January 23rd, 1995
January had gone by in the blink of an eye. It had been a dry, uneventful month for Julia, per usual. Like all other months of the year, January was filled with depression, loneliness, and dread.
It was a Saturday, and Julia was parked on the couch, blankly staring at her television, not truly paying attention to the news. Her mind was empty, her eyes glazed over sullenly.
Although, there had been one mildly rousing thought in her head; Ellis.
She thought about calling him over and over again, but always ended up resenting the idea. The thought of a real relationship struck her with fear, but she wanted to be loved and to love another person healthily, all at once.
Unfortunately, she found herself still in love with Dave. It had been about a month since their last ordeal, when Julia had taken the responsibility of picking up a sobbing, drunk Dave on New Years. The night left her feeling heartbroken and drained of the last few grains of energy she had left.
That encounter nearly sabotaged the little amount of progress Julia had made in attempting to move on with her life. But she sent him away once the sun rose, simply saying goodbye, and forcing him out of her life again.
She had been trying to not think about him in the weeks since their unfortunate meeting. But it had been challenging, considering how lonely she had been since that night.
She despised how much more emptier she felt since seeing him last, how he had snatched any sense of ease she could possibly feel away.
She glanced at the telephone, pulling herself out of the shallow trance she fell into. Her teeth nibbled at the chapped, dry skin of her bottom lip as she contemplated calling Ellis for the millionth time.
Julia pushed her blanket off, and climbed off the sofa, rushing to the phone so that she wouldn't have time to regret her decision. Before he had left that one morning, Ellis had scribbled his number on a piece of paper.
At first, julia felt sorry that he had left his number for her. She was sure that she would never call him. But here she was, scrambling to dial his number, frantically glancing down at the piece of paper that had laid untouched for so long.
Her heart beat ferociously beneath her ribcage, each ring of the telephone dizzying her with a combination of fear and hope.
"Hello?"
His voice was soft as velvet. She could almost feel it on her skin. "Hi, it's Julia."
"I was wondering when you would call." He said. Julia's stomach flipped inside-out. "Well, here i am." She countered, letting out a breath she had been holding in for too long.
"How have you been?" He asked.
She obviously didn't want to lie to him, but the truth was too much. It would've scared him off and away from her. She saw no other choice.
"I've been alright. And you?"
"Pretty bored until you called." He said, laughing lowly.
For the first time in what felt like forever, Julia smiled, a feeling of warmth blanketing her. "Oh really?" She teased. "Yes! I've been waiting forever! I know I sound like a loser, but I've been waiting forever."
She giggled, a sweet sound that hadn't slipped past her lips in a very long time. "Well, we should probably see eachother again, since you've missed me so much." She suggested, smiling slyly.
"Please, When are you free?" "Anytime, really."
The two worked out arrangements. They had settled on the twenty-fifth, deciding to meet at a coffeehouse. "Only two days." Julia thought, an overwhelming rush of anticipation washing over her.
"I'm glad we're finally seeing eachother again." He said, his tone so warm that Julia's heart melted. "Me too. I have to admit, I've missed you." She said, feeling her face heat up.
"I'm glad."
The line fell silent for a few moments.
"Well, I'm gonna go. I'm really glad I called you, Ellis."
"I am too. I'll see you soon. Bye, Julia."
Julia hung up, her entire body warm and tingly. This glittering sliver of hope had finally found its way into her life, and she was determined to cling onto it as long as she could.
"Don't feel so hopeful." She thought.
But hell, she couldn't even take her own advice in that glimmering moment.
