Back in Time, Chapter 13
by ejcrane
“Julian! What are you doing down there?! Get out of here,
I don’t want to ever see you agai…”
“Marry me, Eve! Marry me…and make me the happiest man alive. I’m
so sorry, Eve,” he sniffed, “I’m so damn sorry for being such a bastard…I
never meant to hurt you like that. Please, darling, please forgive me. I
swear to you that I’ll never hurt you again…please…”
Eve looked down and stared into his eyes. She could see the regret
and love there. Her eyes then traveled to Tc’s who had just came out of
the restroom.
What should she do? Stay with Tc and try and make something of their
beginning friendship? Or take the chance with Julian…the man who had hurt
her deeply.
“Julian,” she began shaking her head, “I don’t know…”
“Yes, you do, Eve…yes you do,” he stood and pulled her into a kiss.
She could feel his warm tears on her cheeks after he pulled from
her and rested his forehead against hers.
“Let’s make each other happy, Eve…please,” he cupped her chin in
his hands and kissed her cheek.
“Oh, Julian,” she began crying, “Yes, yes,” she sobbed and wrapped
her arms around him, “I love you; I want to marry you,” she said and kissed
him.
Back in the front entrance, Julian smiled and laughed! FINALLY he
did something right!
“YES! YES!” he laughed and turned to leave, but came face to face
with Eve, “Eve…I was just about to look for you…”
She never let him finish and ran out of the Blue Note and took off
into the night, crying.
“EVE!” Julian screamed after her, “EVE…”
“Eve, get in the car.” Julian spoke calmly to Eve, while he followed her
in the Mustang.
“Leave me alone.” She walked, her arms crossed across her chest.
“What is the matter with you? I tried to right my wrong, and you get mad?!”
She stopped walking and looked at Julian who had now stopped the car and
looked back at her.
“You don’t get, do you? You just don’t get it!” she huffed.
“Get WHAT?!” he yelled, “Why don’t you just get into the car and TELL
ME, Eve…TELL ME!”
“I said, ‘LEAVE ME ALONE’!” she picked up the pace.
This time, Julian wasn’t having it. He pulled the car over and got out,
slammed the door shut and began running after Eve, for she too, began running,
because she knew what he was going to do.
He finally caught her and dragged her back to the car kicking and screaming.
“NOW…What is the matter with you?!” he pushed her back against the seat.
“You ruined everything! We can’t go back…we just can’t! It won’t be the
same…” she looked down and shook her head, “Nothing will be the same…” she
whispered aloud.
“What are you talking about, darling? Nothing will be the same, darling,
because you and I will be married…we’ll be like I always dreamed…I love you,
Eve,” he lifted her chin, “I love you…”
“NO!” she pulled her face away from him, “We can’t be married! My girls…what
about MY GIRLS?! Have you even thought about Whitney and Simone…and Samantha?!”
“Gwen…” Julian said aloud more to himself.
“She is NOT Gwen, damnit!”
“I’m…I’m sorry, Eve…” he looked away from her and looked out the window,
“Then,” he inhaled and exhaled, “there’s only one thing we need to do…about
this…” he swallowed and sniffed.
Eve stopped crying and turned her head back slowly to his.
“W-wh-what?”
“Break up our younger selves…” tears brimmed in his eyes, “I don’t want
you to lose your family…so, we have to do this. The sooner the better,”
he turned the key in the ignition and put the car into gear and began driving
again.
“Ivy, yes, it’s me, Julian.” Julian spoke into the phone to the young
Miss Winthrop.
“Julian, what is it you want? I thought you said you never wanted to speak
to me again…” she sighed.
“It was a mistake…uh, father has threatened our futures if we don’t follow
through with his plans…”
“Julian! I thought you said everything was taken care of?”
“As I said before, I was mistaken…you and I…we’re going to have to stick
to the original plan and,” he swallowed, “get married…”
Ivy stayed on the line and didn’t say a word. She had already made plans
to run away with Sam…
“Meet me?” Julian broke the silence, “At our room…tonight at 7? I…need
you…”
“I’ll see you later,” was her response before she hung up with her future
husband.
Julian hung up the phone and sighed. It had been too easy to trick the
“young” Ivy.
He and Eve had stopped in some diner to get something to eat before they’d
get to work. The two hadn’t said much to each other since Julian decided
what they had to do.
Eve came back from washing her hands in the lady’s room and sat down across
from Julian in the booth. She had no idea that he had made this phone call,
and he never said a word.
“I wonder what specials they have…” Eve said quietly as she picked up
the menu.
“Oh…I hope you don’t mind, but I took the liberty of ordering for you,”
he shrugged, “I assumed you wanted to get this over with quickly as I do…”
She looked to his face as he spoke. There was something different about
him; something she had never seen before. His voice was different…his whole
posture was not as she had known it to be…tall, straight…confident…
He looked out the window, “So, I just ordered a burger for each of us…”
“Thanks.”
Five minutes came, and the waitress brought their burgers out.
“Oh, miss, I was wondering if you had…”
“Pickles? Yes,” she grabbed the small bowl of pickles, “And here’s the
mustard,” the lady smiled and placed the items down onto the table, “If you
two need anything else, just holler…” she smiled once again and went back
behind the counter.
Eve laughed…
“How did she know this was how I fixed my burgers,” she pulled the top
bun off the burger and applied the pickles to the meat while the other hand
squeezed the mustard out onto the bun.
Again, the two ate in silence and Eve just couldn’t finish the last of
her burger. She wiped her mouth and stared at a pensive looking Julian.
Eve then placed her crumpled napkin on the plate and spoke…
“Wait…she didn’t know; you told her…you…remembered. You remembered how
I liked my burger, didn’t you, Julian?”
He smiled briefly and shrugged, and then watched as her hand slid across
the surface of the table to his free hand. As soon as hers met his, he pulled
back and changed the subject…
“Well, I’ve written down the numbers…”
“Numbers?”
“Yes, so you can call ‘Julian’ and get him to meet you…I’ve already called
Ivy,” he said nonchalantly, “I just have to call…‘you’.”
“You called Ivy already? Without telling me?”
“I didn’t know I was supposed to tell you? Hey, it’s already done with…one
down, two more to go,” he slid ‘Julian’s’ number to her, and then stood up
and walked to the pay phone.
Eve slid out from the booth and followed after him.
“Do you want to go first or shall I?”
Irritated with Julian’s seriousness, Eve yanked the receiver off the hook…
“I guess I will…” she said sarcastically and punched the seven digit number.
Julian raised a brow. Why was Eve acting this way? He was just trying
to be a help to her. She WAS the one who wanted to return to the future
she knew…
A few moments later, she hung up and turned to look at him.
“There, it’s ALL YOURS!” she said and stepped aside.
Julian ignored her and cleared his throat as it began ringing. He inhaled
and exhaled…and Eve picked up. Just hearing her voice brought a smile to
his face; it also made him very sad…for what he was about to put her through…all
over again.
“Darling…” his voice cracked, “Yes, yes, I’m fine,” he coughed and cleared
his throat again.
Eve, who was leaning against the doorframe, straightened up and stared
at Julian’s back. She wrinkled her brows. What was the matter with his voice?
It had been perfectly normal just a few minutes ago…
“Yes, darling…tonight at six-fifteen,” he said as his hands shook as he
held the receiver up to his ear, “…I love you too,” he said, “…with all
my heart…bye,” he whispered and hung up.
Before turning around, he pinched the space between his eyes, wiped the
few tears he began to shed.
“Well,” he faced her and coughed, “Let’s get a move on…” and he walked
past her and out of the diner to the mustang.