Page 12 of Trip
“You don’t have to worry about doing things alone ever again, Julia,” I promise her, tightening my arms around her form and letting my eyes drift closed. “You don’t have to worry about anything as long as I’m around.
Chapter 7
Julia
After taking a nap in Trip’s arms, I felt so much better than I imagined possible. His promises imbued me with the kind of confidence I’ve never felt before.
He was the one who woke me up and reminded me that I needed to get home for my sisters. The gesture was so thoughtful that I felt myself falling even harder for him. I nearly asked him to join us for dinner, but stopped myself at the last minute. I might trust Trip with my life, but my sisters are wary of people they don’t know.
I’ll introduce everyone soon. I just need to prime them a little first. And, ideally, I’ll get everyone together in a public place. Our home is my sisters’ sanctuary. I can’t imagine they’d be fans of me bringing in someone new.
Lizzy and Josephine are already home and elbow deep in homework when I walk through the front door. The two of them look up from the dining room table, and Josephine’s shoulders relax considerably. She’s only four years older than Lizzy, but she takes her big sister duties very seriously when I’m not home.
“Wait,” Josephine says, the calm replaced with curiosity. “I thought you were working a double today.”
“I only worked one shift today,” I reply, seeing no reason to lie to them. “Then I went to a friend’s house.”
“You have friends?” Lizzy asks, prompting me to stick my tongue out at her as I walk into the kitchen to get started on dinner.
“Idohave friends, thank you very much,” I say, opening the fridge and pulling out an assortment of vegetables. “Believe it or not, people do enjoy my company.”
“What’s her name?” Josephine pipes up, always the sweeter of my two sisters.
“His name is Trip,” I say, waiting for the inevitable groans and gags.
They come a few seconds later when my sisters pick up on the pronoun. Lizzy makes a show of her disgust while Josephine hides her snickers behind her hand. I smile at their reactions even though I know it’s meant to get under my skin. This is the kind of normalcy I wanted for them when I made the decision to move us to Rio Lunas.
Right now, instead of looking like girls who just lost their parents in one of the most tragic, heinous ways, they’re a teen and preteen making fun of their older sister for being interested in a man.
“Hey, Trip’s nice!” I chastise playfully as I get to work chopping. “We met at the diner, and he’s part of the motorcycle club that owns it.”
“He rides a motorcycle?” Josephine asks. “Hold on, that’s really cool. Has he taken you out on it?”
“I’ve ridden around once or twice,” I say. “It’s kind of scary at first, but I really like it.”
“Well, he’s going to have to take both of us,” Lizzy interjects.
“I’m sure he’d love to,” I reply before freezing up and stopping my task for a moment.
Ever sinceithappened, I’ve been hyper-aware of noises around the house. Even the sound of leaves in the wind gives me pause. I keep thinking that one day I’ll find I’ve broken the habit, but that day is a long way off.
“Everything okay?” Josephine asks, noticing my stiff posture.
“Yeah,” I say, waving my hand to dismiss the line of questioning. “Tell me about your days.”
Before either of them can get into the details of the drama that takes place at the middle and high school in Rio Lunas, I hear the sound again. This time, it’s loud enough to catch both of my siblings’ attention. They both look to me for guidance, panic etched deep into their features.
I open my mouth to tell them not to worry, but then there’s a noise like someone is testing the lock on the front door. Cursing inwardly, I tell myself to remain calm, then I say to my sisters, “Go to your room. Lock the door. Hide. I’m going to call someone.”
“Are we going to be okay?” Lizzy asks, sounding all of her twelve years.
“We are,” I say, though I don’t quite believe it. Fear is pumping through my veins and the worst case scenario is already playing in my head. “We’re all just a little paranoid. I’m going to have someone come and check it out just to be safe.”
They both nod before obediently and quickly going to their room. As soon as they’re out of the kitchen, I pull out my phone. My hands shake as I click on Trip’s contact. He answers on the second ring.
“Hey Julia,” he says, his deep voice immediately making me feel like I have more control in this situation. “Everything okay?”
“Um, I don’t know,” I admit. Then, before he can start to worry, I say, “It might be nothing though. And I think this is going to sound silly. There’s just some… noises coming from the front of the house. It’s probably nothing, but I was wondering if you could come and make sure everything’s okay. Just for our peace of mind.”
