I jumped and turned to face the voice. I was certain the office had been empty. Julian sat in an armchair in one corner of the room I hadn"t seen from the window. I cursed under my breath. Julian raised an eyebrow."What?"
"Nothing," I muttered.
I could feel my face flushing. What kind of luck did I have? Or maybe it was the other way around, and Julian was insanely lucky. I should tell him to go to Vegas. Gamble with that luck and leave me alone! He was always arriving at the exact worst times for me.
"Are you sure? Because I thought I heard you call me a b.a.s.t.a.r.d."
Julian stood up from his seat and crossed the room. I felt my spine stiffen as he loomed over me. There was no use running. I was already caught, but that didn"t mean I would have to admit to anything.
"You heard wrong." I couldn"t meet his eyes. No only had he found me asleep on the roof, he"d also heard me.
"Hmm." Julian lifted my chin and I felt those green eyes boring a hole into my face. A cold sweat started to break out on my forehead. "If I didn"t, then I"d like you to repeat what you said."
I finally met his eyes and my heart skipped a beat. I thought I would see anger on his face, but there was a smirk pulling at one corner of his mouth.
"Y-You"re making fun of me!" I tried to pull away from him, but he reached out and grabbed my arm, holding me steady in front of him.
"Am I?"
"You..." I stood there, unable to form a coherent response. His face melted fully into the smirk.
"How is your b.u.t.t?"
I felt my mouth fall open. "W-What?" My entire face was flaming. Had Julian just... asked me about...?
"You heard me."
I wanted to scream. He had seen me when I came in through the window! Not only was I caught climbing back inside, I was caught rubbing my sore muscles.
...I think it might be time to die and start this life over. G.o.d, are you listening? I"m ready for the twenty-fifth try now.
Jokes aside, I knew I would have to do something to get out of this situation.
"Forget everything you saw."
"And why would I do that?"
I spluttered. "W-Why would... Because!"
"I"ve never seen your face that color. Are you alright?" Despite his words, he was definitely laughing. There was zero sincerity in his concern.
"Just forget I was ever here." I turned towards the door and began making an escape.
Julian grabbed me from behind and swung me around, setting me on his desk. I let out a small yelp of pain. A horrible ache radiated out from where my backside met the desk. That"s what I got for sitting on the roof for all that time. I was even more mortified at my noise and covered my mouth with a hand. Tears p.r.i.c.ked at the corners of my eyes.
"You really did hurt yourself. How long were you out there for?"
I wanted to vent my grievances, but held them in. "A while..."
"I"ll have Ileana bring you an ice pack later."
Julian pulled me down from the desk and set me on my feet. With no dignity left, I gingerly rubbed at my backside. He had already made fun of me, so it couldn"t get any worse. My b.u.t.t hurt, but I think my pride hurt more.
"Now tell me why you were on the roof."
I bit at my lip, debating if I should try to find an excuse or not. There was nothing to lose if I told the truth. I was already embarra.s.sed enough.
"I... I was looking for photos."
"Of what?"
I hesitated before speaking. "The trip to Hawaii."
"Why were you looking for photos of that?" Julian furrowed his brow.
"I want to know why you say you stopped caring." My eyes met his green ones. There was a look of surprise that crossed his face, which changed briefly to pain, and then anger.
"I told you all I care about is my grandfather"s-"
"You"re lying!" I interrupted him before he could restate those painful words. I clenched my fists into tight b.a.l.l.s at my sides. The cuts from my wedding night stung. "You"re lying... and I need to know why."
Julian clenched his jaw. "Alice."
I shook my head. "You can"t stop me. If you won"t tell me yourself, I"ll figure it out on my own. I"m only telling you because I don"t want there to be misunderstandings between us."
There was silence as Julian took in my words. I could see him clenching his jaw as he suppressed his anger. Finally, he let out a long sigh.
"...Just be careful of what you find."
Leaving those words behind, he turned and left his office. I felt the air leave my lungs as I slummed to the ground, wincing when my bottom hit the floor. Julian"s mood swings were really too frightening. But at least I hadn"t been banned from searching for clues.
I was even more certain now than I was before: something else must have happened beyond just the trip to Hawaii.