Julia's Pack.

Chapter 8 - Confusion about men

Oliver shut his eyes as he saw Julia's hurt face, squeezing them shut, trying his hardest to not yell at the pilot to turn around and land again. He gritted his teeth, holding Angelica's hand still, breathing in and out deep like he'd been taught. It helped him relax.

If he said goodbye, he didn't know he'd be able to do it, he didn't know if he'd be able to go through with it.

He leaned forward to make sure David had his seatbelt on right, then the others, doing anything Oliver could think of to avoid watching the island vanish. Julia had done what he'd expected, packed him a bag, covering his clothing with her scent. He still wasn't sure if that'd make this easier or harder in the long run...

Levi would be with her. If Oliver trusted anyone, it was Levi, and he knew Levi would protect her.

________________

Levi lead Julia into the house, hand in hers, squeezing hard as she hesitated, glancing back.

“Come on. Let's lie down.” He suggested softly, moving closer to hug her, kissing her gently. “It's easier. Let's go upstairs, lie down, and talk about it.”

She had no better ideas so she followed Levi upstairs, kind of mute and tired all at once, confused. Levi dropped the cane off at the edge of the bed and Julia crawled into the middle, into 'her spot', as he slid onto his back beside her. They lay there for a long time, quiet, she could see Levi's mind working over this. Not having hot wild sex, like she'd expected a few days ago, but just lay there staring at the wall. Fully dressed.

“Did you notice-”

“That he didn't say goodbye?” Levi's habit of reading her mind and cut her off bothered Julia sometimes. But right now? She wasn't minding so much. “Yeah. I noticed. Did you notice that he's been slipping out-”

“At night?” She read his mind this time, as their fingers twisted around each other, holding hands above themselves.

Levi nodded. “Yeah, at night.”

Julia lay on her stomach, staring at Levi's hand as she played with it, trying to understand what was going on. “You don't think he's cheating, do you?”

“Oliver? Probably not.” Levi shook his head. He shifted onto his side and she felt his other hand stroke her back, slowly, gently. “I don't think that's it. How was he while I was gone?”

“He was fine for a few days. I didn't do anything stupid.” Not more stupid than usual, at least. She shifted as she slid onto her side, staring at Levi. “Did he say anything to you?”

“No.” He shook his head. “The mate bond. How has he been feeling?”

“I don't know. He likes to cut it off when he gets like this.” She hesitated, feeling as if she was telling Levi what was in Oliver's diary, but they were a 'threesome'. Sort of. “He was distant. Sometimes he'd look at me, love me, and be really romantic. Then he'd go distant and wouldn't even look at me. He's been angry, I think, and he keeps getting jealous of everyone. Even you.”

Levi shifted up then, staring down at her, clearly surprised by that. “Me?”

“I know. I don't understand. You two sorted that out, didn't you?” She blinked as she felt something coming across from Levi, this disbelief, like he really couldn't believe it. It reminded her of all those other things she'd felt from Levi over the past week. “Levi, what about you?”

“About me?”

“What...” Again, it was like she was invading his privacy, even though they'd been like this for years. Julia flushed slightly. “I mean, you haven't felt okay either.” Julia's eyes caught Levi's uncomfortable shift on the bed, eyes suddenly finding the wall instead of her, as if he was shutting her off too. It upset her, Julia nudged him hard, and Levi frowned. “Levi, I don't need you keeping secrets from me too.”