"What are you getting?" Colby asked as I shrugged. "I know you want to babysit me but can't I just shop by myself?" I asked as we walked through the store.
"I can't do that." Colby said as I clenched my jaw. "Of course. I don't really care though, I'm going." I said then went to go to the medicine.
I needed some sort of antibiotic for my leg and I didn't want Colby to know about it.
I wanted to deal with it myself so I could have some sort of control.
"Julia." Colby groaned and followed me. "I'll be fine. Just meet me at the register." I said and turned to look at him.
"You're inferiating." He said as I nodded and turned back around.
It wasn't going to be the end of the world if I walked around the store in the middle of nowhere.
Nobody was going to get me and if they did then who fucking cares.
I walked down the aisles, trying to find something that would help with my leg.
I decided on Neosporin and some big bandaids since they would probably help.
Once I had those I went to grab myself some food. I wasn't hungry but knew I would want to get some stuff since I was going to be bored.
I grabbed some stuff that I could cook and bake since there was a kitchen in the little house we were staying in.
It would give me something to do.
Once I was done getting my stuff I went to the register where Colby was standing.
He looked moderately annoyed but seemed relieved when I came walking over.
"See? I survived." I said then handed him my basket. "Ha." He said then looked around.
"Did you see someone?" I asked quietly. "No, just making sure." He said then went to pay for our stuff.
Once it was all paid for we went back to the car. "I think I'm gonna try and cook something. You aren't allowed to have any though." I said causing him to roll his eyes.
"You're really annoying, you know that?" He asked as I shook my head.
"I'm just messing with you...well kinda." I said with a laugh. "Very fun. Very cute. I don't actually want any of your food." He grumbled as I nodded.
"Good, I don't want to share." I said as we got to the car. "What are you making?" Colby asked as he started the car.
"That doesn't concern you." I said, throwing his signature phrase back at him. "Very funny." He grumbled and focused on the road.
It was so funny getting under his skin because it was just so fucking easy.
Sure, he would snap at me and get aggressive but he wasn't nearly as scary as he was the first time he took me.
When we got back to the house I unpacked my groceries then went to put the Neosporin on my wound.
I was honestly surprised that it was burning so bad because I thought that Colby cleaned it before stitching me up.
When I sat on the couch, I pulled my leg up and looked at the wound. It had somehow gotten worse which had me a little worried.
"What are you doing?" Colby asked as I yanked my pant leg down. "Nothing." I said as he narrowed his eyes. "Your leg is infected isn't it." He said in a matter of fact tone.
"No." I said and crossed my arms. "Then show me." He said and cocked his head to the side.
"I don't have to show you anything." I said as he nodded, leaning down to pull my pant leg up.
"Don't touch me! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" I yelled and flinched back. "If it's infected we need to treat it." He said as I clenched my jaw.
"What the fuck do you think I am? Stupid?" I asked causing him to roll his eyes. "No, I think you're stubborn and kind of a bitch." He said as I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Yeah, well do you really blame me?" I asked as he shrugged. "Don't know. Let me see your leg." He said causing me to sigh.
I knew he wouldn't let up on it until I showed him.
I lifted my pant leg, revealing the nasty wound. "Shit, Jules." He mumbled and sat down next to me.
"I bought stuff for it." I said then pointed to the bandaids and Neosporin.
"I don't know if that will be strong enough but we'll try it." He said and grabbed the tube of Neosporin.
"I don't need your help." I mumbled as he nodded. "I know." He said simply and put some of ointment on his fingers.
"Hold still." He said then started rubbing it onto my wound. "Ah!" I gasped at how badly it hurt. "Fuck off." I grumbled causing him to look up and chuckle.
"I didn't do this to you." He reminded with a grin. "Really? I forgot that I was living my totally normal life with my normal job when boom! Someone randomly shot me! It couldn't possibly be your fault." I said as he chuckled.
"You're really something, Julia." He said then focused on my leg, putting a bandaid on it. "There you go." He said then looked up at me.
He looked into my eyes, the look on his face was something I couldn't decipher.
I was pretty good at reading him but right now I had no idea what he was thinking.
He looked at me for a second before he stood up so he could wash his hands.
"Wow, thank you so much. I never would have been able to put a bandaid on by myself." I said then went to the kitchen.
"You're welcome." He said then went into the bedroom. Once he was gone I rolled my eyes and went to the kitchen so I could cook something.
I was grateful that Colby was giving me some space since it's honestly what I needed.
I assumed he was doing some sort of work though since he didn't care about my feelings and would bother me even if I asked him to stop.
Once I unpacked my groceries I looked at what I had to work with.
I decided I was going to make a lasagna since it was delicious but time consuming.
Another thing that was good about me living on my own was that I learned to cook a little better.
We were still on a budget because of my job, but every once in a while I would splurge to make the kids something amazing.
I could feel my heart shift, thinking about them. There had to be a way to get them back. There had to be a legal loophole that I just didn't know about.
"You okay?" Colby asked, breaking my thoughts. "Does it matter?" I retorted, focusing on the filling I was making.
"Kinda. You look sad." He said and sat down. "Gee, I fucking wonder why." I grumbled. "You're probably missing your siblings because you used to cook for them." He said as I rolled my eyes.
"So, that's a yes." He said with a chuckle. "Yeah, I miss them. What about it?" I asked and looked up at him.
"Are you gonna try and get them back?" He asked as I clenched my jaw. "Why do you care?" I asked as he sighed.
"Maybe I can help." He said as I shook my head. "You can't." I said simply and turned around. "And why not?" He asked, pushing his luck.
"Because I don't want it to! Get it through your head. I am not your friend, I am your ex. You made it very clear how you felt about me." I snapped and turned to look at him.
"It was four years ago, Jules. You've gotta get over it a little bit. I clearly care about you if I'm willing to risk everything to keep you protected." He said as I shook my head.
"I don't want you to protect me! I want you to just leave me the fuck alone!" I yelled as he clenched his jaw.
"Fine." He said then got up and stormed out.
I didn't understand what else I could do to show Colby that I wanted nothing to do with him. It didn't matter that we were ex's.
We had a connection and I didn't want to feel anything for him.
I didn't want to go through the heartbreak of leaving him.
If I stayed strong and didn't let myself fall into his lies again, I would be fine.
I had to be fine.
I worked on my lasagna in silence, trying to keep my head on straight.
There was so much going on and my life was constantly in a state of turmoil.
Right when I felt like I was comfortable something would happen to flip my life upside down.