Total pages in book: 145
Estimated words: 136731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 684(@200wpm)___ 547(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 136731 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 684(@200wpm)___ 547(@250wpm)___ 456(@300wpm)
“Goddamn it, Ling!”
Julius is pissed.
He’s yelling, and he’s yelling quite loudly.
A soft thumping sound follows, because he is also pacing. And with those three words, our good morning turns to shit.
As soon as we returned to find Ling standing by the kitchen bench, making herself a latte on the fancy coffeemaker Julius owns, he paused in his tracks, causing me to walk right into his back. He checked his wristwatch, then asked her, “You’re back early. What happened?”
She tilted her head prettily and forced a smile. “It’s a funny story, actually.” But there was no humor in her voice, indicating that she was a goddamn liar and there was nothing funny about what had happened.
So Ling began to explain what went down, and Julius grew more and more tense, and I started to back away from the kitchen. Eventually, Ling got to the punch line of her story, and Julius shook the heavens with his rage. He paced some more, muttering under his breath, and every now and then, he would point and bellow at her.
My body anxiously taut, I finally managed to slink out of the kitchen and rushed into Julius’s room, sitting on the bed with my knees to my chest, waiting for the storm to pass.
But Ling continued to speak her mind, unaware—or very aware—of the fuel she was throwing onto the fire. The argument reached its climax when Ling lost her cool and thundered, “Fuck your self-righteous assholery, boss man.” Things rustled and car keys jingled. “I’m leaving. I’m so fucking out of here. I’m going to find someone to fuck, and you know what?” Her heels clicked farther and farther away. “I’m going to call him Daddy!” Just before the front door slammed, she shrieked, “And he’s going to love it!”
The car started, revved hard, and then sped away, spraying gravel onto the house, causing a pinging and clinking sound to air in the thick silence.
In the tense quiet of the aftermath of the small war, Julius sighs loudly, and then… nothing.
I wait a long time for him to come find me, but he doesn’t.
After a few minutes of ear-splitting silence, I decide to venture out from the safety of the quiet room and look for him. I don’t need to go far. I peek around the corner and find him sitting at the dining table, his sleeves pushed up to the elbows, his head lowered with his fingers massaging his temples.
My manifestation must be large enough to alert him to my presence, because he looks up, straightening, looking the picture of dignity. So I say the only thing I can think of saying. “Sorry.”
His shoulders relax a little, and he shakes his head. “It’s not even a thing.”
“It looks like a thing.” Feeling bolder at his calm demeanor, I step into the room and slowly make my way to the chair closest to his. “It definitely sounded like a thing.”
His eyes trained on the empty chair opposite him, he utters, “All things with Ling are a thing. But that’s just her. She’s all hellfire and lightning. Never a dull moment. You either love her or hate her, no in-between.”
My heart sinks.
I’m pretty sure I’m at the latter end of the scale with her, but Julius… he clearly loves her. And it makes my stomach turn.
“I’m sure she’ll come around,” I say for the sake of the conversation, not really wishing she would.
He doesn’t even spare a glance at me, and it makes me feel worthless. “She will. Always does.”
The silence that follows starts off comfortable, but soon, the tension builds until I can’t hold my tongue anymore. “Ling…” I start. “Is she really going out to find someone to—” My mouth opens and closes like a fish out of water, but I can’t seem to end my query.
“Yeah,” he growls, his lip curling in loathing.
And my heart stutters. Painfully.
Had I misread the relationship between the two of them?
Of course Julius will never look at me in a sexual manner. He is too professional. Not only that, but he hates me for the trouble I’ve caused him. I would give anything to make it better between us. I crave the serene yet static presence Julius radiates. A mix of peace and anger and chaos and beauty all rolled into one.
With my days dwindling, my desperate mind has gone through all the scenarios. And they all come back to one possible solution. I can make it happen, I’m sure of it. It will take time, and that’s one thing I don’t have, but I’ll be smart about it.
I can do it. I know I can.
At least, I hope I can.
I’ll make Julius fall in love with me.
I wait patiently, taking this time to meditate.
The fight with Ling left Julius rattled enough to shower without locking me into a room, and although the thought excited me, a question was then posed.