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  Without hesitation, Micah turned to look his son in the eye, "You're the only person in the world who means more to me than her." It wasn't what he intended to say, but it was the truth. Caleb wasn't a child who needed to be sheltered. He was growing into a young man who deserved to know what was going on in his father's life, especially when it also affected his own life. It was going to be a fine line to avoid keeping things from him while still protecting Caleb from getting hurt.

  "Okay." Caleb appeared to be processing what Micah had just told him. The silence grew uncomfortable.

  "Is that okay with you?" Micah asked, hoping to pry the thoughts out of Caleb's head. He wasn't going to let a child make decisions for him, but he respected his son enough to want his opinion.

  "Would it matter if it wasn't?"

  The question threw Micah. What would he do if Caleb said he wasn't okay with it? "Buddy, what you think and what you feel always counts for something."

  Caleb snorted in disbelief, "Sure."

  "What's that mean?" Micah was getting pissed. He may not be the perfect parent, but as far as he knew, he'd always been considerate of Caleb's feelings. Everything he'd done for the past almost thirteen years was done with him in mind.

  "Nothing," Caleb mumbled.

  Any second, Julia was going to come through her front door. She didn't need to walk into this mess. "Look buddy, I really do want to know if you have a problem with this."

  "Nah, she's nice." Caleb's voice cracked, "It's just..."

  Crap. The front door opened. Time was running out to clear the air. "It's just what?" Micah's tone was clipped. He'd been love-drunk for a week and felt a hangover coming on.

  "Really Dad, it's fine. But don't you think it's weird that we're going to family night with her?" And the real problem finally came to light.

  The words flew out of Micah's mouth, faster with every step Julia took towards the truck. "We'll talk about this later, I promise. But please, don't over-think this. It's not so much that it's a night for families, it's just that this is the night when they have things for all ages and a lot of people bring their kids. That's it. Okay?"

  Julia's hand reached for the door. Micah needed reassurance that Caleb understood and wasn't going to be moody all night. "Yeah, okay." He still didn't seem completely at ease, but Micah saw his shoulders relax with the words.

  The tension was palpable as they pulled into the park. Julia knew part of it was her own nerves but she couldn't shake the feeling there was something else going on. Caleb barely said a word on the drive other than to ask his dad if he could go to the creek with Andy. He wasn't thrilled when Micah told him that he needed to stay close, at least until they grabbed something to eat.

  As they walked up the hill to the festival tent, Julia felt like someone was watching them. Of course they're watching, she chided herself, you can't expect to show up on the arm of your high school sweetheart after running away for thirteen years and not have people watching your every move. Not here. Glancing towards the truck, she couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. That should have calmed her nerves, but it had the opposite effect. She felt more on-edge than she had before.

  Coming here together was a mistake. By walking in with Micah and Caleb, Julia felt as though she was laying claim to something that wasn't hers. This was family night. The night when everyone came to show their classmates how wonderful life was and how beautiful and intelligent their own children were. Of course, no one said that, but everyone knew that's what was going on. No matter what the reality was, everyone tried to show how happy they were with life after school. Julia pulled away and sat on an isolated bench.

  Micah followed her, "Hey, what's going on?"

  "I just need some space," her voice wavered as she tried to hide the pain she felt. The truth was Julia's life was further from perfect than anyone, even Micah, could fathom. With or without Micah, she wasn't ready to face that in front of a tent full of people she'd known most of her life. "You two go ahead, I'll meet you in there."

  He hesitated. She'd been so adamant that she had no problem being seen with him but her actions showed him that it was a huge problem. "Go. I'll be fine," she said when Micah didn't move from where he'd crouched in front of her. "Go."

  The similarities between father and son were uncanny as she watched them walking away. Even though Caleb was young, his gait was nearly identical to his father's. If she had seen Caleb without knowing he was Micah's son, she would have sworn she was hallucinating. The way his chestnut hair fell in front of his eyes. The gold flecks that gave his dark, sleepy eyes a glint of mischief. If only things had been different...

  No. Tonight, of all nights, Julia refused to allow herself to think about how different life could have been. As Micah and Caleb disappeared into the crowd, Julia again felt eyes boring into her. She turned, certain there was someone behind her. There was no one in the darkness. She shivered as she stood, no longer comfortable sitting in the shadows on the bench.

  Walking into the tent on her own was strangely freeing. Despite her earlier feelings that her life was a total mess, being able to hold her shoulders back and walk in on her own let the world, or at least her former classmates, know that life goes on and she was proud to be in control of her life.

  Like everyone else, she was playing a part for the evening and she was okay with that. She wouldn't see most of them for another year, so it didn't matter if they believed her or not. She could say she didn't care what they thought at all, but if that was true, she would have walked in with Micah.

  The band playing in the festival tent was the same one that had played family night for as long as Julia could remember. She was surprised to see it was still the original lineup. They'd seemed ancient when she graduated. Somehow, they looked no older now than they had then. This was another good memory of growing up in Brooklyn. The one weekend each year when the petty fights were pushed aside and everyone had a good time.

  Lost in thought, Julia didn't notice the man approaching behind her. She was snapped out of her thoughts as she was hoisted high in the air. "Hey, big sister!" Adam roared with laughter as she screamed.

  "Not funny! Put me down!" She pummeled her fists into her brother's back.

  He set her feet back on the ground and gave her a tight squeeze. "You look good, sis. Now, how 'bout you buy me a beer."

  Julia couldn't hide the shocked look on her face. "We have all weekend. Are you telling me you'd rather be seen with your big sister than hang with the guys?"

  "Yeah, they're all getting old and settling down. All of us broke-ass single peeps have to stick together," he laughed. Adam wrapped an arm around his sister's shoulder and led her to the beer ticket booth. Julia leaned into him as she realized that she wasn't alone. She didn't have the family that most of her classmates were here with, but she and Adam had one another.

  Again, Julia felt eyes boring into the back of her head. She whipped around, expecting to see someone staring at her but she only saw groups immersed in their own conversations. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt so unsettled. Muttering to herself about how foolish she was being, Julia didn't realize Adam was talking to her. "Hey, you in there?" Adam was snapping his fingers in front of her face.

  She batted his hand away, "Yeah, just keep getting this weird feeling. I'm sure it's nothing."

  Adam asked her again how many tickets to buy. She told him to get whatever he wanted and pulled a twenty out of her handbag. Tickets in hand, they started back to the tent. Caleb ran up to them, "Julia, my dad told me to let you know he's over there. He said Adam should come over too." Julia groaned when she realized moody Caleb was in their midst. It seemed everything about this night was going completely wrong.

  "Let him know we'll be over in a minute, thanks." Julia rolled her eyes at the disapproving look on her brother's face. Micah told her he'd received a few phone calls from Adam wanting to know what was going on. She hoped he didn't plan on playing protector tonight.

  The l
ine at the beer table wasn't so much a line as a sea of people in various states of sobriety or lack thereof. Just as Adam went to say something to Julia, she felt herself pushed away from him. She silently thanked the rowdy crowd for stopping what she knew would be an uncomfortable conversation. Unfortunately, something was going to need to be said in the next few minutes. If not, it was going to be even more awkward when they were all together.

  Beers in hand, Julia found her brother towering over many of the drinkers. She led him to the nearest picnic table and set down the drinks. She reached up to put a hand on her younger brother's shoulder. "Look, I've heard you might have some issues with me and Micah. You need to tell me right here and now if that's true." Even though he was two years younger, Adam had always looked out for Julia and she respected his opinion. It didn't mean she always listened to what he had to say, but she wanted to hear it.

  "Issues, no. Concerns, yes." Adam stated. "Look Jules, you don't know what happened while you were gone. He--"

  Julia cut him off, "No, details later. I just need to make sure you don't have a problem with us talking. Let's go." She picked up her beer and turned away. Once Adam got talking, he wasn't likely to stop for a while and Julia wanted to be near Micah. She wanted to apologize to him for her mood when they first arrived. She needed to explain what was going on in her head.

  Micah jumped off the picnic table and gave Adam a one-arm hug. "Hey man, good to see ya." He glanced at Julia, his eyes seeming to ask if everything was okay. She nodded and Adam let out a deep laugh.

  "Dude, you two should see your faces," he chuckled. "Just hug her, dammit. I promise, I'm not going to kick your ass if you do." Adam's face got very serious and he leaned in towards Micah's ear. His voice was low and the words clipped, "Just remember that if she gets hurt again, I'm big enough to kick your ass now."

  Micah nodded but didn't say anything.

  Within ten minutes, Caleb wore down his dad to the point where Micah let him run down to the creek with Andy and the rest of his friends. He tossed his phone to Caleb telling him to answer if it showed Julia's name but let it ring otherwise. Julia leaned into Micah's chest, enjoying the feeling of his arms wrapped around her waist. Her apprehension at the thought of people wondering what was going on melted away and she swayed dreamily in his arms as the band played.

  When a slow song came on, Micah slid from the top of the table and offered her a hand. Together, they joined the other couples on the dance floor. Julia rested her head on Micah's shoulder as the lead singer lamented about looking for love. A few friends nodded and smiled as they passed one another. For the first time tonight, everything felt right.

  Julia excused herself when the song ended, telling Micah to grab a round of drinks while she went to the restroom. Instead of standing in line for the facilities just outside the tent, she walked up the hill to the pool house. The building was dark and Julia debated turning back. Instead, she pushed the door open and reached for the light switch.

  The pain was overwhelming as she her arm was wrenched behind her back. A calloused hand smelling of stale cigarettes and cheap whiskey was clamped over her mouth as she tried to scream. Before she could react, she was pulled into the dark restroom. The man restraining her whispered into her ear that they didn't want to hurt her, they just wanted to talk.

  "But if you scream, you'll leave me no choice. Understood?" Julia nodded and the man squeezed her tightly, one arm still pinned between them and the other pressing firmly into her side. The smell of cheap whiskey assaulted her senses as the behemoth holding her laughed.

  From across the room, a shrill voice hissed, "So, the pretty little bitch thinks she can come back and have the perfect little life..." Her face was illuminated by the glow of a cigarette lighter for a moment before they returned to total darkness. It wasn't enough for Julia to clearly see any of the woman's features. She wanted to scream but she had no doubt the man holding her would have no problem making good on his threat.

  The cherry on the cigarette brightened as the woman took a long drag before continuing. "They're not yours, you know," she spat. Her words were angry but there was a hint of something else there. Julia struggled to break free from the man's grasp. She needed to get out of there. His hand squeezed her tighter. "This is the only time I will say this, so listen closely. Stay. Away. From. Caleb."

  Julia gasped when she realized who was standing just a few feet in front of her. "Karen, I'm not..." She desperately wanted to get out of the restroom and back to the crowd. She tried wiggle free but the man twisted her arm tighter behind her back.

  "Shut up," she screeched, "this is not a discussion. They're not yours. And if you keep trying to take what's mine, I'm going to make your life hell." Frail fingers squeezed the sides of Julia's face as Karen pulled in close to her. "For eight years, I had to hear all about how perfect you were and how I'd never be you. He made my life a living hell, telling me that I screwed up his life and he'd never get it back."

  The cigarette fell to the floor and Julia had no clue where Karen stood in the room. "The truth is, he's the one who fucked it up. The night he was with me, he knew what he was doing. He said it was amazing. The best. He begged me to let him do me bareback wanting to feel a real woman, skin on skin. He knew exactly what he was doing. And he had no problem dropping you like a bad habit and running to the courthouse to marry me."

  Tears streamed down Julia's face. Listening to Karen give her the details of Micah's betrayal felt like being slapped in the face repeatedly. The bathroom door opened, allowing a sliver of light into the room. Karen stopped and let the door swing shut, "No matter what you think you can give him, I gave him the best thing that ever happened to him. He will always love me for that."

  Annie told Julia that Karen was unstable, but this was more than that. She was psychotic. No sane person would trap someone in a dark bathroom like this. Julia drew in a deep breath and prayed for strength. She wasn't going to let this woman know the fear that was overwhelming her.

  "No, Karen. That's not him loving you. You're a miserable bitch and they're both better off without you in their lives. He did what he thought was--"

  Julia's cheek felt like it exploded with the force of Karen's hand making contact. "You don't fucking know me. You don't know anything. Stay the fuck away from them." The door swung open again and Julia fell to the floor. After watching Karen and her friend walk away, she reached into her pocket for her phone.

  After two rings, an unexpected voice picked up and Julia remembered that Micah had given his phone to Caleb. "Hello... hello...Dad?"

  "No, it's Julia. I forgot your dad gave you his phone," she said, trying to stifle the sobs, "I'll call him on Adam's phone."

  Her hands trembled as she found Adam's number in the list. She hadn't even thought about what would happen if Karen found Caleb. She panicked, knowing Karen and the thug she was with could be headed to him now. She didn't give Adam a chance to talk when the line picked up. "Adam, get Caleb. Now!" she whispered loudly. If, by some chance, they didn't know Caleb had wandered off with his friends, Julia wasn't going to be the one to tip them off if they were still nearby.

  "Jules, what's going on?" Sensing her fear, Adam's voice rose and she could hear Micah in the background asking the same thing.

  There was no time to explain, "Get him. Just get him and go to my house. Adam, you have to get him." Adam pulled the phone from his face and told Micah to get Caleb, that something was going on but he didn't know what. Micah sounded frantic, trying to get Adam to tell him what was going on.

  Adam growled, "I don't know yet. Just go get him, dammit. She's freaking out... Just go." He put the phone back to his ear. "Okay, Micah's getting him. Where are you? What's going on? What happened?" The questions fired out of his mouth like an automatic weapon.

  "Karen's here," Julia sobbed. She tried to push herself up from the floor. Her shoulder wasn't dislocated but something was messed up. She leaned back against the cool concrete blocks.

 
A frenzied series of indistinguishable profanities flew from his mouth, "How do you know? Did you see her? Where the hell are you anyway?"

  The fact that her brother was unable to ask one question at a time really irritated Julia. Knowing that Caleb was safe, she had time to think about her own condition. Her face throbbed and she could barely move her right arm. She pushed up using her left hand but her knees were weak and she had to lean against the wall for support. "I'm at the pool house bathrooms. Bring your car up here and I'll explain on the way home."

  "Jules, you need to tell me what in the hell is going on," he huffed. She could tell he was running through the park.

  "Just get your ass up here," Julia barked. "Please Adam, just get up here." She desperately wanted out of the bathroom but couldn't face walking back in the dark. Adam didn't press for more information.

  A couple of long minutes later, Adam flipped on the light in the women's room to find Julia cowering against the wall. "Holy hell, what happened in here?" he seethed. Julia flinched at the sound of his fist making contact with the door. In one quick but gentle motion Julia was safe in her brother's arms. She pressed her face into his chest as the sobs overwhelmed her.

  Chapter Nine

  Once Julia was settled into the front seat of Adam's vintage Chevelle, he stood behind the car while he called Micah. "Hey man, we have a big problem," he stated as soon as Micah picked up.

  "I kind of figured that," Micah said, his words clipped. "Now, you want to tell me what in the hell this problem is?" Adam could hear Caleb in the background proclaiming how unfair it was that he had to come home like a little kid. He couldn't blame Caleb for being upset but there was no doubt now that he'd seen his sister that Julia made the right call telling them to grab him.