Julia's Journey (A Coming Home Again Novel Book 2) (12 page)

I came unglued last week when we ran
out of protein shakes that I had faithfully consumed most every day. I insisted
on mixing the new batch of shakes so Greyson handed over a giant container of
the mix and a case of waters along with a funny look on his face. It was an odd
mixture of apprehension and amusement. I searched the back of the container for
the proper measurements and discovered the calorie count per shake and went
into shock.

“Greyson Stone!” I yelled. “You mean to
tell me that for every two scoops of this mess, I’ve been consuming nine
hundred calories!”

He looked at me crassly, and then broke
out laughing. “I’ve been putting three scoops per bottle. Oops!” He laughed way
too hard at that so I threw a water bottle at him. Needless to say, I have
drunk my last protein shake.

I slide on a nightshirt after my
shower, grab my journal, and go have a seat at the picnic table with Greyson.
He is already scribbling away in his journal. I smile when I discover yet
another Bible verse tucked on the next blank page. It’s Proverbs 24:13-14.
Eat
honey my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste. Know
also that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope
for you, and your hope will not be cut off.

Before I can comment or cry or something,
Greyson stands and heads inside. At the door, he speaks over his shoulder.
“Good night, honey.”

He leaves me speechless as I sit and
reread the verse over several times. I know he has given me this little
treasure with a double meaning. Referencing the honey is obvious from the talk
we had earlier today. But he is also intriguing me to explore the words of the
Bible that are so foreign to me. I wasn’t raised in church. And to be honest,
the only times I’ve stepped foot in one was for either a wedding or a funeral.

I keep turning the words of the verse
over in my head long after I’ve gone to bed tonight. I want to hope for a
better future, because I just don’t know if I can keep bearing the past. I’m so
confused on how to obtain it.

Chapter Fifteen

Greyson

Today we are at one of the most majestic sights I have ever
seen. We’ve hiked up to a beauty of a waterfall that resides in the Kentucky
Mountains. The waterfall is surrounded by beastly boulders and lush green forest.
Everywhere I look, I spot something more glorious than before, and the sound of
the rushing water pushes all other thoughts out of my mind. I live in this
moment and savor it. This place is like salve for my soul.

I’m succeeding in this until I catch sight of Julia playing
on that stupid phone of hers. She’s constantly checking her social media crap
or meticulously counting calories on that app. Julia thinks I don’t notice, but
I notice everything about this chick. Always have.

I’m really fed up with it. She glances away so I take
advantage and snatch the phone out of her hand. I text her sister Savannah and
her
brother
John Paul’s contact information to my
phone.

“What are you doing?” Julia demands.

I ignore her as I take the phone apart into three pieces. I
lob each piece into the water while Julia is screeching out like she’s near
death. She calls me a few choice words I choose not to repeat.

“Why did you do that?” she whines out, slapping me in the
arm.

“I’ve had enough of it. No worries though.” I pull out my
phone and send her sister and brother a heads up text. “I sent your sibling’s
numbers to my phone. I also sent them texts with mine so they know how to
contact you.” I show her the two incoming texts. Savannah’s pops up first. She
sends lots of grinning emoji faces. I can picture that cute face lit up with
her very own
grin. Even though she’s never spoken a word to
me, I know we connected when we met, as though we were both on the same page as
to wanting the best for her older sister.

“She likes you for some reason,” Julia says in disbelief as
we continue to stare at my phone’s screen.

The next text is from John Paul, whom I’ve never met, but
have heard enough about that I know we would hit it off too. He’s a man’s man
and likes to tell some tall-tales, I’ve heard. I love how fondly Julia talks
about her siblings. I’m an only child, so I don’t know how that feels. John
Paul’s text is simply,
K
.

“That’s so touching,” I mock as I show
Julia the screen, and she rolls her eyes.

“I can’t believe you just did that to my phone.” She’s still
fuming with her face all flushed. I try not to think about how appealing she
looks in this moment.

“You promised to do it my way on this trip. No phone is my
way.”

“Well…” she starts as she pulls her shirt off and leaves me
speechless. Oh crap. Here we go… “I’m a grown woman and can do as I so please.”
With that the shorts and underclothes are shed and thrown on the ground. Julia
wades into the water, squealing from the cold temperature of it.

“You need to keep your clothes on too! I’m sick of your
stripteases every time I turn around!” I yell at her as I scan the area for
people. Sure enough an older man is passing at this very moment, laughing.

“If that’s the only problem you have with that young lady,
then you are one lucky man.” He laughs some more, but continues walking without
checking Julia out too much.

“Yeah.
If that was the only problem!”
I
bark out and rub my hands over my face.

“Loosen up a bit, Stone,” Julia croons from the water’s edge
before dunking under the waterfall’s spray.

I turn away and keep guard as I slump on top of a big
boulder. Eventually she sits behind me and leans into my back. I hold my breath
until she confirms. “I have my clothes back on.”

I sigh. “You really need to learn to keep them on.”

“You’re such a prude,” she teases.

“No. I’m not. It’s sad that you don’t even recognize when a
man is trying to respect you.”

Julia shuts up at this and seems to be pondering what I just
said. She leans into me more and whispers, “I’m sorry. I just… I act out
sometimes.
Trying to combat other issues.”

We sit, warming ourselves in the sun for a while when I hear
her whisper, “Please don’t die.” And man do those words punch me in the gut.

Reaching over my shoulder, my fingers comb through her wet hair.
Julia has never been able to handle her emotions. Not since I’ve known her,
anyway. She either acts out or shuts down. It’s her fight or flight instinct.
“I can’t promise you that. We all die. We’ve just seen that bitter reality with
Marna
and Bella. I can’t promise you I won’t die… But
I can promise you I will live. God has given us this gift of life and we
shouldn’t squander it.”

“How?”

“We both need to work on living healthy. You really need to
work on why you don’t eat… Or maybe you already know and you need to find a
healthier way of dealing with it.”

“I don’t know a healthy way.”

“Maybe talking about it,” I suggest.

“I can’t…”

I turn around and face her. “Look at everything I’ve shared
with you. You have no idea how difficult that was for me. I’d rather you had
never found out about the cancer. I hate how weak I am and you have no idea how
wicked of a low it was to have my butt handed to me right in front of you. I
couldn’t protect you…” I trail off in disgust. That bar brawl still doesn’t sit
well with me.

We sit for a while longer until she speaks. “I have a
stomach ache,” she admits. I start to get up and take her back to the RV, but
she beckons me to sit back down. “I always have it.
Neither
from sickness nor from hunger.
I use the hunger pangs to mask the deeper
pain.” Julia goes quiet, so I sit and patiently wait for her to continue. “I
met this man when I was fifteen. I thought he loved me, but he put that pain
there and I can’t get rid of it.” She bats away a stray tear and reaches to hold
my hand. I hold it tight as she continues. “He stripped me apart and left
nothing but pain. The only way I can handle it is to focus on another pain.
Pain from hunger or pain from hangovers and pretend that’s the cause.
If it’s just hunger pangs, well…
I’m in control of my pain
and not him.”

I think back some. I met Julia when she was sixteen. I think
some more and get angry. No man had any business doing anything with a
fifteen-year-old girl. One word pops into my head—rape. I gather Julia and hold
her fiercely, wanting to protect her from the hurt, but failing. I have watched
this woman abuse herself all of these years—unable to make sense of it until
now. It blows my mind that she actually thinks she can cancel out the hurt this
scumbag inflicted on her by adding her own.

“Julia. Please tell me he’s rotting in prison somewhere.”

“No. He’s rotting in hell.”

I hold her closer. My arms ache from trying to restrain from
holding her too tightly.

“Can we just drop it for now?” she asks quietly.

“For now,” I agree. “But you deserve to live without all of
this pain. Julia, you really need to seek out some help.” I brush her hair back
and meet her eyes.

“Can we just finish out this trip first? I really need to
see this through with you.”

I nod my head, feeling defeated and hurting all over with
the realization I may not be able to help her. I regard Julia tucked in my side
with my arm holding her close and I swear it seems that my arms were made to do
nothing more than to protect this woman. I want nothing more than to help her
heal from this burden. The sad realization washes over me that I know
firsthand—some things, well more closely a lot of things, are out of our hands.
All I can do is pray that God heals her.

We lay back on the boulder, letting the sun warm us in
silence until I hear someone walk up and clear his throat. Julia and I both
open our eyes and stare over at a young park ranger. The dude looks fresh out
of the academy.

“Hey there, sir,” I say as politely as I can. The way he’s
looking at us has me worried.

He pulls his hat off and starts circling the rim nervously
in his hands. “I hate to do this, but I have to arrest the two of you.”

Julia sits up. “What?” The chick’s voice rings with
annoyance.

I place my hand on her arm and silently beg her to shut up.
“Can I ask on what charges?” I have my friendly expression plastered on my
face, hoping to win him over with kindness.

He clears his throat and actually blushes.
“Public nudity.”
He glances at Julia and the blush becomes
fiercer. He turns his eyes back to me.
“And littering the
falls.”

“How in the world did you know about that, sweetie?” Julia
starts playing her nice card, but I have a feeling it’s not going to help us
out of this jam.

He nods up at the trees where, I notice for the first time,
cameras are tucked. “This is a protected waterfall and is under surveillance.
It’s all been caught on tape. I sure wish I didn’t have to arrest you, but
beings that it’s been recorded there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“Oh,” I state, because what else can I really say?

The young ranger also points at a sign near the edge of the
water that we completely overlooked. I’m guessing it wouldn’t have deterred
Julia anyway. “It’s also against the law to swim in the falls.”

“Well, that’s such a shame,” Julia comments in all
seriousness.

“No worries, man. We broke the law.” I stand up and pull
Julia to her feet.

“If you go willingly, I won’t have to cuff you,” he says
eagerly.

“Cuffs might be fun,” Julia continues to flirt, making the
poor guy turn crimson again. She really shouldn’t tease him that way. I roll my
eyes at her and she shrugs her shoulders, grinning.

“Lead the way, man.” Gesturing with my hand, my partner in
crime and I follow behind him.

Ranger Milligan escorts us to the ranger’s station where we
are both booked, fingerprinted, and have to pose for mugshots. The ranger is a
good sport and takes a few mugshots with my phone at my request. We both give
our million dollar smiles as he clicks away. The young dude is pretty easygoing
and lets us hang out in the lounge while my credit card is being processed for
the two thousand dollar fine. As we wait, I send the pictures and a caption to
my
parents that says
,
These two idiots got arrested goofing off at a Kentucky Waterfall
.
My mom texts back,
That’s
what the two idiots deserve
. My dad
sends
,
you need
to be bailed out?
I send back,
yes
mom and no dad
. I look over at Julia as she studies her can of diet pop. I
show her the text and she laughs.

“Well,
Thorton
. I guess we can add
arrest to the list and mark it off.” I shake my head disapprovingly. “You just
keep adding all sorts of jewels to this trip.”

She glares over at me. “Me? You’re the one who polluted that
beautiful waterfall.” Leave it to Julia to blame all of this on me.

“You drove me to it. Then you go and give this entire county
a private strip show that is on
video
.”
I scoff with my eyes wide.

She looks away. “Well… That’s unfortunate.” She tries to
pout, but we both end up bursting out in laughter at the absurdity of the day’s
events. I’ll definitely have a lot to add to my journal tonight. I already have
the Bible verse for Julia picked out. Genesis 3:10 -
He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was
naked; so I hid.”

I just bet she will love that one. I chuckle to myself at
the thought of it. Yep.
Lots to journal about tonight.
If we ever get out of here…