Chapter 312

Julie’s point of view

I turned quickly backward to Steve with a body trembling entirely from the excess of emotion and anger, and pointed my finger again toward Jake, shouting in oppression: "Did you see with your own eyes what he does and says? Do you see this sick behavior?!"

Steve sighed with fatigue, extreme exhaustion, and passed his palm over his face to calm the charged situation between us, saying in a worn-out, surrendered tone: "Come on... please end this childish argument now. Are we going to start our morning with these continuous fires and fighting?"

I twisted between his hands in a final, brutal attempt to escape, and ground out with intense rage: "Let me go then to go to my room in peace... I do not want to see his face any more."

Jake moved with slow, confident, and provocative steps and headed to exit toward me, then turned his head toward Steve, and a sarcastic smile sketched on his lips as he said, pointing at me with his chin in mockery: "May God help you and give you patience with this stubborn, fierce girl!"

My hand broke free with a lightning speed that no one expected, and I brought my torso down to cling to the mattress; I grabbed a nearby pillow and brought it down with a blind, violent rush toward his face to strike him, but with the utmost lightness, agility, and speed, he extended his strong hand and caught the pillow in the air with total ease. Then he tilted his head coldly, saying with a killing sarcasm: "Unfortunately... another failed childish strike."

Steve darted dry, cold looks at us filled with disgust and regret at our movements, then crossed his arms decisively over his chest and shook his head with regret, saying in a biting tone and a loud voice: "It seems that I am now indeed not in a house, but in a daycare for small children without a mind!"

I took advantage of Jake’s preoccupation with catching the pillow and speaking, so I freed myself with a quick, flexible movement from Steve’s hands, and rushed out with a great momentum, fleeing outside that ill-fated room. I headed immediately to my sanctuary, my room, then closed the wooden door behind me violently to lean my back against it firmly while panting with successive, tight breaths.

The fool... the crazy lowlife! I will show him in the coming days how he enjoys himself at the expense of my nerves and my pride!

I headed toward the closet with tight, nervous movements, pulled my clothes with irritation, and changed them quickly to put on my outdoor clothes. Then I opened the door and went out, heading toward the bathroom. I opened the water faucet with force and chaos, and washed my face with cold water to regain my calmness and control my nerves.

Then I brushed my teeth with quick, violent, and continuous movements, and before I went out, I looked scrutinizingly in the mirror and took a long, deep breath to calm down.

I went out and moved with quiet, steady steps toward the kitchen; Steve was there alone, fortunately, standing before the burning stove and moving the plates and utensils with balanced hands to prepare the breakfast meal for us. I advanced from him with constricted, dry features and said with blatant detachment and a huffy tone: "Steve... listen to me well, this friend of yours, Jake, I despise and hate him from the depths of my heart."

The movement of Steve’s hands stopped for a single second from cooking, then he turned his massive body toward me slowly. I scrutinized the withered, pale features of his face, exhausted due to the tightness of the situation, and his eyes appeared weighed down with worries as he said in a calm tone loaded with regret and guilt: "Fine, Julie... do not worry, I will indeed see how I press upon myself and rent a small, independent house for us at the earliest time so you can rest."

My body stiffened entirely in my place, and I looked at his face with scrutiny and eyes widened in regret. My heart constricted with intense force and pain at the broken, surrendered way in which he said this sentence; he uttered it with surrendered, lost features as if he were doing this thing that is beyond his financial and physical capacity only for my sake and for my psychological comfort, even though I know perfectly well in my mind that renting a house or an apartment at the current time is considered a highly difficult and impossible matter regarding his current circumstances.

In a second, every atom of anger or distress inside me toward the circumstances vanished, and I moved with warm, regretful, and sincere steps toward him.

Then I surrounded his broad waist with my slender arms and hugged him tightly from the side with attachment, buried my face in his warm shoulder, and said in a choked voice and eyes welled with tears: "My precious brother and my support... you do not have to do this at all or bear additional burdens for my sake, I am sorry."

Steve turned with his entire body and enclosed me between his strong arms with a warm affection, and patted my back gently and with emotion, saying to reassure me: "I will do anything, and bear any hardship in this world for the sake of your comfort and your protection... you know this well, Julie."

I raised my head slowly toward his face while smiling with emotion and affection, and said softly: "I know this well, and your favor overwhelms me... but in truth, I love this house and have already grown accustomed to its corners, and I cannot or do not desire to leave it with this ease."

Steve knitted his eyebrows in obvious confusion, looked directly into the depths of my eyes with doubt and apprehension, and asked: "But a short while ago, you were screaming and declaring that you do not want to stay or live with Jake in the same place."

I averted my gaze from his face a little with embarrassment and confusion at my grumbling, then sighed quietly and returned to say with flexible, calm features: "Well... he is indeed a foolish, lowlife, and provocative man, but I am sure and certain that with time we will adapt, and I will put a limit to his actions with me."

I could not in any way see my beloved brother suffering or breaking his back with debts because of me and because of my stubbornness more than that; my mind was constantly reminding me that he sacrificed and did so much and so much for my sake throughout our lives, and now his new work barely grants him a little money and expenses, and I do not want to increase his financial burdens because of my comfort.

The tensed features of Steve relaxed, and a warm, sincere smile of relief sketched on his tired face. He shook his head, saying with confidence: "Fine, Julie... and I am sure and certain that you will love Jake and understand his actions when you get to know him more deeply, for in truth, he is a good person."

Of course... goodness and Jake are two parallel lines that never meet in this vast universe! But despite that thought, I pretended to believe for Steve’s sake, and smiled with affectation and nodded my head in agreement to ease him and remove the worry from his chest.

In that moment charged with emotion, Jake walked into the kitchen with strutting, confident steps. He looked at us, his eyes shining with mischievousness and malice as usual, then crossed his arms and tilted his head, saying with biting sarcasm: "Mmm... what is this? A warm family hug in the early morning without an invitation to me?"