Julianne's POV
Kenna walks up to Holden after he's done lecturing, and I watch as they talk for a couple of minutes. When she walks back to her seat I look at her.
"My grandma is sick this week. I'm going to stay with you guys."
I simply give her a nod as I turn back to my study guide, and try to focus.
"How long are you grounded for?" Gage asks as he turns in his seat and looks at me.
"Just till next weekend," I say.
"Man...Mr. T is really lenient," he grins.
"Sure he is," I scoff.
"He is, Jules," he says in a weird tone. "After your grounding is over, I want to try our date again."
"I'd like that," I nod.
"Can I ask you something?" He whispers quietly as he leans into me.
At my nod, he continues. "Why are you so mad at your brother?"
I sigh as the bell rings and commotion surrounds us.
"I just am"
~*~
"Did you have a good day, Annie?" Holden asks gently as we get into the house. It's the first he's talked to me, because Kenna talked the entire way home about something. I tuned her out so I honestly don't have a clue what it was.
"It was fine," I say as I sit at the table and open my study guide.
"Micah and Levi are going to the boardwalk. Can I go?" Tate asks as he puts his book bag down on the table and looks at Holden.
"Do you have homework?"
"I always have homework, Holden," he snips.
Holden chuckles as he nods. "If you don't get it done you will lose all of your privileges tomorrow," he warns softly.
"I know..Can I go?"
"Yeah, take the car to the boardwalk."
"Holden, it's a five minute walk," he argues in disgust.
"Do it or you don't go...."
Tate curses under his breath as he texts someone.
"Micah is gonna come and get me," Tate says after a minute.
Holden gives him a look and tilts his head. "You're not gonna drive?"
"It's stupid to drive when it's a five minute walk."
Holden nods as he stares hard at Tate some more. "I'm sorry I can't get us a nicer car, Rex. Maybe one day....."
Tate flinches slightly but smooths his features out quickly. He ignores the comment as he runs to the bathroom, and Holden looks sadly at the floor.
"If he's embarrassed, that's his problem," Kenna finally says, and Holden looks up at her with a sad smile.
When there's a honk outside, Tate heads to the door. "Be back before dark, Rex," he says after him.
"Ok," Tate says as he leaves and shuts the door quickly.
When it's just us, Holden comes over and sits down next to me at the table. "How's it going?"
I sigh as I put my head in my hands. "I hate Jane Austen," I grumble.
Holden chuckles as he takes my book from me and he looks at one of the questions. "What is an example of situational irony in this story?" He reads, and then looks to me for the answer.
"I don't know, Holden. I hate this book and I hate this study guide. I'm gonna fail this stupid test!"
He sets the book down and wipes some hair off of my cheek. "Sweetheart, you're overthinking this entirely too hard. What does situational irony mean?"
"I don't know.....when something that happens contradicts what you think it's going to?"
"Exactly," he nods. "So what about the ending of this book didn't happen the way you thought it would in the beginning?"
I start to answer, when Kenna chimes in. "Elizabeth misjudges Mr. Darcy...She thought he was this pompous, prideful ass, when in actuality he's kind."
Holden smiles big as he nods. "You got it, Ken. Great job." Then he turns to me. "Does that make sense, Jules?"
"Yeah," I nod as I write down Kenna's answer.
Holden gets up from the table and goes into the bathroom, and Kenna smirks. "It's cool having your teacher here to help you with homework," she chuckles.
I ignore her as I stare at the study guide, and wonder how the hell everyone is understanding this book better than me. I mean; I get the gist thanks to the movie...but if I was going solely off of the book I'd be completely screwed.
~*~
"Tacos sound okay for supper?" Holden asks a little later as he gets in the fridge and finds some hamburger. I start to say yes, because tacos are life, when Kenna groans.
"What's wrong?" Holden asks
"My mom made tacos yesterday. It's fine though," she says dismissively as she waves her hand at him.
Holden looks at me and I just shrug. "Well, I can make this into patties and we can just do cheeseburgers and chips?"
"That sounds good," she grins.
"Jules?"
At my simple nod, he grabs a skillet and starts opening the package.
"Want help?" Kenna asks, and Holden grins. "I can't get Jules to touch raw meat," he chuckles as he motions her over.
She laughs and I watch as they goof around and smash the ground hamburger into patties and start to fry them, and I stay silent until they bring me a plate.
"Here girly," Holden says as he smiles at me softly.
"Thanks"
I eat my burger and continue working on homework at the same time, and Holden and Kenna talk about random things the entire meal.
"Alright...you cooked, Kenna. Jules, can help me clean?" Holden asks after we're done eating. I start to get up from the table when Kenna takes the plate out of my hand.
"It's ok, Jules. I know how stressed you are about the test. I don't mind doing the dishes."
"Thanks Kenna," Holden says with a kind smile, and the two of them goof around as they clean up the kitchen.
~*~
I can't sleep tonight. I'm not sure if it's because of the Pepsi I had at dinner, or the fact that Tate is snoring like a fool, but I finally give up and get out of bed.
Sucks I don't have my phone
I tap on Tate's phone and see that it's 2 am, and I groan as I go into the living room.
What do I do? He big grounded me this time and I'm not even allowed to watch TV.
I decide to go out on the porch for some fresh air, and when I sit on one of the chairs I close my eyes and listen to the crickets chirping in the grass.
Even the sound of the owl tonight is calming as I lean back and stare at the full moon dancing on top of the tree line.
I used to truly believe that the man in the moon was real, and trapped inside for all eternity. I thought maybe he was as lonely as I was, and took comfort in the fact that my life wasn't as horrible as his.
Crunching in the distance startles me; and I look toward the sound, but see nothing...A shiver runs up my spine as I continue staring into the vast darkness.
Is something watching me?
I don't have time to panic before I hear the door open, and Holden walks out in just sweatpants that hang low on his hips.
"What are you doing out here?" He asks quietly, and I turn to look up at him as he sits down in the other chair right next to me.
"I could ask you the same question," I say.
He lazily leans back in his chair and takes my wrist gently in his big hand, tracing the bones softly with his fingers.
I love how that feels
"I was having trouble sleeping and I heard someone come out here."
"Why were you having trouble sleeping?" I ask as I close my eyes and enjoy the way the tickling sensation feels against my skin. I used to long for back rubs as a kid...And this....loving comfort
"Because something is wrong with you and I can't figure out what it is," He says bluntly as his fingers still against my goose-bumped skin.
When I look at him, his eyes are pained. "I just wish you'd let me in. You don't ever talk about the real, deep stuff, Annie. You don't ever let me in."
I look away from him and stare back up at the sky. I'm not sure why it's so hard for me to tell people how I'm feeling. Tate does. He does it effortlessly. Kenna does too. Even Sylvie is good about communicating.
I'm not. The words want to come but they don't. Sometimes I don't even know for sure why I'm upset, I just am.
"Please don't come out here again at night, alone, until they catch him. He could be anywhere," Holden says after it's obvious that I won't say anything.
I nod. "I was getting spooked before you came out. It felt like someone was watching me."
Holden scans the wooded area for a long minute. "Hopefully it was just an animal," he finally says.
Hopefully
"Come here," he whispers as he grabs me by the same wrist he was just rubbing and pulls me until I stand. Then he leads me to his lap and pulls me gently until I'm sitting with him.
I rest the back of my head against his shoulder and put my forehead against his jaw, closing my eyes as I listen to his steady breathing.
"Why couldn't you sleep?" He whispers as he starts to rub my arm up and down lightly with the tip of his finger.
"Not sure. I had a Pepsi for dinner and Tate was snoring."
He chuckles as he continues to rub my arm, and I stare at the moon.
"He used to be my friend," I say.
"Who?"
"The man in the moon."
"Oh yeah?" He asks as he takes his left hand and wraps it around my body, resting his hand on my right hip.
"Yeah. I used to talk with him when I was little. I asked him to keep an eye on you. I used to like the idea of us both being under the same moon."
"That's funny," he says sleepily. "I used to think the same thing when I moved here. I'd look out my apartment at the moon and think about how it was covering you guys too."
Silence fills the space as the crickets continue serenading us, and my eyes start to get heavy.
"When you're ready to tell me why you're so upset with me, I'll be here. I promise I'll do whatever I can to fix it."
I lean my cheek against him, and the safety of his arms is enough to calm my mind and relax my body, and before I know it, I'm being carried in his arms and gently laid into my bed.
He kisses my head and whispers "I love you," against my hair before he turns and heads back to his own room.
As I drift further into the oblivion, I smile to myself.
Maybe the man in the moon isn't real, but if he is, he's the only one that is lonely now.