Chapter 13: Chapter 13

I really didn't like confrontation, and Kent made me feel like screaming. I walk ahead of him to the house and walk down the stairs before him, opening the front door.

"Hey Juls." Marks says from the living room. He's got the Xbox on, playing Call Of Duty with Kyle. My brother loves that game, I never really got into video games.

"Hey." I sigh, unzipping my sweater from the heat and tossing my bag on a dining room chair. I go to the kitchen and get a glass of water from the cupboard. I gulp it down and I hear Mark pause their game.

"You're a lifeguard?" I hear and I look at Kyle who's put his controller on the coffee table.

"Yep, I work at Coleman. I also do swimming lessons.” I shrug.

"So you're like Hasselhoff on Baywatch?" Kyle asks and I snort, putting my glass down.

"Not really, it's an indoor pool and it's mostly me telling people to walk all the time.' I shrug. "It's not as glamorous as you think it is."

"So you could deliver mouth-to-mouth resuscitation." He teases and I roll my eyes, it makes my cheeks flush but I was determined not to show how much that comment made my mind race.

"If I really had to… but Kyle, you'd have to be clinging to life." I tell him and Mark laughs, head tipping back on the couch.

"Let me know when all of you are done kissing Juls's ass." Kent mutters, marching off to his room and we all roll our eyes.

"What's his deal? Why'd you two come home at the same time?" He asks and I shrug.

"I don't know, he saw me walking home and insisted on bringing me home safely." I sigh, shaking my head. "He's so weird sometimes."

"We know." Kyle laughs and I laugh too.

"Well, I'm going to shower but I'll see you guys later." I sigh, walking back to my room and snatching my bag on the way. I toss it on the floor next to my desk and shut the door, pulling off my clothes.

My pinnie goes back into my bag safely for my next shift at the pool. I toss my clothes in my hamper and pull on my robe, tying it firmly at my hip.

I walk down the hall to the washroom and lock that door as well. I turn on the shower and step in, enjoying the fact that it was cool for a few seconds. It was so humid and warm outside and in the pool today, so it was a nice change of pace.

I just rinse off everything, letting my sweat go down the drain. I take my time with my night routine and once I'm dried off and my robe is back on, I go back to my room and put on some comfortable clothes.

I emerge and I can tell it's too quiet. There's no noise anywhere in the apartment which is unheard of for the three of them. I come out to an empty living space and I furrow my eyebrows, seeing the door locked and the couch vacant.

I go back to my phone in my room and see a new message on my lock

screen.

MARK [11.04 PM]

'Hey Juls, we got invited to a last minute thing up the road, be back later*

I try not to take offense to this, it does hurt somewhere in my chest that I wasn't invited. The message didn't even sound like they wanted me to come. But I guess they have their own friends and they wouldn't want me there, especially if it was casual.

I'm trying to be more social, I'm trying not to spend all my time in my room but it's really hard when I feel like I don't know them that well.

This was probably just a once-off, just their close friends and I wasn't one of them. There'd be other things for me to go to.

I sigh and grab my headphones and cell, plugging them in and scrolling through my music to find something mellow to listen to. I don't even think I've been home alone yet, this is a first.

I go to the fridge and find my pre-made raw cookie dough that I bought from the store this week. I thought it might make a nice snack at some point this week and be a good way to get into their good graces.

I preheat the oven and grease a flat pan, the rest of my night is filled with baking cookies, Tame Impala and Phoebe Bridgers.

Once they're finished I lay them out on a rack and wash my dishes. Then I put them in a container, taking two out for me. I get a glass of milk and leave a note on the top of the container.

'HELP YOURSELVES -A'

I turn the lights out, leaving one in the kitchen and over the door, walking back to my room and setting the snack on my nightstand. I close my door and turn out my lights except for the string running around my ceiling. I turn on my fan too, mindful of the heat and slip into bed, turning on my laptop for a show to watch.

To be honest, I didn't really want to go to a party. I felt tired and it would have been nice to be thought of, but I'm okay with this.

Once I'm done eating, I pause and brush my teeth, returning to my bed where I get starfish out in the middle and spread right out, drifting off to sleep.

But I feel a bit unsettled when I remember what happened with Kent today, hopefully he relaxes with me soon. I'm sick of walking on eggshells, but his words echo in my head.

I don't like the thought of you walking home alone after dark.

I don't let myself read too much into it, no matter how badly I want to. Even though he's irritating and inconsiderate, he has morals obviously and that's all tonight was.