Chaos (Colby Brock)

108

Colby's POV

"Just let me know if you need anything." I said as we walked into the library. "Okay, thanks." Julia said then sat at her desk.

"Think about what you want to eat." I said then turned and left the room.

I didn't necessarily want to leave her alone because I couldn't really trust her just yet.

I know that I hid the drugs in our bathroom but the other people in the house had plenty of things.

I understood why she needed some time to herself though. We've been watching her like a hawk and I could see where that would be annoying.

It was just because we cared though.

When I got to my office I sat down and logged into my computer.

Sam was mostly watching over the gang while I was here with Julia but I had a couple things that I could do now.

I had to admit that I was a little anxious about the whole Alexander Quill thing. I haven't heard from him yet and it's been a couple of days.

That either meant he didn't know what happened or that he was planning something.

I didn't know which one I feared more.

I sat and worked for a little while before I heard Jake and Tara laughing as they passed by.

"Yo, Jules is alone. You know that right?" Jake asked as I nodded. "Yeah, she needed some alone time." I said, focusing on the computer screen.

"That's dope. You trust her?" Jake asked as Tara smacked his arm.

"Ow!" Jake hissed and looked at her. "She's not a child, she doesn't need a babysitter." Tara said as I groaned.

"No, but she can't be fully trusted since you guys have stuff around the house." I explained. "Yeah, Tara. She's a drug addict, she's basically a child right now." Jake said as Tara shook her head.

"I can hear you guys." Julia said from the other room. "Way to go." I said then stood up and pushed passed Jake.

When I walked into the library Julia was still focusing on the painting in front of her.

It was a mouth with pills pouring out of it and on each side was a couple of empty pill bottles with different words on them.

One said 'giving up' and another said 'make it stop'.

The painting actually broke my heart.

"He didn't mean that." I said and walked up to her, putting my hands on her shoulders.

"Yes, he did." She mumbled, focusing on her art. "It's not your fault, Julia." Jake said as I glared at him.

"I'm sorry." He said as Julia looked up. "It's fine. You're right." She said then turned back to her painting.

"No, you're not a child. You're struggling and that's the difference." Tara said as Jake frowned. "I'm really sorry, Julia." Jake said as Julia shrugged.

I could tell she was more disappointed in herself that she let herself get to this point. She wasn't mad at Jake for what he said but she didn't say anything else.

"Go to work, Jake." I said blandly causing him to nod and take Tara's hand, leading her out of the room.

"Jules." I said and put my hands on her shoulders, rubbing them slightly. "Yes?" She asked, focusing on her painting.

"I know you're disappointed in yourself, but this isn't your fault. None of it is." I said as she sniffled.

When she didn't say anything I took the hint that she wanted to be alone again. I sighed then leaned down and kissed her head before leaving the room.

I walked into the office and sat down at my desk again, scrubbing my face with my hands. I knew I would need to contact Sam so I could get some updates on what was going on but I just didn't want to.

I had a bad feeling.

After a minute I grabbed my phone and dialed Sam's number. "Hey, man." Sam answered after a couple seconds. "Hey. How are things there?" I asked and grabbed a pen, clicking it on the desk.

"Uhh..things are happening." Sam said as I squinted. "Like...?" I asked, not really wanting to know the answer.

"You sure you're ready to know?" He asked as I groaned.

"Not really, but hit me with it." I said and closed my eyes. "You got a letter from Quill." Sam said as I nodded.

"Did you read it?" I asked, trying to keep my voice level. "No, I'm not an idiot." He said with a laugh.

"Alright. I'm gonna try to get to the office. Julia is having a little bit of alone time in the library, but maybe she'll feel up to leaving the house." I explained.

"Does it scare you?" Sam asked as I sighed. "I mean it's not comfortable but maybe he'll see the effort we put into finding her. I did what I thought was best when it came to protecting her." I said, even though I knew I had fucked up.

I should have constantly been watching her. I shouldn't have even let the other girls leave the house so freely.

I was sloppy and stupid.

"Yeah, who knows. Maybe this is completely unrelated." Sam said as I sighed. "You and I both know that isn't true." I said and pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

I needed a smoke now more than ever.

"Yeah, well...just trying to be optimistic. How's Julia doing today?" He asked. "She's doing. I wish I could help her more." I said and leaned back, running my fingers through my hair.

"You're doing great, man. Keeping her healthy and safe. That's the best you can do." He said as Julia came into view.

She was standing in the doorway, chewing her sleeve slightly as she looked at me.

"I gotta go, Sam." I said and scooted my chair out so Julia could come sit on my lap. "Oh, okay. Just let me know if you're coming in." He said as Julia stared at me.

I noticed her eyes were puffy, as if she had just been crying. It didn't look like she was anymore but the fact she cried at all made me upset.

"Yeah. I'll let you know." I said then hung up. "What's going on, Jules?" I asked as she sniffled.

"I have to pee." She said as I scrunched my brow. "So go pee." I said as she shrugged.

"I didn't know if I was allowed." She said which broke my heart. "You're allowed, sweetheart." I said as she chewed her lip.

"I promise." I said as she nodded and turned to leave the room.

I wished that things could be a little more normal but I understand why she was so cautious. When I saw her trying to take all those Vicodins I let my rage seep out again.

I knew I used to be horrible to her but looking back it was because I cared.

I cared so much about her that the idea of her father knowing what happened made me feel sick.

I knew what was going to happen was going to be bad, but maybe I could hold it off.

Maybe I could show him that I was keeping Julia safe and that I was helping her through the trauma that was her addiction and was her getting taken.

It was a long shot but at least I could try.

After a couple minutes I heard Julia come out of the bathroom but she immediately went to the the library.

I sighed then got back to work, trying to set up jobs for Sam to assign people to. I was grateful that he was stepping up when I needed him to.

Part of me was worried that the gang would think I was weak again but that wasn't the case at all. I wasn't weak right now. I was viciously protecting someone that I cared very deeply about.

If someone were to try and test me or Julia right now I would kill them on the spot.

There was nothing weak about that.