May 24th, 1995
"This is an ugly coffee table." Ellis muttered, his fingers tapping against his chin as his eyes zeroed in on the table. Julia snorted, exhaling the smoke from her cigarette. "What, are you a fuckin' interior designer? It's fine, Ellis." She said, shaking her head as he stared at the plain white table.
"This is my place too now, and I don't like the coffee table." He declared, smirking slightly. She rolled her eyes, tapping her cigarette against the ashtray. He walked over to wear she was seated at the kitchen table, and kneeled down before her, resting his chin on the curve of her knee. "I'm glad we took this step."
She smiled sweetly, dropping her cigarette onto the ashtray, and resting her hands on his face. "I am too."
Ellis moving in with her felt like a step in the right direction. Julia loved the stability of it all. She had craved this for so long. She loved Ellis so much, and was more than happy to have him now living with her.
But he would know the truth.
He would know about her issues with sleeping pills and vodka, about how she could barely drag herself out of the apartment in the mornings, how she could barely function in her job at Kerrang. She couldn't hide these things from him. This was a new level of intimacy that terrified her.
She just hoped that he would be ok with it maybe.
Ellis stood up, offering his hands out to help Julia up. She laughed, and accepted his help.
She wrapped her arms around his waist, swaying against him. He smelled like thyme and was soft like velvet. She didn't think she'd ever feel this amazing love with another person after Dave, but things had turned out alright.
Ellis dragged her over to the couch. She straddled herself in his lap.
She planted a kiss against the side of his face. "I haven't had this kind of commitment since Dave." She admitted, resting her forehead against his. He furrowed his eyebrows, rubbing her back soothingly. "Do you want to talk about it?" She shook her head. "I was just putting that out there, I guess."
He then pressed a kiss against the column of her neck. She let out a giggle, and pressed her lips against his. "Talking about your rockstar ex-boyfriend makes me so horny." He groaned mockingly, his fingers tucking into the waistband of her jeans. She gasped, letting out a loud laugh. "Y-you're insane!" She exclaimed, struggling through her laughter.
He chuckled. "Too bad. You're stuck with me."
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The harsh shrill of the telephone startled Julia. She let out a sharp breath and jumped up from her computer. She had been writing an article for work and was so entranced that the ring of the phone nearly gave her a heart attack.
She walked over to the dresser, and picked up the phone. "Hello?" "Hey, Jules. It's Dave."
Her blood ran cold.
Their last meeting had been incredibly civil, maybe even loving and friendly, but it had been over a month and she never knew what it was he was wanting. She cleared her throat.
"Hi Dave. How are you?" She asked, leaning against the door frame of her bedroom. Ellis poked his head out of the bathroom, quirking an eyebrow. "It's Dave." She mouthed. Ellis understood and nodded.
"I've been ok. You?" "I've been alright. So, what is it you're calling for?" She asked, tapping her fingernails against the dresser. "I was wondering if you'd want to talk at some point? Not in a um..only in a platonic way. But seeing you and krist again... I guess it made me realize that I really value you two." He explained.
"Oh-Um of course. I understand. What day works for you?" "I'm in Virginia visiting my mom right now. I'll be here for another month, so sometime in June?" Julia's eyes widened. "What the hell are you doing there for a month?" She blurted out. Dave laughed.
"Just needed some time away from LA. That's all." He said. Julia smiled faintly.
"Alright, I'll call you sometime in June then. Tell your mom I say hi." "Will do. Take care of yourself, Jules." Her heart became warm and gooey. "You too, Dave. Bye now."
She furrowed her eyebrows, hanging up the call. This all felt strange. So strange. Something didn't sound right. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was out of place.
"Is everything alright?" Ellis asked, peeking his head in the bedroom. She bit her thumbnail, her eyes glued to the wall, and her brows knitted together as her mind cooked up a slew of loud, disruptive thoughts.
"Jules? What's happening?" He asked, coming fully into the room. "Somethings not right.." she muttered, shaking her head. "What's not right?" "Dave. Somethings wrong but I don't know what. He says he needs to talk, but he's in Virginia right now. For a month! That's not normal..." she rambled silently, pacing around the bedroom. Ellis watched her carefully.
"Julia.." he said calmly. His hushed tone did not awaken her. He walked over to her, and firmly placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to stop pacing the room like a mad woman. She finally looked up at Ellis. Her eyebrows remained furrowed in concern.
"I'm sure he's ok. I don't blame him for leaving this place for awhile. It gets pretty exhausting." He assured, rubbing her shoulder soothingly. Julia did not believe him wholeheartedly, but simply nodded. Ellis sighed and pressed his soft lips to her forehead. "He's ok."
Julia forced a smile, masking her worry.
