You Again (Completed) ✔️

24.

I hear the door to my hotel room open and close.

There should only be one person who can come into the room, and she's not with me. I left her with my brother because I thought she deserved happiness.

Looking up, I see the bedroom door open, and Veronica walks in. She climbs onto the bed next to me. "What are you doing here, Veronica?"

A smile spreads across her face. "Did you think I'd leave my best friend alone in a hotel?" She shakes her head. "No, I wouldn't. I came here to be with you. Meeting your brother is a bonus."

Pulling my phone off the nightstand, I say. "Last night, I got a message about a job at a local school, and I'm going to go for an interview for the position."

She hugs me. "That's great. I also got a job here. My boss from New York wants me to manage the office located here. I don't have to leave your brother and you. But, I do have to go back to New York to break the lease and then move my stuff here."

"Let's look for a place together?" I say.

"Okay," She looks at me. "Something affordable with our paychecks."

"I'll look for that while you take care of everything in New York for us. When are you leaving?"

"I still have a week and a half off with my visit with you. So, after that, I'll return home and deal with everything. The boss is giving me a relocation payment as well. He thinks I'm worth the move."

I laugh. "Of course you are." Looking out the window, I say. "Did something happen after I left?"

"Yeah," she says. She looks everywhere but at me. Your brothers and Cole spoke to your mother about you leaving the house."

I frown. "Okay, what was said that you left the house?"

"She said, 'Good riddance.' Afterwards, your brothers left the room and started packing their bags. They're staying at Cole's place. They don't want to return until she fixes things with you."

"I don't see that happening anytime soon. Mom's changed since I've been back. She used to be a loving woman. Now, she's mean and pushing me to tell her things."

"Before I left the house, I heard Cole say something about your Mom being sick. He's worried about her."

"Of course he is. Mom started to care for him like a son after I left." I looked at the time and saw that it was 10:30. I had to call the school to schedule an interview." I climbed out of bed and walked into the living room. I typed the number into my phone and called Kylie.

The phone rings a couple of times before she picks up.

Kylie: Hello, this is Kylie.

Me: Hey, Kylie. It's Julia Harris. I'm calling you about the job you emailed me about.

Kylie: Great, can you come in tomorrow for the interview? I need someone to start on Monday.

Me: I'll be there. What time?

Kylie: 9 a.m. After the interview, I'll show you around the school and your classroom.

Me: Thanks, Kylie. I'll see you tomorrow.

Kylie: Bye.

Me: Bye.

I hang up the phone and turn towards my best friend, leaning against the wall with her arms folded. "Do you want to come shopping?"

"Yes, I was hoping you would say that, Julia." She grabs her purse, which is sitting on the table. "How will we get there since we don't have a car?"

That's right. We don't have a car. Now that I'm home again, I might have to buy one.

"Call Liam to see if he can lift us to the mall. Then, I'll look around for a car in the upcoming days." We walk out of the hotel room and down to the parking lot.

I see a car with my brother leaning against it.

He doesn't own that car.

Liam walks over to me and holds the keys out. "Dad bought this for you. He's at the doctor's surgery with Mom. He said this car will compensate for all the birthdays he missed in the last ten years."

"It's beautiful." I open the door and jump behind the wheel. Looking at Veronica, I say, "Get in the car, or I'm leaving you behind."

She laughs lightly. "You wouldn't do that to your shopping, buddy." She pulls Liam to the car. "You need to give him a lift to Cole's."

Looking in the rearview mirror at my brother, I say, "Are you living with Cole?"

"Yes," he pulls Veronica close to him and kisses the top of her head. "After the way Mom acted after you left, I thought it was best that she see how it would feel without her kids living in the same house as her."

I pull the car out of the parking spot and say, " Antwon, you are older than me. I thought you would have left the house before I returned home."

"Antwon and I have it easy living at home, and we thought it would be better to take advantage of Mom and her cooking for as long as possible. We were waiting for the right woman to come into our lives before moving out."

My brother now has the girl. All he has to do is look for a house, and everything will unfold as it should when you're in love.

I know it's only the beginning of their relationship, but I can see that it will last.

"Can you drop me off at Cole's place?"

"Sure, I can drop you off. Liam, can you drive her back to the hotel?"

Liam looks at me in the mirror. "We want you to stay for the movie, too, Julia. We're going to order pizza and drink beer."

"We had pizza last night. I'll cook up a pasta dish for dinner. You'll love it."

"Okay, just remember Cole, Antwon, and I love eating a lot of food."

They can eat a lot, but this does not show that they love to work out.

On the island, my workout was walking everywhere and chasing after the kids.

The rules here are different from those on the Island, and I'll need to get used to them when I teach here.

Kylie will run through everything with me when I see her tomorrow.

I pull the car in front of Cole's house, and Liam climbs out.

He holds his hand to Veronica, and she takes it. He kisses her before opening the door, and she climbs into the front seat.

I wait for Veronica to put the seatbelt on before pulling away from the gutter. I beep the horn as I drive away.

Veronica turns towards me. "You didn't look too happy when we told you to watch a movie with us at Cole's."

I sigh. "I wish you would all stop trying to push Cole and me together. If we're supposed to be together, it will happen gradually. Not it being forced upon us. I'll keep fighting it until there's nothing more I can do."

Veronica laughs. "If Cole wasn't an asshole. Would you date him?"

"In a heartbeat. Cole was an asshole, and I can see that he's making a change. That's good, but it's not enough to make me want to date him." I pulled the car into the mall's parking lot, and we stepped out of the BMW my father had bought me.