Finding Julian (19 page)

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Sunday finally arrived,
and Aunt Bev was bustling about the guesthouse, making several phone calls to
have everything perfect for the dinner.

I made breakfast for her and Seven. I
still hadn’t said a thing about Mom coming to get me in the morning if I didn’t
leave tonight.

Seven and I started eating breakfast
while Aunt Bev finished up her phone call.

“Yes, thank you,” she drew a long breath
after getting off the phone then sat down to eat. “Everything’s going right.
That’s good.”

I beamed at her. “You work so hard. I’m
sure your brother would be proud, Aunt Bev.”

She peered up from behind her coffee
mug. “I’m sure he’s very proud of you too, Julian.”

“Geez, you two, stop with the sappy
stuff already,” Seven chimed in. “Oh, Aunt Bev, did you tell her yet?”

I glanced up at them both. “Tell me
what?”

She swallowed down her waffle then
answered, “Our marketing coordinator is going on a permanent holiday and since
you did such a wonderful job on the project, everyone at the company was asking
if you’d like to work with us full-time?”  

I fell silent for a moment, soaking it
in. I did enjoy working on the project with Aunt Bev and the office environment
was really wonderful to be in. But I had so many uncertainties.

Glancing up at Aunt Bev and Seven, they
were both waiting eagerly to hear my answer.

“Um…” I started.

“You don’t have to answer now. Tell me
after the dinner,” Aunt Bev put my nerves at ease.

A little after finishing breakfast,
Seven wanted me to go for a stroll on the beach with him while Aunt Bev went
out to run some errands.

We walked for a while, not saying much
to each other. Whenever I looked over at him he switched his gaze to the ocean
and away from me. Seven appeared nervous, fighting to tell me something.

“It’s a cool Sunday morning,” I chirped,
trying to make the air more relaxed.

“Yeah,” he agreed. “Jules, about that…”
he stopped walking.

I kicked up sand, waiting patiently for
him to say what I’d been wishing to hear.

“That…um…” he was struggling to form the
right words to convey his thoughts. “You know I care about you, right? I mean,
you’re a pretty special girl.”

“Thank you,” was all I could mutter.

“And, I feel…you and I, we…”

He prolonged it so much I grew wary.

“It’s almost time to go back to school,
huh?” I changed the subject.

His eyes twitched a little then he
joined in with the turn of the conversation. “Yeah, only a month left, then
it’s back to studying and writing papers.”

We continued talking about other
things—things that didn’t matter much. And I had the feeling Seven didn’t mind
me keeping him from falling back into the mode where he couldn’t just tell me
honestly how he felt. I wondered why it was so hard for him.

After getting back to the guesthouse,
Seven received a phone call from one of his friends. They wanted to hang out a
bit, just guys. So he made sure I was secure inside the house before taking
off. How super protective of him.

I was getting bored, hanging around
doing nothing, so I decided to go by the main house and see if Mackenzie was
home.

Lightly knocking on her room door, I
entered once she called out for me to enter.

“What are you up to?” I asked, sitting
on the chair next to her bed.

Mackenzie tossed the books aside and
leaned up against the headboard. “She left.”

I narrowed my eyes. “Marlene? But she’s
always gone.”

Turning her gaze on me, she took a long,
deep breath. “Mom went to Santa Barbara, where my grandparents live. She says
she’s not staying here. That it’s too hard for her.”

I frowned, sympathizing with her.
Marlene was my sister’s mother. And as much as I didn’t like her, Mackenzie
loved her and wanted her close just as much as I wanted my mother.

“I’m sorry.”

She shook her head. “It’s okay. You know
what? I don’t feel so bad about her leaving.”

Baffled, I leaned my head to the side
and asked, “How come?”

Mackenzie sprang off the bed, walked
over to her closet and rifled through the many clothes she had.

“Because,” she took a chiffon dress out
to look at. “I think we both need to give each other a break. I relied on her a
lot and she relied on me to do what she said. You see, Jules,” she turned and
looked at me, her eyes watering. “My mom placed all her dreams on me, and in
the end it just made me so tired. I think I finally found the strength to say
no after Dad died. And she finally noticed I wasn’t going to put up with her
controlling ways anymore.”

Mackenzie had no idea how much those
words affected me on a deeper level. Like her, I yearned for the strength to
step out and let go of my mother. Coming to Narragansett was the first time I
even traveled without her.

“Anyway,” she pulled me out of my
thoughts, “Has he said anything yet?”

I got up from the chair. “No, and there
won’t be any progress. Like I said, Seven and I are just friends.”

She waved me off then tossed the dress
onto the bed. “I’m going to shower and then we can go out for a drive, okay?”

Nodding, I walked out of her room and
went downstairs to wait for her. At least, for now, I could enjoy Narragansett
a bit longer before making up my mind completely.

*

Later on, I got ready for the Vanderson
Publishing dinner. I put on the dress Mackenzie bought me and let my hair down
to flow freely across my back. Slipping into the sandals, I glanced at myself
one more time in the mirror and applied some lip-gloss.

When I walked into the living room,
Seven was there waiting, decked out in a dark purple dress shirt, black pants
and oxford shoes. He stood up from the sofa, slowly regarding me from head to
toe. His goiter bobbed as he swallowed hard. He couldn’t look away. I doubted
he even blinked. Mackenzie was right. This dress was definitely mesmerizing
him.

“You look…so beautiful,” he gushed. “I
mean, you always look beautiful but now you look so…” he fought for the words
as I walked over and peered up into his gleaming emerald eyes.

“Thank you,” I whispered, taking in the
moment.

We stood there, silent, caught up in
bliss, adoring each other. Aunt Bev’s footsteps coming down the stairs broke
our connection. Seven eased away from me as she strolled up to us.

“You two look ravishing,” she praised.

I turned and took in her appearance then
returned the compliment, “You look lovely, Aunt Bev.”

She was wearing a peach, ruched maxi
dress and her hair was curled up above her shoulders. Aunt Bev was truly a
classy woman.

Mackenzie drove with Aunt Bev ahead.
Seven and I showed up shortly behind them at the Anawan country club for the
dinner. The place looked extravagant on the outside. I lagged behind, admiring
the landscape as they walked up to the entrance.

When I finally entered the country club,
there were many unrecognizable faces and a few employees I knew from the
company. Everyone looked so nice, so…rich. Aunt Bev surely did a good job
planning and making arrangements for the dinner because it all turned out
exquisite. There were crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling over each
table, champagne serving at all angles, a buffet with a chef standing by, and a
live band filling the atmosphere with soothing soft rock music.

Throughout the evening, Aunt Bev
introduced me to a bunch of people. “This is my niece, she helped with the
re-launch of the magazine.” She’d go on and on. I felt so accepted into their
circle. I was truly a Vanderson.

Mackenzie kept busy as well. Whether it
was greeting familiar associates of our father or explaining her mother’s
absence, she kept a bright smile on her face throughout it all.

As the night progressed, I wandered
around searching for Seven. I’d glimpsed him earlier talking with some editors.
Now he was nowhere in sight. There was a waiter passing by with a tray of
champagne, so I reached for a glass and made my way outside to the garden to
evade the rest of the event.

Just as I rounded the corner I saw
Seven. My heart skipped a beat. I started over to him, only to halt in my
tracks seeing who he was talking to. Bridget. Immediately, the smile evaporated
from my face.

Their conversation seemed intense. Seven
dropped his eyes to the ground at her words. Then Bridget eased his chin up and
pressed her lips to his. I staggered backwards, perplexed and hurt. Tears fell
down my cheeks as I turned and started to run.

I ran out of the garden, brushing
against shrubs and flowers, trying to find an escape. When I finally came out
at the entrance of the country club, I stumbled into Gavin.

He wrapped his arms around me to steady
me on my feet. “Julian, what’s wrong?”

I panted and struggled to fight back
tears as the sight of Bridget and Seven kissing flashed over and over in my
head.

“Can you take me home?” I whispered into
his chest.

Gavin stroked my hair then answered,
“Sure. Let’s go.”

I let him take my hand and lead me away
from the country club and towards his jeep.

When we pulled up outside the main
gates, I opened the door and said “Thank you” before getting out.

“Anytime,” he manufactured an
understanding smile. “Sure you don’t want me to come in? You look like you
could use a friend right now.”

I shook my head, feeling awkward by his
words. No matter how upset I was about Seven and Bridget, I still wouldn’t
consider the possibility of Gavin. There was something about him now that intimidated
me.

“I’ll be okay,” I assured him, waving
him off as I entered the gates. I didn’t wait to see if he drove off before
running up the entrance and around to the guesthouse.

As I hurried across the lawn, rumbling
exploded above my head and the wind picked up suddenly. A storm was moving in
tonight.

Chapter Thirty

I must have been out of mind
,
thinking I could build a new life here. Though Mackenzie had finally warmed up
to me and Aunt Bev had always been so kind, it all came down to Seven. There was
no way I could stay in Narragansett and definitely not at the guesthouse with
him, feeling the way I did.

He
should
be with someone like
Bridget. She fitted perfectly into his world. Surely he’d pick her over me. And
damn, that kiss hurt like hell.

I quickly changed and scurried about in
my room, getting together the few clothes I’d brought with me to Narragansett.
Everything else would have to stay, since I was adamant about leaving this life
behind.

Draping the travel bag over my shoulder,
I glanced around the room one last time, and at the painting leaning against
the loveseat. I would leave it behind as well, together with everything having
to do with Cole Vanderson. If I carried it with me I’d never be able to shake
Narragansett out of my system. I’d be compelled to return here.

This had to be it. I would finally say
goodbye. Aunt Bev would understand, eventually. Had she been here, it’d
undoubtedly be harder to leave. The party came in handy. Everyone would be too
preoccupied to even notice my absence.

I walked out of the room and closed the
door, allowing my hand to dally on the knob as if finding it difficult to walk
away. I recovered my strength and headed down the passage.

As I walked past the kitchen and the
living room, I heard a clicking sound at the front door—someone was going to
catch me leaving without saying goodbye.

Swallowing hard, I prepared myself to
stand firm and not crack under their plea, but as the door opened I saw that it
wasn’t Aunt Bev, Mackenzie, or even Seven. It was Gavin, with something dark in
his hand pointed straight at me.

I flinched, realizing it was a gun.

“What are you doing?” I asked in a
panicky voice.

Gavin shut the front door and stepped
closer to me, shoving my bag to the floor.

“Why?” he smirked, “Because I’m not
Seven? You sisters think you’re so much better than me. You trample all over my
feelings as you like.”

I gulped. This wasn’t good. Gavin was
clearly out of his mind and most certainly angry with me.

“You just couldn’t leave well enough
alone, could you?” his voice sounded steely. “You and I were supposed to be
together, to fall in love.”

Easing back in fear, I spoke softly to
calm him down, “Listen to me, whatever is wrong we can talk about—”

“SHUT UP!” he yelled. My lips clamped
shut instantly.

Gavin started to pace around, keeping a
watchful eye on me. He still had the gun pointed in my direction. It shook as
he spoke. “My life is completely ruined because of you. My mother’s in jail,
because of you.”

My eyes narrowed in my confusion.
“Mother?”

“Yes! My mother. Rachel Evans.”

The little boy in the picture—the
familiar sea blue eyes. “But…” it was still hard to believe. “Detective Walters
said her son died. His name was Nathan—”

“Nathan was my twin. My father never
wanted two kids so he made her give me away. I finally reunited with my mother
seven years ago when she remarried and had started a happy life with her
husband. Then
your
father decided to up and fire him. And you know what
happened, Julian?”

I shook my head.

“My step-father committed suicide,” he
grunted. “My mother was a wreck after that. I just had to find a way to get
back at Cole Vanderson and make her happy. Lucky for her, I was longtime
friends with his daughter, being that I grew up in a foster home not too far
from here. After some researching, I found the untraceable drug, Anectine, on
the black market. It was so perfect, how she managed to kill him without a
single person figuring out his heart attack was induced.”

I cried, hearing his dreadful confession.

“You got your revenge, so why keep
going? Why’d you attack me that night?”

Gavin choked on laugher. “Well, after
Mom took care of the snooping Robert Cornwell, she had to put the family in disarray
because she wanted more. No one trusted each other.” He stepped closer. “And
you, Julian…I just started having a little thing for you, especially after
following you around in Manhattan. Mackenzie has spunk. It was her that I was
supposed to marry but then you changed that…you have a fire that’s far better.”

My stomach cringed. But I knew I
couldn’t say anything to upset him further. I had to try and talk to him
calmly. “Gavin, please put the gun—”

“I said
SHUT UP,
and stop
shaking!”

Tears started to stream down my face. I
wished I could at least see my mother and everyone again, because I was surely
going to die at the hands of this lunatic. There was just no talking him out of
it.

“You and I are going for a little walk
down by the cliff,” he spoke in a softened voice laced with pleasure.

Grabbing my arm, he stuck the gun in my
side and demanded, “Walk.”

I did as told.

It was raining when we got outside and
around the guesthouse, heading towards the cliffs. There must be a way out of
this. I’d never simply accepted defeat before. Then again, I’d never been held
at gun point before.

“I might end up enjoying this more than
I thought,” Gavin eased into me and breathed on the back of my neck. I felt him
bring his nose up to my hair, sniffing it. Then he combed his fingers through
the wet strands.

It churned my stomach. Bile started to
burn my throat as I felt the wetness of his tongue, licking the tip of my right
ear.

“Get off me!” I squirmed. I didn’t care
about the gun at my back then.

Gavin gripped me tighter around the
waist and raised the gun to my head. “Careful now,” he said. Then he placed his
hand on my thigh and massaged it. “You know, if you weren’t such a pain in the
ass I might show you what it feels like to be with a real man before you die.”

“Trust me, I would never be with someone
like you. You’re just a coward. A piece of shit,” I spat.

“Bitch!” he shoved me forward and I fell
on my face. I could feel rain drops splash on my legs. The grass was soaking
wet and bits of mud got on my blouse.

The rain started to come down even
heavier. My eyes flickered as I tried to look up ahead. We were getting closer
to the edge of the cliff.

Gavin gripped my elbow and yanked me off
the ground. “Keep moving.”

I hugged myself—feeling as cold as a wet
puppy—and glanced around frantically. I tried to think of something, hoped to
spot someone. I considered spinning fast to try and wrestle the gun out of his
hand. Only that was too impulsive. Gavin could shoot me before I had the chance
to face him. The gun was too close to my back.

Finally, we got to the edge. I looked
down at the waves below, beating against the rocks. Then I turned slowly and
looked at him. Gavin had a satisfied grin on his face.

“Well, Julian
Vanderson
, looks
like you’ve reached the end of the line.”

“Thank you,” I said sharply.

Gavin creased his forehead and asked,
“For what?” The question came out in a smirk.

I inhaled deeply before answering, “For
acknowledging me as a Vanderson.”

His face stiffened again. My heart felt
as if it was coming up to my throat as his finger slowly started to pull back
on the trigger, but then I heard the voice of hope.

“Gavin stop!”

It was Seven.

Gavin looked back, surprised. So was I.
It was also my chance to save myself.

I pushed his hand hard and it loosened
his grip on the gun. It fell to the ground. Gavin dipped quickly to try and
pick it up. I kicked it over the edge before he got the chance. Agitated, he
shot up and tried to shove me off the cliff. I stumbled and slid to the ground,
grabbing on to his pants to keep from falling.

“Get away from her!” The urgency in
Seven’s voice had my heart racing.

My knees started to slide further in the
mud as Gavin tried to move me closer to the edge to shake me off.

He looked over the edge then back at me,
a nasty grin plastered on his face. “This is it for you.”

Gavin lowered and began to pry one of my
hands from his pant leg. He snatched my fingers and forcefully pulled them
back. They felt as if they were going to break.

The ground started to slope a bit. It
softened beneath my weight. Oh no. Looking up at Gavin’s face, I saw that he
knew as well what was going to happen. We were both going to die here.

He became hysterical, hurrying to get me
off him. Just then, at the corner of my eye, I saw Seven. He rushed up to
Gavin’s back and pulled him away from me.

“I won’t let you hurt her!” he yelled.

I released Gavin’s legs as Seven dragged
him backwards onto the ground, wrestling with him. I clung to the wet grass and
tried to pull myself up. The ground was too slippery and I kept sliding back.

Realizing I wouldn’t be able to do it on
my own, I glanced over at the two. They both sprang to their feet at the same
time. Gavin panted. The left side of his face appeared swollen and
unrecognizable. I thought at any moment now he would pass out, only when Seven
lunged at him to attempt another blow, Gavin punched Seven in the stomach and
sent him to the ground.

Seven curled up in pain. A smug look
formed on Gavin’s face, watching Seven find it hard to get off the ground. Then
all of a sudden, as if remembering me, Gavin’s head spun. He hurried over to me
and tried to loosen my hands from the grass to throw me over the cliff.

He growled, “I won’t let you live. I’ll
go with you if I have to.”

Just as he finally pried one hand from
the grass, I released the other and tugged on his leg again, my feet were
already hanging over the edge.

He staggered a bit but then recovered
and tried to pluck my fingers from his leg. I didn’t see when Seven got up.
Suddenly, his hands were wrapped around Gavin’s neck and he dragged him away
once more. They fought each other for several long seconds when Seven knocked
him out with a solid punch. Just as he raced over to help me up, I spotted
Gavin at the corner of my eye getting up.

“No!” I screamed. Seven turned around
fast and shoved him hard. Gavin cried out in panic as he lost his balance and
slid backward over the edge. He dug his fingers into the mud to save himself.

It was useless.

Seven dashed for his hand, only Gavin
had already lost his grip. His hollering echoed all around us until he hit the
rocks at the bottom of the cliff. Then all I heard again was the sound of heavy
rainfall.

Nearly out of breath, Seven continued to
hunch over, peering down at Gavin’s body, when my hold on the grass started to
loosen.

“Seven!” I screamed out, slipping
further over the edge. He dashed over and caught my hand just in time. I
dangled in the air, clinging on with all I had.

“Try to reach up with your other hand,”
he shouted.

I used the little strength left in me to
reach up but failed each time. It felt like such a strain. What made it worse
was that my arm felt as if it was about to slip out of the socket.

“Come on, Jules. You can do it,” he
implored. “Please, reach up. Reach up!”

I tried again without success. When
finally, I managed to reach up with the other hand, he held on to them both.
Seven pulled me over the edge and I fell onto his chest. We both gasped
tremendously as if we had just finished running a marathon.

“I’m sorry,” he said between breaths. “I
didn’t protect you again.”

Steadying my breathing, I wrapped my
shaking arms around his body. “It’s not your fault. I’m just glad you came when
you did.”

I pressed into his chest and cried
uncontrollably from the whole ordeal. Seven eased me up and slowly got to his
feet, clutching me tightly at his side. We took our time walking back to the
guesthouse and out of the heavy rain.