Chapter Thirty

“Hello?”

“Will, it’s Jules.” I clear my throat and change lanes, heading toward my house.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“I need to come stay with you for a while.”

Silence.

“What’s going on?” Will’s usual happy, flippant voice has lowered, and I know he’s ready to kick ass for me.

“I just got fired, and lost my boyfriend in the process. I need to get away and get my head on straight. Can I crash with you?”

“I’ll put clean sheets in the spare room. Are you okay to drive?”

“Yeah, I think I’m still in shock. I’ll fall apart when I get to your place.”

“I’ll get the Kleenex ready too.  Love you, kiddo.”

“Love you too.”

I hang up and call Natalie. I need to get the phone calls out of the way now, before the tears start. Because once they start, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop them.

“Jules?” Nat answers. “Why aren’t you at work?”

“I got fired.”

“Fuck, someone found out.”

“Yep.” I pull into my driveway, cut the engine, and stride quickly into the house and up to my bedroom.

“You sound calm.”

“I’m pissed as fuck, mostly at Nate. He didn’t get fired, and when I was in front of him and the other members of the firing squad, he didn’t exactly defend me.”

I hear Olivia fussing in the background. “Do you need me to come over?” Nat asks.

“No, I’m packing. I need to get away for a little while.”

“Come here,” Natalie offers, but I know that’s not an option either.

“Thanks, but I’m going to Will’s. I really want to go off the grid for a while and figure out what I’m going to do next.”

“Okay, but if you need anything, you know where to find me.”

“Thanks, Nat.” I feel tears starting, but I swallow them down and focus on throwing clothes into my biggest suitcase. I’m taking just about everything because I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.

I’m tossing toiletries into a smaller suitcase when I hear my front door open and slam shut and heavy footsteps running up my stairs, two at a time. Suddenly Nate is in my doorway, panting, his hair down, in just his white button down shirt and slacks. He eyes my open suitcases and then pins me with his narrowed gray eyes.

“Where are you going?” he asks.

“None of your business.” I turn to go back into the bathroom, but he lunges for me and grabs my elbows.

“Let’s talk about this, Julianne.”

I pull out of his grasp and wrap my arms around my middle, so livid, so hurt, so confused.

“Don’t touch me. There is nothing to talk about, Nate. You threw me under the bus.”

He steps toward me again, but I back away and he plants his hands on his lean hips. “That’s not what happened.”

“You sat in that room and let them fire me without saying one word in my defense.”

“You weren’t in that room all morning when that’s exactly what I did. I offered to quit if they’d let you stay.”

“But you didn’t threaten to quit if they fired me.”

His jaw clenches shut and he runs a hand through his hair.

“I didn’t think so,” I mutter and stalk into the bathroom, gathering my shampoo, razor and shower gel out of the shower and dump them into the suitcase with my makeup bag.

“Julianne, it doesn’t do us any good if we’re both unemployed.”

“Fuck that! Nate, I knew when I stepped foot in your apartment for the first time that this could happen. I knew what I was getting myself into. And you know what? I chose you. I CHOSE YOU!” I poke my finger into his chest and pace around the room. I am on fire. “If those people had asked me, I would have told them that I loved you and they could kiss my ass if they didn’t like it. I didn’t lie when he asked me about our relationship. But you sat six feet away from me and didn’t even show any goddamn emotion!”

“Jules…”

“No,” I interrupt and pace back toward him. “I don’t give a fuck about that job right now. I’ll get another. What I care about is that I didn’t even know you today. The man who defended me with every fiber of his being Friday night wasn’t there. The man who makes sure I don’t get hit by cars in downtown Seattle and makes me feel safe, wasn’t fucking there.”

“Goddamn it, Jules, what was I supposed to say?”

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe something along the lines of, “It takes two to tango?” or “If you fire her, I’m out too?” I throw underwear and shoes into my bag, not even caring to see which ones they are exactly, and I zip the bags shut.

“If you’ll calm down, I’ll tell you what happened before you came into the damn room, Julianne.”

I take a deep breath and hang my head and rub my forehead with my hand. I love him so much, and feel so betrayed by him. I know that I can’t be around him right now.

“I have somewhere I need to be.” I pull the suitcases off the bed and pull up the handles to drag them behind me.

“Where are you going?” he asks again, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Don’t worry about it, Nate. Just forget about me.” I start to move past him but he steps in front of me, blocking the way to the door.