Impulse

Julian sat in his living room, beer bottle in hand as he stared down at the iPhone that sat in the middle of his coffee table. Condensation covered his hands, he placed the bottle down on the table, wiping his hands off on his pajama pants. He bit down onto his bottom lip, his mind replaying the event that happened only one hour ago.

He wondered who the man was, and why he had looked so angry with Emma. He way he handled her made Julian’s anger flare. He wanted to take her away from that man, the distant, fearful look on her face told him that he was a cruel man. He had spoken to a woman named Jane, he figured that she was Emma’s friend, or sister.

He imagined what happened to her after they left. His head was beginning to hurt, and his body was becoming tense. Bones lay beside him, the dog’s head resting on top of Julian’s knee. Inhaling sharply, Julian became startled when the phone began to ring. Picking up the white device, Julian stared at the screen, a photo of her and the man before displayed on the screen, the name above read “Brian”

It was him, Julian thought. The man from earlier today. He didn’t bother to answer, his eyes studied the picture of the two. Emma ‘s face was radiant, matching the large smile that was on her face. Her hair was down, longer as it fell in waves around her face. Brian stood beside her, his face touching hers as he smiled calmly at the phone.

Julian watched as the photo disappeared, a small box popped up, telling him that the call had been missed. Letting the phone slide from his hands, down to the table, Julian ran his fingers through his curly blond hair. He began to bounce his knee, thinking to himself, coming up with scenarios’, ways he could give Emma her phone back.

Loud knocking came from the front door, Bones jumped down from the couch, his loud barks bouncing from one wall to another as he walked over to the door. The door knob twisted, and the sound of heels against his hardwood floors caught his attention. A blond woman, standing at 5’7 walked into his living room, a large smile on her face.

“Hey, Jules” He greeted his sister.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” She asked, taking a seat beside him.

“Nothing, just got a lot on my mind” He lied, grabbing his beer.

Julia nodded, running her nails along Bones’ head. She looked up at her brother, furrowing her eyebrows at his worried expression. He was quiet, he looked as if he was going to cry, he looked like he was holding something back. Julia looked around, trying to find any evidence of anything having gone wrong, her eyes landed on the unfamiliar phone on his table.

“You got a new phone?” She asked, picking up the phone.

“No. Its not mine. Its Emma’s” He said, voice low.

“Emma? Who’s Emma?” She asked.

“A girl, I met her about a day ago. She has a daughter, named Amelia. She’s a really pretty girl, blond hair, blue eyes, light brown skin. I think she’s mixed, or something. But, all in all, she’s a great girl. Kind of shy though, me and her had smoothies this morning” He explained.

Julia looked up from the phone, a shocked expression on her face. Scooting closer to him, Julia smiled at him, wrapping her arms around him. Julian sighed, pulling his sister’s arms from around him. She gave him a frown, and bit her bottom lip.

“What’s the matter?” She asked.

“Nothing, its just… I think she’s seeing someone, I wouldn’t have a chance. So please, don’t get your hopes up, Julia” He said sternly.

“Oh… I’m sorry. I was just excited, I was thinking that you had finally found someone else, since Sadie” Julia spoke the woman’s name quietly.

The sound of her name made Julian sigh quietly, letting himself sink into the couch as he fought the urge to run. He placed his hands over his face, the sound of her voice was enough to reduce the man to tears. Memories of them, him and her began to fill his head, and he couldn’t help but wonder what went wrong. He wanted to forget, but he knew he couldn’t.

It had been two years, two long years. He knew he should have came to peace by now, but something inside of him was aware that it wasn’t fair. Still to this day, he found himself blaming everyone else for what happened, he didn’t realize that it wasn’t anybody’s fault, she had just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

He often dreamt about her, his dreams were lucid. He felt as if he could touch her, yet she was always so far away. No matter how fast he ran, nor how long, he would never get any closer. Whether it was a large group, a sea of people, unfamiliar faces, he could always find her. He would scream to her, only to be ignored, and treated as all the other strangers.

A month after the incident, and Julian had lost almost all contact with family and friends. They felt that he had taken it the hardest, they knew that the two had only known one another for less than a year, yet the love they shared was strong. He refused help, and ignored the calls. Things had become out of hand, and Julia stepped in.

“I’m sorry, for mentioning her” She apologized.

“Its fine, I know you didn’t mean to” He assured her, looking over and giving her a small smile.

“Okay. Well, I just wanted to come by and check on you. So, I think I’ll just go now” She said, standing up.

“Do you want me to walk you to the door?” He asked.

“No, I’ve got it” She answered, shaking her head.

Nodding, Julian waved to his sister, watching her as she walked out the door. The sound of the door slamming left Julian in silence, forcing his mind to wander freely, his thoughts free flowing. Staring at the TV that sat in front of his wall, he grabbed the remote, pressing the large red button. He stared at the screen as it came on, sighing in hopes that the television would stop his thoughts.