The Allure Of Julian Lefray Part 31

"Honey?"

Maybe if I hadn't just sat on a bus for 36 hours and didn't smell like tuna fish, I would have brushed my mother's comments off, but I had and I did, and I couldn't take it anymore. I couldn't stand their shame any longer.

"You and Dad don't get it. Do you know how hard it is to make it in the fashion industry? I've been busting my a.s.s every single day and I'm finally starting to thrive in New York City. Vogue-VOGUE MAGAZINE-wants to hire me for a job. My blog has started to take off, and I have thousands of people reading it every day. More people than Sonya will ever meet in her life! More readers means more advertisers. I could really make a name for myself, but you and Dad can't seem to believe in me for even five seconds. You want me to throw in the cards and move back here? To do what? Cut hair?"

I pushed away from the counter and held her gaze. This was the last time I'd talk about this and if she wanted to listen to me, she would. If not, I'd said my piece and I could move on.

Chapter Forty-Eight.

Julian Josephine lived in the middle of nowhere.

452 Cherry Street in Nowheresville, Texas.

I'd found that out as soon as I'd stepped off the plane. As I was renting a car from the Dallas airport, I'd asked the two older women behind the counter if they'd heard of her town. The one on the left with the 70s style hair had scrunched her nose.

"Loretta, is that where they shot Fridee Night Lights?"

Loretta shook her head. "No, that was out near Austin. This is some other small town. I could look it up on Bing or sumthin' if you'd like."

I said no thanks and they shrugged, handed me the keys to my rental, and sent me on my way.

I'd tossed my bag over my shoulder and headed out with the idea that I'd get a few hours of driving in before I crashed. That was a terrible idea. I'd already sat through a late night flight out of New York, so by the time I reached the outskirts of Dallas, I was having trouble keeping my eyes open.

I found the first hotel on the right side of the highway, pulled in, and called it a night.

That was my first mistake.

Blue Star Hotel would have ranked at about a .5 on the 5 star scale. I had mattress springs sticking into my back for half the night, and the other half of the night the neighbor's shouting next door was impossible to drown out. I'd forgotten to set an alarm, and at 10:49 AM, I shot up in bed with one question: Where the h.e.l.l am I?

My disorientation subsided as I recognized the dilapidated hotel furniture and the popcorn ceiling that was chipping off and decorating the carpet with white flecks. Ah, right. Good ol' Blue Star. I threw the hotel blankets off and hopped in the shower. (I nearly pulled the showerhead off as I tried to angle it for my height.) I sat in the parking lot of the seedy hotel, staring at Josephine's address. I had no clue how much longer I had to go before I reached Josephine's hometown, but I wanted to get on the road as soon as possible. I plugged in her address and put the car in reverse.

It said I had nearly three and a half hours to drive.

I slipped on my Ray Bans, hit play on a Willie Nelson playlist, and set out for greener pastures. And greener pastures. And greener pastures. The one thing that continued to shock me about Texas was how f.u.c.king big it was. If I set out in a car in New York, I'd end up in another state in no time. h.e.l.l, I could go through three or four states in one morning. In Texas? I could drive for a full day and still not make it to the other side.

By the time my playlist looped back for a third time, I was ready to call it a day. I'd already stopped for gas, and somewhere in the middle of my drive I'd missed a turnoff from the highway and had driven over an hour in the wrong direction. I'd cursed the high heavens, u-turned off the side of the road in a ditch, nearly gotten my rental car stuck, and then finally got headed back in the right direction.

By the time I pulled into the outskirts of Josephine's town, I'd managed to turn a three and a half hour drive into a six hour drive. My stomach was shouting at me for food and my bones ached from sitting for so long. I ignored the fact that I was about to p.i.s.s my pants and continued on the highway past the "Welcome" sign, which, by the way, noted that the population of the town floated somewhere around 300. Yup. As in less people than the graduating cla.s.s of my high school.

I kept driving until the highway gave way to a two-lane street that looped around a town square. A limestone courthouse sat in the center of town with businesses surrounding it on all sides. Most of them had their lights off and shades drawn, so I a.s.sumed they were already closed for the day. I pulled off to the side of the street in front of a dark butcher shop and checked the navigation to Josephine's house. She couldn't be far from Main Street. Right?

I refreshed the map and a screen popped up that read, "No network connection, try again."

I did. I tried it three more times with the same result, and then threw my phone onto the pa.s.senger seat.

Well, awesome. I had no clue where to find Josephine's house, I had to p.i.s.s, and I was hungry as f.u.c.k.

The things people do for love...

After I gave my phone another ten minutes to prove to me that it was definitely not going to pick up a cellular signal, I pulled back out onto the road and looked for the first open gas station.

I pa.s.sed a dozen churches-at least-before I found a gas station a few miles down the road, heading out of town. The parking lot was deserted except for a black Bronco parked to the side on the gra.s.s. All but one of the pumps was covered with an "out of order" sign. I pulled up to the one working pump, cut the engine, and ran inside like my life depended on it.

A kid that looked to be between 13 or 14 at most sat behind the counter eating a hotdog. I ran past him toward the restroom and then he shouted with his mouth full.

"You need the key!"

I looped back around and held my hand out, but the kid shook his head.

"Payin' customers only."

He stuffed another bite of hotdog in his mouth and chewed slowly, watching me with beady little eyes.

I rammed my hand into the candy bin in front of me and then dropped three Snickers and a b.u.t.terfinger onto the counter.

"There," I said, pulling out my wallet and handing over my card. "Can I have the bathroom key now?"

He shook his head. "There's a five dollar min'mum on cards."

I resisted the urge to strangle him and instead shoved my hand back into the candy bin. After he rang up my order with excruciating laziness, I held my hand out for the key.

"Are you gonna get gas too?" he asked, pointing to where my car was parked haphazardly in the spot.

I waved my hand.

"After. I just need to p.i.s.s."

He shrugged, slid off his stool, and bent to retrieve a tiny key hanging off a giant plastic keychain. I reached for it and ran for the door. Had I cared, I would have contemplated the origins of the sticky film coating the plastic keychain, but I honestly didn't give a f.u.c.k.

Once I'd gone pee, found enough s.h.i.tty food to fill me up for the time being, and paid for a full tank of gas, I nodded to the kid behind the counter.

"Do you know where Cherry Street is?"

He laughed. "Sounds like the name of a p.o.r.no."

I resisted the urge to ask his age.

"Is that a yes?"

He shook his head. "I'm from over near Whitewater. I don't know anything 'bout Cherry Street."

I a.s.sumed Whitewater was a neighboring town.

"Do you have any maps around here?"

He pointed to a cardboard rack near the door that was all but empty except for a Texas State Parks pamphlet that looked like it'd been used a few times, crumbled up, and put back.

Perfect. I'll camp my way through the Texas hill country instead of finding Josephine.

"Thanks anyway." I nodded as I pushed the door open.

"I'd try McAllister's bar," he called out. I turned and he pointed in the direction I'd just come from. "It's a block off Main Street, just behin' the courthouse. Most nights there's a few guys in there. One of 'em should be able to help ya."

Chapter Forty-Nine.

Josephine I had my face squashed up against the window as I concentrated on not throwing up. Every twist and turn we took in the truck made my stomach's contents jostle in the worst way possible. I was about two seconds from throwing up all over my dad's upholstery.

"Do you have to drive like a wild woman?" I moaned, clutching my stomach.

Lily glared over at me. "I'm literally going ten miles an hour, your highness."

I stared back out the window, wishing I was back home, in my bed, sleeping off the beers I'd just downed like there was no tomorrow. It was the day after my father's birthday and I'd needed some s.p.a.ce from my family. I'd picked Lily up, grabbed a six-pack from a gas station in town, and together we'd driven out to the middle of nowhere so I could down them all.

"If you're going to throw up, at least hand me your phone first," she said.

I was still clutching it against my stomach. I hadn't let it out of my sight since arriving in Texas in the hopes that it'd pick up a signal. The thing hadn't buzzed in days.

"Fine. Take it. I have zero service in this G.o.dforsaken wasteland anyway."

I huffed and tossed the phone in the center cup holder.

"I just want to call Julian! I haven't spoken to him in two days. TWO DAYS!"

We pa.s.sed the "Welcome" sign and continued on toward Main Street. Lily turned to the right and we drove down the side street, right past McAllister's bar. There were two or three cars out front, not many. Near the door, under a street lamp, I noticed two guys talking. One was Louis Calhoun, the manager of the bar, and the other one was tall and dressed in black slacks and a b.u.t.ton-up. He had to be from out of town. I squinted as Lily drove by, trying to make out his profile, and then suddenly, I recognized him.

"Julian!" I shouted so loud that even my own ears started to ring. "That's Julian!"

Lily slammed on the brakes. "What? Where?"

"At McAllister's! Turn around!"

She shook her head.

"If you think Julian is at McAllister's then you really are trashed. I'm taking you home."

"But if Julian is here, that means...where is New York?" I asked, turning back to the window and starting to roll it down, cranking it lower with both hands. "I'll ask him."

"JULIAN!" I screamed, practically throwing the top half of my body out of the truck. "JULIAN! Lily won't turn around!"

Lily put the truck in park on the side of the road and yanked me away from the window.

"Dude, shut up. People are sleeping and you're yelling like a madwoman."

I didn't care. I unlocked the pa.s.senger door and hopped out, ready to run. Instead of the smooth ground meeting me at the base of the truck, I kept falling until my feet landed in a muddy ditch. I tried to pick up my feet, but they were stuck under a foot of muddy water. I'd somehow wedged myself in so far that I couldn't get out.

"Lily! Help! I'm stuck!"

I tried to pick up my feet and kick off the mud, but there was no use. It was like quicksand and I needed Lily to help me if I was going to get out without getting even dirtier.

"Jesus Christ. I cannot believe you just did that," she said, hopping out of the truck and slamming the door behind her. "I should just leave you in there after how you've acted tonight."

I swatted at the gnats swarming my face and I swore two or three of them actually made it into my mouth. I tried to spit them out, but there were too many to keep track of.

"No! Please, you have to save me," I begged, feeling tears building in the corner of my eyes.

I was so close to seeing Julian. He was at McAllister's and I was going to die in a ditch before I got to him.

"Julian!" I yelled again.

A dog started barking and then porch lights flipped on behind me. I twisted around to see who it was as Lily slid down the ditch, careful not to get caught in the mud herself.

"If you don't shut up, I'm going to leave you in here. You just woke up the Jensens and I really don't feel like explaining this situation to Randy right now. That man is mean."

On cue, Randy poked his head out of the front door with an angry scowl marring his features.

"Hurry! Hurry!" I said, reaching for her hands so she could help pull me out.

"Josephine? What the-is that you?"

I glanced up toward the deep voice and my heart dropped.

Julian was standing up on the street, right behind the b.u.mper of my dad's truck. Light from a distant streetlight encased him from above. His hair was disheveled and his shirt was half-untucked. He looked a little worse for wear, but he was there, standing less than five feet away from me.

"Julian?" I asked, holding my hand over my eyes to get a better view of him. "What are you doing here?"

Lily glared back and forth between us. "Wait. Are you kidding me? Julian was actually at McAllister's? You're Julian?"

He nodded, not taking his eyes off me.

"I'm stuck in a ditch," I said.

The side of his mouth hitched up in an adorable smile. "I can see that."

"Get off my lawn right now!" Randy Jensen yelled from his front door. "You hear me?! Imma go get my shotgun!"

Lily and I both screamed and Julian slid down the side of the ditch to grab my hand. Between him and Lily, it only took me a second to crawl my way back up to the street. We scrambled up to the truck, flinging mud behind us as we went. Lily flew around to the driver's side door and Julian and I climbed in on the pa.s.senger side. I held my breath the whole time, waiting for the sound of a birdshot blast.