You Again (Completed) ✔️

57.

The door to my room opens, and I begin to scream.

Who's in my room?

When I looked around, I saw that it was not my room.

The light turns on, and I see Lauren. She runs over to me. "It's okay, Julia. I'm not going to hurt you." She pulls me into her arms.

Tears begin to fall on my face. "I'm so sorry, Lauren. I've been through a lot and wasn't expecting someone to enter my room."

"I'll knock next time and let you know it's me. Would that be alright?"

"That's fine."

There's a knock on the door, and Lauren says, "It's Knox. Is everything okay?"

"It's fine, honey. I just scared Julia while she was still sleeping. We'll be right down for dinner."

"Okay,"

Looking at the time, I see that it's 7pm.

I can't believe I slept that long.

Climbing out of bed, I look at Lauren and say. "Do I have time for a quick shower?"

"Sure, we won't start eating until you come down."

"Thanks," I grab some clothes from my overnight bag and enter the bathroom.

Looking around the room, I see fresh towels hanging up. I strip out of the ones I'm wearing and place them on the rack.

I turn the shower on and set it to the temperature I like. Stepping into the shower, I let the water run over my body. I cup some water in my hand and splash my face. I wash my body with soap and then step back under the water.

After a few minutes in the shower, I dry my body. Quickly changing into my clothes, I head out to my room.

Lauren is waiting for me by the door. She looks at me and says. "I didn't want you getting lost looking for the kitchen, so I waited for you."

"Thanks, Lauren."

She leads the way to the dining room, and there's a group of men sitting around the table with guns next to their plates.

Do they eat all their meals like this?

Lauren sees all the weapons on the table and says, "Seriously, guys? We have a guest, and we don't need to scare her off with all that out."

A guy with grey hair says. "She needs to get used to this if she's going to be Cole's girlfriend."

She shakes her head. "He's out. Cole's not going to come back to this life. He told Knox that this isn't the life he wants to share with Julia, but he's showing her what it would be like if things get worse for his family."

"Oh, sweetheart. He's meeting up with some people from his family. His great uncle will get him to join the family again." He looks at me and says. "I'm Vance."

"Julia," I offer. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure, but I'm not going to answer it if it is something I'm uncomfortable with."

"That's fine. How do you know Cole will let the family talk him into returning? From what I've seen, he wants nothing to do it with. He just wanted help from his cousin who owes him."

A smile spreads across his face. "You're a smart girl, but the family has ways of bringing people back into the fold, and Cole won't be able to deny the family for long. I tried it once, too. It never worked out because I kept asking for favours and never returned them. As long as I'm connected to the family, I won't be able to leave them. That's the way it's going to be for Cole."