To Lola's utter dismay, Julian lifted his hand from her mouth and she released the breath she didn't even know she was holding.
Her shoulders slumped in relief and she nearly collapsed to the floor but then she realized that she wasn't dreaming and Julian was still standing in front of her.
Six foot two Julian with the build of a linebacker, dripping wet from head to toe, towering over her. And the worst part was that they were alone at home. If she were to scream for bloody mercy there would be no one who would hear here, especially not in this weather.
"Please don't kill me. I swear I didn't do it," Lola begged profusely and Julian frowned.
A frown. That couldn't be good. Maybe she wasn't being genuine enough.
"I swear! It wasn't me. I'm just a nobody," She continued to buy her time as she contemplated if she would be able to run out to her room and grab her phone.
"Lola, I'm not here to kill you. And I don't care about whatever it is you did. I just needed to get out of the rain." Julian's voice was hoarse and scratchy. It sounded like he hadn't used it in years.
Lola stood frozen in shock at his response. She was utterly embarrassed at the fact that the only thing on her mind at that very moment was the fact that Julian Grey remembered who she was.
Out of all things she should be panicking about, here she was thinking about this.
"Why did you come here? How did you get in?" She murmured, eyeing him cautiously. There were many a times Lola would find herself admiring him in school hallways, where everyone was too busy to catch a wandering eye.
Julian was handsome, there was no denying it but it was his uncaring, reckless behavior that got him the most attention in school. Girls scavenged for his attention, boys wanted to befriend him whilst the teachers took turns to send him to detention.
Whether they loved him or hated him, everyone knew who Julian Grey was and that was before he became infamous for murdering two of his schoolmates.
But right now the longer Lola stared at him the more she realized how pale his lips were and how the dark circles under is eyes made him look like a zombie.
Julian looked like crap. He looked malnourished and miserable and his clothes were ripped at the edges. She didn't even want to think about how long he'd been wearing those.
"H-how did you get in?" She repeated softly when he didn't answer.
"I used to live on this street, remember?" His eyes sparkled and just like that, like a switch, his charm was on in full force and despite his unkempt appearance, Lola had to force herself to focus.
She remembered the days when Julian still lived two doors down. Back when he was chubby, young and cheerful. Back when they used to be friends, playing hide and seek in the local playground with Nalini and Hannah.
That was before middle school, before his parents divorce that resulted in him moving out and before he ultimately changed into someone bitter and angry with the world, someone she barely recognized.
"Julian, you broke into my house. In the middle of the night. What the hell are you doing here?" Lola was finally able to gather her thoughts into a proper sentence and Julian's frightened expression made her feel like a teacher scolding a student.
"My parents will be home any minute now," She added unnecessarily. He had already backed away from her. He had sunk to the floor and now he was rubbing his eyes, looking exhausted.
Lola eyed him warily. She took one step to the right, ready to make a beeline for the phone on her bed.
"I didn't do it," Julian whimpered.
That made her stop in her tracks. She was a softy at heart and seeing him crouched on the floor of her bathroom floor made her chest ache for some reason.
"I was framed, Lola. I swear. I didn't do it. I had no reason to. I don't even know one of them," He was sputtering between words and choking. Was he crying?
She bent down to get a closer look and sure enough, Julian Grey was crying. There were big, fat, crocodile tears sliding down his face and it didn't look like he was going to stop anytime soon. Never in all her years would she have anticipated the school's bad boy to be crying in her bathroom on a night like this.
But then again unexpected things have been happening in their small town in Wisconsin for the past few months. First the exam paper leak, then the murders and now this.
"If you didn't do it. Then who did?" Lola wanted to smack herself for entertaining this person but she found herself leaning against the wall, listening to him cry his heart out.
A brief memory flitted through her mind at that very moment - a young Julian standing outside his house across the street, staring at Lola and her family as the neighbourhood watched his mother pack their things into the car before leaving.
She remembered feeling guilty that night, wondering why she hadn't crossed the street to talk to him, to let him confide in her. Maybe Julian wouldn't have been so cold and distant when he came back two summers later.
Maybe they would have still been friends.
"I don't know, Lola. I seriously don't and it honestly sucks that everyone thinks I did it. You have no idea the hell I've been through. My mother, my girlfriend," He pauses for awhile and chokes back another sob. "They all think I'm a murderer. I've never been so alone, Lola. If I go to juvy they will kill me, they've already threatened me before."
Lola felt conflicted as she watched him leaning against the bathroom wall but she took the chance to dash out of the bathroom and grab her phone. Her fingers were raised, ready to dial 911 but she stopped. She turned around and was surprised to see Julian hadn't followed to stop her.
She peered into the bathroom to see him shivering with his eyes closed.
"Go ahead. Call the police," He murmured without opening his eyes.
"Why did you come here, Julian?"
"I don't know. The van crashed, I got lost in the woods, was wandering and living on stolen goods for a few days and somehow ended up here. The rain was terrible and I was freezing and I remembered where your family used to keep the spare key." His eyes were still shut, he had stopped crying and he now sounded strangely detached, almost like he'd accepted his fate.
"Where were you the night Fiona was murdered?" Lola took a step closer to the bathroom door, with her phone still in hand.
"I was in the park, smoking. Alone."
"And Jason?"
"Same thing."
How convenient, Lola thought grimly.
"It's like a weekly ritual. I have a smoke in the park every Wednesday night, usually around the same time, sometimes with Damien and Tyrone. Most of the time alone," Julian finally opened his eyes to look at her. "Anyone who knows me would know that I wouldn't have an alibi during that time."
"So you're trying to say you've been framed?" Lola couldn't believe she was entertaining him over this.
The trial was over, the jury had decided his verdict but why did she feel uneasy all of the sudden. Like he might be telling the truth.
He sighed loudly, she'd never seen anyone look so tired and defeated.
"I didn't like Fiona but then again no one liked Fiona. Did you like her?" He asked and she shook her head.
Fiona was a red headed dragon, breathing fire over all the other students in high school who didn't belong to her group of friends. She was arrogant and bitter and it was safe to say, no one liked her except her cheerleader friends.
"And I don't know that Jason guy at all. I've never spoken a word to him in my life. Why the hell would I kill him?" Julian's eyes were fierce, dark and piercing, either he was an utterly brilliant liar or he was telling the truth.
Doubts were forming in Lola's mind. Doubts she'd never had before.
"So what are you going to do now? You can't keep running from the police forever," Lola stood up straight and crossed her arms over each other.
Even Julian straightened up when he realized Lola hadn't called the police yet.
"I don't know, Lola. I wish I knew but really all I can think of right now is getting a few winks of sleep. Please just let me sleep for awhile and then I'll be out of your hair by tomorrow night."
"You want to stay here for the night? Julian, that's absurd-"
"Please Lola, I haven't slept soundly in days, haven't had a proper meal, I've been living on scraps this whole time and I have no one." His pathetic expression was just too much for Lola too refute, she was crazy, she was being ridiculous but she was certain of one thing.
She would never forgive herself if she kicked him out tonight and he turned out to be innocent.
"Fine. One night," She said after a few seconds of deliberation and Julian's face lighted up in surprise. "You should take a warm shower. I'll go get you some clothes and see if there's anything to eat."
Lola shut the bathroom door to give a dripping wet Julian some privacy and then she crept into her parents room and looked around for some of her dad's old clothes. Something he wouldn't notice was missing.
She heated up yesterday's pasta in the microwave and walked up the stairs to her room cautiously. She didn't trust him much yet and just in case he tried anything funny, he could expect a plate of burning hot pasta to be thrown on his precious face.
Her pulse slowed when she heard the shower running and she placed his food on her study table. She then laid out his clothes on the bed.
The door opened slightly and out popped a very bare chested Julian, with tattoos scattered over his torso.
"There's no towel," He smiled at her meekly and she could feel her cheeks turn scarlet.
"Ohh." She quickly scurried to her cupboard and grabbed a towel. She gathered his clothes and practically threw them at him before looking away.
After a few minutes he walked out looking fresh and clean and miles better than before. His dark hair was pushed back and glistening wet and her father's shirt fit him snugly. It was just a bit short and when he raised his arms she could see the smooth skin of his stomach peaking at her.
Lola felt like a pervert for blushing.
"Honey! We're home!" Both of them froze when they heard her parents voices. They were probably walking up the stairs to check on her at this very moment.
"You have to hide," Lola stammered, panicking.
"The bathroom?" Julian whispered, just as alarmed.
"No, too risky." She pulled him to her bed and pushed him to the floor. "Crawl underneath."
He did as told and Lola's mother burst into her room just as Lola saw the last of him disappear under her mattress.
She couldn't think straight as she tried her best to entertain her parents questions and listen to their stories. She felt utter relief when they finally left her room and then she locked the door immediately.
"God, it's dusty under here," Julian mumbled as he crawled back out and she stifled a laugh when she saw a cobweb stuck to his shirt.
She got out the extra mattress used for sleepovers while Julian gobbled down the homemade pasta in seconds.
"Lola, you are an angel," He gushed gratefully. "The pasta was delicious."
"I didn't make it," Lola answered. She was getting more and more nervous by the second. Not only was she harbouring a criminal, this was the first time there was a boy in her room and now he was going to spend the night here with her.
"You can sleep here," She gestured at the makeshift bed she'd prepared for him and he skipped to it after guzzling down two glasses of water.
He lay down and hugged a pillow happily.
"Thank you so much, Lola. I swear once everything's settled, I'll pay you back. I promise."
"There's no need for that." She shut the lights and settled on her bed awkwardly. She cast a wary glance at Julian who had buried his head into the pillow, his shirt had risen up to expose his back and she stared at it for longer than necessary.
"Just don't kill me tonight." She looked away and tried to focus on anything aside from the boy in her room. "I swear if I wake up as a ghost I will haunt you for the rest of your life. You will never be at peace-."
She was about to continue when she heard soft snores coming from his side. She bent over her bed and sure enough Julian was fast asleep, dead to the world and her worries.