Bent (24 page)

It took everything Julia had to resist the urge to bolt out of the house at this news. She was paying rent on the house that Micah and Caleb were living in while Micah paid rent for his ex. There was something completely twisted about the entire situation.

"And you really think this is all okay? You really are an idiot if you think I'm going to pay rent here and on my apartment while you're supporting her. I don't know what in the hell I was thinking--"

Again, Micah stopped her before she could get very far into her epic rant. "Stop," he commanded. His volume stayed level but he was more forceful than she expected. "You're not paying rent here."

She stared blankly at him, wondering if he thought she was a complete moron. "Um, I'm pretty sure I've been sending checks, so yeah, I pay rent here. And you're paying for Karen to live rent-free."

"Okay, I'm going to grab a beer. While I do that, can you do whatever you need to do to make it so you can listen to me when I come back?" There was a hint of resignation in his tone. "Please?"

Julia nodded as she drained another glass of wine.

While he was out of the room, Julia closed her eyes. This was all wrong. She should have stayed in New York. And again, it seemed that everyone knew what was going on except her. When had everyone become so twisted that everyone thought this crap was normal? She wondered if Carly knew about Karen living at the farm.

"Do you want to keep going?" Micah asked when he came back in the room. This time, he sat down close to Julia and motioned for her to lean against him. She shook her head. He moved to the edge of the couch. "No, you don't want to talk or you just don't want me touching you?"

Julia rolled her eyes, "Micah, I can't have you close to me right now. If there's more to say, say it. This is the only time we're doing this, so spill it."

After taking a long draw off his bottle of Miller, Micah started picking at the label with his thumb. "Okay, you're probably going to be mad..." he drifted off and looked for Julia's reaction. He knew it was a bad way to start the biggest revelation but it was true.

When she didn't say anything, he continued, "I bought the house from Mrs. Stevens. She agreed to cash your checks and then return the money to you after I had a chance to talk to you. She didn't realize how much work the house was going to need when she bought it and wanted me to cut corners. I don't work that way, so I offered to buy it from her and she agreed."

"You did what?" Julia shouted. There was no more holding herself back. She had to be dreaming. That was the only way everything Micah was saying made sense. This was too twisted, even for Brooklyn.

"I was looking for properties to buy and Mrs. Stevens couldn't put more money in than what she had already budgeted. When we reached an impasse on the renovations, I told her I would buy the house but I needed to tell you in person."

"Who all knew?" Julia sneered. It was like having the rug pulled out from under her while everyone watched.

"Julia," Micah pleaded, "please hear me out. I still think we can work things out. I sure didn't think it was going to be like this--"

"You didn't think it was going to be like this? No, I think you just didn't think, period."

Micah cocked his head, "True. But please, listen to me. I love you. No matter what happens, I always will. Even if you never move back here, this is the home that was yours when we reconnected," he explained. "Like I said, Mrs. Stevens didn't want to do it this way but Annie convinced her that it was okay."

She couldn't believe what she was hearing. Only in this backwoods town would anything like this happen. This is why she couldn't wait to get out of town as a teenager. Small towns made people lose their minds. There was no other explanation for a "best friend" who thought it was acceptable to keep secrets like this. Only in a small town would a landlord sell a house without mentioning it to the tenant.

There was no point in continuing the conversation. Julia left the room without another word. If it could be done without depleting what was left of her savings, she planned to change her flight back to New York. For the second time this year, she would abandon most of her belongings to escape a hopeless relationship. Hopefully she would learn her lesson this time.

Chapter Seventeen

There were many words Julia used to describe New York. Until she found herself cocooned in the new wine-colored down comforter on Sunday morning, 'normal' was never a word that would have described her life in the city. Now, it was the only place where life made sense. She needed to get back to her dingy, depressing apartment. She would much rather be depressed and claustrophobic than confused and betrayed.

Once she walked out the door, there was no turning back this time. Too much had happened in the time she'd been gone. Honesty was the one thing she'd demanded of Micah and he'd failed her. It shouldn't be too surprising since it wasn't the first time but that did nothing to ease the pain in her chest.

Last night, she cried until there were no more tears and her body shut down. Today, there was only pain.

Reluctantly, Julia pulled herself out of bed. Puffy, red eyes underscored by bruises from wiping away tears stared back at her in the bathroom mirror. The hair she'd had cut and highlighted in anticipation of her trip looked like a frayed straw mat placed on top of her head.

Feeling marginally better after a shower long enough that it drained the water heater she knew it was time to face the day. Lost in thoughts of everything she needed to do to sever ties to Wisconsin, Julia didn't notice the shaggy-haired boy hovering over a cereal bowl at the kitchen table.

"Morning, Julia," he mumbled.

Startled by the fact that she wasn't alone, she dropped the container of coffee she was pulling from the cupboard. Looking at the dusting of coffee grounds covering the counter and rustic tile floor, Julia was convinced there was nothing that could turn this trip around. If she believed in signs, she imagined there were flashing neon ones telling her to get the hell out of here.

"Caleb...hi," she stuttered. As if the fumbled coffee wasn't embarrassing enough, she noticed as she swept grounds from the counter into her hand that there was already a fresh-brewed pot of coffee. Next to the pot was a slender ceramic vase with three white roses, her favorite coffee mug and a card.

If Micah was as good at talking to her as he was at begging forgiveness, she figured they'd have a perfect relationship.

Before she finished cleaning the grounds from the granite, Caleb was behind her with the broom. "Dad warned me you were no good before coffee," he laughed as he returned to the table once the floor was clean.

She filled her mug and joined him at the table. "He's right. Where is he, anyway?" she asked when she noticed his truck wasn't in the driveway.

Caleb shrugged, "Dunno. He said he had to do something and took off about an hour ago." His brow was furrowed as he slurped the milk from his cereal bowl.

"Oh," Julia muttered. Even if Caleb knew where Micah was, she wasn't about to press him for information. She looked over the top of her mug as she sipped the strong brew. "Everything okay with you?" she asked.

She knew something was bothering him. During one of their fights, Micah had told her that she was the only person Caleb had opened up to. If that was true, she prayed her leaving hadn't destroyed their bond and he would talk to her.

He stared into the empty bowl in front of him. "Yeah, I'm fine," he said. He was lying and they both knew it.

Not wanting to push the subject, Julia stood from the table. She needed to get online to change her flight, call Krista to let her know she'd be back early and then she planned on packing anything she couldn't part with.

As she walked to the staircase, an uneasy voice trailed behind her. "Julia?"

She turned to see Caleb a few steps behind her with the same worried look on his face. "What's up?" she asked.

"Is everything okay with you and my dad?" Her heart crumbled at sadness in his voice. She thought back to the morning he told her about his parents fighting when he was younger. He'd heard them fighting last night. The one thing she hoped to avoid had happened.

"It's...we're..." the words failed her. She tried to figure out how to tell Caleb the truth without telling him that his father was an idiot with some pretty serious issues to overcome before he could have a real relationship with anyone.

"Things aren't always easy when you're an adult," she stated. It was the truth. "Your dad and I have it even harder sometimes because we don't see each other as often as we'd like, but everything will work out however it's supposed to." She was impressed with her ability to think quickly before she had a full cup of coffee in her system.

"But last night," he pushed, "that was something else. Are you mad that he's making me talk to my mom?"

"No," she answered, "it's not that. Look, Caleb, what's going on between me and your dad is our problem. It's nothing you need to be worrying about, okay?"

Caleb shook his head, "You're wrong. Dad's different when he's talking to you or when you're here. He wasn't happy this morning. And I know you guys were talking about my mom last night, so that means it has to do with me."

Without hesitation, Julia closed the space between them and pulled Caleb close to her, "No, buddy," she whispered, "I'm not mad about you seeing your mom. You have to trust me on that. As long as she's not hurting you, I'd never have a problem with you seeing her. She's your mother." Julia didn't know what shocked her more; her holding Caleb as a mother would hold a child or the fact that he wasn't pulling away from her.

"Your dad and I have a lot of history to get over," she continued, "But our issues are our issues. Now, what games do you have on that PS3 in the living room?"

Caleb's eyes got wide. "You like video games?" Julia nodded. Whatever she needed to do could wait. Like it or not, Julia had to admit that Caleb had a strangle-hold on part of her heart and he needed her right now. He needed something to get his mind off things that no child should worry about. The only thing Julia could think of to accomplish that was inviting him into the alternate-reality of video games.

The unlikely duo flopped onto the couch in unison, game controllers in hand. For over an hour, they channeled their fears and frustrations into fighting to survive the zombie apocalypse. Every time Caleb's jaw dropped at her gaming proficiency, Julia laughed.

Once she was satisfied that they were both in a better place emotionally, Julia opened up to Caleb about her own childhood. She explained that she knew what it was like to have someone who was supposed to love you unconditionally walk out. It was important that he understood that she knew, on some level, what he had gone through. His expression fell when she said it had been over twelve years since she had even heard from her mom  and that she envied him that his mom was trying to be part of his life.

"But what if she picks the drugs again?" he pleaded, "That's why I don't like talking to her. The drugs were more important when I was little. Why wouldn't they be now that I'm old enough to take care of myself?"

Julia wondered if he'd voiced these concerns to Micah or to the counselor. She knew he hadn't. Caleb still saw Julia as his safe person. If only she had realized this months earlier...

Placing her controller on the coffee table, Julia turned to face Caleb. "What if she doesn't?"

"But what if she does?" he volleyed back.

"Caleb," Julia said, hating the mom tone she heard in her voice, "you can't live your life waiting for her to mess up again. I have no doubt that if your dad had a feeling she was using again, he'd do everything he can to keep you safe."

"That's not what I mean. Well, it is, I guess," he waffled, "If she starts using drugs again, he's not going to let me see her. That's why I don't like spending time with her. I don't trust her to stay clean. And what if she hurts you again?"

Julia slumped back at his admission. Why was the twelve year old the one person in this damned town who had no problem being honest with her? It was more than a little unsettling.

A tension headache was forming behind her temples. This was all too much information for one brain to process in such a short amount of time. Not only that, but the longer she spent talking to Caleb, the more she felt her resolve to leave weaken. "I can understand that. It's why I didn't want to talk to my mom. But even though she left again," she paused, "I'm still glad I had the time with her that I did." With that, Julia excused herself to get another cup of coffee.

The sliding glass door opened as she entered the kitchen. "Garage," she said through clenched teeth when she saw Micah walking through the door. His face twisted at the icy greeting.

Julia let Micah know she'd be back as soon as she grabbed her coat. She was counting on Caleb being so absorbed in his game that he hadn't heard his father come home. She wanted to talk to Micah without him knowing.

"Is he talking to someone?" Julia asked as soon as they were in the secluded safety of the detached garage.