A Song for Julia

said, “Look. I’m sorry I asked you to come in. It’s my job to protect him. And you’re going to be gone in a day or two, or whatever. And I don’t want him to get his hopes up that all of the sudden he’s going to have someone treat him like a human being, and then have them dashed all over again.”
    My voice shook as I said, “Are you saying I shouldn’t be nice to him?”
    “I’m saying stay the hell away.”
    I was offended. No. I was hurt. Crank didn’t even know me, he didn’t know anything about me at all. How dare he judge me like that? “I don’t think that’s going to be a problem.”
    Crank glared at me. He was shaking. I was too. We both shut up when we heard the steps coming back down the stairs. Sean wasn’t even in the room before he started talking.
    I was so upset I missed whatever Sean started with, but after a moment, it was clear he was talking about the game, which was a sequel, and the design team that had made it. I wasn’t prepared for this right now, and Crank obviously wasn’t either. I nodded and half listened because I didn’t want to cut him off. I didn’t say another word to Crank as I arranged the sheets and blankets, but when Sean was finished, I said, “Thank you for the sheets and stuff.”
    “You are welcome,” he said. His formal tone and lack of contractions, not to mention the tone of voice, would take some serious getting used to. Not that I was likely to have the chance.
    “Come on, Sean,” Crank said. He and Sean made their way upstairs, so I lay down on the couch, then reached out to the table beside it and switched off the light. I closed my eyes. I was exhausted, but the unfamiliar couch and my racing mind were conspiring against me.
    What exactly did Crank mean by ‘you’re going to be gone in a day or two anyway’? What the hell? I didn’t do anything to give him any right to talk to me that way. Except apologize for wrecking his car, give him a ride home and be nice to his brother. Who obviously needed someone to be nice to him, if Crank’s behavior was anything to judge by. I understood being protective, but that was so far out of line, I wanted to punch Crank right in the face.
    As I finally started to drift off to sleep, though, my thoughts turned, unwillingly, to my mother. This happened sometimes, and it seemed like there was nothing I could do to turn it off. I remembered from when I was a child, so many times. That’s not how ladies behave, Julia. I expected better of you, Julia.
    I didn’t raise my daughter to be a slut.
    My last thought before I fell asleep was Screw you, Mother .

    Go get some clothes on (Crank)
    My insides were roiling as I went upstairs. What did Julia think she was doing? It was one thing to be polite. But the way she’d behaved, it was if she was making a promise. A promise to be friends. Sean didn’t need anyone else appearing in his life and disappearing. And I’d seen enough girls like her in school. Polite to a fault. Preppy. Popular. Backstabbers.
    I wasn’t about to trust that she wouldn’t hurt my brother. In the morning I was getting her out of here. We’d settle up the car, and that would be the end of it.
    I tossed and turned for a while, I don’t know how long, before I fell into a troubled sleep.
    I was awakened by a loud thump and then a high-pitched, terrified scream.
    I jerked up into a sitting position instantly, my mind still filled with cobwebs, but there was another scream, and then a loud thump, and I heard a male voice from all the way downstairs let out a string of curses.
    I jumped up without thinking and ran to the stairs, then down them without pause, almost losing my footing in the dark. At the bottom I slapped the light on, and my eyes widened. I grabbed the doorframe to steady myself as I caught my breath. My heart was beating hard from adrenaline and shock. A second later, Sean bumped into me. He’d run down the stairs at the sound of the screams too.
    Dad was on the floor a few feet from the couch, legs splayed out in front of him, a look of shock on his face. He was still in uniform, one boot half-off, his gun belt and nightstick splayed out beside him. Julia was sitting up on the couch, her face reflecting shock and fear, blanket wrapped around her. Her cheeks were red, her hair a tangled mess, and a fold in the blanket revealed a long, toned leg. Her foot and ankle were small, her calf well muscled and curved, and my eyes wandered up and up.
    Behind me, Sean rocked