Finding Julian by Shane Morgan

phone, frustrated. She
caught me staring in the rearview mirror. I quickly peered away.
     “What?” she jeered.
    “Nothing,” I said, turning to stare out
the window.
    She didn’t say anything else, only
sighed a few times.
    Seven laughed. “You know, maybe you two
should try having a decent conversation. Who knows, you might actually end up
liking each other.”
    “I don’t think so,” Mackenzie hissed.
“What she needs to do is hand over what belongs to me and go back to wherever
the hell she came from.”
    I peered around the seat at her in the
back. “That’s exactly what I’m going to do. Happy?”
    Boasting a smug grin, Mackenzie crossed
her arms and said, “Thrilled.”
    “What?” Seven asked, cutting in.
    Settling in the seat again, I stared
ahead as I explained to him, “I’m going to see Mr. Cornwell at his office in
Wickford, to see if I can get the legal papers to turn over the estate to her.”
    I looked over at him and met his
disappointed gaze. He brought his eyes back on the road and sunk into his seat.
    Several minutes went by before Seven
pulled over in front of an animal shelter. I wondered why we were stopping
here.
    Then unexpectedly, he glanced behind at
Mackenzie and asked, “Do you have a way to get home or do you want me to pick
you up later?”
    “I’ll get a ride with Mom when she’s on
her way home from the gallery.” Mackenzie stuck her phone in her bag and opened
the back door, stepping out of the car and walked over to the shelter.
    After she went inside, Seven pulled onto
the road and took off again. I couldn’t help but ask, “Why’s Mackenzie going
into that animal shelter back there?”
    He smirked before answering, “Believe it
or not, Julian, Kenzie spends the summer volunteering at the shelter.”
    Something told me Mackenzie wasn’t the
type to actually scrub a dog. She was too posh to get down and dirty.
    “I guess that’s kind of her,” I said
sarcastically, still having my doubts.
    “She’s really serious about it, Jules.
You should see her, washing the animals, pens and all.” His tone proud.
    That was pretty nice of her.
Still, it didn’t obliterate the fact that she wasn’t kind to me. I guessed we
would never be like those sisters from my old apartment. Mackenzie and I would
never be close.
     
     

 
     
    Chapter Twelve

     
    When Seven finally got to Mr.
Cornwell’s office in the village of Wickford, he
insisted on coming in with me after finding a spot to park.
    We approached the door and I tried to
push it open but it was locked. Glancing over at the window, I noticed that the
shades were still closed. I guessed it was still early.
    “Want to go get breakfast and come
back?” Seven suggested.
    I nodded. We walked down the street and
around the corner to a café. Sitting down at one of the tables, we ordered
coffee and pancakes.
    While we ate, he pressed me about my
decision. “I still think you should stay a month, like your father wanted.”
    I sipped my coffee and peered up at him
from behind the mug. “I can’t. I have to get back to—”
    “What exactly is in Manhattan?” he
questioned, shifting on the chair.
    “Reality.”
    “And what do you call this, Julian?”
    “I don’t know…a place where I don’t
belong. Look,” My level of frustration rose, “They don’t want me here. I have
to turn it over. If not, I’m going to just sell it.”
    His brows shot up and he eased forward
abruptly. “I can’t believe you’d even consider selling the estate. Aunt Bev
loves that place. Your father…” he paused, shaking his head slowly. “Don’t do
that. There has to be another way.”
    “Right, which is to give it to
Mackenzie,” I retorted, settling the mug back on the table to finish my
pancake.
    His shoulders slouched. “I don’t think
you should do that either. There has to be something else. If you want to leave
so bad then why not just leave it in Aunt Bev’s care.”
    I stayed quiet for a minute then