When I walked in the room was empty, causing me to sigh.
I frowned and walked over to the dresser to see her huddled behind it.
"Jules, what's going on?" I asked with a frown. It had been a couple days since she's hidden like this so I assumed something triggered her pretty badly.
She looked up at me with dewey eyes before she crawled over and wrapped her arms tightly around me.
"Oh." I whispered and hugged her back, holding her tightly. "I'm here now. I'm here." I hummed, resting my chin on her head.
Julia cried into my chest, tightening her arms to get even closer to me.
"Shhh, you're okay." I cooed and scratched her back. She cried for a little while before she exhausted herself, collapsing into me slightly.
"I got you some things." I said and pulled away, wiping her tears with my thumbs.
"Do you want them now?" I asked as she nodded. "Okay, come on." I said then stood up and held my hands out to her.
She frowned then took my hands, letting me help her up. "I'm sorry." She whispered.
"Don't apologize, sweetheart." I said then kept one of her hands in mine so I could lead the way.
"Colby?" Julia asked, catching me off guard. "What's up?" I asked and turned towards her. "Are you gonna leave me again?" She asked quietly, causing my heart to sink.
"I'm not going anywhere." I said and took her face in my hands, looking into her eyes.
There was a hollowness behind her eyes. The beautiful blue orbs were usually swimming with passion and shine, but they were dull now.
The trauma had fully gotten to her.
"Did you paint anything?" I asked then took her hand again, walking to the living room.
Julia nodded then pointed to the canvas on the coffee table.
"Isn't it good?" Sam asked and held it up so I could see it.
On the canvas was a silhouette of a couple dancing in the rain. The man was holding the umbrella but it wasn't over them, instead they were getting wet by the raindrops cascading from the sky.
"It's beautiful." I said then kissed Julia's head.
I expected her to paint something darker or more traumatic, so I was pleasantly surprised to see she went the romantic route instead.
"I got you these." I said and grabbed the flowers from the counter and held them out to her.
I felt my heart shift as she flinched away from my sudden movement.
"I'm sorry." I said as she shook her head and took the flowers, bringing them to her nose.
I was hoping to get a smile out of her, but unfortunately it didn't happen.
I couldn't blame her, because of everything going on.
I just had to be patient.
"What time are we leaving tomorrow?" Sam asked as Julia looked down at the flowers I had gotten her.
"Uh..pretty early. Probably around six." I said then looked up at Sam.
"If you don't need me tonight, I might leave now. Kat's really been missing me." Sam said as I nodded.
"Yeah, that should be fine. Thanks for your help." I said then started unpacking the food I had ordered.
"Are you staying at the house?" Sam asked as I shook my head.
"No, somewhere else." I said then looked at Julia. She was looking at me with wide eyes, her fingers anxiously picking at the flowers.
"What's wrong?" I asked with a frown. She didn't respond but instead just looked down, shaking her head.
I sighed then looked at Sam. "I'll see you tomorrow. Drive safe." I said as he nodded.
"See you tomorrow. Bye, Jules." He said then patted her back gently before leaving the apartment.
"What's going on, Jules? You can talk to me." I said gently, putting my hands on her shoulders.
"We aren't staying with them?" She asked quietly.
"No. I don't want you to stay in such a public place. A lot of people go in and out of there, and I want you to feel as comfortable as possible." I explained, causing her to let out a sigh of relief.
"I know you're nervous, but it's gonna be a quick trip. Then we'll be back here." I said as her eyes watered.
"Hey.." I whispered as a tear trickled down her cheek. "What is it?" I asked as she looked up at me.
"I wanna go home." She whispered, her lip quivering.
It broke my heart that she hasn't been in the comfort of her own house in so long.
I didn't know how safe it would be to go there since these people have been in her house multiple times.
I knew this was hard on her, but I couldn't imagine being taken from your safe space to be pulled back into the crime world.
This situation was bad enough before she was taken by her fathers gang.
Now it felt almost impossible to reverse.
She would be scared and untrusting for a long time. Her interactions with people would be few and far between until she started to feel more comfortable with freedom.
It was going to be a long time before she was able to be independent in her own home but I was going to vow to myself to get her there eventually.
It was the least I could do for roping her into this shit.
