JULIA
I arrived in front of my parent’s house, 1 let out a deep breath as I stared at the familiar exterior. I had seen it plenty of times before, and what once felt like a home was ow inore of a house to me.
I was happy that they were accepting us into their lives again, but a part of me couldn’t forget how they abandoned me during my weakest times.
I shook my head and put on a small smile. My situation was already bad with Evan. I shouldn’t make it bad in front of my parents, too!
Yup, you got this, Julia!
I walked to the door and knocked, still with a small smile.
My mom, Grace, opened the door, happiness seen in her eyes. However, as soon as she saw me, that happiness dimmed just slightly.
I didn’t comment on it, of course–I didn’t even react.
1 just greeted her with a nod.
“Andy,” she called in a soft voice, one that I hadn’t heard in such a long time. “Your mommy is here.”
I heard tiny footsteps padding to where we were. As soon as I saw my little boy, the exhaustion left my body.
I smiled and knelt down to greet him.
“Bub,” I said while ruffling his hair. “Did you have a good time?”
He nodded with a wide smile. “Grandma made cake!”
“Oh,” I muttered, glancing up at my mom. “That’s nice.”
“I packed some in his bag if you want. It’s banana cake with chocolate chips,” my mom said. My heart softened just a tiny bit
That was my favorite before I left the house.
I smiled and nodded. “Thanks, Mom,” I muttered. “Did Andy create any trouble?”
“He didn’t, of course,” she chuckled. “He’s the most well–behaved boy I’ve ever met.”
“Anyway,” she continued, glancing at Andy. “It seems like he’s very excited for his sixth birthday. It’s coming in two weeks, right?”
I froze at the question. “Hmm, yeah,” I said, though my mind wandered to Evan.
“He told me you have a gift for him,” she added, making me purse my lips.
“Yeah,” I muttered.
“Well, I hope you get it,” she said in a hopeful tone. “He seems really excited about it.”
I glanced at Andy and saw him looking at me with bright and wide eyes.
Just when I thought I could tell him I couldn’t really heed his request, this happens. As I looked at the two of them.
-my mom and my son–I couldn’t help but feel a sense of pressure,
1/3
I didn’t want to disappoint them.
Of course, I softly said. “I’ll get it for him.”
25 BONUS
My suffering still wasn’t over.
Here I was again, in Heather’s apartment, and of course, En just had to be here.
Well, technically, he had to be here since he was our subject but you get my point. I didn’t want to be in their midst again.
“So,” Heather started off as I placed my belongings on the ground. “You came here yesterday?”
I paused and looked at her, gauging her reaction. As always she had that sweet smile.
“Yeah,” I said. “I read your text message late. Evan reckoned we could get some work done since I was here anyway.”
“I see,” she muttered, glancing at the canvas. “You’ve finished his face.”
“Hmm,” I hummed. “Feel free to tweak it if you like. I think we can finish his body by today.”
She looked at the painting more intently, her expression changing slightly before going back to that sweet look of
hers.
Just then, the door opened, revealing Evan holding a warm mug of coffee.
He looked at the two of us before his gaze settled on Heather.
“Aww, babe, you didn’t have to,” she giggled, walking over to him and giving him a kiss on the cheek.
1 looked away.
‘Oh wow. The ceiling wasn’t well–maintained!‘
Evan cleared his throat, so I drifted my gaze away from Heather’s dusty ceiling
“So, do you guys still need me here, or is the outline all done?” he asked.
“We’ll use you only for today,” Heather said. “I want to capture your body as accurately as possible.”
“Alright,” he said.
“And tomorrow,” Heather continued, walking back to where I was and placing the mug of coffee right in front of me. “I think we can actually finish the whole thing!”
“The background is all we need, and I’m thinking we can paint it with flowers or something like that.
I pursed my lips. “Flowers?” I asked. I looked at the painting and found that those elements really didn’t suit the piece well. Instead of flowers, I thought it would be better if we stuck with Evan in his natural habitat.
Probably in the office.
His handsome and striking looks would contrast well with the plain office–something like a prince escaping his castle.
“I think-”
Before I could finish my sentence, though, I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket.
2/3
+25 BONUS
Chapter 24 | Have Plans Tho
“For a moment,” I muttered, grabbing it and looking at the new message. I let out a small sigh when I saw it was from Sarah.
I shook my head with an amused smile before placing my phone back in my pocket.
“We still have until the end of the week for the deadline, right?” I asked, capturing their attention.
“Yeah,” Heather said. “But 1 want to finish it by tomorrow because we still have that project with Mr. Matthews. He moved the deadline to the same week, so we should do this to avoid conflicts.”
“Yeah,” I muttered. “But I’m not available tomorrow.”
Heather frowned, making me want to shake my head. She was the one who bailed on me for many days for her modeling gig! I was merely asking for one day!
“Why? Do you have something important going on tomorrow?” she asked.
I glanced at Evan before speaking.
“Yeah.”
“I have a date.”
