Chapter 36: Extremely Jealous Stepbrother

“Julian?” I tried to speak to him again. I’ve always been an unyielding woman and yet I still could feel his anger burning through my skin. It intimidated me and I could tell that Liam was even more so just by the look in his eyes when he looked from him, to me, and back again.

“Who the fuck is this?” Julian used a tone that I’d never heard his voice make before. It sounded serious and aggressive. I could literally hear his seething anger mixed in his saliva like poison.

*Whoa.*

“It’s just some dude I’m talking about the movie with. Chill out.” The hostile barks I would usually give currently had an edge to them that showed I was intimidated. It was frustrating that I couldn’t control my own voice.

*Am I scared? …No, there’s no way in hell. I’m not afraid of anything.*

“That doesn’t answer my fucking question.” His words sounded growled in a deeper tone as he spoke through his teeth. It made my body subconsciously stiffen up.

“Calm down, man, I wasn’t trying to hit on your girl or anything. I was just making small talk.” Liam attempted to stand up for me and his two other friends stared over at us with shocked expressions.

“MIND YOUR OWN FUCKING BUSINESS!” Julian unexpectedly roared at Liam with enough force that I saw a bit of spit fly meanwhile Liam and I almost jumped out of our seats. I briefly glanced around the room and saw that every single person in the room was looking our way now. It wasn’t often that I felt the embarrassment of attracting too much attention.

“JULIAN! Shut the hell up and sit the hell down! You’re gonna get us kicked out!” I shouted up at him as quietly as I could in an attempt to respect the other people in the room wanting to watch the movie in peace and quiet. But my attempt ended up being pointless since I felt his big hand wrap around my arm like a shackle and I was yanked out of my seat with a single pull. I gasped in surprise when I was dragged down the stairs with my feet practically fumbling to keep up.

“Dammit– JULIAN!” I shouted his name again as I tried to pry his fingers off of my arm. Trying to jerk my way out of his grip was starting to prove futile so, once we were at the bottom of the stairs and at the door, I shoved my body into his and made him slam into into the wall. Once I got him to stop moving I yelled at him again. “Let me go! The hell is wrong with you?!”

Julian released me as soon as I pushed him, taking us both outside of the room. He whirled around to face me with the hostile snap that I would often give him. “The hell is wrong with me?? Didn’t you see the way that guy was looking at you?”

“What?” I was completely confused. I’ve slept with countless men just to take their money so I know what men are thinking when they want my body. Liam was being genuine however, I’d say he was more interested in me romantically. I decided to make my thoughts heard loud and clear. “The hell are you talking about? He wasn’t eyeballing me like a fruit basket if that’s what you’re thinking.” My eyes then narrowed into a glare. “I know when men are looking at me with sex on their minds, I’ve seen it so much that it’s like a psychic gift by now. In fact, I’ve seen it on your face multiple times.” I muttered coldly while curling my lip to show my disgust.

“You’re one to talk.” He instantly shot back at me as soon as my words left my mouth. My jaw clenched and I looked away from him. Again, this became another rare occasion where I felt both shame and regret making my gut twist.

*Damn, he really got me there. He’s ‘bout as vicious as I am. *

The sound of the door swinging open behind me was followed by a stern voice. “Leave her alone!” I spun around and saw Liam marching over to us, the look on his face told me that the dumbass is about to play the ‘hero’ card.

*Ah, shit. *

Julian didn’t hesitate to march up to him as well and I quickly stepped in between the two taller men because I was starting to become convinced that my stepbrother was going to kill this random man that sat next to me for no reason at all. Out of everyone he could’ve sat next to in the theater, he chose the wrong person.

“Stop! Will you both knock it off already?!” I yelled at both of them but my attempt to break up the fight ended with me giving a startled gasp when Julian shoved me out of the way with one of his arms. I wasn’t prepared for the force and ended up falling to the floor and landing on my elbow, sending a jolt of pain up my arm. I admit I’ve been cut by knives before but landing on your elbow wasn’t exactly a tickling feather.

*Damn, that hurt!*

Despite the pain, what shocked me most was that Julian actually shoved me. I never thought that the man who has shown me nothing but kindness and affection would put his hands on me like that. It was my shock that kept me on the floor as I tried to drag myself back to reality.

*I almost forgot it’s not wise to trust anyone… but why does my chest hurt?*

Once I snapped out of my shaken daze, I looked back up at the two men right as Julian grabbed Liam by the collar of his shirt. The other man was too busy looking at me worriedly and didn’t have any time to react to Julian before he got a hold of him.

*Shit!*

Before Julian could get the chance to swing, I gave his knee a harsh kick that I was familiar with when it came to taking down guys bigger than me. My stepbrother yelled in pain and released Liam’s shirt as he fell onto one knee while still grabbing the other that pulsed with pain from its struck pressure point.

As soon as Julian was down, Liam’s other two friends came running out of the room. “Liam! Are you ok?” One of them asked worriedly.

The other one looked at Julian furiously and he walked over to the kneeled man with violent intent in his eyes. “You crazy bastard!”

*Shit! Shit! Shit!*

If Julian came home with a broken nose and two black eyes, that would just cause chaos in the household between our startled parents, my mother’s disappointment, and Grace’s mockery. I had to do something and thankfully I kept my best friend on me at all times. Once I lept back onto my feet I quickly got in between the men again, standing in front of Julian and pointing my silver knife at Liam’s two friends who were approaching him, the duo immediately froze in their tracks as soon as they saw my weapon. “Back the FUCK up!”

Liam looked shocked when he stared at me. “That guy just physically and verbally abused you! You’re seriously going to protect him?!”

I grimaced at his question. I wanted to make my mom proud and remain blind to the giant mess between me and her stepson. I glanced over my shoulder back down at the man who still held his throbbing knee. He then looked up at me with a look in his eyes that was unreadable to me, his unpredictability wasn’t attractive anymore.

*Is he really worth saving? Should I just leave him here?*