AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Marcy’s shrill, panicked voice came through the phone. Apparently, there was a huge emergency and I was needed back at the office immediately. I hated the idea of leaving Julie, but I knew Marcy wouldn’t have called unless she really needed my help.
“I have to go,” I told Julie as I hung up the phone.
“What happened?” she asked.
“It’s a long story,” I said. “One of my accounts is about to collapse. Marcy can’t handle it on her own.”
“That’s okay.” Julie smiled and kissed me one more time. “Go.”
“I’ll call you later.”
CHAPTER 19
JULIE
Michael hurried back out to his car. I watched him through the window until he drove off down the street. When he was gone, I slowly made my way back into the living room and collapsed on the couch. My hand flew to my head, covering my eyes and blocking out the world.
“This is fucking nuts,” I said to myself.
I lay there for a few minutes, unable to make sense of my new situation. As much as I wanted to be with Michael, I still didn’t know if I could handle his connection to Joshua. How could Michael and I let our relationship progress when my ex-boyfriend was also his brother? What was that going to look like?
My life suddenly felt like a soap opera. It was as if I was living in a movie I didn’t want to watch in the first place and, yet, I couldn’t help but be happy. With Michael in my life, everything seemed bearable. Even this mess with Joshua.
Still, I knew I wouldn’t be able to focus on anything for the rest of the day. My head was too full, and my chest was still tight from all the emotions that flooded my body over the past twenty-four hours. I tried to sit down and write, but no words came to mind. I couldn’t work on my assignment. I couldn’t work on my book. I couldn’t focus on anything.
Finally, I gave up and grabbed my phone. I called Andrea and closed my eyes, listening to the ringing and letting it comfort me.
“Hey!” Andrea said when she answered. “How was dinner last night?”
“Can you come over?” I asked. “I know you have to work today, but—”
“I just got off,” Andrea said. “I can be there in an hour.”
“Thank you.” I sighed, relieved that I would soon have my best friend to help me make sense of everything.
“What happened?” Andrea asked nervously. “Was dinner that bad?”
“It was…” I tried to find the right words, but just like with my writing, nothing came to mind. “I’ll fill you in when you get here. It’s too much to explain over the phone.”
“Okay,” Andrea said. “I’m on my way.”
***
An hour later, there was a sharp knock on my front door. I ran through the entryway and wrenched open the door to see Andrea standing on my front porch. She smiled and let herself inside, holding up a bottle of wine and waving it in the air.
“You sounded really upset on the phone,” Andrea said. “So, I thought wine was in order.”
“You thought right.” I nodded eagerly and hurried into the kitchen to get us glasses.
Andrea poured us each a good amount of wine, and then we settled in on my couch. She didn’t speak at first. Instead, she watched me closely while I sipped my wine and let the alcohol embolden me slightly.
“Dinner was a fucking disaster,” I finally said.
Andrea nodded. “I figured that much,” she said. “But why? What happened?”
“Well,” I said. “Do you remember me telling you that Michael was adopted?”
“Yes,” Andrea said. “A weird coincidence considering everything that happened with Joshua.”
