• Tomorrow Will Be Different • {J.C} (P.1)

• Chapter Twenty-Seven •

"What happened?"

"I found out he's still sleeping with that girl- Malory is her name." Erin took another drink. "I confronted him... I spit in his face and the rest... I don't know—I ran." Erin laughed disingenuously; her tone laced with utter disbelief.

She chugged the last of her beer, tossing it into the trashcan. Before she could even ask, Julian was handing her the one he had just opened for himself.

"Did he touch you?"

Erin shook her head, denying Julian's assumptive question. She couldn't tell him—she couldn't tell anyone. She would be made to look like an even bigger idiot. She would look weak, and it would solve nothing.

"I never thanked you for what you did for me—thank you." Erin said, watching as Julian's eyes changed under the weight of her gaze.

He looked confused—flabbergasted by the sudden change of topic.

"What'd I do?" Julian laughed, thoroughly bewildered.

"Al told me you fixed my car. He said it's at your parent's place." Erin pressed her lips together while holding her breath. She hoped this strange little quirk of hers would keep the tears at bay, despite the act never working well in the past.

"I was gonna tell you, but I couldn't find the right time. I either forgot or... something bigger was goin on."

"You have no idea how much it means to me. It- it's the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."

"I wanna give you something. I've been meaning to give it back to you—it's yours—I just haven't seen you around." Julian started toward his bedroom, glancing back to see Erin following behind.

         He opened the top drawer to his dresser, handing Erin a familiar blank envelope—she was already shaking her head disapprovingly.

        "No, that's yours and Al's. I spent over a month saving that up for you guys-"

"No, take it—it's yours."

        "Jules-"

"I'm serious, Erin—this is your money. After all the shit you did for us... you washed our clothes, you cleaned up after us, you bought us food?... You paid off your stay and then some." Julian laughed softly through his nose.
"Besides, you're gonna need it. You're goin back to Carolina soon-"

"No," She shook her head. "When I moved back in with Michael, I told my Mom I wasn't coming back. Now I get to call her and tell her that she was right... again." Erin forced a smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Julian watched as Erin's face fell—her put-on smile hadn't lasted nearly as long as she had hoped. She became lost in her own thoughts, suddenly realizing that Julian was staring at her.

"What?" She asked.

"Nothing." Julian grinned, but didn't look away.

        "You're staring at me."

"Because you're beautiful—I don't know how many times I have to say it before you believe me."

Julian's grin faded as Erin approached him. She struggled to steady her breathing, swallowing hard as her eyes wildly roamed his soft face.

She placed her hands on either sides of his neck—her top teeth clamping down on her bottom lip just before her gaze locked with his.

        Without thinking through the ramifications of kissing Erin again, Julian's hand moved to the back of her neck. Slowly gliding up into her hair as he pulled her lips to his—the cash filled envelope dropping to the floor without thought.