162 — Are you happy for us?

Julian tenses up. His breathing becomes heavy, deep, and slow.

His family has always been a sensitive and somewhat mysterious topic. We don’t talk about it, and even though I’ve grown interested in the Adams, I haven’t found the perfect moment to ask about it. I know they stopped talking for a while after I arrived in New York, but it was always a mystery why they fought and drifted apart. I thought it was because of his closeness to my father, but I’m not so sure anymore. Some questions have been on my mind for some time, but I try to avoid thinking about them.

Now, my father is bringing up the subject in such a serious way that I feel insecure. Julian seems really defensive about such a simple and innocent question, and I confess that it makes me uncomfortable. I know we’ve sworn not to keep secrets from each other, but there still seem to be some truths hidden up our sleeves. I just hope this isn’t some big and scary skeleton in the c