You Again (Completed) ✔️

19.

Cole's POV

When I see Liam pull the car into the driveway, I stand up and move to the door. Opening it, I wait for Liam, Antwon, Veronica and Julia to walk into the house.

Why aren't they coming into the house?

The driver's side door opens, and Liam exits the car. He rounds the car and opens the door on the passenger side. He undies the seatbelt before lifting someone and carrying them over his shoulder.

I see brown hair hanging down her back and a purse in his hands.

Julia.

Veronica laughs at her best friend before saying. "You have no choice in the matter now."

I don't blame Julia for not wanting to step into my house. It's my fault that we're where we are, and that's nowhere.

Liam walks into my house with his sister over his shoulder. "Which bathroom is Julia going to? I don't want her to run for it before she has a shower."

"Mine, it upstairs. The third bedroom on the right." I tell him.

Julia looks at me and says. "Why am I using your bathroom?"

Because I'd rather you use it than any other woman.

I chose to ignore her question, and she was whisked up the stairs by Liam.

He saved me from having to answer his sister's question, but her brothers know why I got this house and who it's supposed to impress. I'm wrong about it impressing her, though. Maybe it's not supposed to right now, but maybe in the future, it will.

Veronica walks into the house with Antwon behind me. "Which bathroom am I using?"

"I'll show you." I lead the way past the kitchen into the spare bedroom. Opening the door, I say. "It's on the right."

She smiles at me. "Thanks, Cole. If you keep doing what you're doing, you'll thaw my best friend's heart. When I met her, she told me all about you, and she told me that love isn't worth anything when the one person you liked hurts you the worst."

I lean against the door. "I'm starting to get how much I hurt Julia. I hope she's ready to listen to me when I talk to her this afternoon."

Liam walks into the room and looks at Veronica. "You need to hurry up with your shower. We need to leave before my sister gets out. Mom wants Cole and Julia to talk."

"I can do that. Besides, your sister likes to shower longer than expected." She walks into the bathroom and closes the door behind her.

Liam and I leave the bedroom and head to the living room. "Do you want to watch the game?"

"Sure," I say as I turn on one of our favourite games from a couple of years ago.

It was a football match where Jai Marshall took a brutal hit that ended his career.

No one knows what he's been doing since he left football, but from rumours around Los Angeles, I heard he has a seclusive bar where only the rich can go.

"Watch this part," Liam says.

I return to the TV just as Jai takes the hit and falls on his back.

He doesn't move, and I see the crowd go nuts, throwing stuff onto the field and yelling at the referees for not doing their job correctly.

On the field, one of the referees blows the whistle, putting time on hold while somebody attends to the injured.

Veronica walks into the room and places her hands on her hips. "I'm ready. If you want to get out of here before Julia gets out of the shower, we should leave now." She touches my arm. "Good luck with talking to her. I know she will be difficult, but she will give you a chance once you tell her she can't leave the house until you've talked to her." She walks out the door with Liam behind her.

Antwon follows them, climbs into the second car, pulls out of the driveway, and heads home.

Liam waves at me as he pulls out of the driveway.

I watch them round the corner and disappear. Closing the door, I walk over to the couch and sit down.

It doesn't take long before Julia walks into the living room. She looks around the room, noticing that her brothers aren't there. She looks outside and sees the cars gone. "Where's Veronica, Liam, and Antwon?"

"They went home. Julia, we should talk." She stiffens as I say that. I continue by saying. "It's something that everyone wants us to do. I was given strict instructions by your mother and brothers that we can't leave this house until we talk properly."

She walks over to the couch opposite mine and says. "Fine, you want to talk. You can go first, but the one thing I want to know is why did you treat me like shit when we were in high school?"

I run my hand over my mouth, thinking of something to say. Julia stands up and slowly heads to the door when I don't answer immediately. "Don't go," I whisper. Blinking a couple of times, I say, "I like you a lot, Julia, and I didn't know how to express myself. The only way I could do that was by being mean to you. Every time I saw you with a guy, it would bring out the worst side of me."

She looked at me and said, "I had a crush on you in high school, too, Cole. After the way you treated me on graduation day, it turned to hate."

"I'm sorry." I love her, and I open my arms and wrap them around her. "I didn't mean to hurt you the way I did. After you left, I kept hoping you would come home so I could apologise and make things right."

She hits my chest. "I still hate you, Cole. That's not going to change anytime soon. You've hurt me a lot, and I can't forget what happened between us."

I drop my arms from around her. "Can we start over? Get to know each other and become friends?"

She sighs. "Okay, but I can't hang it with you right now. Please, give me time, Cole. That's all I'm asking for."

"I can do that." I grab the keys off the table. Let's go back to yours for dinner. Your mother invited me over after she dropped off Veronica and your clothes."

"What's for dinner?" She asks.

"Pizza. Did you know that your mother makes the best homemade pizza?" When we get to the car, I open the door for her and wait for her to buckle up before closing the door. I round the car and climb into the driver's seat. Putting the key into the ignition, I say, "Let's get you home for pizza."

A smile spreads across her face. Looking at me, she says. "Thanks for being there for my family when I couldn't."

"It's my fault you weren't there when they needed you, but I'm glad you're home safe and sound."

"Me too." She leans her head against the headrest and says. "Do you want to know a secret?"

I would like to know if she will share anything with me.

"I left the Island not because of the Tsunami but in search of something fulfilling, like starting a family. That's one thing I want before I die."

I pull the car to the side of the road. "I know how you feel, Julia. After I lost my parent, I kept thinking that they would have been good Grandparents had they not died before I met a woman who would have my children, but I've lost a lot since high school, and I don't think I'll ever get it back."

She places a hand on my arm. "It takes time to get the things you want, Cole. It's not going to happen with a snap of a finger. Unless you're on Bewitched, then that's possible."

I laugh. "I've seen some re-runs of that TV show. It made me laugh a couple of times." I pull the car back into the road and head toward Julia's house.