Page 101 of Fish out of Water
“You don’t deserve to live like that, Jules.”
Her chin lifted a little. “I know. That’s why I left.”
This was what I loved about her. Julia knew who she was. Knew her value.
Knew her worth.
And wouldn’t let anyone tell her otherwise. Parents included.
No matter what it cost her.
I wish I had half of what she possessed.
I stood up, “Come on. I want to show you something else.”
Julia’s eyes widened. “There’s more?”
“There’s more.” I grabbed the bag of desserts with one hand and reached for her with the other. “And I don’t think you’ll be as surprised by this.”
She was up and out of the chair in an instant, her hand in mine, the smile back on her face. “I can’t wait to see what it is.”
I used the hand holding the bag to open the door leading off the main area of the basement. I flipped on the dimmed can lights that illuminated the smaller room.
She gasped. “I knew it.” Julia beamed at me. “This is amazing.”
The room wasn’t big, but it was probably the most expensive room in the house.
Julia walked along the thick carpet covering the floor, spinning in place as her eyes moved around the shadowed space. “Thisis the kind of place where you watch Star Wars.”
“Not just Star Wars. I watch other movies too.” She’d picked up on Amidala’s name immediately, which now made me wonder. “How do you know about Star Wars?”
Julia turned from where she stood in front of one of the original Star Wars theater posters. One brow lifted. “Who do you think I ended up friends with when I went to college, Grant?” She faced the framed memorabilia. “I wanted to be around interesting people who did what they wanted and didn’t worry what anyone else thought of them.” She moved to the next poster hanging on the black wall. “I wanted to be like them.”
“You succeeded.”
Julia spun to face me, eyes carrying something I couldn’t quite identify. “Thank you.”
She chose the opposite life I did.
While Julia decided to be brave and unapologetic, I hid.
Cowered.
And for the first time I felt ashamed. Not about who I used to be.
But about who I forced myself to become.
“I wish I was more like you, Jules.”
Her eyes dipped to the pants I still wore only because my grandmother managed to miss them when the White Claw finally decided it was too powerful to be contained by the limits of her stomach. “I don’t know, Grant. Those pants make it seem like you’re at least a little like me.”
I huffed out a laugh. “I’ve got five more pairs Benjamin convinced me to buy.”
She pursed her lips, twisting them to the side. “Did you happen to get any more suspenders?”
“Are you trying to tell me you’re a fan of the suspenders?” I almost didn’t put them on. Almost didn’t let myself venture outside the box I’d built.
But something pushed me out of the comfort zone I lived in.
