Evol

chapter twelve

Thursday 6th June, 2019

Day 4.

I sat in my car.

I was already ten minutes late. I couldn't delay more, but I couldn't move. The time mocked me on the dashboard, and I sighed for the fifth time.

My eyes found the row of tress across the road, green and dark. Julian was probably watching me from a turret, daring me to move. Laughing. The thought of his big dark eyes mocking me spurred me on. I got out of the car, slammed the door, and stalked across the street.

His house was blacker and bigger than I remembered. Curbing the intimidation, I stood on the porch and knocked.

Two seconds later, the door swung open. Mr Jones stood, looking as smart and handsome as the last time, with a navy suit today. "Brooke!" He exclaimed with a white smile.

Ushering me inside, I couldn't help but feel at ease. "Hello again, Mr Jones."

His brown eyes, the same huge ones as his son, blinked at me. "You're looking better."

"They're fading, finally." I beamed.

"Good. You can go on up, Julian should be in the study."

"Thank you." I watched Mr Jones' back as he retreated through a door, and then stood at the bottom of the stairs. My palms were slick with sweat, heart slumping. It felt like I was walking into a lion's den.

Taking a deep breath, I walked up the stairs. The corridor at the top was empty, and seemed smaller than I remembered. I carried on, opening three wrong doors before I found the right one. When I did, a yelp escaped me.

He didn't turn around. Julian's chair was turned toward the window, his curly-haired, broad-shouldered silhouette all I could see.

Shuffling in, I closed the door. "Julian?"

"Why are you here?"

"I'm tutoring you."

"I don't want you here," he said. His voice was so cold, I winced.

"I don't want to be here." Still, I went around and sat in the chair next to him. Julian stared out of the window, wide eyes like tunnels. Black, empty.

It chilled me.

"Why are you here, then?" He asked.

"I don't run away from things like a child." I said, saw him swallow thickly. "I have a job to do, and I'm going to do it."

Julian looked at me, then. His eyebrows were pushed together like he was in pain, but the rest of his face was expressionless. "Wasn't what I did enough?" He hissed. "What do I have to do?"

"To do what?" Fear curled in my stomach.

His fingers gripped his thighs, where they'd lain flat before. "To get you to leave me the fuck alone!"

I blinked. The atmosphere was heavy, tense. I thought, maybe if he was alone, he'd lay off. But that was definitely not the case. Looking out at his green back yard, I ignored the heaviness of his eyes on me. Maybe because I didn't want them to go.

"Kill me." I said, and looked at him. "Why don't you just kill me, Julian?"

"That's not funny."

"Julian," my voice was quiet. "Can't we just be civil? I only need an hour."

"I can't stand an hour."

"With me?"

"Yes."