Royals 2: Life in the headlines

Chapter 8: misery business

"Julie, what are you doing out here?" Alex yells stopping me in my tracks. He pulls up to the edge of sidewalk and opens the door.

"You are gonna freeze, get in here" Alex says, waving me in. I climb in and buckle my seat belt.

Alex drives in silence and Im eternally thankful for it. I lay my head against the window and squeeze my eyes closed, shutting out the world.

I wake up the next morning, my head pounding and my heart aching. I look on the end of my bed and see Alex curled up, pointing towards my desk. I'm still in my tight clothes that all feel so wrong. I slowly move from the bed, working my hardest not to wake Alex and grab some new clothes. I grab shorts and a t-shirt then head towards the shower.

Once I'm in the shower, I let the burning water wash over me. When I think about last night, my heart plummets and so does my stomach.

I can't believe it. I can't fucking believe it. Why did I think I could ever trust him?

Soon the water starts to hurt and I'm all washed up, so I reluctantly get out. I slip on my clothes and run a brush through my semi-curly/ semi-straight hair. Parts of it still flat from last night. I pull it up in a low ponytail and look at myself in the mirror.
God I wish last night had gone differently. I go back into my room, Alex still sound asleep. I grab my phone and decide to scroll through Instagram.

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@Flynnisthebestest
my level is unmatched 😌💅🏻
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@flynnisthebestest my best friend 4 eva 💕
Tagged: lukes_number1.fan

@Nick.S: you guys looked great!
@Julieismybae: Have y'all heard from Julie??
    @flynnisthebestest: I thought she was with you..

I throw my phone down, accidentally hitting Alex.

"Oww! If you wanted some up, you could have chosen a nicer way" He grumbles.

"I'm sorry Lex. I didn't mean to throw my phone at you"

"I'm just playing with you" He says, sitting up.

We sit in silence for a moment, neither of us speaking. This time it's awkward and the room feels weird.

"So.. you wanna talk about why I found you walking in the pouring rain?" Alex asks.

Now I feel like I may throw up, but I push that feeling down and take a deep breath.

"I.. umm- well I found Luke with-"

"Oh god" Alex says under his breath.

"And I umm I ran out and we yelled and argued and I left" I say, shaking at my own words as tears roll down my face.

"Jules, im so so sorry" Alex says, pulling me into a hug. I freeze at his touch, my body completely unsure of how to act. But I force myself to relax and hug him back. Without even meaning to, I start to sob and sob and sob.

"Shh Shh, it's okay. It's gonna be okay" He whispers.

After crying until I couldn't anymore, Alex brought me some coffee, pain reliever, and food. He said he had to go but he'd call me later. I told him thank you. Soon after he left, I put on some tv. Anything to concentrate on but the present.

"Julie" my mom calls, knocking on my door. I don't respond and she comes in. I look over at her and she sits down carefully.

"Alex told me what happened. I'm so sorry baby" she says, setting her hand on my arm. I moved over and set my head in her lap.

"I love him mama. But it hurts so bad to love him. It feels wrong, it hurts my heart" I tremble. She leans down and kisses my head.

"I know you do. It's gonna heut and you aren't just gonna stop loving him that quick. I wish I could take this pain away but it's the pain of life. It's your first love, it's gonna hurt like hell"

"Luke's not my first love. I mean I dated Nick for a year"

"Yes, your right. You dated him, you just didn't love him. I know love when I see it, I saw it with you two. I know he's kicking himself for messing up" My mom says, playing with my hair.

"Should I have loved Nick? I mean I really thought I did. But when we broke up, it didn't hurt like this. I feel like someone is ripping my heart out by hand"

"You wanted to love him, you just didn't. That's okay, you didn't have to" my mom assures me.

Luke's POV:

"LUCAS FUCKING PATTERSON. OPEN THIS DAMN DOOR RIGHT NOW" someone screams. I get up from my couch, where I've been moping. I open it and am welcomed with a pissed off Alex staring at me. He punches me square in the face, knocking me down.

"Alex please let me ex-"

"DONT YOU DARE, YOU FUCKED UP. OWN IT" He screams.

"I DO OWN IT" I yell back "I know I screwed up. I don't have to be told, I know. But not a single person has listened to my side. I never meant to hurt her. I've never wanted to do anything of the sort to her. I was just trying to get out of the party for a moment and then Bailee came in there. She told me how she loved me and she's never known a guy like me and she knew we were meant for each other. I tried to tell her no then she kissed me and you know what happened"

"How do I know you aren't lying to me?" Alex says, giving me his most serious face.

"Because I wouldn't lie to one of my best friends in the entire world"

Julie's POV:

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@Julie.M steal him from me then