A Lily Among Thorns

𝙲𝙷𝙰𝙿𝚃𝙴𝚁 𝚃𝚆𝙴𝙽𝚃𝚈-𝚃𝚆𝙾

✞ C E L A I   L a C R O I X ✞

"Can we talk?" Julian asks. Celai can feel Kassima staring at her from behind and her entire face burns in embarrassment.

Though, she isn't going to show it, and especially not to Julian.

"Is there anything to really talk about?" she asks him, low enough for only him to hear.

"Yes," Julian simply says. He looks down at her coat. "Where are you going?"

"For a walk."

"It's getting dark. Can I walk with you? I really want to talk to you."

Celai stares in his eyes and sees a gentle, almost peace-filled, glare in the dark irises. "Sure," she says dryly.

Without another word, she closes the door behind her and they start walking along the sidewalk.

For a long time, Julian doesn't say anything, which Celai finds irritating since she's going on a walk because of him, and now he is intruding on it and not even saying anything. But then the idea crosses her mind that maybe he's waiting on her.

She takes a silent deep breath and turns her head towards him. "You wanted to talk?"

"Yeah. I, um... what happened earlier? At church?"

"Nothing," she shrugs.

He gives her a confused look. "Then why have you been ignoring me all day?"

"Just because I don't answer your text the second you send it, doesn't mean I'm ignoring you."

"Well you obviously saw them and you didn't seem too busy to respond," Julian retorts.

Celai almost says something slick but realizes he's just returning the energy and he actually seems uncomfortable doing so.

Before she can say anything, he continues. "Did you not like me calling you out like that when I was on stage?"

She shakes her head and sighs, her breath being visible in front of her from the cold. "No. It wasn't you. It was someone named Demetria. Or Demi. Do you know her?"

She honestly wants to catch him in a lie, hoping this is where God would pull them away from each other, heal them separately, and allow them to meet ten years down the line.

But Julian can't look deceiving if he wanted to.

He puts his hands in his coat pockets and shakes his head, not in denial, but in disappointment and disbelief. "I wanted to give her the benefit of the doubt, but yes. I do know her."

"Who is she to you? Be honest."

"She's nothing more than the past."

"An ex?"

"No, I told you I haven't been in a real relationship. We went on a couple dates but that ended quickly."

"Why?"

"She was wanting other things in life," he says, keeping his eyes straight ahead.