Chapter 10:

Retreat

Julia sat indian style in a chair, her legs tucked under, with James Wellington’s .50 caliber Desert Eagle in her lap, thinking thoughts of nothing. Her mind swam lazy laps, never attempting to go anywhere, and doing a great job of it.

After some time of this, the door creaked open, and Anna peeked into the room. “Julia?” she asked, “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, just... I don’t like guns,” She stated, throwing the weapon a derisive look, though she kept it in her lap.

Anna smiled. She sat next to Julia, taking her hand. Two days ago, when Anna discovered Julia, she was showering in a suite in the west wing of the Mansion. It’d been a full day since Anna had been back at the mansion, and she was rather surprised to find that she wasn’t alone. Not wanting to go home, Julia spent her time reading, working out, eating oranges, and generally exploring—since Nathan never did return to find her. Anna filled her in on what had happened, then asked the stray what she intended to do. Julia shrugged and probably would have left, Nathan hadn’t called and asked her to stay until he should return.

And when would Nathan be home? Well, that was a different question.

Anna didn’t mind the company, and when she discovered the girl’s cooking skills, was very happy to have her around. She gave the girl a nice stipend and put her close to her own suite—and now Julia was teaching Anna how to make rudimentary meals, like spatchcocked chicken, steak tartare, and beef wellington. Indeed, the only time Julia left the house was to go to the store, and always with a swift return. Julia’s only communication with the outside world was a single text message she sent before she threw her phone in the deep end of the pool. The message read:

ITS OFF

The recipient was Ken, of course. She put his ring in an envelope, and dropped it in the mail with his name on it. What he thought of all this, she wasn’t sure, and, the more time she spent alone, the less she cared. She would not see him again. Not on purpose. She would not go back to the places he knew or even her own work. She’d taken a page from Sasha’s book and simply disappeared. For the time, she’d stay disappeared.

“Is he going to be staying here also?” Julia asked after the man in the kitchen.

“Yes,” answered Anna, “I’ve known him a very long time, since he was a child. He used to be good friends with Nathan,” she said.

“Used to be,” Julia harrumphed. “I have half a mind to make him eat this,” Julia hoisted the gun.

Anna put out her hand, asking for the gun. With a sigh, Julia passed it to her.

Julia swept her hair behind her ear. “He really shot that at you?”

“Yes,” Anna answered. “I guess he missed.”

“Really?!” asked Julia, disbelief in her eyes. “Then what happened to your shirt?!”

“Oh,” said Anna. “This is just a ratty old tee,” she lied feebly, poking her fingers in the two holes, just off the side of her heart. “If I was shot, wouldn’t there be blood?”

Julia huffed, but assumed Anna must be correct. If she’d been shot with such a large caliber, there was no way she’d be standing.

“You okay?” asked Anna.

“Do I have to be nice to him?” Julia asked.

“To a point,” Anna suggested.

“Until he pulls another weapon?” Julia retorted.

“Until then,” Anna smiled. “I’m going to go look after our new guest.” Anna ran her hand over Julia’s hair. “Will you be able to make dinner on your own tonight?”

“I suppose,” Julia pouted. “Do I have to cook for three?”

“Yes, dear,” Anna smiled.

“Well, I don’t have to like it.”

“No you don’t,” Anna smiled. She kissed her new young friend, then turned and walked out.

A shiver ran up Julia’s spine, and her eyes bugged, as she stood and watched Anna walk away. There were two massive holes in the back of her shirt, the size of fists, soaked with blood.

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