Bent Read online

  Adam drew a long breath. He knew Micah was going to hit the roof when he heard. For a moment, he thought it would have been a better idea to leave him in the dark until they got to Julia's. "Karen's here."

  "What the--" Micah started, "But wait, how would Julia have known? They never met and she hasn't even seen a picture of her."

  As much as he wanted to find Karen and whoever she was with and beat them to a pulp, Adam was trying to be the voice of reason so Micah didn't do something rash. They needed to keep Caleb and Julia safe. Neither of them would be able to do that from jail. "There was, um... there was an incident when Julia went up to the pool house."

  Micah's voice rumbled with anger, "What do you mean 'an incident'?"

  Adam relayed what little he'd been able to find out from Julia as he raced out of the park. He stopped speaking mid-sentence when he realized that Micah had disconnected the call.

  Flashing lights raced down Main Street towards the edge of town. A pit in Adam's stomach told him he knew where they were headed. Knowing there were no other cops in town to stop him, Adam stomped on the accelerator to follow the squad cars.

  When they turned the corner, Adam saw Micah on the front lawn animatedly talking to one of the officers. Before he could put the car in park, the other officer was at the passenger's side door waiting to speak with Julia. Micah excused himself and ran across the yard, pushing himself between the officer and the door.

  "Baby, I'm so sorry," he exclaimed as he threw the door open. He eased her out of the car. Julia flinched when he wrapped his arm around her to lead her into the house, triggering a string of profanities from Micah.

  The young officer reached for Micah's shoulder, "Sir, we need to talk to her," he said.

  "And you can," Micah spat, "as soon as we get her inside." He shrugged loose from the officer's grasp and continued across the lawn.

  Julia motioned to the porch swing, not ready to let Micah see the bruises she knew were forming on her face. Micah draped his leather jacket over her shoulders and returned to the officer he had been speaking with once he knew she was settled.

  Both Micah and Julia spent time answering questions for the officers. Julia wept as she apologized for not being able to give details of her attackers. Several times, she jumped when she heard Micah raising his voice, threatening to find Karen if the cops didn't. At one point, Adam brought her a cup of tea and ice for her throbbing face.

  When the officer she'd been talking to told her he needed pictures of her injuries, she pleaded with Adam to keep Micah outside so she could have some privacy. He promised to give them privacy and called Caleb to join him on the porch. She led the officers into her office. It was the only room she could enter without having to pass a mirror. She wasn't ready to confirm that she looked as battered as she felt.

  Once the officers were satisfied that they had the necessary information, they assured Julia they would try to find Karen and the man who attacked her and left. Julia walked to the kitchen for a glass of wine. The clock on the wall told her it wasn't even ten o'clock yet. It felt like the middle of the night.

  "Shit, Jules!" Micah gasped when he saw her walking through the hallway. She flinched at his tone when he saw the purple marks on her face and arm. He inhaled sharply through his nose, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

  "It's...it's okay," she whispered. "Is it that bad?" Sooner or later, she was going to have to work up the courage to look in a mirror.

  Concern washed over Micah's face, "Baby, I'm so sorry. They're going to find her." He place feather-light kisses on Julia's cheek, "I'm so sorry."

  Julia lifted her left hand to Micah's face, "Stop," she demanded. "You didn't do this," she continued, motioning to her injuries, "so please, just stop apologizing." She slumped onto the couch draining her glass in one chug.

  Unable to sit still, Micah excused himself and stormed out the front door. Seconds later, Julia jumped at the sound of Micah's fist meeting the side of his truck. She shot up from the couch, instantly regretting the quick movement. Steadying herself, she walked outside and scolded Micah to come inside before someone called the cops back to the house. He muttered something before turning back across the yard.

  The bruises on Julia's face pulsated as she woke in the morning. She rolled to her back and saw Micah lying next to her, still sleeping soundly. Slowly, she eased herself off the bed, not wanting to disturb him. She went to bed while he and Adam discussed the situation at the kitchen table and knew he'd likely been up for a quite a while after that.

  Downstairs, Caleb was passed out on the couch, the television looping with the main menu of a DVD. She turned off the TV and shuffled down the hall, desperately needing her morning coffee. There, she found Adam nodding off at the kitchen table. "Hey bro, you look like hell," she whispered.

  Adam's head jerked back as he rubbed his eyes, "What? Oh, hey... guess I fell asleep." He looked upset at the admission. After stretching his arms, he lightly hugged Julia's shoulders, "You really know how to make things exciting, don't you?" he laughed in an attempt to lighten the mood.

  "That's me, Miss Excitement," Julia shrugged.

  Once the coffee finished brewing, she filled two mugs and led her brother to porch. She curled up on one end of the swing as Adam sat on the other. "So, did Micah talk to Caleb last night?" she asked, needing to know what he'd been told and how he was reacting to everything.

  "Yeah, they talked for a bit and I talked to him too," Adam said, staring straight ahead on the swing. "The boy has a lot going on in his head right now. He was mad at Micah at first, for making him leave. Once he heard what happened to you, he was worried. But when he heard that his mom was back and she had something to do with it, it got scary for a bit."

  Julia raised an eyebrow, "Scary?"

  "Yeah. At first, he didn't want to believe that she would do anything like this," he said, finally looking at Julia's face. "And I think he's scared and doesn't know how to feel. Think about it Jules, how would you have felt if mom came back, even without everything that happened last night? He's mad as hell but part of him will always miss his mom."

  Adam knew better than to expect a response to his question. The first year after their mom had bailed on them, Julia was mad as hell but missed her mom. After that, the rose colored glasses came off and she realized how deep their mother's lies ran. It wasn't something she and Adam ever talked about. He was younger when she left and Julia didn't think he fully understood everything. No, she thought, the time for missing her mom had long passed. The only thing she would feel if she came back into their lives at this point is anger.

  "So, what did you want to tell me about Micah?" Julia asked, hoping to steer the conversation in a different direction.

  Adam shook his head, "I'm not sure there's anything I can tell you that you couldn't figure out after last night. She's the biggest problem I have. Karen was never all there mentally and from what I gathered, you are a trigger for her. He was an ass to her. Time and time again, he reminded her that he'd broken your heart to be with her. He acted like she should be grateful to have him in her life. I just don't want you to get hurt again."

  Annie stopped by later in the morning and confirmed that the rumor mill was running at warp speed. Apparently, news of the attack filtered through the park shortly after they had left last night, somehow before the police had even left the house. The stories varied from a verbal disagreement to Julia being rushed to the hospital. The one detail everyone seemed to know was that Karen was back in town. A few people said they had seen her at the park, looking strung out and agitated.

  No one was willing to leave Julia home alone. All she wanted to do was curl in a ball under her summer quilt and sleep. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. None of this was in her plans when she had decided to come home. It's exactly why she had made the decision to stay far away for so long. Not only was she falling hopelessly in love with Micah again, she was developing feelings for his son. And those feelings, she knew, were
the reason she'd been attacked. Regardless of her run-in with Karen, the affection she felt for Caleb scared her.

  Through an exhausted fog, Julia could hear them talking in the kitchen. Micah called Lizzie to see if he could get out of volunteering at the beer tent. He didn't want to leave Julia's side knowing that something could happen. Adam told Micah it was a bad idea for any of them to go, that it was asking for trouble. Annie yelled at both of them for making decisions about Julia without talking to her. While Julia could understand the overprotective nature of the men in her life, she silently thanked Annie for her sticking up for her.

  The truth was, Julia wasn't sure she was up for being seen. Her face was a mosaic of blue, purple and yellow. The pain in her right elbow and shoulder made it nearly impossible to move. The only thing forcing her to get through the night was the fact that she wasn't going to let Karen ruin her life again. She'd caught up with more of her classmates online and was finally looking forward to reconnecting in person.

  If she stayed home, she wouldn't see most of them for another year, if then. If she went, she knew all eyes would be on her. She'd have to hear the whispers as people shared skewed stories of what had happened. If she stayed home, the stories would still be told, but would more than likely be exaggerated even more by her absence. There was no right decision.

  To push back the apprehension she felt about going out, Julia tried to pretend she was an A-list celebrity with her entourage. Annie rifled through the closet to find an outfit that wouldn't be too warm but would cover the bruises on her arms. Despite their efforts for her to not hear them, Julia had listened as Adam and Micah discussed how to make sure someone was with Julia at all times without her feeling like she had a babysitter. Late in the afternoon, the doorbell rang and Adam escorted Carly Turner to the bedroom.

  There had been a time when Julia and Carly were even closer than Julia and Annie were. Like Julia, Carly knew Brooklyn wasn't the place for her. After school, Carly had run off to New York chasing her dreams of bright lights and fame. She'd never achieved the fame, but she had weaseled her way into a few behind-the-scenes jobs off Broadway.

  "Holy shit girl, what happened to you?" Carly gasped.

  Annie laughed, "What a way to say hello, Carly." She rolled her eyes and went back to digging through the closet for a shirt.

  "Oh, you know, figured I'd meet with Micah's ex last night. I swear, coming back here might have been the stupidest thing I've done." Julia cried. It felt good to have two of her best friends with her but it didn't change the regret she felt over her decision to move home.

  "Just stop it, Julia Rose," Annie scolded. "That bitch helped screw things up before, but you've been annoyingly happy this week." She threw a shirt towards the bed and walked into the bathroom.

  Carly made a T with her hands, "Wait a flipping minute. Karen's in town...you and Micah...what in the hell's been going on around here?" Carly exclaimed. The dramatic flair showed that she may have been spending a little too much time with her actor friends.

  Annie flopped back on the bed as Carly started working her makeup magic on Julia's face. They gave Carly the short version of everything that happened since Julia had come home. The fighting, the dancing, the dinner, making up, and finally, the psychotic ex who thought she had a right to say who can and can't be a part of Micah's life. Just when Julia thought Annie was done rattling off everything she had to say, she added, "Oh yeah, and that first night, Jules thought Caleb was yours."

  "You what?" Carly shrieked.

  Julia shrugged, "Yeah, well, um, yeah. I assumed, based on what Annie and Micah were saying that Caleb may have been your son." She shook her head, "It was just a silly misunderstanding."

  "If you weren't hurt, I think I'd be tempted to slap you," Carly laughed. "Granted, he's a good looking guy but no way in hell..."

  Carly put the finishes touches on Julia's makeup. "There, no one will know," she said, completely satisfied with herself.

  Dressed and distracted by good conversation with great friends, Julia, Annie and Carly came down the front stairs like schoolgirls heading to the dance. Julia was still nervous about what could happen and what would be said, but Annie and Carly forced her to push the negative thoughts to the back of her mind. For the time being, ignoring the elephant in the room seemed to be the best plan.

  Micah and Adam flanked Julia as they walked through downtown to the reunion street dance. Despite her protests that she didn't need caretakers, she had to admit she felt more at ease knowing they were with her. Karen was still out there, as was the man she was with. The thought of him roaming around town scared her much more than Micah's ex. She was a known entity, he was nameless and faceless.

  Noticing the tension in her shoulders, Micah leaned closer to Julia and placed a gentle kiss on the top of her head. "You look beautiful."

  A half-smile crept onto her face, "Thanks. You're... going to watch for her, right?" Micah figured that being punched in the stomach would have hurt less than seeing the look on Julia's face.

  While they were still at her house, she'd seemed fine. It was a bit alarming when the women had come downstairs laughing as though nothing was wrong, but he'd dismissed that as Annie and Carly taking Julia's mind off what had happened last night. Now, he knew it was all an act. Julia was terrified.

  "Hey, if you don't want to do this, we can go back to your place," Micah whispered in her ear. Part of him hoped that he would run into Karen. He'd never hit a woman, he'd been raised better than that, but that wouldn't keep him from telling her exactly what place she held in his life. When she had decided that the drugs were more important that her own son, she'd given up any claim she had on their lives. Julia and Caleb were the innocents in their situation and yet they were also the two who seemed to get hurt time and again because of Micah's mistake.

  "No," Julia said, pulling him to a stop so she could look him in the eye. "If I leave, she wins. Again."

  Knowing there was no way her opinion could be swayed, Micah pulled Julia close to him as they approached the registration table. Lizzie pulled Micah aside to let him know that she'd found someone to work his shift and asked him to keep Julia close to him. She assured him that she'd gotten the word out about Karen and all of the locals who remembered Karen were watching for her.

  It didn't take Julia long to relax once she was surrounded by friends. When she was younger, she thought it odd that her school didn't have individual class reunions, opting instead for one big party every summer that served as a reunion for everyone who'd graduated from the school. Attending for the first time as an alum, she understood why it worked. While she had a core group of friends who were in her graduating class, she had far more friends who graduated in the years before and after she did and it was wonderful to see them.

  The only downside of the night was Micah and Adam's obsessive need to ask Julia if she was okay. When she stood to get a drink, whichever one was closer was immediately at her side, offering to walk with her. If she went to say hello to someone, she felt their eyes following her. She was fairly certain that if she tried to go to the restroom without Carly or Annie one of them would insist on clearing the room before she could walk inside. There was no hiding the irritation once she had a few drinks in her.

  "Hey," Micah said as he sat next to her at one of the tables set up in the middle of Main Street, "You okay? All you have to do is say the word and we'll go." She saw the concern in his eyes but it did nothing to cool the anger building within her.

  "You know what? No, I'm not okay," Julia railed, "You and Adam are crawling up my ass trying to take care of me. I came here tonight to have a good time and that's not possible when I have you two walking around like my personal bodyguards. I know why you're doing it and that pisses me off even more. All I want to do is be normal. I want to be able to forget about last night. I don't want to worry that people are talking about what happened." She rolled her eyes when Micah tried to get her to lower her voice, "Now, if you don't mind, I'm going t
o get Annie and Carly and we're going to dance. Without you two."

  Micah wrapped his arms around Julia's shoulders, trying to be conscious of her bruises, "I'm sorry, baby. Last night freaked us all out a bit and I think I speak for both of us when I say we're just trying to keep you safe." His breath smelled of Miller Lite and spearmint gum as he leaned his forehead against hers, "I don't know what she's doing right now and that worries me. She's obviously on something again, which means she's probably off her meds. When that happens, she's unstable and can be violent--"

  Julia cut him off, "Gee, you think? You don't need to tell me that she's a freaking psycho, I'm the one who got to see and feel it firsthand. But that doesn't change the fact that I need to be able to live my life." She let out a loud sigh, "If you want to do something to protect me, just let me have some fun and keep your eyes open. I'll admit, I'm scared shitless. I don't know what she looks like. I don't know what he looks like. I have to suspect everyone I don't recognize. Do you have any clue what it's like to be looking over your damned shoulder, knowing someone wants to hurt you but having no idea who it is? I do. So please, just let me forget that for a minute." Exasperated, Julia stood and walked away.

  The last thing Micah wanted to do was let Julia wander off. He told himself she'd be safe with her two best friends, both of whom knew Karen and would do what needed to be done if they saw her. Part of him hoped they saw her because both of them were feisty enough that they would knock Karen on her ass. As he watched Julia disappear into a sea of alumnae, Micah kept reminding himself that everyone loved Julia and would raise holy hell if anyone tried to hurt her while they were here.

  When Your Man blared into the streets, Micah found Julia as she was stepping away from the dance floor. "Dance with me?" he asked.

  It was a moment that didn't require any words. She reached for his hand and let him pull her in close. She appreciated that he respected her enough to step back, although she was never out of his sight. Later, she would tell him how much that simple act meant to her. For now, she was happy to feel his arms around her.