Back to Where We Started From (Miracle)

Chapter Sixty-One

Julia groaned loudly, rolling around her bed in discomfort. None of her pillows felt right and her sheets were too scratchy. Without opening her eyes, she slowly became aware of the fact that she wasn't in her bed, but a hotel bed.

Where am I again? Calgary? I think Calgary.

Once she was satisfied with the reasoning of an unfamiliar bed, she moved on to other problems. She wondered why her head was pounding. She didn't have to wonder very long, before she felt an unpleasant feeling creeping its way up from her stomach. She threw herself out of bed, stumbling her way through the dark. She had no clue what time it was as she fell over the toilet, the contents of her stomach coming up violently. The way it took her too long to process her thoughts made her think she must still be a little drunk. After emptying whiskey into the toilet, she sat back on the tile to catch her breath. Slowly she realized she was wearing Jack's clothes. They had to be Jack's, based on the comforting and easily recognizable smell.

Why am I in Jack's clothes? What happened last night?

Julia decided the answers to these questions could wait until she got a little bit more sleep. She washed her face and mouth, taking note of the remnants of last night's makeup on her face. She staggered back to bed, falling in and wincing at the way the room spun. After a few minutes she fell into a restless sleep, praying she would feel better when the sun rose.

A few hours later, Jimmy made his way into the bathroom, rubbing the sleep from his tired eyes. He splashed some cold water on his face, trying to wake himself up. He shifted his feet, suddenly feeling something soft under his left foot. He glanced down to see a pile of fabric bunched at his feet. Curious, he bent over and picked something up. An emerald green sweater. He looked down and saw the matching plaid skirt, letting out a sigh. He didn't look under the skirt, scared to see any undergarments that had been left behind. Taking the sweater with him, he went back into the room he was sharing with Jack.

"Really, Jack?" Jimmy sighed, tossing the sweater at a half-awake Jack.

"What?" Jack questioned, picking up the sweater. Realization, followed by nervousness, was painted all over his face. "Oh."

"Yeah. You volunteer to bring a very intoxicated Julie home, have her in our room all night, and don't even think to get the pile of her clothes off the bathroom floor?" Jimmy asked, looking at Jack like a disappointed parent.

"For the love of God, it wasn't like that!" Jack insisted, turning over in his bed with an angry mumble.

"You keep saying it isn't like that with Julie, but your actions don't match your words," Jimmy pointed out.

Jack sat up in a huff, glaring at Jimmy.

"I brought her back because she was gonna hurt herself or drink herself sick. We got back and she didn't have her key so I brought her here. Craig showed up so I made her hide in the bathroom, and she decided to take a bath. I made her get out and put clothes on. I know it looks bad, but it's not like that."

"Does Craig know she was in here?" Jimmy wondered, suddenly fearing for his friend's life.

"Yeah, he does. He's not gonna tell Herb though," Jack remembered with a sigh, running a hand through his hair. Julia's comment about it being hot when he did that suddenly came to the front of his mind and he tried not to smirk.

"Will you just admit that you two are a thing already?" Jimmy pleaded, leaning in the bathroom door frame with his arms crossed over his chest. Jack didn't say anything, just avoided Jimmy's gaze. Jimmy waited for what seemed like forever before he spoke again. "At least tell me since when."