Coming Home Again (A Coming Home Again Novel Book 1)

by Lowe, T. I.

  “Not tonight. I’m saving my calories for beverages,” she said in a so matter-of-fact tone with a prissy wave of her hand. Yes, I keep saying prissy, because that is the best way to describe her. Really.

  While I sat there, trying not to feel self-conscious about eating, a very tall and very striking man walked in. He had to be closer to seven feet than not. He was probably Julia’s age, but he was way too pretty to merely call him a guy. I about choked on my lettuce when he strolled right up to our table. Julia barely acknowledged the chiseled piece of art that was standing beside her. I felt my skin flush all the way down to my toes. Why did God need to make such a beauty as that? It only led to indecent thoughts. You know I’m telling the truth, and the truth is always welcome, right?

  Then he spoke one word, and I thought I would completely melt on the soft velvetiness of it. “Thorton.” That was all he said, and she still kept studying her wine as though she didn’t care to notice him. But boy, oh boy, how could she not?

  The world refers to her as Julia Rose. They may not even know that Thorton is her last name. I was intrigued that this guy knew.

  “Stone,” she said eventually, causing him to chuckle.

  He offered his hand for me to shake, but all I could do was just keep silently staring. “She doesn’t like to be touched,” Julia blurted out, making me want to touch her with my fists. So embarrassing. He cut her an amused look before placing his hand back to his side.

  I rolled my eyes at him to relay my aggravation with my sister. He seemed to get it, because he gave me an eye roll and grin in return. This man had perfectly styled dark blond hair that fell lusciously just below his ears. He looked like he just stepped out of a men’s apparel ad. He was clean-shaven with a flawless complexion. A dark-blue perfectly tailored suit shrouded his long, lean body and the color accentuated his striking green eyes. They were such a vibrant hue that I seemed to not be able to look away. Julia kicked me under the table to make me do just that. I cut my eyes at her as I leaned down to rub my sore shin and heard him cover a laugh with a cough. Great. He was amused…

  “This is my sister, Savannah.” She waved daintily in my direction and then she waved towards the gorgeous man. “Greyson is a model, if you can’t tell.” And I could. Oh yeah. He was well put together. It was obvious he was professionally styled.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” he said towards me before directing his attention to my sister. “I’ll see you next week, Julia. You ladies take it easy tonight.” He gently placed his hand on Julia’s shoulder. “Call me, if you need me.” He then nodded his lovely head at me and strolled over to a group near the back of the restaurant.

  As I watched him walk away, I finally found my tongue. “Great day in the morning. What was that and why don’t you like it?” I had to fan myself with my napkin. Wow is all I can say. I wanted to ask her if she was she absolutely crazy. He not only oozed cool confidence, he was dripping with kindness. It shocked me that he wasn’t cocky at all. Men that looked like that seem to think they had all the right in the world to be so.

  Julia rolled her eyes. “He’s just a friend. I met him the first year I was here. We do photo shoots together sometimes when they need couples in ads.”

  “Well, that man sure is purty.” I wagged my eyebrows at Julia, causing her to let out a sigh of exasperation.

  “He’s not my type,” she snapped, seeming to not want to continue the conversation. She started rummaging through her purse as though she wanted to find another topic to entice me with, but I wasn’t close to being done with the Greyson Stone topic. Oh no.

  I had no plans on letting her off that easy. I leaned close to her and whispered, “Is he gay?” That’s the only type I could think of that wouldn’t be hers.

  “No.” She glanced at him as he was laughing about something his company had shared. “He’s too nice.”

  Oh. I forgot she didn’t like nice either. Dirt bags were her type. It’s like Evan had set the standards on how she thought men should treat her, which was morbidly low and cruel. Good grief. My sister needed to open her eyes to the complete package that all the other women in that restaurant had their eyes trained on. He had every female’s attention in the place except for the one he seemed to have wanted—Julia.

  I laughed at the absurdity of her statement. “Heaven forbid you find one that treats you nice.” I looked over at Greyson and he caught me. I smiled really big and waved. He returned the favor with a more subtle wave of his own. He’s entire face lit up with life when he smiled. Julia was missing out on such a nice view, and I was about to point that out when she hissed at me.

  Julia grabbed my hand and placed it firmly on the table. “Don’t encourage him, Savannah.”

  Well that’s exactly what I was trying to do and had no plans of stopping until she dragged me out of the place. “Why don’t you like him?”

  “I do. He’s one of my closest friends. But he won’t leave me alone about my…lifestyle. We sort of aren’t talking right now.” Julia downed the rest of her wine and beckoned the waiter for another. After he refilled it and she took another hardy sip, she continued, “He’s the one that dumped me off at that facility last year.”

  Oh, I had thought to myself. He was the one who checked her into rehab, so I had guessed he was trying to fix her and she didn’t have any desire to be fixed. How she was reacting towards him was making much better sense. “Don’t you have to agree to those visits?” I asked as I slid another curious glance towards Greyson. I was looking at him with a bit more appreciation at that point.

  “I don’t remember how that part transpired. The next thing I knew, I had a contract with my signature on it that stated I would visit a minimum of three weeks. The jerk somehow tricked me into it, and I lost four modeling contracts in that timeframe.” She took another generous gulp of her drink and shook her head in frustration. This man had surely ruffled my sister’s feathers not in the slightest good way.

  I had lost my appetite at the idea of Julia being in such bad shape that she couldn’t remember periods of time. I looked back over at Greyson, thankful she had someone in her world that actually cared. I watched him as he kept glancing at my sister protectively. Poor guy. There was no way my sister would ever give him the time of day. And poor Julia, because it looked like she was missing out on something exceptional.

  I picked at my salad for not even five more minutes when Julia took the last sip of her wine and announced it was time to go. As we walked out, I gave Greyson another wave and smile.

  “You ladies try to be careful tonight,” Greyson instructed. “Savannah, it was a pleasure to meet you.”

  Before I could comment, Julia had dragged me out the door. I never got to speak one word to Greyson Stone, but have never stopped hoping that one day I will get that opportunity for Julia’s sake. I guess that from my eyes being opened so early in life by Evan, I’ve always seemed to have a good read on people. And I knew Greyson was a good man. I just hate that Julia wasn’t into good men.

  We spent the rest of the night and most of the early morning hours going from one club to another. I met what felt like a million of her friends, who were mostly rail-thin models and gorgeous men. Julia slipped me a drink early in the night, which helped me loosen up quite a bit. I actually began to dance and enjoy myself a bit before the partying. I was still nervous being in such a new and strange place and the men were pretty darn different from the high school boys back home. I figured it was best to play it safe and keep my distance, but it was hard keeping distance in the crowded places. The fun didn’t last long.

  “Who’s this little hot momma?” a guy asked as he kissed Julia square on the lips with such ease. She returned the kiss in the same manner, and that really bothered me. Of course, he was gorgeous with brown hair and whiskey-colored eyes, and he knew it too. I knew first hand that beauty could be one nasty thing if you gave it a good look, and I didn’t have a good feeling about that guy.

  Thinking nothing of it Julia answered
, “My little sis.” Her eyes were trained on him as though he was the only thing she could see in the place.

  “I have a name,” I addressed him. “It’s Savannah.”

  “What a southern drawl!” He sounded so delighted. “Say something else.”

  I dramatically closed my mouth tightly and crossed my arms defensively. I didn’t feel like being someone’s entertainment and was not about to be this arrogant jerk’s. He roared with laughter at that.

  “Ooh, that one’s full of sass,” Mr. Flirt said. “Sawyer Helms,” he introduced himself, but I ignored him. He oozed cockiness and Julia liked him so that was all I needed to mark him off my list. That girl needed her head examined. She was all but groping him in public, and he was letting her. This guy only had his best interests in mind, unlike the Greyson dude.

  I finally shook my concern off after a while for her relationship flaws. Really. Who was I to be trying to figure out such a thing for her, when I couldn’t get past my own hiccups on the matter?

  The clubs were loud, dark, and packed with all types of people. When we would leave one club to journey to the next, my ears would ring like crazy. I never knew where Julia was until she’d grab my hand to lead me to the door. Everyone just seemed to blend together. One minute I would be dancing with a tall, dark and incredibly handsome man. Then I would blink my eyes and be dancing with a hunky blond. It was too crazy for me. I always kept them a cautious arm’s length away from me. They seemed to think I was teasing them, but there was no game I was playing. I knew I would freak out if they decided to get hands-on.

  I believe I was a novelty compared to their normal type of company. The entire night I was referred to as a southern belle, southern peach, or cute cowgirl. This appeared to annoy my sister as much as it annoyed me. Neither one of us liked the attention I was receiving, but I’m sure for different reasons. I could tell she was used to being the one receiving all the devotion. Another phrase that was on repeat from most of her guy friends was that they hadn’t seen natural beauty walking around them like me in quite a while. Maybe this was their polite way of calling me plain. Once again, neither Julia nor I cared for it.

  As the night and early morning wore on, Julia became more and more wasted, and I became more and more annoyed. She could barely function by that point, and I was getting nervous about it.

  My annoyance escalated and then completely exploded with some drunk dude. I ended up punching him square on his vulgar mouth after he had enough nerve to pat me on the butt and say some raunchy things he thought I would like him to do to me and vice versa.

  He patted his lip and checked for blood, but there was none. “Look babe, that fine backside of yours was advertising,” he slurred on a laugh.

  I gave him a good shove, which only made him sway slightly. “The only thing I’m advertising is for you to keep your scummy hands to yourself, babe!” I spit the words out full of vinegar.

  Julia stepped between us before I had a chance to land another punch. “Good grief, Savannah. Would you just chill?” she slurred. She was barely coherent.

  “No! I want to go home!” I shouted over the loud music. I was trembling at the anxiety building up and was worried a full-blown attack was about to hit.

  She pretended to look at a wristwatch that was not there. “But it’s still early,” she said and pouted out her lip. I looked at my real wristwatch and found it to be into two in the morning. She still didn’t relent, so I was stuck.

  I had refused to go inside any more clubs with my sister and spent the remaining time standing outside by a bouncer. Julia knew him, and he promised her he would keep an eye on me. Julia and I returned to her apartment around four that morning. I was so tired I could barely make it to the couch. Julia was still buzzing around like it was midday. She disappeared a few times while we were out. Each time she returned, she’d act pretty drugged up. I guessed the stint in rehab that previous year didn’t help her much.

  “Hey. Do you need something to help you sleep?” She came out of the bathroom carrying a medicine bottle.

  Sleep? Really? How on earth could a person not be wiped out after all that dancing and chaos? I shook my head warily at her. “No thanks. Just a blanket and pillow will do the trick.”

  She returned to the bathroom without even acknowledging my request. I was beginning to think the girl lived in there. I grew impatient and went to find my own pillow and blanket. I wasn’t about to wait around for who knows how long for some rest. I grabbed an extra pillow off her bed and a cover from the floor. They both smelled clean so I helped myself to them. I believe my eyes were closed before my head hit the pillow. I had no clue as to when Julia made it to bed.

  I didn’t wake up until noon the next day. I peeped in on Julia and she was still snoozing away, so I went to the fridge to find something to calm my growling belly. The only things in there were bottled water and wine. I rummaged through the cabinets and found not a morsel of food. I thought how absolutely crazy that was. I grabbed a bottle of water and headed for a soak in some of the bath oils I had spotted the night before. I hoped a long, relaxing bath would help me feel better and get my mind off my hunger. I was beginning to worry I would probably be starved to death by the time I made it back to South Carolina.

  After the bath, I checked on Julia to only find her still sleeping away. I tried to wake her, but she wouldn’t budge. I spent the next two hours reading magazines and looking over a city map I had purchased the day before at the airport. I began to feel nauseous, so I tried to wake Julia again. She rolled over and went right back to lightly snoring. I couldn’t stand it any longer, so I located a phonebook and started searching the delivery section of the restaurant listings. I settled for the first Chinese delivery place I found with cheap prices. I called and ordered more than enough food, hoping that I didn’t have a repeat experience with food as I did the day before. I was a little embarrassed at the thought of how Julia would react to the large quantity of food. I helped myself to a twenty-dollar bill that was lying on the table to pay the bill. After all, Julia was supposed to be hosting me. I would probably have felt guilty if I wasn’t so darn annoyed with her. After quietly paying the delivery guy, I took my spread straight to the coffee table and began devouring it. There was no way I could live an anorexic lifestyle. I had to have my food regularly or I wasn’t able to function.

  Julia still did not wake up until about five that afternoon. She didn’t ask about the leftover food on the table. She just picked a few pieces of broccoli out of the stir-fry veggies and made her way to the bathroom for the rest of the afternoon.

  The entire week was pretty much the same. Party all night, sleep all day, and barely eat. I had really looked forward to Julia showing me around the city. I hoped she would bring me to a Broadway show or take a ferry out to see the Statue of Liberty as she promised. I had really looked forward to seeing a true New York fashion show. That didn’t even happen due to Julia taking the entire week off to spend quality time with me. I guess she decided that the most-happening nightclubs were the only sightseeing I needed to check out.

  By midweek, I absolutely had all I could take. I grabbed my map, an extra key Julia left near the door, some of her spending money, and headed out to discover what the city looked like in the daylight. I explored some artsy shops at leisure. I toured a local museum and bought some name brand knockoffs at sidewalk vendors. I even bought myself a cheesy “I Love New York” T-shirt with the big red heart on it from a souvenir shop. Of course, I ate as well. I really enjoyed this part of my trip. I even skipped out on the rest of the nightly partying once I found the courage to venture out on my own. I was delighted at discovering the unique charisma the city possessed.

  I concluded on my visit that my sister and I had nothing more in common than our history. I most definitely had no desire to visit her again.

  On my last day, I had to leave Julia a thanks and goodbye note due to not being able to wake her up. Whatever she took to go to sleep really scared me. It wa
s like she was dead, yet still breathing. I remember sitting on the edge of the bed after shaking her vigorously to wake her, only to have her continue in her coma-like state. I scanned over her frame, and that scared me as well. Only wearing a light tank top and bikini panties, Julia was almost completely exposed. She lay on her side with her hipbone and shoulder blades protruding. It was like her skin could barely keep the bones covered. I sat there puzzled as to why society painted women who looked emaciated as the portrait of beauty. Did beauty equate to unhealthy?

  I felt so uneasy and wanted to just pretend she was okay, so I sat there long enough to resolve that maybe my sister had everything figured out. As she lay there motionless, no nightmares seemed to be haunting her. Nightmares chased me too often for my likings. I looked down at my thicker frame and looked healthier, but that was just the outside. I was the one who couldn’t tolerate people touching me, while Julia let them hang all over her. She always seemed cool, collected, and carefree albeit by a pill or alcohol. I was the one plagued by severe panic attacks. Maybe… I shook off that notion and left my sister to her life. Who was I to try to figure her out? I was only eighteen and quite a mess myself.

  Feeling unsettled and hopeless, I headed out for one last stroll around the small part of town I had become familiar with. I visited a bakery, which was highly recommended by some locals I met in a coffee shop earlier, and placed an overnight order for a New York style cheesecake to be sent to Miss May. I wanted to surprise her with it. Her sweet tooth was bigger than anyone else’s I knew. I grabbed a single slice of cake for myself and sat at a patio table to enjoy it as I watched the city bustle by one last time. The cake was so rich and creamy. With each luscious bite, my thoughts drifted back to Julia. The realization that she would never be able to experience such a simple pleasure as eating a slice of cheesecake hit me in the pit of my stomach. I sat there staring at my half-eaten treat, not being able to take another bite. I was stunned at the pain I felt. Evan had robbed her of any simple joy this life offered. Everything revolved around complicated and dangerous—effortless was not a part of her world. I silently and tearlessly wept as I pondered all that had been robbed from my older sister. She was hiding under a drug-induced persona of having it all together.