Julia's Journey (A Coming Home Again Novel Book 2)

by Lowe, T. I.

  “I think I’m dehydrated,” I mumble and turn my head back on my knees. I sort of slip back under again and am startled back awake with icy-cold water splashing onto the back of my neck. I instantly lift my head and am punished with a wave of vertigo.

  “Here, take this and drink it,” the little lady says gently. I take the water and try not to chug it, but do anyway. She automatically hands over another, but I restrain myself and only sip. Nausea is ebbing at me and I know I need to keep this water.

  “Thank you,” I mumble. I look around and notice I collapsed in the tiny yard of our site. I eye the RV and hope Greyson is still sound asleep and oblivious to my little episode. He would explode if he knew. He’s always hated my regimen for keeping my model appearance and has never had any qualms on voicing his opinions.

  “Are you training for a marathon or something?” the lady asks as she helps me stand and move over to the picnic table. She sits beside me as if waiting to catch me if I fall down again. That’s funny in itself because there’s no way this little lady who has to be less than five feet could catch me at just under six feet tall, but I let her coddle me anyway. It sort of feels nice, even though I’m embarrassed she witnessed my fall.

  “I guess you could say that,” I answer her eventually. It’s like my life is some sort of demented marathon that I’m trying to survive. I know I’m not thriving, that’s for sure.

  “Fifi and I have been sitting over there.” She points two sites over to the left where a nice camper is set up. “We got tired from just watching you.” Her voice is southern but not quite the same twang as South Carolina.

  “I’m Julia,” I offer.

  “Betty,” she says with a warm smile. “My husband and I are exploring this here fine country of ours. How ‘bout you?”

  “My friend and I are pretty much doing the same.” I glimpsed a map on the back of the door in Greyson’s room of the east coast. I want to study it, if he ever wakes up. There are all kinds of notes and lines drawn on it. I sip some more water and start to feel my mind clear the cobwebs away.

  “We best be getting back. Be careful with all that running, sweetheart,” Betty says as she stands and walks away with the little fur ball following on her heels.

  “Thanks for the water,” I say weakly.

  “You’re welcome. You might want to eat something,” she calls over her shoulder. Now she sounds like Greyson.

  Eventually, I stand and slowly walk into the RV. It is like a ghost town inside, so I grab another bottle of water and sit back outside at a picnic table. I finally give in and check my messages, but oh how I wish I hadn’t. The messages are mainly from friends and my agent, giving me a heads up that the whole “me finding Sawyer in bed with a nineteen-year-old fiasco” has been leaked to the tabloids.

  I can’t help but do a quick Google search, but I shouldn’t have. My face is splashed unflatteringly on the cover of magazines I want no part of. I hate Sawyer Helms in this moment. Reports say Sawyer broke my heart, so I’m in hiding—that he traded me for a younger version. There are pictures of the paparazzi setting up shop in front of my apartment building. AWAITING THE WILTED ROSE is one headline.

  Puh-lease. The only thing wilted about me is these sweaty clothes I’m wearing. I hate how the media gets ahold of news that is weeks old, dredging it up and twisting it into something even uglier than it already is. They make things into a circus and I have no desire to be their star attraction this month, but I am and there’s absolutely nothing I can do about it. I just have to wait it out and hope some juicier celebrity scandal pops up sooner rather than later. Greyson’s trip is starting to sound a bit more appealing. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt to disappear for a while. This limelight lifestyle is starting to be too much.

  With one hasty swipe, I clear all of the messages and emails before going inside for a much-needed shower. A quick scan finds all of my toiletries have already been placed in the bathroom so I go straight for it. I climb in the roomy shower and turn the water on with apprehension, but am surprised again when I’m pelted with ample water pressure. This place really rocks. I try shaking off my frustrations while the shower washes the sweat and night of partying away. I take my time and hope Greyson will emerge from his coma state by the time I’m done. It’s already past four in the afternoon and he is still sleeping.

  After drying off, I wrap the towel around me firmly and go check on my kidnapper. Sure enough, he is still sleeping.

  I lightly pat his bare shoulder. “Greyson, it’s time to wake up…” I push his shoulder with a bit more force when he doesn’t respond. “Honey, you’re sleeping your life away,” I nearly whine.

  He finally rolls over and squints up at me. “You smell a lot better,” he mutters in that husky voice as he looks through half-shut eyes. I guess that’s an insult, but I don’t play along.

  I need him awake and his eyes are dangerously close to drifting back shut. Well, I know how to open them completely. “I look a lot better too,” I croon, as I let the towel fall to the floor.

  Greyson shocks me by immediately closing his eyes and slinging his arm over them. “Seriously, Julia,” he grouches out. “Put your clothes on.”

  I laugh in disbelief. “Well… I’ve never heard that statement spoke to me ever before. Leave it to you, Stone.” I swipe the towel off the floor, but don’t bother with covering myself with it. I pop him with it before heading to my suitcase. The door slams shut behind me, so I storm back to it and yank it open. I find him sitting on the side of the bed in just his boxers. He slings the covers over himself in my surprise return and clamps his eyes shut once again. I think it’s right silly how modest he is for a world-renowned model.

  “Get out!” He has the nerve to snap at me.

  “Look, buddy. This adventure was your big idea. It’s time you get your butt up and explain it to me.” I stand my ground with my hands perched on my naked hips.

  He rolls back on the bed and faces away from me. I hear him mutter from under the pillow, “What have I gotten myself into?”

  Chapter Four

  Greyson

  “What have I gotten myself into?” I moan to myself. I don’t have enough energy to put up with this chick. In seconds flat of listening to her whine, I’m already bone-tired.

  “I’m not dressing until you get up out of that bed.” She’s gonna keep on nagging, and I know she won’t leave me alone until I do.

  I roll over with my eyes firmly shut and stretch my sore body, trying to work all the kinks out from driving through the night. “I’ll take you back to New York tomorrow. I promise,” I grunt out, hoping to appease her, but it doesn’t. Of course.

  “No. I’ve decided to give this little trip a shot.”

  I don’t know whether to be relieved or to cry like a baby. This was supposed to be a solo trip for me to get myself straightened out—not a Julia intervention. I had no plans on any guests, especially Miss High Maintenance. I know she won’t leave me alone, so I try to keep my eyes averted from her naked body and grab a change of clothes from a drawer by my bed. I hold the clothes in front of me as a barrier between us and head for the door. I’m brushing past her while staring at the ceiling when I hear her gasp. I try darting out the door to get away from her, but I feel her hand graze along my back.

  “Honey, you are way too puny.” She continues to run her hand down my back and I jerk away from her touch. No guy ever wants to hear those words, especially from a naked woman.

  Man, she really needs to put her clothes on.

  I hear the concern in her voice, but snap off anyway. “Well, that makes two of us,” I mutter before slamming the bathroom door shut. I toss the clothes on the counter and backtrack to the door to lock it. Julia doesn’t understand boundaries and that’s going to make for more aggravation than I care to deal with. I peel my boxers off and toss them by her discarded clothes, stopping to stare at them, because this isn’t the outfit I left her in. They are wet through and I can guess she has put in her exercise for the
day. This frustrates me even more, causing me to scrub my hand over my head and take a few deep breaths to rein in my anger. She’s killing herself slowly and I’ve spent years trying to stop it. I’m at a point in my life I’m not sure I can keep trying.

  I let it go for now and climb into the shower to try to wash off my fatigue, but all I really feel like doing is going right back to bed. This body sucks. I’m tired of being tired. I pushed it yesterday with not resting before the party, and then taking on the epic challenge on the other side of this door. I’m an idiot.

  I’m out and dressed relatively quickly, but I’m not really up to facing Julia yet, so I take my time flossing and brushing my teeth. After that’s done, I study my horrible hairdo. I’ll be glad when it grows back. It definitely wasn’t my idea, but I had no choice. I rub my hand over it before pulling on a hat I had under the cabinet. I’ve become a hat freak and have them tucked all over the place. Taking a deep breath, I walk out the bathroom with my eyes closed.

  “You can open your eyes, sir.” Julia laughs.

  “You dressed?” I ask without opening them. I don’t trust her.

  “Yes.” I can hear the eye roll in her prissy tone.

  I peep open an eye and confirm she is actually telling the truth. It wouldn’t surprise me if she walked around naked all day just to get back at me for sort of kidnapping her. She’s wearing jeans and a plain shirt. No make-up, because I accidentally forgot to pack it along with most of her arsenal of beauty crap. Peeling my eyes away from her, I move over to the fridge and grab one of the protein shakes I mixed up yesterday. I chug a bottle in one shot and start taking stuff out for a sandwich. This body needs fuel and lots of it. Julia is standing by my side watching me, so I shoot her a sideways glance. “What? You want a protein shake?”

  She thinks about it for a minute and I know what she’s going to ask before those prissy lips part. “How many calories does it have?”

  I shrug my shoulders, “Don’t know. I just mixed them up and tossed the container.” I pull one out of the fridge and hand it over to her and silently beg her to drink it. She actually takes it from me, but only holds it suspiciously. I’m not big on lying, but I’ve found that’s the only way to deal with Julia sometimes. It’s high in calories, but she doesn’t need to know it.

  Leaving me alone, Julia plops down on her bed that is really a leather sleeper sofa folded out. I had the entire RV customized and had a decent mattress specially ordered for the couch in case my parents decide to pop in for a visit. I want them comfortable. Now Miss Princess will get to enjoy it, I suppose. I slap together a chicken sandwich that I pile with spinach and tomatoes.

  “Why do you get a bedroom and I don’t?” she whines. Leave it to her try to guilt trip me right off the bat. Typical Julia.

  I nod my head towards the bedroom. “You started out in there last night until you blew chunks all over the bathroom.” I toss the sandwich supplies back in the fridge without offering her anything. She’ll say no. At least I have her holding a shake, which says a lot.

  “I did that?” Julia asks, unconvinced.

  “Yep.” I sit at the dining table with the custom leather bench seat. I’m a tall dude and so I had it elevated to accommodate me. Designing this getup was the highlight of this past year for me. That and planning this trip. I glance over at my unexpected companion and try to stifle a disappointed sigh. Julia Thorton was not part of the plan. She is sitting on the bed cross-legged, staring at the bottle like it might be poisonous. “I had to park on the side of the interstate to clean it up. You owe me for that.” I give her a pointed look.

  “Sorry.” She looks a bit guilty. Good.

  I shrug my shoulders. “I moved you out here so I could keep a better eye on you while I drove.” I take a bite of the sandwich and chew, trying to think about something other than the mess with the puke.

  “I guess I didn’t have to run those eight miles,” she mumbles absently to herself.

  I look over at her, confused. She’s still studying the stupid shake. “When exactly did you run eight miles?” I say this slowly, trying not to lose my cool.

  Julia cuts her eyes my way. “You slept the entire day away, Stone. I’ve had plenty of time.”

  “It wouldn’t have hurt you to rest, too.” I point at the bottle. “Don’t waste my shake. Drink it!” I bark. Ok. Just lost my cool. She glares at me but goes to unscrew the cap, and the tremor in her hand doesn’t escape my attention. I don’t see how she functions. Eight miles? How does her heart take it?

  This is the reason I swiped her last night. No. She didn’t beg to come with me. She was incoherent and I was scared to leave her. I can’t go to another friend’s funeral—especially Julia Thorton’s. But she’s heading that way fast. So now this trip is going to have to include her, whether we like it or not.

  I polish off the sandwich while eyeing her. She is taking baby sips of the shake to appease me. I gather my empty plate and think how pathetic it is that only a sandwich has me so stuffed. Shrugging that off, I head over to the cabinet by the sink to ration out my daily vitamins for the day.

  “What’s all that?”

  I glance over and find that Julia has polished off only a quarter of the shake—not enough. “Vitamins,” I mutter.

  “That’s a lot of vitamins.”

  “Yeah.” I know she wants answers about the last two years, but I don’t have any desire to relive any of it so that’s all she’s getting. I put my body through hell and I just want to be over it and be whole again. I feel like Satan had become my constant companion during this nightmare, and I want to be completely rid of him.

  “Greyson Stone,” she says in a snappy tone to get my attention.

  I continue to ignore her and pop the handful of pills in my mouth and wash it down with a few gulps of water before heading out of the door. She’s right on my heels. I walk over and pop open one of the side compartments and fish out a camping chair. I’m about to close the door, but figure I might as well grab Julia one too. She won’t be leaving me in peace.

  “Where you going?” she asks.

  “Over to the lake,” I answer and start moving in that direction.

  “What for?” She continues with the nagging.

  “To watch it. Now lay off the questions before I’m tempted to drown you in it.” I pull the chairs out of the storage bags and set them on the sandy shore. It’s getting late in the day, the sun looks as tired as I feel, and I just want to keep it and this peaceful lake company for a while. Too bad my nagging company won’t shut up.

  As we sit down, she starts up again. She didn’t even make it a minute. “I’ll knock it off, if you just give me some answers about where you’ve been and why you look so awful.”

  “I already told you. It was for a role.” I wave towards my body.

  “You’re not an actor,” she sasses.

  She’s not satisfied with my answer. Well… Too bad.

  “You know as well as I do that models are silent actors. We play the part for the camera to capture. I’ve portrayed a rock star, a business exec, a cowboy,” I tick off. “Now I can add vampire to my accomplishments.”

  “What company did you work for?” she asks suspiciously. She won’t lay off.

  “I’m not at liberty to disclose that information yet,” I mumble as I look around the place, avoiding her questioning eyes. The air is so fresh and crisp out here. I take a deep cleansing breath, trying to let go of the anxiety this woman is causing me.

  We sit quietly for a while and watch the calm water glide by the shore. I’m relieved and feel proudly sly when Julia sets the now-empty bottle in the cup holder of her chair. This chick would be ready to kill me if she knew how many calories she just drank. That bottle contained over nine hundred calories. I guarantee that’s more than three days’ worth of her normal caloric intake. I fend off the smile that wants to slip out.

  It’s been an hour or two with us making small talk and watching the leisurely day conclude. “I’ll be b
ack. You want anything?” I ask as I stand and start walking back to the RV.

  “A jacket would be great. It’s a little nippy.”

  I head in and dig out a container of cottage cheese and a jar of tropical fruit. I pull out a bowl and dump both in. After grabbing a spoon and two bottles of water, I snatch my jacket and head back out. I hand Julia a water and jacket before sitting down.

  “Thanks, honey,” she says, eyeing the bowl.

  I push it her way. “You want some?” I know she’s hungry. Her stomach has been moaning the entire time we’ve been sitting out here. How does she put up with it?

  “No. I think you need it worse.” She looks away from my offer.

  “I’m not so sure about that.” I give up and dig in. I’m on a mission to put weight on. No man as tall as I am should weigh in at a puny one hundred and thirty pounds. I’m having a hard time getting it going though. I just can’t stomach a lot of food yet.

  We sit out here for a little longer while I work my way through the bowl. The night sky has arrived and I’m having a hard time keeping my eyes open.

  “I’m out,” I inform Julia and gather my chair.

  “What? You just got up only a few hours ago.” She stands so I grab up her chair, too. I walk them over and place them under the RV awning.

  “Julia, I’m beat. Really. I need to go to bed.” I let out a huge yawn as I head back inside.

  “You are the most boring, rudest host I have ever been stuck with!” she says with a prissy growl. I look over my shoulder and catch the sharp glare she’s giving me.

  I don’t argue the point that I’m boring. I get it and am on this trip to get over it. “I overdid it yesterday, Thorton. Get off my back.” I place my dishes in the dishwasher and set it on a cycle.

  “Greyson,” she whines.