The Unraveling of Julian Gray (Tavern Boys Book 2) by Belle Chapin

Author:Belle Chapin [Chapin, Belle]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Danvers Writing and Publishing LLC
Published: 2023-06-17T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

A few days later, Julian walked home from the hospital after his shift. It was a long walk, and he often took the train, but it was the perfect temperature outside—not too hot, not too cold. Just right. Baby Bear temperature. Chicago’s blistering heat was coming soon, and he didn’t want to lose these nicer days just to sit on the train.

He yawned loudly, planning for a long nap when he got home. The kind where you had weird nap dreams that weren’t as crazy as fever dreams, but had you waking up both refreshed and confused. Then, maybe he’d order in Thai and go to the club.

His phone vibrated in his back pocket, and he answered it without glancing at the screen. “Hello?”

A pause, and then a rasped, “Jonah? Jonah?”

Julian frowned. “Derek? Is that you?”

A rattling cough came through the speaker, and Julian held it away from his ear until it stopped.

“I fucked up, Jonah.”

“I’m not—”

“Shouldn’t have left. Something’s wrong.” Another cough.

Julian ducked into an alcove to hear Derek’s hoarse voice better. “Shit. Are you safe?”

“Yes. Just cold. Need chicken soup maybe.”

The grumpy man who had kicked Julian out of his hospital room now thought he was Jonah and was requesting soup. He had to be delirious.

Julian did some quick calculations in his head. “Okay, you stay right there. Someone will be there soon. Is the door unlocked?”

“Yes. Okay.” Derek disconnected the call. Julian stared at the phone, dumbfounded, until he pulled up his contacts to find Kelly’s.

“What’s wrong?” Kelly snapped immediately.

“Helen Keller,” said Julian. “Helen Keller.”

“Shit,” Kelly hissed. “What happened?”

“Derek called me. He’s sick, I think. He thought I was Jonah. Can you get out there to see what is going on?”

“No.” In the background, Kelly could hear faint music and people laughing. “Fuck, we are at least an hour and a half out. We took the kids to a water park in Rockford.”

“I’m about an hour away,” said Julian. He thought for a moment. “Can you text me his address?”

“Yes, keep me posted.” Kelly hung up, and a text with an address near Crystal River appeared moments later. Julian pulled up his contacts again, and selected the one he needed. After a few moments, a sassy voice picked up.

“It’s two in the afternoon. Why are you calling? Are you hurt?”

“No, Mom, I’m fine.” Did all Moms answer like this if contacted during odd hours? “But I need you to do me a favor.”

* * *

When Derek had moved into his house, the first thing he had done was replace the old carpets on the first floor with vinyl planking. It wasn’t exactly in line with what a proper farmhouse should have, but it was easy to clean and looked nice.

He still thought it looked nice, especially since he was now laying sprawled across his living room floor, and couldn’t get up. All he could do was lay there and stare at the feigned wood grain. Occasionally he traced it with his fingers as if it were a rare engraving, but that could only be entertaining for so long.

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