Back to Where We Started From (Miracle)

Chapter Forty-One

Rizzo, Rammer, Jack, Silky, Buzzy, Jimmy, Mark, Bah, and Robbie sat around the table playing cards. They ignored Silky, who was complaining that all they ever did was play cards. When the buzzer sounded, alerting them of someone at the door, they shared a confused look. Who could possibly be showing up at almost 10 p.m.?

"I'll grab it," Jimmy volunteered, heading toward the lobby to see who it was. The first thing he noticed was a small figure standing by the door, a large coat hanging off of them. He gasped as he got closer, seeing Julia outside in the snow. He rushed over to her, opening the door and pulling her in.

"What happened? You look awful, what's wrong?" Jimmy questioned, wrapping an arm around her and pulling her back towards the boys' hall. When he pushed through the door with Julia in tow, all the boys shared pretty much the same thought process written across their faces. At first they were surprised, then absolutely baffled, followed by wildly concerned. They all jumped up from their seats.

"Jules, you're soaked. And you're freezing. What happened?" Robbie questioned, rushing to her side. Her boots formed little puddles on the ground as the snow melted off them. Her hair was wet and deflated from its original style. Her eye makeup ran down her face in little black ribbons. Her bare legs were covered in goosebumps, and her hands had a blue tint to them.

"I walked back from a party," she told them, shivering violently. "I'm freezing."

"You walked in this weather? From where?" Robbie asked, removing her wet coat from her.

"Where's David? He said he was taking you home," Rizzo said, before sending Bah to get a towel from the bathroom.

"He took me to this party," Julia started, a new flood of tears rushing down her face. Her words came out in sputters between tears. "A-and we got there...everyone was smoking pot. And then I went upstairs to call Rizzo. B-but David came upstairs with...with coke. And he tried to get me to do it. But I said no, I promise I said no! David got m-mad at me, and he started grabbing me and kissing me. I kept telling him to let me go, but he wouldn't! So then I walked out but I didn't know how far I was from your dorm. I only knew I was on the north end of campus so I went south but it took forever, and now I'm cold and I'm wet and I'm sad and I think my coat is ruined!"

Robbie wasted no time in pulling Julia toward him, hugging her tightly.

"It's okay, Jules. We've got you, it's okay," he comforted her, rubbing her back while she cried. Bah returned with the towel, wrapping it around her shoulders.

"David did coke, tried to get you to do it, grabbed you, and made you walk in the snow?" Jimmy repeated as Robbie walked Julia to the couch and sat her down, the boys gathering around her.

"Where were you?" Buzzy asked her. She sniffed, before looking over at Buzzy.

"They said Como," she told him, pulling the towel around her.

"Como?" Robbie gasped. "Jules, that's like a forty minute walk. We gotta warm you up before you get sick."

"You should take a warm shower," Rizzo decided. Julia had to agree that a shower sounded nice, nodding to him as she wiped her tear streaked face.

"We'll get you some warm clothes," Robbie promised her. He helped her up, taking her to the bathroom. The rest of the boys sat in the living room, not really sure what to do or say. Sure, they had had their doubts about David, but they never expected him to do something like this. They all sat in silence for a few minutes.

"What a dick," Bah finally said.

"Yeah, tell me about it. She said she finally told him about why she was in Minnesota, so he was fully aware of the coke problem," Jimmy said, shaking his head.