Chapter 9: A Mutual Acquaintance

When I woke up, I didn’t move at first. For a moment, I didn’t think or remember anything from the day before, but then it all came back at once.

The party, Tyler and Brianna, and then... Gabriel.

My chest tightened. Not with panic, but with something more complicated.

I turned my head slightly, he was still asleep, and somehow, that made it worse.

Because in the daylight, everything looked clearer.

More real, and more permanent.

I studied Gabriel for a second. At that moment, when he was still asleep, he didn’t look intense, just... Calm.

It made something in my chest hurt in a different way.

“He’s a good person,” I whispered to myself, and I believed that. I really did, which was exactly why I couldn’t stay.

Because what had happened between us didn’t fit into his world, and I didn’t want to be the reason something in his life got messy. I jumped slightly as an alarm on Gabriel's phone went off, making him start moving, so I quickly closed my eyes, acting like I was still asleep. I could feel his gaze on me for a moment before I felt the bed move, when he stood up. Then I heard footsteps, and as I heard him leave the room, I finally opened my eyes again.

I glanced toward the bathroom and the moment the sound of the shower started, I realized that was my window.

“Okay,” I whispered to myself. “Just go.”

Quiet and carefully, I slipped out of bed, to find my clothes, before I slowly got dressed.

Every movement felt louder than it should have. More final.

I was sure none of us wanted that awkward conversation, where we would try to explain what had happened between us. It wasn’t like I had any expectations of him either, because I had wanted it just as much as he did.

We won’t need to see each other again anyway.

I wasn't going back to Tyler, that much was clear.

And Gabriel... He deserved someone who didn’t show up on his doorstep already broken.

I found my phone on the table near the door, already charged, which made me hesitate for a second. Then I picked it up. Another quiet kindness, which only made it feel even heavier than it should have.

I paused for just another second before leaving.

“Thank you,” I murmured softly, even though I knew he couldn’t hear it, and then I walked out.

The air outside was colder than I expected, or maybe I just felt it more at that moment.

The Diner

The bus ride was quiet, almost too quiet.

I stared out the window most of the way, watching the city pass without really focusing on anything. I took a short look at my phone, there were a ton of missed calls and texts from Tyler, but I didn’t give them much thought and turned my attention to the phone book.

Then, I called Laila. I didn’t want to be alone, and she was the one person I felt like I needed at that moment, and luckily she was quick to answer.

“Julia? What’s up?”

“Can you meet me?” I asked, in a low voice. “At the diner.”

“Are you okay?”

I could hear the concern in her voice, as I paused for a moment, unsure what to say, before I spoke.

“No,” I admitted. “But I will be.”

“I’m coming, I'll see you soon,” she said, with no hesitation in her voice.

“Thank you.”

I hung up, just as I entered my home, but being there just made me feel worse.

It was empty, and way too quiet, which only made my thoughts feel so much louder, so I quickly got changed, not letting myself think too much, and then I left again.

The diner smelled like coffee and something fried.

It was warm and bright. The kind of place that didn’t care what kind of day you’ve had—it just kept going, which was exactly why I chose it. It made me feel normal, even if it was just for a moment.

I slid into a booth near the window, sitting my bag beside me. The seat was cracked vinyl, slightly sticky under my hands.

“Coffee?” the waitress asked, already reaching for a pot.

“Uhm, yeah. Please.”

“Someone joining you?”

“Yes.”

She nodded and poured without another question before she left, and I proceeded to wrap my hands around the mug. It was warm and grounding.

“Okay,” I whispered to myself. “It’s gonna be fine.”

I pulled out my book, opening it somewhere in the middle, without even checking the page number.

Despite my attempt to focus on the words, they kept blurring.

After a few more tries, there still wasn’t any improvement.

My mind just kept drifting, back to the night before. Back to Gabriel, and the way he had looked at me, and the way he —

I shut the book a little harder than necessary.

“Stop,” I muttered under my breath.

The book wasn’t helping.

I glanced at the door, but still, Laila was nowhere to be seen.

“Where are you...” I whispered, before there suddenly was a voice.

“Julia.”

The voice was unfamiliar, calm, male, and clearly too close.

I looked up slowly, as I saw a man standing right in front of me.

He was tall, well-dressed, and completely out of place in a diner like that.

For a second, I just stared at him because I didn’t recognize him at all.

“Yes?” I said carefully.

“I need you to come with me.”

I blinked for a moment, as I was trying to process what he had just said.

“I’m sorry, what?”

His expression didn’t change, instead he just continued.

“A mutual acquaintance would like to speak with you.”

“That’s... not an explanation,” I replied, my tone flattening slightly before I reached for my coffee, taking a slow sip, like I wasn’t even considering what he had just said.

“I believe you have the wrong person.”

“I don’t,” he said simply.

“Okay,” I nodded once, sitting the mug down. “Then whoever sent you can come talk to me themselves.”

“They won’t.”

“Then I’m not interested.”

My answer was simple, clear, and final. Then I picked my book back up like the conversation was over, or that was what I believed anyway, but according to him, it wasn’t.

“You don’t understand the situation,” he said, but I didn’t look up this time.

“No, I understand it perfectly. A stranger walks up to me and tells me to leave with him. That’s usually where I say no.”

There was a pause, then he spoke again.

“Julia.”

Once again, he said my name, and this time, I looked up. Slower, and more deliberate.

“How do you know my name?” I asked, as something shifted. Not in his expression, but in the air between us.

“I told you,” he said. “A mutual acquaintance.”

My stomach tightened.

“Then tell me who,” I said, as I leaned back slightly, crossing my arms.

“No,” he stated flatly, nonnegotiable.

Excuse me?

“Then we’re done here.”

I said finally, as I placed my book back in my bag, getting ready to move.

“You’re not leaving.”

The way he said it, caught my attention.

It was when the conversation shifted from what I believed to have been a conversation to something more controlled. The change might have been subtle, but I felt it.

His tone was different, not as polite as before, and suddenly more focused.

I forced a small, unimpressed smile.

“Watch me.”