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“Taylor!” She swung open the door only to be faced with a complete stranger in uniform.
“No, I’m sorry. I’m Officer Steel. I’ll be sitting watch tonight. Everything okay in here?”
“Yes. Everything is fine.” Julie wiped her tears as he pulled out a piece of paper. Pain raced through her chest. His words were barely making any sense.
“I wrote down my cell number. I’ll be watching the area, but just in case you need me, I thought you might like this.”
Julie nodded. “Thank you.” She looked around the dimly lit courtyard. “Will Aston be relieving you in the morning?” She quickly corrected herself. “I mean Officer Simms.”
The officer smiled. “Yes, ma’am.” He lowered his voice and leaned forward. “If someone decides to come over to visit you, can you please call me? That way I’m prepared.” He smiled. “I’d hate to tackle down the wrong person.”
Julie laughed. “Of course. I’m not positive yet, but the man who just left might possibly come back. At least, I hope.”
“I’ll keep a lookout for him. You have a good night.”
“Okay, thanks.” Julie quickly shut the door and placed the paper on her kitchen counter. The sound of her stomach growling had her looking down. Here it was, approaching dinner time, and she hadn’t even eaten lunch. But although food was an option, she really didn’t have an appetite for it. What she really wanted was in the freezer.
Julie opened the door and looked at the bottle of vodka. Her mouth instantly watered. Shaking started in her hands and moved across her body. A twisting in her stomach nearly made her sick on the spot. She hated this. Tears returned as she grabbed the one thing that was slowly killing her. How many times had she almost died because she’d consumed more than her body could handle? Julie shook her head and tried to erase the visions of herself waking up on the bathroom floor, barely able to stay conscious. Within the last month she could count more times than she had fingers.
“Just a little. I promise.”
She started off with one big swig and didn’t stop drinking until the warmth was coating her entire body. Before she could talk herself out of it, Julie quickly put the lid back on and stuck the bottle back into the freezer.
Fuck, I need help. Panic had Julie’s heart rate at dangerous levels. I need Melissa. Everything inside Julie begged for her not to bring Mel into the mess she’d created, but her friend knew more than anyone how bad Julie’s drinking had become. It was time she released some of her pent-up stress to the one person who she trusted the most.
* * * *
Taylor pulled his truck out of Cole Park. It was the place where he had taken Julie after their first date. The evening had been beautiful, but not as much as the woman he’d thought about for years while he served his country. She’d never been far from his mind. The biggest regret Taylor ever had was not admitting his feelings for her sooner. Especially before he left.
Julie had been his best friend, and for her parents that had been a problem. Every time Taylor got close to admitting how he felt, the conversation he’d overheard between her and her parents came rushing back.
“It’s unhealthy to spend so much time with that boy, Julie. He’s not good for you.”
“But, Mom, I like Taylor. We’re best friends. We do everything together.”
The sound of her mother’s sigh made Taylor’s stomach drop. “That’s what I’m saying, Julie. You need to find someone different. Someone with more class. What about the girl who has piano lessons right before you? Or one of the girls from the club? I’m sure there’s got to be someone there that you can get along with.”
Julie was quiet for so long Taylor thought maybe they had left the room. But when he heard a sob, he knew she was crying.
“I don’t want to find anyone else. I want to be with Taylor. He knows me. We have fun together.” Although her crying broke his heart, he couldn’t help but feel elated by the admission to her mother.
“The boy is bad news, plain and simple. His parents may have money, but the kid is lazy. He’ll never amount to anything in life and the sooner you realize that and move on, the better.”
“He is not! You don’t know him like I do.”
“I don’t have to. I know lazy when I see it.”
The sound of heels clicking away had only made Julie cry harder. Tears had stung Taylor’s eyes at her mom’s meanness. She didn’t know him, and he wasn’t lazy. After that point, he’d spent every waking hour trying to prove her wrong. He made his parents let go of the gardeners so he could do the work himself. He helped out wherever it was needed and even managed to bring his A-B honor roll to straight A’s. Unfortunately, due to how busy he was, he and Julie didn’t get to spend as much time together. By the end of high school, his father had talked him into joining the military and earning his college degree. Sure, they would have paid for his college themselves, but his father and his grandfather were veterans and Taylor deeply believed in keeping that tradition going. He loved his country and was excited to push himself to new heights of accomplishment.
Plus, by that time, Julie had had a boyfriend. From what he had heard, her parents were absolutely thrilled over her choice. It had broken his heart that she’d moved on from their friendship so easily, but she had looked happy. He took that as his cue that he should go. Now he wished he would have said to hell with it and taken her with him. Things for both of them would have been so different.
Julie would have at least been happy. He’d have made sure of it. And that scandal with her ex-husband wouldn’t have happened. Taylor shook his head in disgust just thinking about it. He still couldn’t believe what had happened when that prick left her.
Julie’s parents took it hard, but actually sided with the scumbag even though he’d had the affair. Apparently, they believed it had been Julie’s fault for not putting in enough effort to make her husband stay faithful. It was ridiculous, really. Taylor hated that he’d been so far away when she was going through all that pain.
The light turned green and Taylor went up a block to the entrance of his apartment complex. As he waited for the car in front of him to push in the security code to open the gate, movement through the iron bars caught his attention.
Standing next to a black car in front of the first building were Londyn and that officer brother of his. Both guys were dressed in workout clothes and looked like they were about to leave for somewhere.
