can take care of myself with you. I
have been doing a fine job of it all these years.” she sent.
“ I
just don't get it. If he really cares about you like a boyfriend
should, he never would have let me talk to you like that. If you were
my girl, I would have crushed someone's ass for talking to you like
that. I kept going and going, and the guy never said a single thing.
He just sat there like I wasn't even talking. It makes me so mad. He
doesn't deserve to spend time with you. You should be with someone
who would do anything to protect you.”
“ Someone
like who? I can protect myself just fine, thank you. I don't need a
man to take care of me. All they have ever done is make things worse.
I had to sit there and listen to you say mean things to me one after
the next, just so you could see how long it would take him to come
after you. Real mature, Ethan. The only person that hurt was me. How
do you know what I deserve? You can't keep your dick in your pants
long enough to pay attention to anything other than an attractive
woman willing to spend a couple of hours with you. I'm not your girl,
and somehow I don't think you would ever stick up for me if it
wouldn't benefit you. I was just worried about you after you left. I
can see now, that was a mistake. I'm sorry for sending you the text.
Goodbye, Ethan.”
“ You
don't have to worry about me. I'll always be fine. Spend your
precious time on someone who's worth it. Goodnight.”
Ethan
was so mad when he threw his phone down. He went home with the blonde
to get his mind away from what had happened. After Julie's text, he
was right back where he started. He knew she was right about him
jumping from woman to woman, but her telling him what she thought
didn't make it any better. She would never know the truth about him
and the reason he was the way he was. That was fine with him, but he
didn't like knowing that she thought so lowly of him. He worked so
hard every day to be the man he was. There was no way anyone was
going to change that.
Chapter
6
Julie
was able to let seven weeks pass without having to see Ethan. She
made sure to use work as an excuse to avoid all gatherings he might
have been at. A couple of times, he was out of town and she was able
to go. Lisa would tell her if he was going to be there or not, but
nobody else knew that. It surprised Julie that she actually missed
him. Even though he was a huge brat, she still liked being around
him. Nothing went the way she thought it would that night she had
text him. She thought they would get past their issues with each
other and move on. The more she thought about him, the more she knew
she needed to stay away.
Julie
had been to Becky and Gavin's house several times alone for dinner.
She was so happy for her brother and his new bride. They were
starting a family, and Julie was excited about being an aunt. Gavin
had text her to let her know that he would be out of town with Ethan
at a conference for a few days. He wanted her to check in with Becky
and make sure she didn't need anything. They thought he was so funny.
She was only twelve weeks pregnant. Julie thought it was the sweetest
thing to see her brother so protective over his wife and baby.
Julie
called Becky every morning and every night to make sure everything
was fine. She knew Becky was going to be the best mom ever. When
Julie came out after seeing a little boy in one of her exam rooms,
one of her nurses stopped her.
“ Becky
called. She sounded really tired. I asked her if everything was okay.
She said she needed you to call her,” the nurse said.
Julie
went into her office and shut the door. She felt her heart drop to
her stomach as she dialed the phone. There is no way Becky would have
called her unless something was wrong. Becky picked up her phone on
the second ring.
“ Hey
Becky, are you okay?” Julie asked.
“ I'm
not sure. My stomach is cramping and there's some stuff. I'm sure I
am overreacting, but I wanted to check with