Chapter 16- James

                                    

                                          
 My father's name was displayed on the screen of my phone as it rang in the dark room. I stared at the phone in silence. Ever since he got a new wife directly after breaking up with my mother, she cut contact with him. But he insisted on being in my life.
	I wasn't even alive when it happened. He knocked her up and then left. And then my mother met Norman's dad. 
	My father never had the best relationship with me. He was... well, him. My stepmom wasn't so bad. I stayed at their house every other week, so I have a pretty close relationship with her. Norman met her on his eighth birthday, when I was 13.
	He wasn't very fond of her. And if I'm being honest, none of the family was very fond of Norman. I tried to be a good older brother, honestly, I did. But after Norman did some fucked up shit throughout his childhood, I got pretty freaked out. But even then, I still defended him from my mother. I'm the reason she didn't beat him. But it was either neglect or abuse. I had her choose neglect.
	Norman still got food, just not as much. He still recieved care, but from me. When mother was high or drunk, I would take care of him. But Norman never cared about me and that much was obvious. He never showed a sign of empathy for anyone. That's when I figured out that he was too far gone. At that point, I couldn't tell if he was born like that, or if it was because of my mother.
	My phone stopped ringing. The phone lit up again with yet another call from him. I sighed heavily and picked up my phone. I accepted the call and put the phone to my ear. "What do you want?"
	My father's voice rang from the other side. His thick asian accent never stopped me from understanding him. "James! What took you so long to answer?"
	I rolled my eyes. "I was taking a shit. What do you want?" I ignored the fact that I had been watching TV for the last hour.
	My father continued speaking as if he didn't actually care why I wasn't answering. I could be bleeding out for all he cared. "Helen wants to come down to Florida for a month. Where do you live?"
	My eyes widened. She wants to come down here? "Why does she wanna come down? Aren't you guys all the way up in Alaska? What happened to the job opportunity?"
	"The job stands. I'm not coming, only her. She wants to see you for some reason. Where do you live?" I scoffed. I'm not surprised that he doesn't actually give a shit about seeing me. That's why I actually like Helen. She's more motherly than my own mother. Well, not that my mother can be very motherly now that she's 6 feet under. But that's besides the point.
	I picked at my teeth as I answered him. "I live in Naples." I took the phone away from my ear and hung up. I didn't want to hear his voice any more than I needed to.
_____
	I opened the door with a smile. On the other side was Julia. She was smiling up at me, but her face was pale and showed obvious eyebags. My smile faltered. "Julia? Are you okay?"
	Her eyes widened and she touched her eyebags with her fingertips. "Oh! Yeah, I'm fine. I was playing a drinking game with Norman last night. I must've drank too much because I passed out." She glanced away from me as she said it. She seemed uncomfortable as she said it. Norman didn't... no. He couldn't have. He wouldn't take advantage of her like that. There's no way.
	I stepped back and opened the door wider, letting Julia in. "So," she began, "What do you wanna do?"
	I walked to the kitchen. "Have you eaten yet?" My brother may have been a good cook, but I was even better. I was self taught. I love cooking, and it's only natural for me to share that with Julia. I... well, I think I love her.
	As the thought came across my mind, I looked over at Julia as she was telling me something about Norman cooking breakfast for her, although it wasn't much. Especially because that was around five hours ago. I watched the slight tint of red on her cheeks. Julia was absolutely beautiful. I would do anything to protect her. I want her to be happy. 
	When I realized that I was staring, I looked back at whatever was in front of me. I decided to make something simple. Julia stood at the entrance of the kitchen with her hands behind her back. "What are you cooking?"
	I looked at her and smiled brightly. I never smiled much, but after meeting Julia, I couldn't help but feel happy. It was odd. "How's a spicy chicken wrap? And if you don't like spicy food, I can make it regular?"
	Julia's eyes lit up. "I love spicy food!"
	I chuckled. "Good." I was about to start cooking the food, but before I did, I walked over to her, grabbed her by the hips, and pulled her close to me. I leaned my face close to hers. "You know I like you, right? Like, a lot."
	Julia nodded, her face red as a tomato. "Yeah. And I like you too. A lot."
	I leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. Julia wrapped her arms around my neck and kissed back, but this time, more. The only other time we've kissed, it was nothing more than a second long. This was different. And I couldn't wait to get more of it.