Page 72 of Real Tree / Fake Boyfriend

“I’m sorry,” Julien finally found his voice again. “I shouldn’t have come back here. I had no idea Rossi would follow me. I am so sorry.” His face twisted with grief.

Mrs. Ashford shook her head. “Look, I don’t know what you’re mixed up in, but it wasn’t your fault he came here.”

Tyler looked down. “I’m sorry, too. This was a stupid plan from the start.”

Julien winced. The pang in his chest hurt way worse than the sting of alcohol against his shoulder.

“What plan?” Hailey asked.

“Julien’s not my boyfriend. I paid him to pretend to be,” Tyler said. “I didn’t know then, but he needed the moneyto pay off the Rossi family for his mom’s medical bills. I just took advantage of the situation.”

Julien frowned. If anything, he was the one who took advantage. He took five thousand dollars from Tyler because it seemed like an easy job. If Jules had known how he would feel about Tyler, he never would have agreed to it.

“No, I should have been honest with you from the beginning,” he said to Tyler. “Look, I’ll get a bus back to Pittsburgh tomorrow. I’m sorry any of this happened.” He couldn’t sit there and take up more of this family’s time or disturb their peace any longer.

Tyler gave a soft huff. His shoulders sagged as he gripped Julien’s jaw possessively. “Don’t.”

“Nonsense. It’s Christmas, so you should stay and return with Tyler as planned. Who knows how the roads will be tomorrow? You’ll be at the bus station forever,” Connie said. “Besides, tonight aside, we’ve all enjoyed having you here.”

“Yeah,” Tyler said. “I don’t want you to leave anyway,Julien. Please.”

Julien swallowed, unable to believe they would have wanted him here at all, but he didn’t have it in him to argue about staying because, in the end, he didn’t want to go either.

Chapter 28

Julien

By the time Brad pulled back into the driveway, it was well past midnight. Julien’s arm ached, he was exhausted, and guilt slithered down his spine like a snake whenever he thought of the night’s events.

He sat holding the iced cold mug of hot chocolate Hailey had made everyone hours ago. Every sound made him worry that Rossi or his family would come after them. The Ashfords didn’t deserve that. They had nothing to do with him or his mistakes.

The family had all gathered and listened as Julien explained what happened. He told them the story of his mother’s cancer, the loan for treatment, how he lived under Rossi’s thumb, and how Tyler had finally offered him a way out, even if Tyler hadn’t known at the time. Julien admitted wanting to leave to get Rossi the money. But stayed because he was selfish and had developed real feelings for Tyler.

Nothing he could say would take back what had happened, but the Ashfords just brushed it away. Mrs. Ashford told him that they could still get the police involved if he thought, even for a moment, that Rossi would retaliate. But Julien assured him he trusted Lou enough to know he wouldn’t let Anthony bother him again. He hoped, at least, because he had done their bidding for too long.

Mrs. Ashford worried because she figured sending them back to Pittsburgh with the family so far away might be dangerous. Hailey was already online looking up apartments in Connecticut for Tyler to move into.

The thought of going back without Tyler weighed on Julien’s mind. It twisted in his gut until he realized he was head over heels. Now, he sat in the dark, in the armchair, with no idea how to make anything work.

Tyler was curled up next to Hailey and Wally on the couch while Cece and Brad spooned on the floor with Kelsey. Owen curled up with his grandparents on the other sofa. Julien sat in the armchair, staring at the muted TV showingA Christmas Story.

His eyes drifted from the doorway to Tyler, then to the Ashford family. He put them in real danger today, and now he was taking up space in their home as if he wasn’t the cause for ruining their peace of mind, as if he wasn’t the one who had caused Tyler to have a gun pointed at him.

“Want to go up?” Tyler whispered once the credits rolled for the movie. He slipped out of the blanket he shared with his sister and leaned toward Julien.

He nodded. “Yeah. I guess.” He rose and, without thinking, laced his fingers with Tyler’s. When he went to pull away, Tyler tightened his grip and led Julien upstairs, grabbing Julien’s bag on the way up.

The door of Tyler’s room closed behind them, and Julien sighed, unsure what to say or how to say it.

“Are you alright?” Tyler broke the silence first and tossed the bag in the corner. He moved his hand to rest over Julien’s heart and looked up at him with so much genuine concern it made Julien’s chest ache.

“I’m fine. I’m sorry. I never thought this would happen. I shouldn’t have come. I should have figured something else out,”Julien said.

“Stop it,” Tyler said. “Seriously, you didn’t know this would happen. It’s not your fault or my fault. It’s just something that happened. No one blames you.”

“They should.” Julien scrubbed his face and stepped away from Tyler. “I don’t know how you or any of your family can stand me being here.” He sat on the bed and rested his elbows on his knees. “Someone could have died tonight.”

Tyler sat next to him. “Rossi shot atyou. Julien, I thought he literally was about to kill you. But he didn’t. Right?”

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