Bent Page 11

  As they gently swayed in each other's arms, she felt a pit in her stomach but quickly dismissed it as paranoia after a traumatic event.

  Chapter Ten

  The rest of the evening was surprisingly pleasant. Julia was quickly remembering all of the things she'd loved about growing up in Brooklyn. When she was trying to stay away, she was able to tell herself that it was a simple town filled with simple-minded people.

  The street dance showed her just how diverse the students who had once called Brooklyn home were as adults. While there were some people who never got out of the stereotype of the small town, there were also successful professionals who once called this sleepy little town home. Rumor had it that one of her classmates who was conspicuously absent was now the head coach of a college basketball team.

  By the time they were walking back to the car, Julia could feel another brick in her emotional wall starting to crumble.

  The peace that had washed over Julia, allowing her to fall asleep as soon as they were in the truck was shattered as soon as Micah pulled into the driveway at the end of Lincoln Street. "Stay here, lock the doors as soon as I'm out," Micah commanded as he slammed the gear shift into park. Micah ran to the house, cell phone in hand, with Adam close on his heels. Julia's heart raced as she was jolted awake. The beam of a flashlight slashed the darkness in her upstairs bedroom window.

  Within seconds, the window was fully illuminated and she could see the silhouettes of two people arguing behind the blinds. She gasped when a third image appeared, throwing the person who had been standing directly in front of the window to the ground. Time seemed to slow as she sat helplessly in the truck, watching the struggle in her bedroom.

  Sirens broke the silence as the two officers on duty came tearing down the street.

  She watched as both officers ran to the house. Adam appeared in the front door and escorted them inside. Julia's body fought the urge to reject everything she'd eaten that night. While it was possible this was a strange coincidence, intuition told her Karen was behind the break-in. What other explanation was there for being attacked one night and coming home to someone in her house the next? No one had luck that bad. Not even Julia.

  Anxiety started to overcome Julia's athletic frame and she doubled over in the truck to keep from hyperventilating. She jumped when she heard rapping on the driver's side window of the truck. Every emotion she was feeling boiled over when she saw Micah's face through the darkness. She threw open her own door and expelled the contents of her stomach.

  Before she could sit upright again, Micah was at her side, "Baby, are you okay?"

  "What..what was...who was..." Panic had reduced Julia to a sobbing, muttering mess.

  Micah scooped Julia off the seat and carried her towards the house. "I'm so sorry, baby," he breathed, "She came here looking for me."

  Julia's eyes shot up, "You mean--"

  He nodded and looked towards the front door, where Officer Andrews, the young officer from the night before, was leading Karen down the front steps. She was screaming incoherently about Micah keeping her son from her. She spat in their direction when she saw Micah and Julia coming across the lawn. She continued her rant, letting everyone know that she would always be Caleb's mom, no matter what skank Micah brought home to replace her.

  Micah placed Julia's feet on the ground and briefly kissed her before signaling for Adam to escort her into the house while he talked to the officers. He needed to know what was going to happen to Karen. Satisfied with the information he was given, he turned to the house, not fully prepared to deal with the conversation he knew was ahead of him.

  As he suspected, Adam was livid by the time Micah reached the front door. "What the fuck, man? Two nights in a row that bitch goes after Jules?" He was pacing through the living room like a caged animal.

  "Where's Julia?" Micah asked, ignoring her brother's tirade. There was nothing he could say that would make things different. In the mood he was in, Micah was reasonably certain it wouldn't matter to Adam that he hadn't heard from Karen in over three years. There was no way to explain how it was that the two significant women in his life both came back to the same small town in one week. If their roles were reversed, Micah would be throwing punches by now.

  Adam's eyes were nearly black with rage, "She's locked in her office with a glass of wine," he said, gesturing to the closed door off the foyer. "Now, you'd better start talking and talk fast. How does Karen know who Julia is? And how in the hell does she know where my sister lives?" Adam hands were balled tightly at his sides. "I knew shit wasn't right when Julia asked me about you. That's why I told you to stay away. Now look--"

  "Calm down, Adam," Julia's icy words cut through the tension across the hall. "Micah didn't do this. Micah didn't ask for that vile bitch to attack me in a bathroom. Micah didn't call her and give her my address so she could destroy my house while we were gone."

  She walked into the room and wrapped her arms around Micah's waist. Yes, she'd wanted to lay part of the blame for all of this on Micah, but she knew he wasn't responsible for the actions of his crazy ex and she'd be damned if she was going to let two of the most important men in her life go to blows over this.

  If they did start throwing punches, she would be forced to let them kill one another because she wasn't about to have the cops to her house for a third time in just over twenty-four hours.

  Luckily, as soon as she was done speaking, Adam retreated to the other side of the room. "I'm sorry Jules, but this is crap. Last night, I have to pull you out of the bathroom after they talked to you," he said, forming air quotes at the last half of the statement, "And tonight, the crazy bitch broke into your house. I just don't understand how she knows who you are, much less how she knows you're back in town. I don't even want to think about what their next move will be." He placed his hands on the mantle and took a few deep breaths.

  "Adam, you have to know that I had no clue Karen was back in the area," Micah said calmly. "I haven't talked to her in over three years." He rubbed his temples and forehead, trying to figure out the answers to Adam's questions. They weren't unexpected questions, many of the same things had been running through his own mind. "My only guess is that she saw me with Julia last night. It doesn't explain anything else, but it's obvious that something set her off."

  "But why is she here? Now?" Adam spat.

  "Look man, I don't have any more answers than you do. Andrews said he'll keep us posted. Maybe he'll be able to figure it out."

  No one said anything after that. Adam righted the lamps Karen had knocked over in the living room and grabbed the pillows and blanket that had been thrown across the room.

  "I'm going to lock up," he said, removing his shoes, "Take her upstairs and get her to bed." As Micah placed his hand at the small of Julia's back to lead her up the stairs, he heard Adam mutter, "I can't believe I just told that ass to take my sister to bed."

  Julia gasped when she saw her bedroom. All of the drawers had been pulled from dresser, the clothes strewn across the room. Her brand new bedding was slashed. She swallowed hard at the realization of just how volatile the woman who'd been in her home was.

  Micah pulled off the tattered bedding and piled it in the corner. "I have a blanket in the truck. I'll be right back," he told her as he walked out of the room.

  By the time he got back upstairs, Julia was curled in a ball in the middle of the bed sobbing. "Baby, I'm so, so sorry," he whispered as he placed the blanket over her. She felt the edge of the bed lower as Micah sat to remove his cowboy boots. Stripped to his boxer briefs, Micah laid down and pulled her close to him.

  "Was she...always like this?" Julia sobbed.

  The last thing Micah wanted to talk about while in bed with Julia was Karen. "Not always..." he said, weighing his options. He felt sick to his stomach talking about Karen but he couldn't deny Julia answers if she wanted them. The fact that she hadn't screamed at him to get out of her life was far more than he could have expected.

  Slowly,
Julia turned in his arms so they were facing one another. "So, what happened?" her voice faltered.

  "We never really got along. I hated myself after what I did to you," he said, pausing to kiss Julia's forehead before continuing, "When Caleb was about four, one of her co-workers introduced her to meth. After that, things started to get bad. Before that, we fought a lot but she was out of control on the drugs."

  This time, it was Julia pulling Micah closer. "So, does Caleb remember the good times?" In a strange way, she hoped the boy had no recollection of a time when his mom wasn't on drugs.

  While their circumstances were different, she knew what it was like to remember a mom that seemed normal and loving, only to have her replaced by a cold, destructive, selfish woman. Many times she'd wished she never had the good memories, all they did was cloud the hatred.

  Micah pulled his head back to look into Julia's eyes, "I don't know. He doesn't talk about her much, and because of how she left, I don't force the issue." He shook his head, "You're an amazing woman, do you know that?" he said, hoping to bring the conversation to something less painful for both of them.

  A sarcastic comment about how he should have realized that years ago was stopped right before it came out of Julia's mouth. It was the truth, but it was the type of piercing truth that benefited no one. Instead, she rolled over, pressing her back against his chest, and fell into a restless sleep.

  Sunday was far more eventful than Julia wanted. Early in the morning, she heard Adam and Micah downstairs, talking about buying new door and window locks for the house. Adam called Mrs. Stevens and then called a friend to see about a deal on an alarm system. As she reached the bottom of the staircase the conversation stopped. "I already heard you guys, you might as well keep going," she said as she poured a cup of coffee.

  "You're not going to freak about us trying to keep you safe today?" Adam asked, only half joking.

  Julia shook her head, "No, I think you guys have proved your point. That bitch is nuts," she exclaimed.

  Micah looked at her in stunned silence. Every time he thought he understood this beautiful woman standing before him, she opened her mouth and shocked him. He wondered if that was something that would go away as they got to know one another again.

  "Sorry, Micah. I know she's Caleb's mom," she said, "but face it, she's completely and utterly crazy." Her conversational tone was bizarre. Everything she'd been through in the past thirty-six hours would be enough to crumple most people and here stood Julia cradling a cup of coffee in two hands, talking about the woman responsible for victimizing her twice as if she was talking about the weather.

  Forgetting that her younger brother was in the room itching for a reason to punch Micah, he walked over to Julia and gave her a passionate kiss. "You really are an amazing woman. I'm sorry I never gave you credit for being so strong."

  Adam cleared his throat as he stood from his chair. "Jules, I'm going to use your bathroom. You don't have a curtain for the other shower yet," he said as he excused himself. "Micah, once I'm dressed, we'll run to Madison. Annie and Carly should be here by then."

  Apparently, Operation Babysitter was in full effect this morning. "The girls are coming over?" Julia asked, glaring over the top of her coffee.

  "Julia, you can't be here alone. Not until we know what's going on," Micah said sweetly, lacing his fingers behind Julia's back. "Adam called Annie this morning to get her mom's number. He didn't remember that I have it and he wanted to let her know what all we're doing to make this place a little safer." He leaned forward and trailed kisses down the side of Julia's long neck. "She's worried too. We all are. And, in case I haven't said it, I'm still sorry."

  "Fine," she huffed, "And stop it. I'm really getting sick of hearing you apologize."

  "I know, but if I hadn't--"

  Julia cut him off before he could say another word. "No. No more," she leaned forward so their foreheads were pressed together, "I'm working hard on forgiving you for what you did. You screwed up. We both get that, but you have to admit that you also got something great out of that mistake. But this," she said sweeping her arms around the house and then to herself, "You didn't do this. So please, stop apologizing. It's getting old."

  She couldn't see it, but Julia felt Micah's eyebrow raise against the skin of her head, "Something great?" he asked, not following her line of thought.

  "Yes. She's a crazy bitch, but it's because of her and because of what you did that you have Caleb." She stood on her toes to kiss the tip of his nose, "And he's a pretty good kid."

  Micah jerked away from her, "I so do not deserve you."

  "No, you really don't," she said over her shoulder as she went upstairs to get dressed.

  Once the girls got to the house, Julia announced that they would be going to Madison with Micah and Adam. She didn't want to be in the house and she needed to replace the bedding that had been destroyed. Annie offered to drive so the guys wouldn't be forced to endure shopping beyond the home improvement store but Micah insisted that it made no sense for them to take two vehicles into town.

  As he turned onto the highway, he placed a quick call to Amy Bryant to let her know he would be by late in the afternoon to pick up Caleb. He'd already talked to her this morning to ask her to keep an eye on Caleb a bit longer and gave her a brief account of the previous night's events. She assured him that it was fine and told him to take care of 'his girl' so she'd stick around. That made Micah laugh. If only Amy and Joel knew the full story, he wondered if they'd be as eager to see things work out between him and Julia.

  In the passenger's seat next to him, Adam was also placing calls. He was trying to shuffle a few business meetings to give him more time in Brooklyn. Until his friend could come out to install the new security system, he wasn't comfortable leaving his sister home alone.

  The phone calls continued in the front seat of the truck. Austin and Lizzie were going to come over so Austin could help with the locks while Lizzie relaxed and celebrated the fact that reunion planning was over. A few other friends were going to stop by to help finish replacing the front porch. With everything that had transpired since Friday, Micah was behind schedule on the remodel and wanted to get that back on track.

  Julia smiled in the backseat as she realized how everyone was coming together to help her. She'd rather not need the protection but it was good to be close to people who cared so much about her. Living in cities, she hadn't known many people outside of her ex-husband's co-workers.

  The fact that everyone knew everyone in town annoyed her when she was a teen. Now, it made her see that not only does everyone know everyone, they all help one another without expecting anything in return.

  By the time they returned to the dilapidated house on Lincoln Street, the air was abuzz with the sounds of saws, hammers and various other power tools. Austin and three men Julia didn't know made quick work of the second half of the front porch and had moved on to taming the bushes surrounding the house.

  Micah disappeared to the back deck to start putting together the housewarming gift he picked up for Julia, a new gas grill. She objected until he told her there was going to be a group of hungry men at the house by the time he got done with them. An impromptu barbecue was also not in Julia's plans for Sunday afternoon but as soon as they were home she began looking forward to a night with friends.

  Lizzie busied herself in the kitchen cutting fruit and making a pasta salad while Adam and Carly ran to pick up brats and hamburgers. Annie disappeared for close to an hour, returning with a cooler fully stocked with beer and soda.

  The feeling was surreal as Julia watched her friends retire to the backyard late in the afternoon. She'd always wanted to have gatherings like this one. Another brick in the wall around her heart was crumbling and she knew the more memories they built like this one, the harder it would be for her to move on like she'd promised herself she would.

  As the evening wound down, Julia heard Caleb and Micah having a heated discussion behind the house. Adam had been
unable to change a few of his meetings which meant he would have to drive home once everyone else was gone. Since neither of the men in her life was willing to have Julia stay home alone, they'd talked and decided that Micah and Caleb would stay at the house for a few nights. Unfortunately, this was not discussed with Caleb and he wasn't happy about being uprooted, no matter the time frame, so close to the start of the school year.

  Julia reached for the sliding glass door to tell Micah she'd be fine when she saw Caleb crossing the deck, arms folded tightly across his chest. When she opened the door for him, he shot her an icy glare. She quickly stepped past him to find Micah.

  "Hey, why don't you take him home? I'll be fine," Julia said burying her face into Micah's chest. She didn't want him to leave but what she wanted didn't matter if it meant problems between him and his son. They were going to have enough to face in the near future because of Karen and Julia refused to do anything to make it worse.

  He gently placed his hands on either side of Julia's face drawing her eyes to meet his own. "No. He's not happy right now, but I know he'll be even more upset if something happened to you," he said planting kisses on her cheeks. "It's a lot for him to take in. Just know that he's not mad at you."

  "I know, but he needs to be your priority right now," she said softly.

  Micah shook his head, "I'll tell you the same thing I told him. This isn't open for discussion. You're not staying here by yourself. So, unless you want me to ask Gran if you can stay at the farm with us, we're going to be staying here."

  She knew better than to fight him. If she tried, he would bring Adam into their conversation and there was no way to convince two well-meaning yet overprotective men to change their minds. Resigned to the fact that her independent life was slipping out of her grasp, Julia turned back to the house.