But I did think about what he said, and it really started to bother me.
Obviously, Julie had been in a bad relationship. The guy hadn't cared about how Julie felt. Julie had stayed with him anyway until whatever had happened to split them apart.
As much as I wanted to be able to say I would never do that to her, I knew it would be a lie. I wasn't comfortable with myself, and I didn't expect her to put up with that.
She had struck me as the type that would. She had come across as the type that would be willing to sacrifice a lot for a relationship she believed in.
Not that I wanted a relationship with Julie. I didn't know what I wanted from her, only that I wanted to be around her. I felt normal around her.
No one else had ever made me feel normal. Not even Ava. I could always think of the imposition I was placing her in, and it made me feel like an even bigger burden.
But Julie, she wasn't asking anything from me. She didn't expect anything from me. It was easy to fall into place with her and just be myself.
Stuff like that was rare for a guy like me.
I felt my phone begin to ring in my back pocket and I saw Ava's face come up. I tapped Liam's shoulder and mouthed that I was going outside. He nodded, and turned around to finish wiping down the tables. We would be going home soon.
I got outside the doors and answered my phone. Ava sounded surprised when she finally answered.
“Where are you? I came home and you, and the car are gone?” she replied.
I laughed. “You told me I could go if I wanted to,” I reminded her.
“Yeah, but I tell you that everytime I leave and you never go anywhere. Where are you?”
“The hospital.”
She paused, and then I heard her take in a deep breath. “What happened? Did you get in an accident, or sh-”
“Ava,” I stopped her. I was trying not to laugh at her concern, but she was funny when she got really scared. Her voice with pitch really high, and she start rambling. “I came to the hospital to help out.”
“Help out?” she replied. She didn't believe me. I could hear it all too well in her voice.
“Yes, help out. I'm in the children's ward. I've been playing with the kids and cleaning up. I'll be on my way home in a few minutes,” I replied.
“Julie's there, isn't she?”
“And her brother, and like twenty kids that scream and stick gum in other kids' hair,” I informed her.
“But mostly, Julie's there.”
I closed my eyes, and growled. She started laughing on the other line, and I found myself smiling at her, even if I was aggravated too.
“You stay and have fun then. I was going to order out tonight,” she told me.
I nodded, leaning against the wall. “I'll be home in maybe half an hour. Do you need anything from the store?” I asked.
“No. Not that you have any money to get anything anyway,” she said.
I laughed. “That's probably true,” I said, and then remembered how big of a jerk I was being. “By the way, how was the date?”
She sighed, and I could almost hear her smile through the phone. “It was amazing. He was such a gentlemen, Falon, and we walked around town and stopped by pier and just talked. He's funny and smart, and I think you'd really like him, besides just being your doctor,” she told me.
I smiled. “So, it was a date?”
“Oh, it was definitely a date.”
“And when will you go out again?”
“He asked about tomorrow night. It's the only day he has off.”
“Have fun,” I replied.
“You don't mind?” she asked.
I was laughing by now. “Why would it matter anyway? I'm just your pesky little brother. You don't have to have my approval about who you go out with,” I reminded her.
“But I care about it. Do you really not mind, or are you just trying to be nice to me?” she asked.
“I don't mind. Go, be young and dumb, and wild and free, and have fun,” I said to her, and she started laughing on the other line.
“Okay, and what will you do while I'm gone?”
“I'll figure something out. Don't worry about it,” I told her.
“Alright. I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
She hung up, and I ended the call. I was smiling because of how happy she had sounded. It was nice to hear her excited and happy, because it didn't happen often.
“So, he loves?”
I looked toward the voice, seeing Julie walking toward me. She was smiling softly. The afternoon light casted a soft glow around her small frame, giving her the appearance of an angel.
I grinned. “Yes, I too can love,” I replied.
She laughed and leaned against the wall beside me. She didn't leave much room between us. I could feel her body heat radiating onto my skin, and I knew how soft it might feel if I were to touch it.
But I didn't.
“Do you want to talk about what happened in there earlier?” she asked me, but didn't look at me as she did. It didn't bother me because I couldn't force myself to look at her either.
“Nothing happened, unless you're talking about Liam's amazing goatee. That was perfect,” I told her.
She laughed, but I knew it didn't detour her. “I'm being serious. You get really frightened whenever someone talks about the way you look. Just like when you called yourself a freak, I don't get it,” she replied, her voice entering
