of the nightclub."

My bedroom door opens, and I see Liam and Antwon standing beside each other with their arms crossed. "You're not making out with anyone tonight."

Liam looks at Veronica and adds. "Neither are you."

"Dinner's ready." Mom yells up the stairs.

"We'll be down shortly, Mom," I yell. Looking at my brothers, I say. "You're not going to stop me dating whoever I like."  I shove my brothers out of the way and leave the room.

Veronica follows me out of the room, walking down the stairs.

Dad puts the newspaper on the table and smiles as he sees me. "I hope you're feeling better, sweetheart."

"I am." I kiss him on the cheek before sitting beside him at the table. "Veronica and I were thinking about going out later on."

He looks at my brothers. "Liam and Antwon will be going with you. I don't feel comfortable with my little girl running around town without some protection."

Veronica pulls out her mace can from her pocket. "I never leave my house without this beauty. You know many things happen in New York, but it never seems to reach you in Los Angeles."

Hitting her arm, I say. "You don't need to tell them that. They'll probably keep me inside the house, and we can't have fun tonight."

Mom places the food on the wooden table, which has six plates around it. She looks at me and says, "Julia, you can serve yourself first."

I take the potatoes off the plate and put them on mine, followed by a few pieces of pork and cabbage.

Veronica is the next to serve herself. Followed by the rest of my family.

Mom looks at me with a smile. "I'm glad you're home, sweetheart."

"Me too, Mom." My eyes land on hers, and a smile spreads across my face. "I really mean it. After what happened on the Island, I realised that my family was important, and I didn't want to die without them knowing how much I loved them."

"We love you too, Julia." She looks at me and says. "Why didn't you tell us about moving to Nova Island?"

I sigh. "I didn't think you cared that I left the country because you weren't visiting me much while I was living in New York, and we stopped talking over the phone, too. I was the one doing all the calling towards the end."

Mom looks at the ground. "I'm sorry we started to lose touch with you. We were getting busy, and the time zone was different. I didn't think you'd be too happy with me calling late at night."

"I wouldn't have cared what time you called, Mom. I would have answered your call in a heartbeat. I loved hearing your voice before I went to bed." I start to eat dinner.

Antwon places his fork on the table and leans forward. "Are you going to tell us about the Tsunami?"

I'm not ready to talk about it with my family.

"No," I push my plate of food away from me. "When I'm ready, I will, but right now, I must wrap my mind around what happened." I stand up and walk out of the kitchen.

Walking up the stairs, I head to the bathroom and slam the door shut. I sit on the side of the tub and look around the bathroom. My brother's things are sitting on the counter, and there's shaving cream on the cupboard door and drawers.

They're grubs.

Opening the cupboard, I pulled out some disinfectant and started cleaning the mess inside.

There's a knock on the door, and I say. "Who is it?"

"It's Veronica. Can I come in?"

I stand up and open the door for her.

Veronica walks into the bathroom and sits on the floor across from me. "I know you're not ready to talk about what happened on the Island, but whenever you are, I want you to know that I'm here for you."

Locking the door, I keep my back to Veronica. "It's not that I don't want to talk about it. I do, but every time I'm about to say something, I can see the murky water behind my eyes, and it feels like I'm choking on the water again. I know it's not real, but to me, I'm reliving the moment I was close to death."

She wraps her arms around me. "I'm sorry, Julia."

I don't say anything as I feel safe in the arms of my Best Friend.

My stomach begins to rumble. "We should go back to dinner. Thanks for checking on me. I appreciate it." I open the door and head back downstairs to my family.

When we return, Mom, Dad, Liam, and Antwon sit at the table. They don't say anything as I sit with them and start eating.

After an awkward silence, I ask, "Are you boys going to tell me what you do?"

Antwon's face smiles. "I'm a mechanic, and I work closely with..." he cuts himself off, and I know exactly what he was going to say.

Cole.

I shouldn't let my brother not talk about his friend.

"You can mention his name, Antwon. I'm not going to kill you for speaking his name. Just make sure that he's not here when I am. I'm not ready to see him again."

"Okay," Antwon says. If you're going out tonight, I want you to know there is a chance Cole will be at the club. If I have to, I will be your buffer."

I laugh. "I think we'll be fine, Antwon."

After dinner, I walk into the kitchen and help Mom with the dishes. She looks at me. "Julia,"

"Yes, Mom."

She sighs. "Are you ever going to forgive me for not being there for you after you graduated from college and your first job?"

"I forgive you, Mom. I didn't make things easy for Dad and you when I didn't come back because of Cole's threats."

She hugs me. "I know you don't want to hear this, but the things that Cole did to you in high school were because he didn't know how to handle his feelings towards you."

"What do you mean his feelings towards me?"

"He loves you, sweetheart." She runs her hands through my hair. "I've seen him looking at pictures of you around the house. He looks completely lost when he looks at it."