In Another Life ▻ Fiona Gallagher

06. chapter six

Fiona held Julian's gaze and as Julian looked back at her, she could see the shock in his expression. She had never been the typical good girl, but that was the last thing he had been expecting to hear.

"Wait, you what?" he asked, wanting to be sure that he heard her correctly and he hadn't zoned out due to the shock of her confession.

"I went to jail," she repeated. She paused a minute to let it sink in for him before speaking up again, not wanting to make him ask what she had done. "It was a stupid mistake, I wasn't paying attention and I was thinking about myself.. it was so stupid. I had coke, that I had been given by — well, that's an even longer story about another mistake — and a couple of friends and I were partying, enjoying ourselves.. I didn't realize.." she trailed off with a sigh, breaking eye contact with him as she looked down at the floor board.

Her hand came up to rub at her eyes and she pinched her nose at the bridge. "I thought I had put it up and out of reach, but Liam, my youngest brother, got into it, I guess thinking it was sugar or something.. he almost died, and I will live with that for the rest of my life."

Julian stared at Fiona dumbfounded, shaking his head. It was all a lot to process, but he was trying. First, came the fact that Fiona had been using drugs. Not weed, but a hard drug, cocaine. Then, there was the fact that she hadn't kept an eye on her brother, something that he knew from their past wasn't like her at all. To top it all off, she'd spent time in jail for all of it.

"Well, you definitely weren't lying when you said we had a lot to catch up on," he spoke quietly, letting out a little sigh. Looking over at her, he could see the distress in her expression as she remembered all that had happened, and he reached over, gently taking her hand into his and giving it a little squeeze.

"You made a mistake. A monumental, fucked up mistake, but.. as long as you're trying to do better and make it right, it's not unforgivable," he continued softly. "You messed up, but just think of how messed up things would have been for the kids if you hadn't been there. If you're anything like the Fiona that I remember, you'll find a way to make up for it, or at least do the best that you can."

As Julian took her hand, Fiona's eyes moved from the floor to their joined hands, and she squeezed his in return. She listened as he spoke, shaking her head to herself. She had never understood how one person could be so amazing in so many ways. He had always been so good to her, and just good in general, and part of her felt that she didn't deserve him, but the other part of her had always hoped that she was wrong.

Her lips pursed in response, taking in all that he had said, and she considered her reaction to herself. All that she wanted was to show him just how grateful that she was of him being so understanding. She had the strongest urge to kiss him, but part of her wondered if that was what he truly wanted, especially after she had made a confession like that.

Still, after a moment more of hesitation, she found herself leaning in, placing her free hand against his cheek and guiding her lips to his in a soft, lingering kiss.

Julian's brow furrowed in confusion as she leaned across the vehicle toward him, and then he felt her hand against his cheek, her lips against his.

It drew a soft sigh from his lips, and after a moment, he parted his lips against hers, resting his hand against the side of her neck to draw her in a bit closer, drawing a soft moan from her lips in turn as she deepened the kiss.

He wondered for a moment if this was the best thing to do. It had been years, and she was going through so much, yet he couldn't find it within him to push her away. Instead, he continued the kiss, keeping one hand at her neck to anchor her in close to him, and the other moving to her waist, resting against her side.