Colby's POV
"Fuck." I hissed and crouched down to collect Julia in my arms. She was gasping for air as a seizure shook her whole body.
"Kat, go get Sam." I said and kept my eyes on Julia. There was blood coming out of her mouth and her eyes were wide open.
"Did you drug your girl to get her back?" Max asked as I clenched my jaw. "Fuck off, Max." I snapped then kept my focus on Julia.
"Come on, Jules." I mumbled as Sam came rushing over. I could tell people were starting to look at us, but I didn't care right now.
Julia was my only concern.
"Follow me." Sam said as I nodded and picked Julia up.
Sam led the way through the crowd and towards a set of stairs. Julia whimpered as we ran up the stairs.
"You're okay." I mumbled and held her tighter. "What's happening to her?" Sam asked as we walked into what looked like a bedroom.
"She's having a bad seizure I think. Someone replaced her pills with drugs so she hasn't been taking anything." I explained as Sam's eyes widened.
"Someone drugged her?" He asked as I nodded. "I killed him. I haven't had a chance to get her meds." I said as Julia blinked slowly, getting out of her seizure.
"There you are." I whispered and laid her on the bed. "Ouch." Julia mumbled. "What hurts?" I asked and smoothed her hair back.
"I bit my tongue." She said causing me to frown. "That's not good." I said as she nodded. "Other than that, are you feeling okay?" I asked quietly.
"Did I have a seizure?" She asked as I nodded. "Yeah, a pretty bad one." I said and helped her sit up.
"I could feel it." She said and put her hand on her head. "I'm sorry I was distracted." I said as she sigh.
"It's okay." She said and closed her eyes. "Here's some water, Jules." Sam said and handed her a glass of water.
"Sorry for ruining your party." She said then took a sip of water. "You didn't ruin it. Hardly anyone even noticed. Colby got you out of there." Sam said with a grin.
"Thank god." She said as I stood up. "How's your head?" I asked as she swung her legs over the end of the bed, planting her feet on the ground.
"Hurts." She said as I nodded. "Want some ibuprofen or something?" I asked as she shook her head.
"I don't trust it." She said quietly as Kat came into the room. "Thank god you're awake." She said and came over to give Julia a hug.
"Sorry." Julia said quietly. I could tell she was still out of it but she was trying to bring herself back.
"Don't apologize! I'm just glad you're okay." Kat said as Sam sighed. "Let's give her some time. We'll see you guys downstairs." Sam said then led Katrina out of the room.
I appreciated Sam for always being able to read a room. He could tell Julia was still struggling a little bit and would probably be better off recovering in peace.
"Is my tongue cut in half?" Julia asked and stuck her tongue out at me.
In the middle of her tongue was a gash that was still bleeding, she had to have bit into it hard to get that sort of wound.
"Not in half, but it looks like it hurts." I said with a sigh. "It does." She said then ran her fingers through her hair.
"That guy was stressing me out." Julia said after a couple seconds. "Who? Max?" I asked as she nodded.
"I don't like when they look at me like I'm a piece of meat." She said then shivered.
"I know. I won't let any of them touch or hurt you. Remember that we're staying glued at the hip." I said and crouched in front of her, taking her face in my hands.
"I'll try not to cause another scene." She said causing me to laugh. "You can't help it. Just maybe next time give me a heads up." I said then kissed her forehead.
"I guess we should go back down." Julia said with sniffled. "Are you sure?" I asked and helped her stand.
"Yeah." She said then stumbled slightly. "Can we just go outside first?" She asked and looked up at me with pleading eyes.
"That's a good idea." I said with a reassuring smile then took her hand firmly. "If you feel another one coming on, you have to tell me. Interrupt me if you have to." I instructed as she nodded.
Julia understood the politics of these kinds of events. She knew to never speak unless spoken to and to be as unseen as humanly possible.
Having a seizure in the middle of the crowd probably wasn't the best thing but she couldn't control it.
Now that she knew she could interrupt me, I feel like this wouldn't happen again.
When we got outside, Julia shivered against the cold night air.
It was mid November at this point, so the nights got pretty cold.
The air inside the mansion was stuffy though, so it felt good to be out here.
"This feels nice." Julia said quietly as we walked hand in hand down a little path that led to a gazebo.
"Yeah, let me know if you get too cold." I said as she let go of my hand so he could wrap her arm around mine, resting her head on my upper arm as we walked.
"Do you think anyone here knows about my father?" Julia asked, breaking the silence. "They know of his existence, but not that you're his daughter." I explained.
"Do they know you killed him?" She asked with an innocent tone. I didn't understand why she was asking these questions but I'm glad she was asking them in private.
"They don't and they can't know." I said and looked around to make sure nobody was around. The coast seemed to be clear but you never knew.
"Oh." Julia said as we got to the gazebo which had twinkling lights around it.
"Why do you ask?" I asked and stopped so I could face her. "Just want to know what we're working with here." She said as I grinned and pushed a lock of hair behind her ear.
"I went to jail for a couple years. Just got out. That's what we're working with." I said in a convincing tone in case anyone was listening.
"And what about me?" She asked, her eyes shining from the lights around us. "I'm whipped and couldn't live without you." I said causing her to laugh.
"The second I got out, I rushed to find my lost love. That's how you play into this." I said as she sighed and wrapped her arms around me, resting her head on my chest.
"What's going on?" I asked and wrapped my arms around her. "I just wish things were different." She said, her voice cracking.
"I know. One day." I promised and scratched her back gently.
It was hard to promise something like that but I genuinely wanted nothing more than for her to have complete safety.
I didn't know if I would be able to join her but I would do anything for her to have a normal life.
"Do we have to go inside?" Julia asked and looked up me. I chuckled and looked around, scanning the yard around us to make sure nobody was here.
"We can stay out here for a couple minutes. It's pretty cold though." I said as she nodded. "At least cold is a feeling at all." She mumbled.
I knew it was bothered by the fact that someone drugged her. It wasn't fair that they forced her to relapse.
So far she hasn't been begging for pills, even when she was in actual pain.
I was so proud of her.
We ended up staying outside for a little while before Julia started shivering too much for my liking.
I don't think she minded being away from the criminals inside, but I wasn't going to let her freeze to death to avoid them.
"Are you okay?" Devyn asked as we made our way back to the girls. "Yeah, I'm okay." Julia said quietly as I kept my arm around her.
"Good. You scared the shit out of us." Tara said as Stas handed Julia a glass of champagne.
"I haven't been able to take my meds." Julia said then took a sip of her drink. "Are you not getting them for her?" Kat asked and narrowed her eyes at me.
"I can't get them while I'm here." I said and narrowed my eyes back at her. "He's more on top of those pills than I am." Julia said with a laugh as Sam and Nate came over.
"Dude, it's been forever." Nate said and clapped his hand on my back. "Yeah, how've you been?" I asked, pulling Julia closer.
If I was going to be talking to someone, I had to keep her close in case she went down again.
"Good. We miss having you guys around. How've you been, Jules?" Nate asked and looked at Julia.
"She was just flopping around like a fish on the ground." Tara teased causing Julia to laugh.
"Yeah, had a little bit of an episode, but I'm feeling better now." She said and looked up at me with a little smile.
I could feel her starting to relax a little more since she was surrounded by people who made her feel safe.
This was the part of the night that would be easy for her. It was when we had to talk to people she didn't know that she was on edge.
Being around her friends and the people she considered to be family at one point in time brought out a smile I haven't seen in her in a while.
It made me want to stay here instead of going back to Seattle.