Chapter 7 The Changing Of Tides

Before going home, Marcus headed back to Joshua's, only this time it wasn't for his best friend. Instead it was for Julianna. As he was making his way home, she had texted him saying that she needed help.

The message came across to him as urgent. Usually if she needed help, Joshua would be the one she turned to, unless she knew that whatever her problem was, would make him mad, in which case, she always called Marcus. This time though, she had not mentioned Joshua at all in her message.

Although the two weren't super close, they were close enough that they trusted one another, and close enough to look out for each other. Marcus remembered one time in particular she had called him because she became stranded at a party after her date threw the punch over her and left.

It was a party that she had fibbed to her brother about, she had told him that it was a study session and so he had let her go since he was none the wiser. It wasn't the first time she had lied to him about where she was going and Marcus was pretty sure that it would not be the last.

After the events that happened there, she had called Marcus, sounding stressed and upset and although he had no means of transport, he walked half way across town to get to the location and walk her back to his where she had stayed the night, since he didn't want to get her in trouble with Joshua. It was always in him to help out those he cared about and Julianna especially, was one of those people that he just couldn't watch suffer. She was a top priority of his, and she always had been .

It was that same night that some things had happened between them. Starting out with a friendly conversation, being in the drunken state she was in, things quickly escalated. First she kissed him, which he had allowed because of how upset she had been and he didn't want to make things worse and clearly she had mistaken him for Leonardo DiCaprio or one of her other celebrity crushes of that current time, the way that drunk people usually do. There was no way that she had actually wanted to kiss him.

But then she went a step too far. With an innocent sounding giggle, she pushed him back on to the bed, then she started trying to seduce him, in which he couldn't allow to happen, since she was drunk, it would have been wrong of him to take advantage of her. It was the one thing that he swore he would never do to any vulnerable girl.

So rather than giving in to her, despite the excitement that was happening in the lower half of his body, he gently pushed her off and got up from where he was laid. That, of course, resulted in a slap. A full forced slap at that. Aftee that they argued for a moment, then she cried before Marcus finally got her to sleep.

To this day he still remembered that night. He always felt like he tried to do the right thing, and usually he would never lie to Joshua, but when it came to Julianna, he didn't want her to feel like she couldn't trust him.

Arriving at the house, he found the spare key under the welcome matt and let himself in, making his way upstairs to her room, he was curious as to what was going on. He only hoped that she wasn't drunk this time round.

"Julianna?" He questioned as he entered her rose red room, instantly spotting her pacing back and forth.

"Marcus! Thank God you're here!" She cried, running up to him and throwing herself into his hug, glad to no longer be alone.

"What's wrong?" He asked, growing more concerned as he felt her shaking.

"I.. I... I.." she struggled to get her words out. She was way too shocked, scared and upset to explain fully.

"Hey... it's okay.... now tell me what's going on?" He asked calmly, rubbing her back in a soothing way, the same way he had the night when her father had gone to prison.

"Joshua is in hospital." She managed to say before choking on her words. He couldn't quite believe what he had just heard. This was so out of the blue that it almost seemed unreal. Except that her reaction told him that it was real.

"What?" Marcus stammered, not meaning it as a question. He wondered what had happened but at the same time he didn't want to press for answers and make her more stressed than she already was. That would be the last thing that she needed.

"I don't know what happened. I heard him scream in pain and when I came into his room, he was on the floor with blood pouring out of his nose and mouth, clutching his head. It was unlike anything I've ever seen before." She cried, going into the gorey details. It was probably the hardest thing she ever had to explain. She hoped that she would never have to explain anything like it ever again.

With the information about his best friend, Marcus instantly decided that his family drama could wait. This was far more important to him. It could, after all, be a matter of life or death.

Who knew what was wrong with Joshua? For all he knew, it could be fatal. This was more urgent. Joshua was his brother. Maybe not by blood but by years of friendship and loyalty and if there was one moral that Marcus agreed with, it was that family came first. No matter if they were related by blood or not. Right now, Joshua was more family than his own parents.

"Are you okay?" He asked the blonde, who was still shaking. She did look quite pale herself, as though she hadn't eaten in ages.

"I'm fine. I just...." she began but didn't finish the sentence as she collapsed into Marcus's arms unconscious. Most likely exhaustion from worry.

Laying her down on the bed, he went downstairs quickly to fetch some water and a little something to eat for her. That ought to do the trick and besides, she would need her strength to get through this painful time.

A few moments later, she came to, and Marcus instantly handed her the glass of water he had poured when he went downstairs. She took a sip and handed it back to him. Placing it aside, he handed her a breakfast bar.

"Eat." He told her.

Knowing he wouldn't let her go anywhere until she did so, she obeyed. Once she finished she decided to ask him a question. It was something she had been wondering for a while now, ever since the first time he had came to her rescue.

"Why do you care about if I'm ok or not? It's not like we're close or anything." She asked curiously.

"Because you're Joshua's sister and aside from that...... you're not half bad once you lighten up a little." Marcus explained with a small smile. He meant every word of it.

She smiled back as best she could given the circumstances. She appreciated how honest he was and how he always cared about everyone. Always making sure they were taken care of. It was one of the reasons why she always called him.

"I think we should get going. Joshua needs us right now." Marcus stated, standing up and offering his hand out for her to take and helping her up.

She gave a nod in agreement and the pair set off for the hospital. She only hoped that they were not too late.