Page 76 of Julian

“I wasn’t sure I’d do it, you know,” he said.

Kiara shrugged, but there was something bright in her eyes. “I knew you would.”

“You did?”

She nodded and picked at the peeling label of the closest bottle on the counter. “You seem like someone who, when he decides something, follows through.”

“I’m not sure that's true," he said.

“Well, at least it was in this case. You were brave," Kiara said, as if this was unarguable. She peeled the label with methodical patience, stripping it bit by bit, rolling the torn paper between thumb and finger. "It's not nothing, what you just did. I'm glad you let me witness it."

He felt a strange tightness in his stomach. Something he couldn’t put his finger on. On some level, he had felt it was necessary to prove to Kiara that he could do what needed doing when it came to alcohol. Why that had been important, he didn’t know.

“Let’s get these cleaned up,” Kiara said, gesturing to the empty bottles. “Then you can put this behind you.”

Physically, maybe. Mentally? It might take a little more time before he could be truly grateful that he didn’t have those backups anymore.

They gathered up the bottles, then Julian led her from the room. Down in the kitchen, they dumped the bottles into the recycling bin.

“Are you ready to go back to the house?” Julian asked.

Kiara nodded. “Are you?”

“I’m just going to grab a few things from my room, then we can go.”

“I’ll wait down here.”

Julian jogged back up the stairs and grabbed a duffel bag from his closet. He added some things from the bathroom and his dresser, figuring he could get the rest of his things the next day. Including the now-empty chest that had contained his stash.

The following Saturday, Angela had invited them all to dinner at her and Jude’s. He and Kiara walked over from their house, enjoying the warm late afternoon air.

He’d been at the house for a couple of days so far, and it had gone well. Kiara was an easy person to share space with, and he found that he liked living there better than at the main house. He hoped that the living arrangement continued to go well, and that Kiara also agreed so that he wouldn’t have to move out.

“I wonder what we’re having for dinner,” Julian said as they made their way along the road. “Does she have a meal that she enjoys making?”

“Not really,” Kiara replied. “Back in Briar Hollow, we kind of just made whatever we found on sale at the store.”

“So it’s a surprise for you too?”

“Yep, I’m sure it will be good though,” Kiara said. “Angie has always loved to cook, so I have a feeling she’ll have found something interesting to make for us.”

“You don’t like to cook like she does?”

“Though I know how to cook pretty well,” Kiara said, “I never really enjoyed it the way Angie did. I think that was partly because Ihadto cook. Jim insisted that Angie and I do all the cooking. And if he didn’t like it… well, there were consequences.”

“You can always eat at the main house if you don’t want to cook,” Julian said. “I’m pretty useless in the kitchen myself, so I’ll be relying on Mrs. Stevens.”

“I actually want to start cooking again,” Kiara said. “I have a home with a beautiful kitchen, and with a child on the way, I feel like I shouldn’t be relying on other people to cook my meals.”

They reached Jude and Angela’s before they could continue the conversation, and Jude answered the door when they knocked.

“C’mon in,” Jude said as he stepped back, opening the door wider.

Julian laid a hand on Kiara’s back, urging her to precede him into the house. As he followed her in, he glanced around. He’d never been in the house before, but he’d always assumed that it would be a rather stark environment.

However, the place had a homey vibe going on, with pictures on the wall and bits of decor on a small table in the hallway. As they moved further into the house, he saw colorful throw cushions on the overstuffed furniture in the living room. There were candles and framed pictures sitting on the end tables.

Everywhere he could see touches of Angela. Or at least he assumed it was Angela’s touch because he didn’t think Jude cared about that sort of thing.