Hold Me Close

~~~Chapter 1~~~

Julia's POV

I dabbed at the blood on his cheek. Every time he winced, I shook my head. He deserved the pain for his stupidity. I shouldn't be the one who was taking care of him after what he did. This was all his fault. 

"Julia, are you okay?" Joffrey asked. I just ignored him. He pushed my hand away from his face and stood up from the couch. He faced the window and just stared out of it. 

I was sure he could see the bar where I worked from the window... well used to work. It was where I was supposed to be until he caused all this.

"Julia, I'm sorry," he cooed. 

He finally turned to look at me. He took my hand and kissed it. I pulled it back and glared at him. I wanted to slap him. He deserved it.  

"Say something," he said. 

"You didn't listen to me earlier," I hissed. 

He opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it again. If Joffrey had just listened to me and did what I said, I would still have a job and he wouldn't be bloody and bruised. 

I knew what his claim had been. Yes, the other guy never should have touched me. No one else stopped him from harassing me. I had the whole thing under control. My boyfriend didn't need to jump in. Never before had I had to pull him away from a fight. 

"I just wanted to get him to stop," he started. I let him kiss my forehead before he continued. I shouldn't have let him, but I did. I couldn't help it. "He threw the first punch." trying to justify his actions.

There was truth in that. When the night began, the drunken guy had asked me when I got off. When I told him that I had a boyfriend, he could only reply that he didn't care. That was when Joffrey stepped in to say that he cared. The guy walked away grumbling. The smile on Joffrey's face was triumphant. I was in the clear. 

"I had it under control," I said weakly. 

Maybe that was a lie. When the man came back, he didn't walk away when my boyfriend showed his face. As I left the bar for a short break, the man grabbed my ass. Joffrey appeared by my side as I started to yell at the customer. When I went to find the bouncer Sam, a punch had been thrown. I had to follow Sam through the gathering crowd to make sure Joffrey wasn't hurt. 

"That's bullshit." He finally raised his voice at me. I took a step back from him. 

"It's your fault!" 

My boss had appeared when he heard the commotion. With the fight broken up, the drunken guy was guided outside while Joffrey and I were on our way to my boss's office. Sam got the first-aid kit for me, and I sat there using it on Joffrey while my boss collected his thoughts. 

Then the yelling began. 

I was accused of starting this. I was accused of not stopping it sooner. No blame was put on Joffrey or the guy who grabbed my ass. Yet the man sitting next to me had to open his mouth and defend me. That was when I was fired. Because I couldn't control someone from lashing out on my defense, I lost my job. 

"Julia, I know that." 

He took my hand and laced our fingers together. Just the thought of everything that had happened in the past hour infuriated me. I glared at Joffrey. He smiled weakly at me. I pulled my hand away from his. His smile fell. 

"Joffrey, just leave. I don't want to see you or talk to you. Just go." 

He swallowed. I fought back the tears in my eyes and turned my back to him. I could see the bar from the window of my apartment. 

"Fine, Julia. I'll call you tomorrow." 

"Don't." 

I heard him sigh and then the door click. The tears came. It was all his fault.