Julian (Beautiful Mine #1) by Gia DeLuca Page B

“I have to go.”
    Spencer said nothing, just nodded as he stared at my face before leaning in and giving me one last kiss on the lips. Within seconds, the scattered raindrops from above turned into a massive downpour. I climbed in my car and shut the door. Through the rain-beaded window, I watched him run back to his Range Rover. As I pulled away, I saw him in my rearview, standing against his car, getting soaked, watching me drive away.
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     

 
     
     
     
     
     

 
    JULIAN
    I paged through the thick, leather bound book in my hands, trying to concentrate on the words in front of me. Nothing made sense. I wasn’t sucked away into another world. I couldn’t escape like I normally did. My mind was on Evie and what she was doing and who she was with.
    I bookmarked the page I was on and sat it down on the nightstand before sinking back into the pillow. I shut my eyes for just a second before the faint click of a car door outside brought me back into the moment. My parents had left that morning for another one of their trips, and I could only hope it was her.
    “Knock, knock,” a sweet, singsong voice said minutes later as my door creaked open. She walked out of the darkness and stood by my bed, smiling warmly, but her cheeks were red and flushed and her eyes were watery. She’d been crying.
    “Your parents gone?” she asked. “They left a note for me. I haven’t read it yet.”
    “Yes,” I said. “Ten days, this time.”
    She probably didn’t notice it, but her face lit slightly with that revelation. I couldn’t blame her. Working for my mom wasn’t an easy feat. She was always watching, always lurking, always suspecting. Sometimes I swore she wanted something to be wrong so she could feel vindicated for being so suspicious and paranoid all the time.
    “I got you something,” she said, pulling a white plastic sack from behind her.
    “What?” I sat up. “You didn’t have to do that.”
    She pulled out a box containing what looked to be a cell phone. “Ta da!”
    “A cell phone?” I asked. “Why?” I’d never had one, nor had I ever had the need for one before.
    “I want you to be able to get a hold of me anytime you need,” she said as she pulled it out of the box. “Day or night. No stupid buzzers or bells or intercoms. No relying on your parents to speak on your behalf. You’re a grown man, Julian.”
    “I don’t know what to say.”
    “This is your first step toward autonomy,” she said as she handed it to me. The sleek, shiny metal was cool against my palm. “I have big plans for you.”
    “You didn’t have to do this, really,” I said as I pressed buttons and began familiarizing myself with the little device.
    “Now you can text me anytime,” she said, smiling. “And our messages will be strictly confidential. No one’ll see them but us.”
    “Oh?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
    “That’s not what I meant,” she said as she nudged me and laughed. “Just please don’t tell your parents you have this. Hide it and keep it on silent at all times.”
    “And defy my parents?” I said cheekily. “Excellent idea, Evie. Best one you’ve had in a long time.”
    “Are you being sarcastic?” she asked. She didn’t know what to think of me sometimes. I could tell.
    “Not at all,” I said in earnest. “I love it. Thank you.”
    “It’s a pretty basic phone,” she said. “I couldn’t afford a smart phone, or anything high-tech.”
    “Don’t apologize. This is fine,” I assured her, cracking a genuine half-smile.
    She whipped her phone from her back pocket and composed a text, and within seconds, my phone buzzed in my hand.
    “My first ever text message,” I said. “Put this in the history books.”
    “What me to show you how to send one?” she offered.
    “I think I can figure it out.”
    “Okay, I’m waiting.”
    Several seconds later, her phone buzzed.
    She read the message out loud. “Would you like to watch a movie with