Gary dropped his fork on his plate. “And why would that be? What do you have going for you here?”
Nothing I could tell him about. He’d laugh in my face if I told him that the reason I was passing on going early to the academy hinged on the remote possibility of an internship. “I have some things going on. Want to see them through before I leave.”
“Is this because of that girl?” Grandma asked. I should have never told her about Jules. Now I’d never hear the end of it.
I pushed my fork through the gravy on my plate. “No.”
Gary shoved a piece of biscuit into his mouth and stared at me from across the table. “I hope it’s for a good reason. I don’t know why you’d want to spend more time at your dad’s house than you need to.”
“Dad’s fine. He’s been pretty cool this summer.” Much better than I expected when I first got to town. Never thought I’d be defending him, but this contest between them was getting old quick. Dad may have been a dick sometimes, but I could admit he probably had to be that way because I wasn’t the easiest to deal with. “Three weeks and I’ll be back in Texas.”
He nodded and continued eating breakfast.
I got him off my back for three weeks—and, if things went according to plan, I’d be staying in Spring Hill instead of wearing a police uniform at the end of summer.
After breakfast, I went back to Blake’s fraternity. I tugged off my shirt and got back in the daybed, my makeshift room for the next few days. Breakfast sat in my stomach like a gut bomb, and all I wanted to do was take a nap and then spend the rest of the day with Jules.
I pulled out my phone to text her. We both had the day off and I wanted to take her to this new mini golf place that just opened near the mall. Something to celebrate knowing what I wanted to do with my life. This girl deserved a fucking gold medal for helping me sort out my life, even if she didn’t realize she’d done it.
R: Morning, beautiful
J: Hi ;-)
R: You should come on over. I’m still at Blake’s.
J: I will. Just have to deal with some family stuff first
R: What a crying shame. I’m in bed and can think of something way more fun than dealing with family right here, right now.
J: Are you using songs to woo me again?
R: Is it working?
J: You got me.
I knocked my head into my pillow. This girl would be the end of me, I knew it. But I couldn’t stop running into the flames.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Jules
I pressed the speed dial for my parents’ number, clutching my phone in my shaky hand. Last night made me realize something. I’d spent my entire life, especially the last five years, trying to impress people. How could I let myself be pushed into a career I wasn’t even interested in? It ticked me off so much to hear Ryan talk about how he didn’t know what he wanted to do, but was willing to try, to flounder, as he searched for his passion. I knew my passion and yet I was steering further away from it each semester. I wanted to work with athletes, not work in a hospital. And I was going to tell my parents just that. Toilet paper degree be damned, I was going to do something I loved.
Hitting send, I pulled the phone to my ear. My pulse hammered against my temple, and I took a deep breath to steady my heart rate. Mom picked up on the third ring.
“Good morning, Juliette.”
“Hi, Mom.” My voice cracked, and I could already feel myself retreating back into good daughter territory. No. Girl, you are stronger than this. But was I? Sure, I could stand up to a douchey frat guy, but this was my mother we were talking about. The same one who asked me if I was really going to eat another Oreo while staring at my waistline. The one who would have been better off with Payton as her daughter. “I’d like to talk to you about something.”
“Me, too. We’re going to be in town today.”
“Como?” The only times Mom and Dad had traveled down to Spring Hill were to drop off my boxes for the apartment at the beginning of each school year and once to take me to rehab.
“I really wish you’d talk like an educated individual. We’ve decided we’re going to take a family trip down to see you in Spring Hill.”
“Oh, okay.”
“We’ll be there around five. We can do dinner.”
“Sounds good.”
I hung up the phone and groaned. What happened to telling her how I felt? I could do that tonight, I guess.
Grabbing my keys, I left the apartment and headed toward Blake’s fraternity, where Ryan was staying. He was lying in Blake’s daybed when I walked into his room, his hair disheveled, my fingers itching to work my way through the soft mess.
He turned to me and smiled, and my heart pounded faster than it had before I’d entered the room. “How was working out your family matters?”
“Craptastic. My parents are coming into town.” I sat down on the bed, crossing my legs.
“Yeah?”