Just a Little Sequel (5 page)

“I don’t doubt that; I can barely shake you now.”

“
Hey
,” I said, matching his smile. His arm landed across my shoulders and he pulled me closer to his side.

“God, I love you,” he pressed a kiss to my temple.

“I love you most.”

And together we walked through the doors of the hospital’s tiny café.

Chapter Five

Saturday, October 25 | 3:00 a.m.

“I’m going to take Molly home,” Luke whispered close to my ear as he cradled his niece to his chest. “The nurse said it could be hours at this rate, and she needs to get a good night’s sleep in her own bed.”

“Yeah,” I rubbed my eyes and nodded.

We’d been at the hospital for five hours. Grace and Lonnie had left hours ago, and I could see the restlessness getting to Luke, as well. He used Molly as an excuse, but it wasn’t hard to see that he needed some rest of his own.

“Do you want me to come?”

“No,” he looked across the room at one very wide-eyed Milton, “you might want to stay and keep him company.”

“I’m fine, guys,” Derek tapped his hands on his legs, “just go. I’ll call if there’s any news.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah,” he stood to give me a hug, “get some rest. We’ll talk soon.”

I led the way back to the car as Luke carried Molly. He secured her in the backseat and wiped her hair from her eyes. She didn’t stir once during the transition.

He pulled up to the house five minutes later.

The Halloween bash had died off hours ago, and all that was left of the party was a small waft of smoke emanating from the logs out back.

Luke leaned over and pressed a kiss to my cheek.

“Get some sleep,” he said. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come back to Rebecca’s with you?” I asked. “I can help with Molly.”

“She pretty much takes care of herself,” he said, looking at her in the rearview mirror. “I think we’ll be okay.”

“Alright,” I felt my eyes grow heavier by the moment.

I let myself out of the car, but I didn’t shut my door right away. I stood there, still overwhelmed by everything that had unfolded in a few short hours, and leaned back down to look at Luke.

“You okay?”

“I love you, Lucas Reibeck.”

“Mmm,” he savored the moment, as he always did. He always told me how much he craved hearing those words, and I had no problem sharing them. It thrilled me to see him revel in my admiration for him. “I love you too, kid.”

And with a smile, I shut the door and backed away.

Luke didn’t drive away until I’d unlocked the front door, and when I met the scowl on Charlie’s face seconds later, I suddenly found myself wishing that Luke hadn’t left at all.

“Are we really gonna do this tonight?” I asked, checking my phone. 3:12 a.m.

“Where’ve you been?” he pinched the bridge of his nose.

“The hospital,” I said, “Rebecca’s in labor. They left the party hours ago—”

“Right,” he said, now rubbing his head.

Based on the tired lines around Charlie’s lips and his increasingly heavy eyes, I assumed he’d just woken up from an intoxicated slumber. Most people favored weddings or St. Patrick’s Day for a good, drunken night of fun, but Charlie always chose Halloween.

“Did you…” I looked toward the stairs and back to my uncle, “did you hear from Matt at all tonight?”

“No,” he said in a low voice. His eyes flittered slowly, and he dropped his head to stare at the floor. “Was I s’pose to?”

“No.” Charlie took a few stumbles backward, and I looked behind him to notice a pile of blankets on the couch. I assumed he must’ve been sleeping there before Luke’s headlights flashed through the front windows and woke him. I patted his back and led him back over to his makeshift bed.

“Alright, why don’t you lie down,” I helped him back down on the cushion. He put a lot of his weight on my shoulders as he sat back, and I half-laughed. “Get some rest, Charlie. We have a lot of cleaning up to do tomorrow.”

My uncle started settling himself as I made my way for the stairs.

“Hey, Julie,” he said, and through his slurs it sounded a lot more like
hey, Choolie
.

“Yeah?” I turned back.

“You’re gonna leave me, aren’t you?” He nestled his face into the back of the couch.

“I’m just going upstairs, Charlie. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“You’re gonna move in with Luke in that house that he bought,” he said, and his tone was void of any emotion. As his breathing grew heavier, I already sensed him falling back asleep. “You’re gonna leave me all alone,” he nearly whispered. “Please don’t. I don’t want to be alone…”

And before I had time to respond, he was snoring.

I pulled my lips inward and watched my sleeping uncle for a few long minutes. I left the bottom step and headed back for the couch, carefully tucking him beneath his favorite old quilt.

“I love you, Charlie,” I whispered, and I pushed a tuft of his graying hair from his forehead. “Sleep tight.”

Back on the second floor a few minutes later, I stopped off at Matt’s room and found him strewn across his bed, still wearing his ugly mask. I went in and removed the mask as easily as I could without waking him, and I set it aside on his empty dresser.

It was weird seeing him home, sleeping in his own bed. But even in his sleep, Mattie looked lost and confused—almost as lost and confused as his father looked downstairs.

This wasn’t the same Matthew Little I’d known since birth. Physically, yes. It was him. But the person lying there, taking shallow breaths in his slumber, was supposed to be off getting the best culinary education money could buy. He’d come home. He’d quit. He’d given up. And I had no idea why.

The Matthew Little I’d known was probably the bravest person I’d
ever
known. He knew what he wanted, he focused on that goal, and he didn’t let a single thing stand in his way on the path to achieving that dream. Even when he had doubts, even when times got really hard, he kept moving forward. He kept fighting for what he wanted. He’d left with a three-step plan: gain the experience, open a restaurant, and win back the girl of his dreams.
Nothing else mattered
.

So why? Why quit now?
Who was this guy
, and what had he done with my cousin?

Saturday, October 25 | 6:25 a.m.

Charlie was still snoring on the couch by the time I left. Despite the fact that I’d gone to bed so late, I couldn’t fall asleep. I tried everything from counting sheep to a warm glass of milk, but nothing helped me drift off. Back in the day, a shower would’ve worked wonders. But I found late-night showers more traumatizing than relaxing nowadays.

Thoughts of Charlie’s final words had kept me stirring, tossing and turning, and beating myself up. Wide awake, my uncle would’ve never said the things that he’d said to me the night before. Tired, incoherent, and a little hung-over, obviously he would. I spent the next hour trying to figure out Matt’s motivation for coming home, when my train of thought finally fell on Derek, Rebecca, and the sudden news that the baby was going to be raised by a single father.

I finally managed to doze off sometime around five, but a six a.m. text from Derek (letting me know that there was still no news) jolted me awake. I rolled out of bed, took a super-fast shower, and dressed for the day. I didn’t have any definite plan for where I was heading, only that I needed to get out and let the cool autumn breeze give me a little guidance and clarity.

A lot had happened in the past twenty-four hours. Matt showed up unexpectedly. Luke’s moods were incredibly unpredictable. Hot-headed and in a fury, he’d tried to leave the party after talking with Charlie, but I had no idea what was said between the two of them. I think he’d
tried
telling me the night before, but then Lonnie called to summon us to the hospital. Rebecca was in labor, Derek was about to become a single father, and Charlie begged me not to leave him.

What the hell was happening in Oakland?

I ended up at the little diner in the District about five minutes later. Little did I know, I wouldn’t find the alone time I was so desperately searching for.

“Rough night?” Bruno looked up from his newspaper and nodded at the seat across from his.

“Don’t get me started,” I slid into the booth and joined him, and I took no time at all to rifle through the sections he’d already discarded. I leafed through the comics, only pretending to read for a few drawn seconds before I slammed the newspaper on the table, causing Bruno to jump. “What’s the deal with everyone lately?”

His eyes widened and he folded the paper, knowing he wouldn’t get to finish his article. He set it aside quietly, folded both hands on the table in front of him, and leaned forward.

“What’s on your mind, Miss Julie?”

“Bruno,” I tried to find my breath, but I wasn’t really sure when I’d lost it. Back on the street, thinking about everything that had unfolded, I must’ve winded myself. I couldn’t get a single thought in order. “I just… why is it that…
why?
”

“Good question,” he nodded and leaned a little closer. And, silly as his response was, I don’t think he was humoring me. I think he truly understood.
Why does everything have to be so hard?

“Matt dropped out of school,” I said, suddenly finding my voice again. “He’s home and hiding in his bedroom so Charlie won’t find out.
Luke
’s had more hormonal ups and downs than a pregnant woman lately, and I should know,
I’ve
been working alongside his sister for the past nine months! Not to mention, I just found out that Rebecca’s not even keeping the baby—
did you know that?
And here we have Derek stepping up, thinking he’s going to raise the baby all by himself.
What the hell does Derek know about raising a kid?
The last person he looked after ended up in jail for attempted murder! Is that really the kind of influence that kid needs?
And—don’t—get—me—started— on—Charlie!
What is the deal with him lately? I swear he’s out to get Luke, and I don’t know why. I feel like they’re always at each other’s throats about
something
. Luke tried to tell me last night, but I didn’t give him a chance because Rebecca went into labor and all I could think about was getting to the hospital to be with my best friend, and—”

“Is someone paying you by the word today?” Bruno asked. “Take a breath, Julie. Start over. Slow down.”

I closed my eyes and dropped my forehead flat against the table.

“I’m going to break his heart, Bruno,” muffled as my words were, I knew he’d heard every one. “If I leave, Charlie’s never going to forgive me.”

I felt the weight of another body slide into the booth next to me, and Bruno’s strong arm fell across my shoulders. “Have you tried talking to him? Your uncle’s not an unreasonable man. You talk, he’ll listen.”

“Ha, maybe that’s true for everyone else, but Charlie’s never been so reasonable when it comes to talking about stuff like that,” I finally lifted my head. I turned to look at Bruno’s dark eyes and then felt my own welling with tears. “I didn’t think he had any reservations about my future with Luke. I mean, he knows how much I love him, and he knows that we’re eventually going to move forward. He gave Luke his blessing last year. Bruno, he’s had plenty of time to brace himself for this.”

“You can never truly brace yourself for some things,” Bruno said. “He’s gotten so used to having both you and Matt around.”

“But we can’t stay there forever,” I said. “Doesn’t he understand that? Who knows what Matt’s up to?
I
don’t. He could up and leave again any day. But it can’t fall on my shoulders to make sure that Charlie doesn’t end up alone. It can’t, right? How would that be fair?”

“Sometimes it’s not fair, Julie,” he shook his head, “but Charlie’s a strong man. If you really want to leave, you need to be honest with him. Tell him you’re ready to break out on your own, and he’ll respect you for your honesty.”

I doubted that.

Bruno didn’t know how short my leash was with Charlie.

We sat silently for a few long minutes. I didn’t know what was going through Bruno’s mind, but I imagined he was trying to figure out why I hadn’t yet jumped off a bridge. Too many frustrations, too many unknowns, too much stress…

Sometimes I wondered if it was just easier to bolt and leave Oakland. I had enough problems of my own. I didn’t need everybody else’s. I’d been so occupied with thoughts of my friends and family that I hadn’t even taken a spare moment to think about everything that had happened with Luke… So, when things got really, really hard, all I could think about was just running away. Spending a lifetime alone had to be easier than spending a lifetime surrounded by constant frustration, right?

“Hey Bruno,” I turned to look at him, “can I ask you something personal?”

“Always.”

“Why didn’t you ever get married? Have children? Do the
family
thing?”

Okay. So I didn’t know for sure whether any of that was true. I’d never asked about his history. Maybe he
was
married at one point. Maybe he had a million grown children somewhere out there. But he’d never mentioned anything, so I’d always assumed he’d been a lifelong bachelor.

I couldn’t help but wonder, was it easier being alone? Bruno would have the answer.

“I never thought I’d be any good at it,” he answered honestly. “I never chased that life, Miss Julie. I cared too much about my job that I wasn’t willing to share my time with anyone else. It was easier to accept that I wasn’t built for relationships and parenthood. Some people are never meant to settle down and live that life. I never cared much for distractions.”

And even though he’d said it, I had trouble believing most of it. Bruno was kind, comforting, and wise. He would’ve made a wonderful husband, and I know he would’ve made an even better father. Maybe he truly believed he wasn’t cut out for that lifestyle, but I knew otherwise.

“Do you ever get lonely?”

“No,” he said, and for some reason, I believed
that
. “I’m never alone long enough to be lonely.” I looked down at his newspaper and then back up to him. “Oh,” I nodded once. Wow. I was such a jerk. I’d just busted in there and unloaded all my problems on him, right in the middle of his breakfast, without any thought or concern for his private time. “I’m sorry, I just—”