Bound by shadows

The Visit 2

After the police officers left, Julia shut the door with a firm click, sealing the chaos of the evening outside. For a moment, she and I stood in silence, holding each other’s gaze. Then, almost at the same time, we burst into laughter, the tension of the evening becoming a shared amusement as we walked back to the dining area.

“I can’t believe you did that,” Julia said, her laughter ringing through the house.

“I know. I am sorry,” I replied, giggling.

Julia shook her head, still chuckling. “I need a drink. Do you want one?”

“Yeah, please,” I said, the smile still on my face.

Just then, Jonathan appeared at the top of the stairs, his face still flushed from the incident that happened upstairs. Jonathan, a lawyer like Julia but while Julia is a defense lawyer Jonathan is a prosecutor, had always been different from her. Julia was wild and carefree, Jonathan was shy, antisocial and a nerd. We had all attended the same university, and Julia had a crushed on Jonathan since freshman year when we met him in a cafeteria. He was of average height with a lean body and dark blonde hair. His nerdy attitude had always seemed cute to Julia. And she stopped at nothing until she had him.

“Hi, Kate,” he greeted, his eyes darting to the floor.

“Hi, Jonathan,” I replied with a warm smile, seeing that he looked uncomfortable.

“Going somewhere?” Julia asked, coming out from the kitchen with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

“Yeah,” Jonathan replied, glancing at Julia. “I’ll call you.” He walked over and gave her a peck on the cheek.

I watched the interaction with mild interest. “Nice to see you, Kate,” Jonathan said, still avoiding my gaze.

“Nice to see you too,” I replied.

Jonathan opened the front door and left, closing it quietly behind him. Julia turned to me, catching me looking at her with a concerned expression.

“Don’t give me that look,” Julia said.

“What look?”

“The ‘this is not healthy, blah blah blah’ look.”

“I’m not,” I protested.

“Yes, you are,” Julia insisted, carrying the wine to the dining table. She popped the cork, the sound breaking the stillness of the room, and poured the wine into the glasses, handing one to me.

I took a sip, enjoying the rich flavor. “So, I take it he’s no longer a jerk and you guys are okay now, whatever okay means to you both?” I asked after another sip.

Julia shrugged. “As far as okay goes.”

I stared at her for a few seconds.

“Why do you do it?” I asked suddenly.

“Do what?”

“Why do you have s*x with him?”

Julia sighed, wondering why I am suddenly asking her that question.

“I don’t know. Because s*x with him is fun.”

“Do you still love him?”

“Kate, why all these questions? I don’t want to talk about it, okay?”

“Do you still love him?” I pressed.

Julia groaned.

“No… I mean, yes. I don’t know, Kate. Jonathan and I are complicated. You already know that. I don’t want to be with him, yet I want to be with him. It’s complicated. I can’t explain it.”

“Or maybe you just like the fact that you’re in control. I mean, Jonathan is always at your beck and call. You have a strong hold on him because you know his feelings for you are still there, so you take advantage of it. You enjoy being in control.”

Julia frowned, anger flashing in her eyes.

“Thanks, Kate. I didn’t know the reason for your visit today was to be my therapist,” she spat out bitterly, draining her wine glass in one gulp.

“I’m just looking out for you as your best friend. If you keep this up, both of you are going to end up getting hurt again,” I said softly.

“Well, part of your duty as my ‘best friend’ is to drop a topic when I don’t want to talk about it.”

I sighed. “I’m sorry.”

I could see how upset Julia was and decided to change the subject.

“Where is Liam?”

“He’s staying with Jonathan’s mother for the weekend,” Julia said, her tone still sharp.

I could tell she was still boiling with anger.

“Hey, Dolly Jules, where ya head at?” I asked, using the childhood nickname that had always been a certain way to lift her mood.

Julia laughed despite herself.

“Dolly Jules? I haven’t heard that name in years.”

I joined in the laughter, grateful that the tension was easing.

“I brought this for Liam,” I said, remembering the gift I had brought along with me to give to Liam, I reached across the table where I had dropped the gift box when I came in and gave it to Julia.

Julia smiled as she looked at it.

“Has anyone ever told you you are the best godmother?” She said, smiling.

I laughed. “Well, you just did”

She went upstairs to place it in Liam’s room. When she returned, she seemed calmer.

“Still haven’t seen your Mr. Arrogant yet?” Julia asked, after she came down and resumed her place at the table.

“Nope, and I’m super grateful for that,” I said.

“Are you? I mean, he saved your life, so surely your hatred towards him must have reduced a notch, right?” Julia asked, a playful look in her eye.

I had told her about the incident and how Mr. Arrogant, as I called him, had saved my life. Since then, Julia had been singing his praises.

“Well, I’m grateful to him for what he did, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s still an arrogant, pompous man,” I said.

“A sexy, arrogant, pompous man. And not to deny the fact that he’s macho,” Julia added, winking.

I glared at her and shook her head.

“You haven’t even met him before. How do you know he is ‘sexy’?”

“I don’t need to. After you described the way he saved you to me, I just knew he would sexy.”

I rolled my eyes at her.

“Well, he’s out of my life now, so…”

“That’s a shame, but it doesn’t matter because, in no time, you’re going to have men surrounding you left, right, and center.”

I looked at Julia suspiciously. “What do you mean?”

Julia grinned mischievously. “We’re going clubbing, baby.”

“What, Julia, no….” I groaned.

“You need a little fun in your life, bestie and lucky for you, you have a best friend who just happens to know how to have fun” Julia said, standing up.

I couldn’t help smiling. I knew that with Julia, the night was sure to be exciting.