Page 27 of Julian

Though he’d moved in the same circle as a couple of the people currently at the center, he hadn’t had extensive contact with them. He’d been surprised at some of the people there, ones he’d recognized but never met. It was likely that they were surprised to see him there as well.

Hearing the stories from some of them in the group therapy had been revealing. So many of them had been like him, hiding personal problems, relationship issues, and family stresses behind smiles, all while downing drink after drink or indulging in their drug of choice.

Of everyone there, he’d found himself spending the most time with a man named Elijah Sutcliffe. He was the son of a wealthy, well-known televangelist, and was yet another personwho had seemed out of place in an alcohol and drug treatment center.

Julian spotted Elijah sitting at a table alone, so he made his way over to him and took one of the empty seats.

Elijah looked up from his plate and gave him a nod. “Morning.”

"Morning," Julian said, reaching for the coffee carafe that sat at the center of the table.

He poured himself a cup of coffee, which was a far better brew than he would have expected in a place like that. Julian had assumed rehab would mean terrible food and bitter coffee, but the Crystal Haven Wellness Center obviously catered to a clientele accustomed to luxury.

"Sleep any better?" Julian asked, reaching for a croissant from the basket in front of them.

Elijah shook his head. "Not really. You?"

"Same." Julian buttered his croissant methodically. "Two weeks in and I still feel like I've been hit by a truck every morning."

“The biggest truck in the world,” Elijah agreed.

One of the servers approached the table with a plate, which he set in front of Elijah. The server then turned to Julian.

“Breakfast today is Eggs Benedict with roasted asparagus, sourdough toast, and an assortment of fresh fruit.”

His stomach was still not happy with the torture it had gone through the previous week, but he needed to eat something. “Sounds good.”

Just like the coffee, he couldn’t really complain about the food they were served at the center either. It was as good as anything Mrs. Stevens made.

He savored his coffee while he waited for his meal to arrive. When the server put the plate down on the table in front of him, Julian thanked him, then focused on his food.

The eggs were perfectly poached, and Julian wondered if he could manage them without his stomach revolting. He'd lost weight since arriving at the center—his clothes hung a bit looser now, though he suspected that that wasn't entirely a bad thing.

"Looks like we’re getting some mail today," Elijah commented, gesturing with his fork toward the staff member approaching their table.

Julian looked up to see Marcus walking toward them with some envelopes in hand. His heart quickened slightly. Had Kiara written back?

"Mr. Burke," Marcus said, extending two envelopes to him. "These came for you this morning."

He held out the third one to Elijah. “And there’s one for you too, Mr. Sutcliffe.”

Julian looked down at his envelopes, noting the return address of the estate on both. One was written in Duncan’s familiar handwriting. The other was addressed in a feminine script. The name on the return address wasK. Burke,which could only be from Kiara.

Julian wanted to rip hers open and read it right away, but he set it aside to read in his room. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to read Duncan’s at all.

Elijah had opened his envelope and pulled out the contents. Smiling, he said, “It’s from my sister and my mom. They must have had a letter-writing party.”

After a brief hesitation, Julian decided to go ahead and open the one from Duncan. It was several sheets of paper, but only one had his dad’s writing on it.

Dear Julian,

I hope you are doing well. Though Kiara didn’t share the contents of the letter you sent her, she did assure me that you were okay. Thank you for writing to her.

I know you might view your time at rehab as a punishment, but I need you to know that I arranged it out of love. It pained me greatly to see you so unhappy and drowning your emotions in alcohol. I was scared I was going to lose you completely.

My hope is that you will find some peace, and maybe even some joy once alcohol is no longer dominating your life. But don’t do rehab just for me. Do it for yourself and for your baby.

I’m including some emails I’ve received from Sean about FemPulse that I thought you’d like to read.