All the Pieces of My Soul

Chapter 9

A set of muscled arms wrap around me as a familiar scent fills my nostrils.

"Shhh. It's okay. Don't cry." Julian says as he pulls me into his lap and holds me tighter.

I continue to cry onto Julian's shoulder as he rubs my back and rocks me back and forth.

"How did you even get in?" I ask through my tears out of genuine curiosity.

"You didn't lock the door after I left." he looks me in the eyes " I heard you scream, so I ran here as fast as I could."

"Thank you," I whisper as all other words fail me.

Instead of answering, he pulls me closer and we sit like that for a while until my sobs slowly begin to quiet. I pull my head off of his shoulder as I look up to find him staring at me with a foreign tenderness in his eyes.

I continue to stare at him as he brings his hands to my face, and wipes away my tears. I lean into his touch, seeking comfort.

"Why are you crying?" He asks as he leaves his hand to rest on my cheek.

"Please, don't ask questions. Just hold me, tell me everything will be okay, make me laugh, do anything, but please don't ask questions."

"Anything?" He asks as his gaze flickers down to my lips, and he meets my eyes once again.

"Anything."

I stop my sniffling as Julian begins to lean closer. Not knowing what to do I freeze. He closes the distance between us and his lips meet mine. His lips move hesitantly against mine. And maybe it was because I needed a distraction, or maybe I just wanted him to kiss me, but I kissed him back. He cups his hands around the back of my neck, pulling me closer to him. And I reach for his shirt as a sharp pain shoots through my arm. I wince causing him to pull away.

"I think you sprained your wrist." He says as he gently takes my hand in his and inspects it. "Do you have an ice pack anywhere?"

"Yeah, it's in the freezer," I say casually as if Julian Price didn't just kiss me.

"Stay right here, I'll be back."

I am once again left alone to wonder what I did wrong. I try to move my hand, but the pain is unbearable. Just as I am about to stand up, Julian walks in.

"What's this?" He asks as he waves around my tear-stained letter.

"It's nothing." I focus my gaze on the floor and ask "how much did you read?"

"Not much...we'll maybe a little. What is it?"

"It's a letter from my... it doesn't even matter anymore." I rip the letter into a million tiny pieces ignoring the pain in my wrist as I make a useless attempt to get rid of the constant reminder of my loneliness. Once the letter is completely shredded, I look up to find Julian staring at me with that same confused look in his eyes.

"I just don't understand you!"

"There is nothing to understand! Why do you even care so much?"

"I don't know why." he sighs as he runs his hands through his hair "One moment your happy, then you're crying, then you're kissing me, and now... God! You're so confusing."

"Well, then I'm sorry that I'm not easy for you to decode." I seethe as all sadness is replaced by misplaced anger "And just for the record you kissed me! If your gonna make a move on me then at least own up to it!" I scream trying to suppress my anger

"Well it meant nothing to me, so just forget about it," he says quietly, and for some reason, I can't help but flinch at his words.

"Great... I'm glad we're on the same page." I say fighting past the burning in my throat.

"So, uh since your good now, I have a party to get to."

"Yeah, go ahead have fun," I reply bitterly hoping that he can read the desperation in my tone.

As he turns away, I can't help but feel as though I said something wrong. I hear the front door click shut, and for some reason, the burning in the back of my throat returns. I wait for the tears to trickle down my face, but they don't come, and instead of sadness, all I feel is anger.

Not at my uncle, not at Julian, not at Karlie, but at myself. How could I have been so stupid as to trust anyone other than my parents knowing what I know. Knowing that one way or another, everyone will leave.

Fighting back the tears I stand from my position on the floor as I cradle my wrist in my hand and lay down in my bed. I close my eyes, struggling and failing to process everything that going on in my life.

After a few minutes of staring at the ceiling trying to calm my thoughts, I grab my phone off of my nightstand and check the time. It's almost 11 o'clock and I still haven't started my homework. Being the amazing scholar that I am, I crawl out of bed and begin my Physics/Biology homework despite the tears obscuring my vision.

Julian's POV

As I step out of my car, I can't help but feel guilty. Maybe I should have stayed with her. Maybe she really needed someone. I am pulled from my thoughts when I hear someone call my name. I look up to find a group of guys from school leaning against the side of the house.

"Want a drink?" One of the guys asks me as he extends his cup to me.

"No thanks... I'll just head inside." I push past them and as I shove open the door, I am greeted with blaring music. As I shove through the crowd, I try to ignore as multiple heads snap my way. And just as I'm about to enter the kitchen, my path is blocked by an all to familiar blonde girl. Bethany. Oh,this is going to be just great.

"Hey Julian, I thought you said you weren't coming to the party." She say as her hands start roaming my chest.

"Yeah...Um, well plans change." I say as I shove past her and into the kitchen.

"This would've been so boring without you."

"Yup,mhm." I say distractedly as I down 2 shots.

"You know? I heard there were a few empty rooms upstairs." Bethany says as she leans closer to me.

"Wow that's great, now why don't you go find a nice room, stay there, and just leave me alone."

"There's no point denying how you feel about me."

"What are you even talking about? You are absolutely delusional. I barely even know you for Christ's sake!"

"B-but I'm hot and popular, how could you not like me?" She says as tears slowly fill her eyes

"Well, I'm just not into you and you just have to accept that." I say as I down another shot

"You're going to regret this!" She screams as she storms out of the kitchen.

As she leaves the kitchen, I'm left alone with one burning question. Will I regret this? I just turned down one of the most popular girls at Lone Crest High. Never in my life have I ever passed up the opportunity to get with a hot girl, But what changed this time?