A Stranger In My Home

Chapter 9

Embarrassment. If that was the only word left in Julie’s vocabulary, she’d use it over and over again without ever wishing for other words to describe what she was feeling. She was horrified at herself for breaking down like she did, sobbing in Jason’s arms like a baby.

He’d finally gotten her off the floor and into bed, and like some clingy kid, she’d refused to let go. He’d ended up lying down beside her, atop the covers, holding her until she fell asleep. He was gone when she woke up, and she was grateful for it. She didn’t think she could look him in the eyes.

Climbing out of bed, Julie padded into the bathroom to take a shower. She made the mistake of looking at herself in the mirror. She looked like a raccoon, one with puffy red eyes and a bloated mouth. She’d probably chewed on her bottom lip last night. She dropped her clothes on the floor and stepped into the shower, letting the warm water wash away her shame.

-

Jason could hear the shower running. Julie must be awake. He downed the last of his coffee and headed out the door. He knew she’d be feeling self-conscious about the other night, and he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable.

He didn’t mind being there for her, not at all. He wanted to hold her and comfort her and tell her everything was going to be all right, but it wasn’t what she needed. She needed to stand on her own, not rely on anyone else. And as much as he wanted to take care of her, he couldn’t.

He’d wanted to kiss her last night. He’d wanted to kiss her tears away and take away all the hurt she was feeling. But it wasn’t right. He didn’t have the right to do that. He would not take advantage of her when she was weak and vulnerable. She deserved so much better than him.

-

By the time Julie had gotten dressed and made her way downstairs, Jason had already left. She found a note on the kitchen table telling her there was an omelet in the fridge if she wanted one. Lacking an appetite, Julie settled for a cup of coffee before leaving the house and heading over to Jim’s office.

When she got to the office, it was dark. Frowning, she took out her key and opened the door. The bell chimed as she entered and she called out for Jim. The place was dead quiet. She turned on the lights and walked over to her desk where the office phone and answering machine was. A little red light was flashing and setting down her bag, Julie pressed Play to listen to the new message.

“Julie. Baby’s on its way. Heading to hospital now.” Click. Jim’s stress-filled voice was barely audible over Glory’s screams and Julie grabbed her cell phone to call Jason. He picked up on the third ring.

“Yeah?”

“Hi, it’s Julie. Listen, Jim’s at the hospital with Glory. I don’t know if he called you, but…”

“A few minutes ago,” Jason cut her off.

“Oh… of course,” Julie suddenly felt incredibly stupid. Of course Jim would let Jason know.

“You okay?”

It sounded like an afterthought, Julie noted. Like he was hesitant about asking in case it would trigger another meltdown like the night before. Well, he needn’t worry about her going into hysterics. She wasn’t going to cry to him anymore.

“I’m fine,” she said succinctly. “Have a good day.”

“Jules, wait…” he sounded almost sad, but Julie couldn’t stay on the line any longer. The anxiety was building up again. She took a deep breath and forced herself to concentrate on opening the mail. Anything to distract her from her thoughts on how she was all alone in the world.