Chapter 6

Lucian stared at Blaine coldly and smirked. "Do you think I'm like you, having flings everywhere I go?" Blaine silently cursed. How could Lucian's words be so sharp? If it weren't for Julie's presence, he would've gone for Lucian's throat, though he had never won a fight against him before. But since Julie was in front of them, he could only say, "With a mouth that harsh, you'd better pray your wife puts up with you." Sometimes, he really felt embarrassed to have such a nasty childhood friend. Julie, on the other hand, froze when she heard Blaine's words. Lucian had gotten married? The thought stabbed her chest like an invisible knife, slowly twisting her insides. Pain shot through her, and tears streamed uncontrollably down her cheeks. Blaine noticed something was wrong and quickly reached out to steady her. Concerned, he asked, "Hey, are you all right?" Julie stared at Lucian with reddened eyes. In a trembling voice, she asked, "If you were alive, why didn't you come back to find me?" Lucian sighed, his expression softening. He handed her a handkerchief. "Alright, stop crying." Blaine was baffled by their exchange. "What the hell? What's going on here?" Lucian explained, "She's Julie Somers." Blaine paused, glancing black and forth between Julie and Lucian. Unsure, he asked, "The little girl who used to follow you everywhere?" Lucian nodded with a confirmative hum. Blaine was stunned. "No way! You're all grown up now." Grinning, he leaned closer to Julie. "It's me, Blainey. Remember me?" Julie shook her head, not finding the man in flashy clothes familiar in the slightest. Seeing her confusion, Blaine rolled up his sleeve to reveal a tattoo on his arm. "What about now?" She stared at his tattoo. Slowly, some memories resurfaced. This was the boy who used to hang around Lucian when he visited. Without waiting for Julie's reply, Blaine tsked. "Wow, you've grown into such a stunning young woman. Come on, let's exchange numbers." He pulled out his phone excitedly. Lucian, who had been watching from the side, reached over and smacked Blaine on the head. He scowled. "Do you have a death wish, Blaine?" Blaine put his phone away sheepishly. "C'mon, it's been a few years since we last met. What's wrong with exchanging contacts?" Julie stood there, lost in thought after hearing his words. A few years? It had been five years and eight months, to be exact. She met Lucian for the first time in her third year in high school when she was cornered in an alley by some bullies after school. It was Lucian who appeared out of nowhere and scared them off. Later, she found out that his grandmother was their neighbor. He was sent to live with his grandmother during the latter year of his senior year. Back then, he had been just as wild as people described, but he grew tame shortly after she started following him around. When Blaine heard about Lucian's dad dumping him with his grandmother, he came looking for him. He was met with Lucian patiently tutoring Julie in math. "Whoa, did you actually turn over a new leaf after coming over to your grandma's?" Blaine had teased. Lucian just gave him a sideway glance, his gaze landing on the tattoo on his arm. "What on earth is that?" he asked disdainfully. Blaine puffed out his chest proudly. "A tattoo, of course. I got it yesterday. It's a soaring eagle. Cool, right?" Lucian rolled his eyes. "You think that looks cool? That's not an eagle. It's just a little bird." "It's an eagle," Blaine protested. Lucian waved him off. "Just get out of here. Don't scare the kiddo here." After that, Blaine would occasionally come around to invite Lucian to go drinking or for fights, but Lucian turned him down each time. Blaine had even teased him about it, saying that he was grooming a girl. "Shut up and leave," Lucian retorted, kicking him out. That was when Julie started having feelings for Lucian. Her feelings had only grown deeper as time went on, especially after hearing rumors that Lucian had a crush on someone. In a fit of jealousy, she confessed her feelings to him. The result was predictable—he dismissed her feelings nonchalantly. He ruffled her hair. "You're too young to be thinking about dating, Ms. Somers." But Julie wasn't discouraged. Instead, she asked him to wait for her to grow up. However, not long after that, he started avoiding her. Even a naive girl like her got the message—he didn't have any feelings for her, so he was keeping his distance. Young love was always full of energy and determination. Lucian could avoid her all he wanted, she just needed to go to him instead. So, every day after school, she would show up at his university. His classmates would laugh and tease him, "Hey, Luce, your girlfriend is here." "She's just my sister, alright?" Blaine would chime in, "Yeah! Luce already has a girlfriend. You guys are way off." Hearing that, tears would well up in Julie's eyes before spilling down her cheeks. Lucian could never bear to see a girl cry, especially when it was Julie. Watching tears stream down her face endlessly, he consoled her awkwardly, "Alright, alright. Stop crying or you'll turn ugly." Sniffling, Julie pleaded, "J-Just wait for me to grow up, Lucian. I'll grow up, I promise." Lucian simply sighed. Still, Julie continued begging, "I will. Just wait for me, please?" "Alright," Lucian agreed. Julie immediately broke out in a teary grin. At that moment, she was dying to grow into an adult so that she could finally stand by his side. Then, one day, he disappeared. For months, she ran all over the city, searching for him desperately. What she found was news of his death. Her world crumbled and she, who never believed in God, began praying for him to come back. She was willing to do anything if it meant bringing him back to life. Yet years passed, and he still never returned. That was when she realized there was no God to hear her prayers and grant her wishes. The combined blow of her mother's abusive behavior and his death plunged her into depression, and she finally considered ending things for good. She paid her comatose father one last visit at the hospital and stood on Harbor Bay Bridge. That was when Zayn, a boy whose face resembled Lucian's, yanked her back. Though she was aware that Zayn was a playboy with a terrible temper who had no feelings for her, she couldn't stop herself from gluing herself to his side. All that mattered to her was his face. When she looked at his face that resembled Lucian's, she finally felt like she was still alive again. "Aww, don't cry." Blaine's voice snapped her back to the present. She looked up and stared at the man standing behind him. At that moment, something inside her clicked. He didn't have to frame his own death just to get rid of her. She would just stop liking him if that was what he wanted.