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Julia
Hailey Abbott
sink into her forehead and settle behind her eyes. As the cold seared its way into her brain, she tried to see the ocean through the foggy window. In the periphery of her vision, she saw palm trees bending over themselves. It looked to her like they were trying not to break in two.
Julia
She wished she had appreciated how lucky she was before it all fell apart. Even though she was terrified that her family would lose their house, there had at least been something comforting to fall back on. Chloe had been her best friend. Dad had been tirelessly optimistic.
She’d been caught up in the whirlwind thrill of loving Remi. If nothing else, she’d had things to work toward.
Toward finishing her painting, toward saving the house, toward finding a way to be with Remi. Now there was nothing to run to. Chloe couldn’t even look at her without turning eggplant purple, and Dad would undoubtedly feel the same way when he got back. She’d misjudged Remi, and now the Moores were going to take her home. And, of course, there was the fact that her heart had been torn into millions of microscopic pieces.
Julia
She was moving so quickly that when she looked down, 196
Forbidden Boy
she saw nothing but a brightly colored trail of hot pink toenail polish. Swiping her tears away wildly, Julia
Outside, the rain was still pouring down in bucket loads and the wind was shrieking, but Julia
She threw herself into cleaning the house from top to bottom, keeping herself focused on the task at hand.
Before she knew it, she was sliding around on the wood floors, rags tied to her knees and feet like one of the orphans in A
She even called to rent a steam cleaner for the water stains on the living room rug. Then she did all of her laundry.
Julia
Hailey Abbott
and when the morning sun shone through the back windows, it was undeniable how beautiful her home was. It was bright and open, yet still cozy. When she scrubbed the windows of the balcony attached to her bedroom, she was literally breathless at the streaks of orange, pink, and lavender reflecting off the ocean as the sun was rising. From the bay window off of Julia
As she tiptoed through the house, Julia
Every beam of sunlight—bouncing from one surface Julia
198
Chapter Twenty-two
!
Julia
Her father was moving his bags from the foyer into his studio, rifling through some papers, when Julia
Hailey Abbott
sure that her knees had stopped working. Their cozy little foyer suddenly seemed menacing and dark. She took a deep breath, counted to ten (which might have been more like a count to fifty), and forced her legs to move forward.
“Hi, Dad. Welcome back. Um, can I talk to you for a second?” Julia
“What’s wrong, sweetie? Are you okay?” Dad patted Julia
Julia
“While you were gone, the living room flooded. Everything is mildewed.”
Her father’s eyes moved furtively around the room, from the window seat to the bookshelves and back. “The place does look a little worse for wear,” he noted. “But it doesn’t even smell like mildew in here.” 200
Forbidden Boy
Julia
“Jules, sweetie, I sense that you’re not telling me the whole story. Did you and Chloe throw some crazy party while I was gone?” Dad’s brow creased and he cocked his head toward his daughter.
Julia
Dad continued, “Because I seem to remember another weekend not so long ago when I returned to find there’d been a Slip ’n’ Slide–related mishap in the living room.” His voice trailed off.
“That was not a party!” Julia
Julia
Then, all of a sudden, the floodgates opened and all of the desperation, guilt, and sadness that Julia
“I didn’t mean to betray the family, Dad!”
“Julia
You could never betray us.” Dad’s voice was comforting, 201
Hailey Abbott
but Julia
“No, really, I did. I never meant to, but I did!” Julia
“Jules, I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about, but I do know that you could never betray us. I know how much you love your sister and me.” The kindness in Dad’s voice sent Julia