Point Of View 2 [*Do not read until you've read the same chapter of ATW]

Chapter 90 Maybe Someday

*James*

These Grief Therapy sessions are really doing a number on Julia. Today was no different. At the end of the class the counselor went around the room and asked everyone to think of one of their favorite memories of the loved one they lost. Of course one of my favorites was when Carter said "Dada" for the first time. I can still hear his little voice now.

But when it was Julia's turn, she couldn't handle it. I know she has a ton of wonderful memories with her son but it's like she just shuts down. It's too hard for her to think about never mind talk about. She has a lot of growing to do but the way she handled it was to remove herself instead of dealing with it. The therapist was willing to help her, but Julia is Julia. When something is too much for her, she runs away or becomes closed off. 

Julia couldn't handle it. She broke down and left the room abruptly. After, the counselor tried to talk to her but there's no getting through to Julia when she's all worked up. Jeremy was paged and here we are, walking down to her apartment while hashing it out.

"Julia... that session had nothing to do with mental illness. If y-you didn't want to answer you could have just told the guy to skip you. That it was too hard to talk about. It's grief therapy. They won't push you like some of the other sessions." I explain.

"You know what?" Julia stops once we get to the private halls where the apartments are and pokes me in the chest. "Just because you can talk freely about your son doesn't mean everyone can. You had two and a half years of memories. I had seventeen!"

My jaw drops. She's not fucking serious, is she?

"Julia!" Jeremy yells at her in a harsh tone of voice I've never heard from the doctor.

"That's not fair, Julia." I furrow my brows at her. "A loss is a loss. It doesn't matter how many years. The pain is the same."

"I-" She pauses, not embarrassed, as she should be. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. I was just trying to get a rise out of you." I confess.

"Mission accomplished. Feel better about yourself now?" I brush past her and continue down the hall. Once at the end of the hall, pretty far away from the two of them, I stop.

Shit. I can't leave her with that asshole. Not a shot in hell. Jeremy can never be alone with Julia. She's probably standing there in the middle of the hallway, petrified of the man. My shoulders drop and I turn around, hurrying back towards her. 

It's like Jeremy Donovan didn't waste two seconds. The moment I was gone he had to put his hand on her back. For a normal person without trauma this would be no big deal. But when you are standing next to the man who abused you, twice, this is huge. And the fact he doesn't think twice about it and was so quick to want to touch her makes my stomach turn.

I grab Julia's hand but glare at the doctor when I pull her out of his reach.

"Don't touch her." My jaw clenches and I drag Julia away from Jeremy. Once we round the corner Julia leans against the wall, clearly rattled by that small encounter.  Her body trembles like mine does when my father walks into a room. It's a terrible feeling.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to leave you with him. I wasn't thinking." I sigh. "Breathe."

Julia closes her eyes for a second and then gives me a nod before we head back to her apartment.

"I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have said that to you. James, I know all loss is loss."

"I know you do. You're jealous of me, aren't you, babe?" I smirk.

"You're such a fucking teacher's pet." She retorts and knocks on her apartment door for Paul to let us in.

When Paul swings the door open, I see Trisha sitting on the couch.