You Again (Completed) ✔️

61.

As the last bell rings for the school day, I escort my class to the basement, where parents are waiting to pick their kids up.

Sarah, one of my brightest students, says, "Mom, I want you to meet my new teacher, Miss Harris." She walks over with her mother in tow.

Looking at the woman, she seems familiar, but I can't figure out how I know her.

The woman smiles. "Julia, is that you? It's me, Gwen. We used to sit together in English."

Ah, yes. That's how I know Gwen. It seems like a lot of people I went to school with never really got away from here. It's not like I blame them. I can go back because this is where my family is, and I promised myself that I wasn't going to let people continue to walk all over me.

I extend my hand to her. "It's nice to see you again. You've raised a well-mannered girl there. She's doing well in my class as well."

Gwen looks lovingly at her daughter. "I've tried my best to raise her to respect her elders. My ex, on the other hand, wants to raise her to be a spoilt brat and to be rude to people. I hope you never see him pick her up."

I talk to her longer before returning to my classroom and grabbing my bag.

As I head to the door, I see Amalia standing next to a guy in a suit. "Julia, I want you to meet Troy. He'll be taking over for me. I have to go back home tomorrow."

I don't want her to leave. It's been fun talking to someone other than Cole and my parents.

My best friend has been MIA since she left for New York.

I unlock Cole's front door before I step inside. Placing my bag on the entryway table, I make my way to the living room, where the TV is on. "Cole, are you here?" I yell.

When I don't get a response, I start walking through the house, checking everywhere. I get to his bedroom and knock on the door. "Cole," I say, pushing the door open. I step inside.

Hearing the shower running, I walked to the door and opened it. "Cole?"

The shower turns off, and the person pulls the curtain across. I see Antwon, and he smiles. "Cole isn't here, sis. You should have stayed away." He grabs a towel and wraps it around his body. Taking a step toward me, he says, "Being with Cole is one of the worst decisions you've ever made. After everything he put you through, I thought you'd be smart enough not to give him a chance. Looks like I was wrong about you."

I'm supposed to trust Antwon, but he's on the other side of everything that's happened in my life. He should be the one regretting his decisions by siding with the worst type of person. Yet, I still don't know who's behind the attacks on me.

Spinning around, I start to run from the room, and as I make it out, I crash into a hard chest. Looking up at the face, I breathe a little easier as I see Cole.

He holds me steady and looks over my shoulder at Antwon. "I told you to stay away. Why the hell are you in my house?"

"I was going to bring my sister to meet the boss, but I see I was too late, as you got here before I could take her from you." Looking me in the eyes, he says, "Next time, you won't be so lucky." He grabs a pair of pants off the bed and leaves the room to change.

Cole wraps his arms around me just as my legs give out. Holding onto him tightly, I whisper, "Please, don't let him take me. " Whispering in my ear, he says, "I won't. Right now, this house isn't safe, as he got in here easily. We really need to find another place to stay."

"While you were away, I found a place and got the keys to it. You can stay with me until Veronica moves here. The last thing I heard from her was that she's in the middle of packing our stuff and getting it shipped here."

He stood up and held his hand out to me. "I'm going to pack my bags, and then we can leave this place for yours." Walking over to the closet, he pulled out a suitcase and started packing his bag. "How was your day, Julia?"

A smile spreads across my face. "Besides what just happened here, it was good. The kids I'm teaching are well-behaved, and I had no problems with them. How was your last day with your cousin?"

He stops packing and turns towards me. "It was good. We came to an agreement that if my cousin were to get injured or die during his time as the head of the family, I would take over. I'm hoping that nothing happens because I don't want to involve you with that side of my family. When we go to New York, I will introduce you to them, as they'd like to meet the woman who captured my heart." He zips up his suitcase and places it on the ground.

My phone vibrates in my pocket, and I look at the caller ID. 'Veronica' picks it up, and I say, "Hey, Veronica. It's been a while since we've spoken."

Veronica: I know. I'm just finalising everything with the apartment. I'll be back in Los Angeles. I've also sent your stuff with mine. It will be at the house by the weekend.

Me: That's great. I can't wait for you to come back. I've got something to tell you.

Veronica: Are you going to tell me now?

Me: Nah, it has to wait until you get home. I don't want to reveal it over the phone.

Veronica: Have you spoken to your brother recently? They seem to be ignoring my calls.

Me: I'm not talking to them right now, so I don't know what's going on with them.

Cole squeezes my hand, letting me know he's here for me.

Veronica: I have to go. My break is over now.

Me: Okay, bye.

She hangs up the phone.

He turns towards me. "Are you ready to leave now?"

"Yes, I am."

Cole grabs his suitcase and carries it down the stairs. He holds the door open for me. Locking it behind us, we head in the direction of the garage. The door opens, and we enter it. He places the bag into the car.

Climbing into the car, I put my buckle on and waited for Cole to get into the driver's seat. He turned the ignition on and then pulled out of the garage. "We'll head straight to your place before dinner with your parents. Have you given the address to everyone?"

"Yes, they're going to meet us there. I should tell them we'll be late thanks to Antwon's antics."