When Kylie Johnson's temperamental, ominous, and overprotective older brother continuously ruins her love life, she decides to permanently eliminate the word 'love' from her vocabulary.
But when her ex, Julian Davis, returns to her life with a treme...
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"Hey," I say quietly, tucking my hands into the pockets of my denim jacket.
Julian steps out of his house and closes the door behind him. "I was an ass," he starts, his voice soft as he looks down at the ground. "You didn't deserve any of that."
I study his facial expression, discovering that the frowns that were lying on his forehead before are still there.
"I'm just so..." He pauses, shutting his eyes for a few seconds. "Scared because of everything with my mom and...I—I just can't stop thinking about it..."
"It's okay, it's okay," I say, pulling him in for a comforting hug after noticing his agitated behavior. "You know that you can always talk to me. I'm always going to be there for you."
"I know that and I don't fucking deserve someone like you," he says, gripping me tighter as I dig my face into his chest. "I wasn't supposed to treat you that way. I—"
"It's okay," I assure, rising on my tiptoes to peck his lips. "I understand that you're scared and nervous about this whole thing with the surgery and biopsy, but trust me, baby, everything will be okay."
"How do you know that?" He blurts, shaking his head as his eyes engulf with tears. "How can you be so sure that after some time everything will go back to normal?"
"Because I know that your mother is strong," I reply, looking deeply into his eyes as I slightly depart from him, my tone rigid. "And I know that she's not going to let the disease win."
He looks down at the ground, his hands tucked into the pockets of his jeans.
"But do you know what she needs the most right now?" I ask, forcing his eyes to look at mine.
He doesn't respond, only observes me carefully.
"She needs her family to be strong for her as well," I carry on.
He keeps staring at me, studying my facial expression in silence.
"How do you expect her to be okay when not even you believe that she'll be okay?" I ask, raising my eyebrows slightly.
He bites his bottom lip, digging his eyes in mine.
"You shouldn't let her think that you're scared," I advise firmly. "You should give her strength and support."
There are a few seconds of silence between us, our eyes silently communicating.
He then cups my cheeks in his hands and shakes his head. "You always know what to say." He connects his nose to mine and shuts his eyes.
I shut my eyes as well and wrap my arms around his waist. "Because I care about you and I hate seeing you like this."
He shakes his head again, his eyes still closed. "I really love you, Kylie Johnson." He leans down and kisses my lips slowly and for very long seconds.
