Zeke
Something dreadful happened last night.
I’d been out in the swamp, enjoying the sound of the rain pattering off the soft fronds of the ferns in the underbrush when I’d noticed Jake stumbling drunkenly to the garage.
Even worse, I watched from the shadows as he spoke to that thing as though he was just making another shady business deal. Though I wasn’t able to hear what Amos demanded, I think I have a pretty good idea what it is.
Who it is.
I watched Jake stagger around the property for a while before he got into his car and drove off. Good riddance, in my opinion.
But I’m concerned for Julia. I don’t trust Jake for a second, and she doesn’t deserve to be used as a pawn in this sick game.
And now I’m lingering at her front door, my hand raised and poised to press the doorbell. For a moment, I don’t think I can go through with it, but then the memory of Jake speaking with Amos flashes through my mind, and I know I have no other option. I have to make sure she’s all right.
Thinking about how I’d taken the coffee cup from Julia the other morning, I close my eyes and push my index finger against the button.
Two chimes ring out inside the house, announcing my presence.
After a moment, I hear the bustle of somebody on the stairs and the slide of the lock. Then the door swings open, revealing Julia.
“Zeke?” she gasps, clearly surprised to see me.
She’s wearing a rumpled dress that looks like it’s been slept in, and her feet are bare. Her hair is disheveled, and instead of her usually proud posture, her shoulders sag in weary defeat. She’s holding her head oddly to one side, as though she’s trying to hide her face from me.
Concern ripples through me as I take in her haggard appearance, but it’s quickly overruled by anger as I notice the cloudy bruise forming on her cheekbone and around her eye.
“Are you okay?” I blurt out, unable to drag my gaze away from her marred skin. “Who did this to you?”
Julia shakes her head. “It’s nothing,” she breathes. I can tell that she’s teetering on the verge of tears.
“That’s not nothing,” I insist, lifting my hand. I expect her to flinch away from me, but instead she leans forward slightly, as though she too craves to close the distance between us. The calloused skin of my fingertips ghosts over her cheekbone. At my touch, her eyelids flutter closed, and a small sigh forms across her lips.
The feel of her is electric. It glides through my veins and sings across my nerves, a lightning storm in a bottle.
“Jake did this, didn’t he?” I ask, my voice soft and low. Rage bubbles below the surface, but I don’t unleash it. I won’t, not at Julia.
She nods, her eyes drifting downward in shame. But she has nothing to be ashamed of. The guilt lies with Jake, not her. He’s the monster who did this to her. And with a sinking feeling, I wonder what else he’s done and what he still might do.
“Would you like some coffee?” Julia asks meekly. Her eyes still won’t meet mine.
“Yes, please,” I reply. She steps inside, and I follow her, shutting the door firmly behind us before she leads the way to the kitchen.
Silence reigns as Julia moves on autopilot toward the fancy coffee machine. “Let me,” I offer, gesturing to the contraption. I’m not exactly sure how it works, but I’m certain I can figure it out.
“Thanks.” Smiling thinly, she slides onto one of the stools at the island.
As I fumble with the coffee machine, I can feel her eyes on my back. After a few seconds of trying to figure out where, precisely, the coffee grounds are supposed to go, Julia takes pity on me.
“Why don’t we have tea instead?” she suggests.
Offering her a sheepish grin, I grab the kettle, fill it with water, and place it on the stove. She points to a cupboard, where I find mugs and several boxes of tea bags. I fish out two bags of earl grey and plop them into a pair of matching cups.
While the kettle boils, I perch on the stool beside her. “Do you want to talk about it?” I ask. We both know what I mean.
Julia blinks rapidly, and I realize that she’s trying desperately not to cry. “What’s to talk about?” she murmurs. “Jake hit me.”
Even though she previously confirmed it already, just hearing those words tumble from her mouth lights a fire in my chest. I want to face Jake, to make him feel as small as he made her feel. I want to hurt him, scare him.
But I don’t want to frighten Julia, so I ask again, “What happened?”
She finally turns to look at me. Her brilliant green eyes glisten with unshed tears, and her bottom lip quivers as she speaks. “He’s cheating on me. I… I think I’ve known for a while, but I got proof yesterday.” She draws in a shaky breath before continuing, “I checked his phone. I knew he was lying about going on all of those business trips, and it turns out he’s been with another woman the whole fucking time!”
A sob escapes her then as emotion overtakes her. Emboldened by our earlier contact, I reach out and place one large hand on her back. She stills for a moment before melting into my touch. With her silent permission, I begin to trace soothing circles between her shoulder blades.
“I confronted him,” she laments. “And he…. It was like he was another person. A monster.”
Anger seethes inside of me as I press, “Is this the first time he’s hit you?”
The small nod of her head offers little relief. “I don’t know what to do. I thought about calling the police, but… I just can’t. Besides, I don’t even know where he is. Probably with her,” she spits bitterly. “I don’t understand what I did wrong.”
I nearly come unglued at her words. “Wrong? You did nothing wrong, Julia,” I tell her earnestly. “He cheated on you and hit you. None of that is your fault. It’s his. Jake doesn’t deserve you, and you deserve somebody who treats you with respect and dignity.”
I’m not sure if I’ve said the right thing or the wrong thing. Either way, Julia erupts into a fresh bout of sobs and all but flings herself into my arms. I hold her tight, relishing the feel of her body against mine.
It’s a foolish, wicked thought, but I can’t help it. Ever since I first laid eyes on her, she’s haunted me. And now, she’s looking to me for comfort after her rake of a husband abused her. I try to tell myself this is wrong, that I shouldn’t be here holding her, but her presence is too intoxicating. The weight of her against me, the smell of her hair as she hides her bruised face against my neck, it drives me wild.
Knowing that she’s in pain is nearly unbearable. All I want to do is to take it away for her, to take care of her. But I can’t.
I can’t.
Closing my eyes, I lean into our embrace, savoring this moment.
The whistle of the kettle splits the silence, and Julia jumps back as though she’s been burned.
“I’m so sorry,” she mumbles as a red flush creeps across her face.
“You have nothing to apologize for,” I insist. Not wanting to make her feel any more awkward, I stand and pour the hot water into the mugs. By the time I turn back around, Julia’s composed herself once again. She’s staring down at her wedding ring, twisting it around and around on her finger.
“Thank you,” she says as I slide one of the mugs over to her. She picks it up and clinks it against mine. “Cheers,” she toasts dryly. “To the end of my marriage.”
“So you’re going to divorce him, then?” I’d been worried that she wouldn’t have the strength to leave him, but the thought of her getting rid of Jake for good makes my heart flutter traitorously against my ribs.
“I should have the first time he cheated,” she grumbles. “He said it was a mistake. Promised he wouldn’t do it again. All lies, of course. Comfortable fucking lies.”
“He’s a scoundrel,” I confirm.
Julia huffs out a laugh and turns on her stool to face me. “A scoundrel? What is this, Victorian England?” It’s good to hear some humor back in her voice. Her emerald eyes fix on mine, studying me.
Whatever she’s looking for, she seems to find it.
Moving slowly, as though she might scare me away, she leans forward. My breath hitches in my throat as I realize what’s about to happen.
I shouldn’t. I know I shouldn’t.
But my body moves before my brain can catch up, and suddenly my lips are on hers.
Julia sinks into the kiss. As our mouths move as one, I feel the brush of her breasts against my chest when she shifts closer. I skim one hand down to the tantalizing curve of her hip while the other cups her cheek gently, coaxing her to deepen the kiss.
Her hands card into my hair, and when I feel the insistent drag of her manicured nails against my scalp, I can’t help but groan against her mouth. She gasps at my reaction, and I take the opportunity to dart my tongue out and taste her. She meets me willingly, drawing me closer as she shifts halfway onto my lap.
At the feel of her pressing against my hips, my cock twitches to life.
Julia freezes.
For a moment, neither of us moves. There’s no sound except for the ragged panting of our mingled breath. Julia’s eyes are still closed, her expression unreadable.
After a few more agonizing seconds, she slides off of my lap and takes several steps back. Her lips are swollen from our kiss, and her eyes are glassy with emotion.
“I’m sorry,” she murmurs. “You… you’d better go.”
I blink at her. Did I misread her intentions?
“Please,” she whispers, closing her eyes once again.
I don’t say anything. I rise from the island and exit the kitchen, and she doesn’t make any attempt to follow me as I let myself out the front door.
I stand out in the sunlight, disbelief and uncertainty racing through me. I raise my fingers to my lips, chasing the ghost of Julia’s mouth against mine. Did that really just happen?
Did Julia and I really just kiss?
A seed of guilt blooms deep within my gut. I should have had better control over myself. After all, what future could she and I possibly have? Even if she does leave Jake, she can never be mine.
I’m so lost in my thoughts that I barely notice the shape of the elderly woman coalescing by my side. It isn’t until the shade speaks that she catches my attention.
“Did she tell you what her husband did to her last night?” she asks, nodding back toward the house. I know she’s talking about Julia, even if she doesn’t say her name.
I nod.
“That boy wasn’t raised right,” she sighs. “I helped him along though.”
“You did?” I ask, raising a questioning eyebrow.
“I opened the garage door and got rain all over his precious car. Honey, he treats that thing better than his own wife. And when he got up on the ladder to fix it, I kicked it right out from under him.”
“Well played, Miss Penny,” I chuckle.
“Laying a hand on Miss Julia and running around on her, now that’s no way to treat a lady,” the ghost huffs.
“Damn right,” I agree.
“Speaking of which, I expect you to mind your manners with her, Zeke,” she warns. “When are you going to tell her truth?”
The truth.
The reason there’s no future for us.
“I don’t know,” I sigh, guilt rising up within me once again.
Miss Penny fixes me with a disapproving frown. “You need to tell her, Zeke, before either of you get hurt.”
I can’t tell her it’s already too late, that my heart’s already aflame.