The Bachelor by David Dower (read along books TXT) đ
- Author: David Dower
Book online «The Bachelor by David Dower (read along books TXT) đ». Author David Dower
For a long moment, she just stood there, arguing with herself. Taking up her courage, she held up her hand in a fist to knock. She stopped, changed her mind and took the knob. With the last remaining courage, she turned it and swung the door open.
And wished she didnât.
There, lying on the bed, was Hanna, her hair rumpled, dressed inâŠwell, nothing but the white sheet of cloth around her.
And there, standing by the bed was Zach, his shirt half open, his face shocked.
âJules!â he cried out.
Julianne held up her hand, âSave it, Zach.â And then she turned away to walk back to her room with a surprisingly big amount of tears pooling in her eyes. Chapter 14
Zach was in panic now. He honestly didnât know how Hanna entered his room before he did.
âGet out,â he told her through clenched teeth, his voice cold.
âZach, come onâŠâ Hanna purred, pushing the only covering she had aside.
In normal circumstances, he would have jumped on the bed, but he was just furious and in a great deal of panic to even consider some chemical response at seeing her gorgeous body naked on the bed. âGet out, Hanna,â he said stonily.
âZach, I know you want thisâŠâ
âFine, enjoy yourself,â he snapped and walked out the door. He almost ran to Julianneâs door and when he reached it, he knocked. âJules.â No answer. âJules.â
âGo away, Zach. Iâm sleeping.â
âNo, youâre not. Open the door and let me explain.â He knocked once again. âJules.â
He stepped back in alarm as the door suddenly swung open. âWhat? You donât have to explain anything,â Julianneâs voice was as blank as her face.
âI swear I didnât know she was there, Jules.â
âYeah, right. I donât really care,â she started to close the door again and he stopped it by one hand.
âJules, come on, you know I was with you not five minutes ago.â
âAnd when you didnât get what you want, you jumped right to the next one. I get it. You donât really need to explain, Zachary,â she pushed the door close as she said, âand forget about that talk tomorrow.â
âJules!â he cried out as the door finally shut at his face.
âZach, what are you doing?â Hanna was standing beside him now fully dressed. She eyed him suspiciously then looked at Julianneâs door. âWas it Julianne who came in earlier?â
âWhat?â
âWas it Julianne? Why are you outside her door?â her eyes were getting really angry now.
âNo, it was not Julianne. Go back to your room,â he started walking around her.
âIâm sure I heard you say her name earlier in the roomâŠâ
âYou are drunk. You were imagining things. No one came in.â
She suddenly appeared lost. âNo one?â
âYes, so go back. And Hanna, donât do that again,â he warned.
Her face colored and she nodded.
Zach couldnât let her or the other girls know about his interest towards Julianne. It would make things difficult for her. But he also had to explain himself.
He slammed his door closed and groaned in frustration.
How could things turn out this way?
*****
Zach was sulking the next day. Julianne wasnât even looking at him and she was avoiding everyone that even the camera men noticed and were wise to avoid her.
And every time Zach saw Hanna, he wanted to strangle her. He wanted to drag her towards Jules and order her to tell her nothing happened. He couldnât do that though and he knew that. Hanna herself was avoiding him, her face flushing every time her eyes met his. At least she felt shame at what she did, he thought.
The only person who didnât have any ideaâapart from the crew and Liam who already went home after breakfastâwas Tanya, and she was regarding them with a curious look.
âDid something happen that I donât know?â he heard her ask Hanna.
He was sure Hanna would never tell a soul. She would never tell anyone that she was rejected the other night. âNothing,â was her response.
As the girls went up to gather their things, Zach took the chance to talk to Julianne again.
âBefore you say âget outâ, I want you to know that nothing happened with Hanna last night,â Zach said in haste, barging in her room. Julianne looked up from her task of arranging her bag, her face unreadable. âJules, you have to believe me. I didnât know she was in my room!â he explained with his hands, wanting to shake her, to get her to reveal any reaction. Anger, frustration, bitterness, or if it was possible, relief, that she was feeling something. âJules, Iâm telling you the truth,â his voice was getting desperate.
If Liam was around and witness what was happening, he would be laughing his ass out by now.
âYou donât need to explain anything to me, Zach,â was Julianneâs deadpan response and she continued folding her clothes.
âI want you to know I did not plan anything like that. Well, I did, but I wanted it to be with you. She justâŠI donât know how, but she just appeared on my bed like that.â
âAnd you just happen to be half naked as well. Right,â Julianne scoffed.
âI was getting ready to sleep and I didnât see her, honest to God, I didnât! When I turned on the lights, she was there and then you came in,â he explained hurriedly. âJules, tell me you believe me.â
*****
He looked at her inquiringly and his eyes were telling her that her answer was very crucial. She had a long time to think last night and mind you, she thought of every possible reason she could think of. And his excuse was one of the things she considered.
Julianne sighed and looked at him, âI believe you,â and then she held up a hand to stop him when he made a move towards her, âbut Iâve had enough. JustâŠspare me.â
Zach stood frozen, his smile wavering. âWhat do you mean?â
âIt means I donât want anything to do with you, Zach,â she answered. âLook, I get it. This is your world,â she spread her hands in the air. âThings like last night happens every time for you like a...like an everyday birthday party. I canât handle that. Iâll be leaving after the top four and I donât think I want complications.â
âI donât know what you meanâŠâ
âWhat I mean isâŠjust spare me with the little games. I donât want what happened last night between us to happen again. It will only make things complicated, so donât think you have something to answer for. Donât think that you have a responsibility to explain what happens to you every time because I donât want that. This is a show meant to entertain other people and I donât think I can mix myself into it. I canât separate my emotion from what is happening in this show anymore,â she finished.
A very long silence reigned between them that she could even hear the ticking of her watch. Zachâs face appeared to be confused for a moment and then he frowned. âJules, are you telling me you like me?â
His statement made her jaw drop. âWhat? Where the hell did you get that?â
âYou said you canât separate your emotion from what is happening in this show anymore. It says you were really affected by what you thought was happening between me and Hanna last night, which means you have feelings for me.â That stupid grin of his broke out on his face again. âYou like me.â
He totally nailed it. She couldnât believe he would have caught that part of her speech, dissected it, and finally came up to the exact conclusion. âYouâre overanalyzing things, Zachary,â she said.
âNo, Jules, you like me!â he was almost jumping on his feet.
âOf course not.â
âThen stay. Stay until the end,â he said without hearing her.
âWhat do you mean?â
âStay until the show is finished.â
She looked at him, âNo, we had a deal, Zach. Iâm only after top four. Which means you will let me go home when you choose the top three,â she reminded him. âSo please, donât make this any more complicated for me. I have more important things to think about thanâŠâ she trailed off.
âThan what?â
âNothing,â she snapped and closed her bag. âLetâs go back to the island. I donât like this place anymore,â she announced and walked to the door.
*****
Jules cursed herself for not handling the situation earlier as she had planned. She could have convinced him they were not going to work but somehow, she said something wrong and now Zach was looking at her with amusement.
They just climbed on the boat and were on their way to the island. Hanna and Tanya were talking to themselves, whispering something that seemed so important. Whatever it was, Julianne got the feeling that it was not really good.
No one said a word the moment they got out of the boat and jumped back to sand. Hanna and Tanya, to Julianneâs great surprise were too eager to go back to the cabin that they did not even linger beside Zach which gave him the opportunity to talk to her again.
The cameras were still rolling and he was careful with his words when he said, âIâll see you soon, Jules. We really need to talk.â
âYeah,â she answered for the sake of the camera and walked off ahead of him.
When she entered the cabin, everyone were huddled together, their heads merged as Tanya chatted on. And then they stopped when they sensed her presence. Only Pauline jumped up and greeted her.
âJulianne! How was it?â she asked.
âIt wasâŠokay,â she shrugged. âWhat are they talking about now?â she asked when Pauline came near her.
Pauline looked back, turned to her, and pulled her towards the stairs by hand. They went to their room and her friend said, âThey were talking about you,â as soon as the door closed.
âWhat about me?â
âHanna said you planned to go into Zachâs room last night but then she was already there doingâŠyou know,â she cringed.
Julianne gaped. What a bitch!
I bet she wonât like it when I tell everyone the truthâŠshe thought.
But she wouldnât do that. What for? All of themâincluding Paulineâwere fighting for Zachâs attention and she was not willing to stoop down their level and join the game. She was here for a different reason. She would not do anything because of Zach.
She didnât know if she could convince herself of it all the time though.
*****
She couldnât sleep that night. She never saw Zach after they arrived at the island, but it was him that was running around her mind all day. That passionate moment they shared last night was eating inside her and she couldnât get the pictureâand the feelingâout of her system. While the girls were having their late night dinner, she crept out the back door and went to her tree. Yes, it was her tree now.
Julianne couldnât believe that a lot of things happened to her here that she never imagined. She had really thought that she could go back home that first Rose Ceremony. Who would have thought that Zach would be stupid and naĂŻve to even pick her?
As soon as the lights came out inside the cabin, she got up and came in. It was nearly midnight, she noted, and she decided to sleep off whatever she was thinking. Pauline was already asleep and she crept slowly
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