With Kara and Muriel out of town, it was easy for Rory to see her every day. Jamie, Andromeda, and Lir watched her dance a few times too. Rory was always mad about it—he hated missing time from her.
As time went by, Julie got used to him leaving her little things in her room. He gave her candy or left her a flower almost every night. He wouldn't tell her how he did it but was amused that she was irritated by it. If anything, it seemed to egg him on.
Thank goodness he wasn't creeping in to stare at her every night or something. At least she didn't think he was. She was afraid to ask. She may not like the answer, since he definitely watched her outside her house sometimes.
She didn't have time to investigate anymore—Rory took every moment of her time he could. Plus, she wasn't sure what else to do or where else to go. She could try the brick building again, but she was lucky she didn't get caught the first time.
After a while Julie was able to draw Rory out some. She found out that he wanted to go to college but wouldn't be able to go since his father expected him to join the family business. He was going to work in one of the companies they owned. It was some type of engineering plant for small computer parts that required lots of technical knowledge but little business skill. His father felt like he would do better to learn this on the job rather than at college.
He wanted to explore the world a little before settling down on the island. He only had left a few times to go on vacation over the years, and he thought it might be fun to live away from here for a while. But, long term he wanted to settle down and run the business with his dad and raise his family here.
"Don't you want to live in a big city? You know, let your family have more activities and opportunities?"
"No, it needs to be here. This is where I grew up. This is where my kids will grow up. Why not live here in this beautiful place with family around to share life with?"
Julie frowned, glad he couldn't see it. She wouldn't stay here. She needed to be in a big city to dance. She wanted to travel the world dancing. Oh well, it wasn't like he expected to get married or anything. They were teenagers, and this was a summer thing for the both of them.
The thought of leaving him hurt. Surely it would wear off in time. She was starting to care for him, but she wouldn't give up dancing for anyone.
She could be overthinking all of this. Look at Mandy. She met boys all the time, was all excited about them and dated them for a few weeks or months, and the feelings drifted away. So, it wasn't like walking down this road with the first boy to make her feel all gooey would destroy all her hopes and dreams of dancing. She wasn't committing to anything. They weren't even dating yet.
He made her happy right now, for whatever reason. Even if she was a little afraid that reason wasn't entirely natural. Not everything had to be so serious. It wouldn't hurt for her to be a typical teenager for once. Wasn't that what her parents always pushed for back in Atlanta?
A week later, Kara came back. She insisted on meeting Julie to practice with her, so the school and gym were no longer a private place. Rory didn't show up that day. Julie was a little hurt but knew he wanted to keep their relationship quiet while it was still so new.
Unless he was tired of her now.
Kara wanted to tell her all about her vacation, so they went to dinner together at the one café in town. Julie ate a little. She was distracted by the fact that the same three people were sitting at the exact same table as they were the day she went on the bridge. Being with Rory kept her from thinking so much from the weirdness of this place. She was so busy being with him that she had stopped trying to figure everything out.
Walking home, Julie decided to ask Kara. "Don't you find it odd that people outside the island seem different?"
Kara stopped walking, frowning. "What do you mean?"
"Well," she tried to figure out a way to describe it, "They wear less formal stuff, like jeans and t-shirts and stuff?"
Her friend shrugged and started walking towards their neighborhood. Julie glanced behind her, she felt like someone was watching her again. Her spine tingled. Was it Rory? She afraid to ask. Would it be worse if he thought she was crazy for asking or if he said yes?
"I suppose, but I always thought that it was wealthy here or something so people dressed to impress each other."
"Yeah, but what about the two schools?"
"What you mean?"
"Well, I have friends that go to different schools in Atlanta. It's normal to stay friends with people. Also, none of the kids here drive. Isn't that odd? I mean everyone here has money. So why are none of the kids driving? Why was it such a big deal for me and Jamie to get freaking mopeds? I mean, they only go 20 miles per hour."
Julie stopped. Kara was standing still now, a few feet back. She stared intently at a bush full of yellow roses.
She had gone too far and spaced Kara out.
Julie hated when it happened. How much did it mess with your mind? Did it hurt someone permanently if they did it too much? She hadn't spaced out in weeks. Not since she figured out the dancing trick. She could teach Kara, but how to begin...
Three days passed. Being with Kara constantly prevented her from seeing Rory. It was becoming physically painful. Her body no longer tingled with longing—it ached. Dancing didn't relieve the sensation as much as normal either. She imagined that Rory was getting frustrated too. Her shoulders were tight from being tense. She almost always felt like someone was watching her now.
But what could she do? Kara didn't know about Rory, so of course they spent all their time together. She could tell her. But if she believed her, she might tell Andromeda and Lir or something. Everything was still so new, and she wanted to keep other people out of it.
When she got up to her room, she wasn't surprised to find another flower waiting on her pillow. It was getting harder to hide them in her trash can. There was also a note this time.
Jules, meet me here tomorrow. Make some kind of excuse to Kara and your family. I miss you. Be there at 0900. I will be waiting.
She unfolded another piece of paper. There were directions to a street in the town.
He thought he could order her to come. She crumpled up the paper but then smoothed it out. She wanted to see him too, and she would find a way.
#
"I told Kara I was sick. Can you back me up if she asks?"
"Sure, honey. Is there anything wrong? Did you guys get in a fight or something?" Andromeda whirled around, sloshing a bit of the bowl she was stirring onto the floor. She didn't seem to notice. Her hair stood up a bit on one side.
"No, I want to be alone today. I'm going to the other side of the island to read. I feel restless or something, and I like Kara, but she isn't Mandy or Darcy."
"Okay." The worry line appeared between her eyes.
"I'm fine. I just want some time alone. Kara and I have spent every minute together for the last three days. I need a break. She is the sweetest person in the world, but it wears on you after a while."
"All right, but why don't you tell her?"
"I don't want to hurt her feelings. She's my only friend here now." Julie stared at her mom longer. "Speaking of which...why haven't you been helping Ariel out more? I thought you were doing that for a while."
She turned away. "I was, and it was great, but I realized that I might be scaring off some of her customers. Ariel said she didn't care, but I don't want to hurt her business."
"Why would you scare off customers? Were you yelling at people or something?"
Andromeda laughed bitterly. "No. It's...with my history with Marian. I told you she has a lot of friends around here. It can't look like Ariel is siding with me without her losing business."
"Why should anyone care about that now? It's been years, and Marian seems happy."
Was this a problem for Rory and her? Was it the reason he didn't want anyone to know about them?
Andromeda shrugged. "Family means a lot around here. Have fun today. I'll call Kara's mom for you and let her know you're sick."
Julie swallowed down her guilt at lying to her and Kara. She lied easily now. Apparently that's what you did on this island.
At least Rory admitted there was something going on, even if he wouldn't tell her what. It was more than her own family would do for her.
***
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