Julian was still standing awkwardly by the front door after Catherine left. His body swayed slightly to one side, feeling as though he was having trouble staying upright due to the effects of the heavy drinks coursing through his system, yet he refused to give in to his dizziness. He could feel his eyelids begin to droop and his eyes started to flutter shut involuntarily. Just as he felt himself falling backwards, he felt someone's hands grabbing his arms and holding him steady. He forced his eyes to open again, not wanting to fall asleep on the doorstep in his condition. He raised his head and looked up and saw that he was now facing the owner of the voice which had caught him."Hello Julian." he heard someone say. When he looked up, he could see that the voice belonged to none other than him."You should come inside. You are freezing," He exclaimed."Yeah," Julian agreed tiredly, stumbling slightly forwards when Thomas released his grip on his arms. "I've been drinking too much."
"What's wrong?" she inquired, causing him to look up sharply.He blinked at her in surprise before letting out a quiet sigh. "Nothing," he replied shortly. He looked down at the plate of food once again and finished off the last of his glass of juice."Then why are you looking so sickly? Are you ill?" Catherine questioned. "If you are, you should go home and rest," she added, trying to sound calm. "You look terrible.""No, nothing's wrong. I'm fine," he insisted."You're not fine. Something has obviously upset you," Catherine stated, crossing her arms across her chest. "Tell me, what happened last night?""Nothing happened," he insisted. "It's just that I have a lot on my plate right now...things have been difficult lately, that's all."Catherine tilted her head curiously. "Difficult how?" she asked."Things are complicated between me and Finn. Well...they might seem complicated because of everything that happened with Serena, It's just…I really care about him," he confessed, drop
"Well, you still had plenty of those drinks in your system at the time. It would have been unfortunate for you if you'd spilled your entire liquor supply onto yourself," she said teasingly, nudging him slightly in order to cause him to laugh again."I suppose," Julian agreed. "Though I have to admit that I am thankful that you stopped me from getting myself drunk."Catherine nodded. "Yes, you would have definitely done something foolish, like throw yourself into the street or onto the sidewalk," she commented. "It would have been far less painful if you'd merely jumped off the roof of the building.""So that's what happened to my face?"Catherine immediately regretted telling him that. It had slipped out before she could stop it, and she hadn' t intended for him to find out like that.She swallowed loudly, trying her best to hide the sudden fluster that rose to her cheeks as she glanced downwards."You're lucky you weren't injured. Otherwise, I probably would've killed you," she mut
A soft knocking on the bedroom door interrupted her thoughts, causing Catherine to jump slightly as she quickly sat up straight. It wasn't long before she heard the sound of footsteps approaching, accompanied by a soft sigh. Without turning around, she waited patiently for the owner of the footsteps to approach her bed before she spoke."Come in," she called.The door slowly opened a few seconds later, revealing Julian standing silently in the doorway. When he saw Catherine sitting upright, he walked over towards the bed, stopping beside it before speaking in a quiet tone."Curtis woke up earlier. He asked me to inform you that he needs to speak with you for a moment," Julian told her quietly.Without waiting for her reply, Julian turned on his heel and exited the room without another word. Once the door closed behind him, Catherine turned her attention back to him, noticing that he had stirred awake and was staring blankly into space. She placed her hand gently upon his shoulder, g
"Thank you, Julian. I'm sorry for worrying you. You were right earlier, we're not ready to give up yet. Maybe one day I'll stop doubting myself so much and I'll be able to stop worrying that I'm putting you in danger everyday. So thank you for being patient with me."With that said, Julian moved himself away from her embrace, getting off of the bed and walking over to where his clothes had been left neatly folded beside the foot of his bed. Catherine remained silent as he pulled on his shirt and trousers before turning back around and slipping his jacket on. As he stood there, adjusting his collar and buttoning up his shirt as he looked over towards her."So how are you feeling?" he asked her hesitantly.Catherine raised her eyebrows slightly in confusion. "Fine. Why?""Because it seemed like you were crying earlier," Julian replied quietly.Catherine hesitated slightly, pursing her lips slightly. "I'm sorry, it was just hard seeing you like that. I don' t deserve you after all that
"No, Julian. I slept alone. I woke up earlier than usual to use the bathroom and when I got back I could hear you moving around in there and so I decided to wait for you. That was when you started talking and then… well, after that, I decided to take a shower."Curtis frowned slightly. "But that shouldn't have taken long. I haven't used the toilet or anything else in days, and I still feel gross after yesterday."Catherine gave him an amused smile, despite the worry growing within herself that she was starting to develop. She knew that the fact that he hadn't been using the toilet or brushing his teeth was cause for concern, but she was hoping he would start to grow out of his little habit. Unfortunately, she wasn't that lucky."You're just tired. It's understandable. After being held prisoner in such a small room for so long, I wouldn't blame you if you were a bit groggy," she told him, hoping he wouldn't take it wrong."But you've been awake for hours. There should have been no way
Without turning around she raised her hand and cupped his cheeks. She didn't bother replying, instead pulling him tightly towards her and resting her head against his chest. She listened carefully to his heartbeat, wanting to memorise every single beat. Every single movement of his chest was calming to her, reminding her of his steady heartbeat. For a brief moment she let herself sink into the feeling of the embrace and just enjoyed being in his arms. He stroked her hair tenderly, holding her firmly as if afraid she might disappear if he let go.A tear rolled down her cheek as another sob escaped her lips. She buried her face deeper into his shirt. She wasn't crying just because she missed him. She was crying because she missed him so badly. She missed being in his arms."I miss you so bad," she muttered in between sobs. "I need you. Please, come back home."He wrapped his arms around her tighter."I will."The next morning Catherine awoke with a start. She rubbed her eyes blearily
Once their plates were cleared away, Catherine helped her mother clean the dishes up. It took her awhile, due to her pregnant condition but eventually she got the dishes cleaned. When she was finally ready she turned to her mother."So, Mama, can I have a few minutes alone?""Hmm," she hummed in response, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you already had two minutes.""I can use five," she responded with an innocent smile.Queen Diana nodded her head slowly before walking to the living room where she was sitting on the couch. Catherine smiled at her mother before quickly following her into the living room. Once they were both sat down on the couch Queen Diana looked towards her daughter. Catherine could sense the questioning gaze that she was giving her. She could tell that her mother had a lot of questions on her mind. She knew why she had asked to be alone, especially after the last night that they spent together."Is something wrong Catherine?" her mother asked with a slight tone o