C3 Chapter Three

Jules Pov

The red clock on the car dashboard blinked angrily, almost midnight. I pulled the car over on the side of the road, a few miles away from my grandma's farm. Tears welled up in my eyes, making the headlights blurry. I couldn't handle Nana's questions – they would just poke and prod at the fresh wound in my heart.

Instead, my body moved on its own, like a machine. I got out of the car and walked towards the big open field in the middle of the farm. It felt like it was calling me, this place where Adam and I first kissed. Back then, everything felt happy and perfect.

Now, the silence was deafening, like a heavy blanket wrapped around me. I plopped down on the cool grass, staring at the angry red marks on my arm, leftover from a fight I barely remembered. My stomach, even though it wasn't round yet, felt heavy with a different kind of weight. I was pregnant. There was a baby growing inside me.

A laugh, humorless and sad, escaped my lips. "Oh my gosh," I whispered, the words lost in the night air. "What am I going to do?"

Tears streamed down my face, hot against the cold night air. "I loved him," I whispered, clutching my stomach. " I loved your dadddy, I loved him so much. But I guess..." My voice cracked. "I guess he never loved me back."

Anger, hot and sharp, replaced the tears. "Stupid!" I yelled, the word hitting me like a punch in the stomach. "Dumb Jules! Why did you fall for a city boy who just used you? Now you're all alone, with a baby on the way, and aa damn fool you are !"

But even as those words hung in the air, a tiny flicker of light started to burn in the darkness. It was a spark of defiance, a tiny voice whispering that I was stronger than this. Maybe I was alone, but I wasn't helpless. This baby, this tiny miracle growing inside me, needed me. This little one didn't care about Adam or the farm or anything else in the world. It just needed its mama.

And for the first time that night, a sliver of hope peeked through the sadness. It was small and fragile, but it was there. I didn't know what the future held, but I knew I wouldn't face it alone. I had someone counting on me, someone who loved me no matter what. And that, right there, was a good start.

I have my baby

I sat there for a long time, lost in thought. How much time had passed? I didn't even know. Tears welled up again as I thought about the life I had imagined with Adam. Now, I was alone.

Taking a deep breath, I stood up. My heart ached, but a new feeling was starting to mix in with the sadness – a feeling of strength. I wouldn't cry over someone who didn't love me back. This was his loss, not mine. I would be okay. I always had been. Raising a baby on my own wouldn't be easy, but I had faced tough things before. Even death hadn't broken me, and this wouldn't either. Adam Barton would just become a bad memory, a ghost in my past.

I jumped in my car,. But then, scary wailing sounds filled the air, like a sad song in the dark. As I got closer, the sky started to glow bright orange, and I could see thick smoke rising. My heart pounded in my chest like a scared rabbit. Then, I saw it – flames were eating away at a small house. My house! My family's house!

I jumped out of the car and ran as fast as I could towards the fire, not even noticing the hot air burning my skin. A strong hand grabbed my arm and pulled me back. It was Sheriff Mike, his face serious and worried. My head spun, everything felt confusing.

"Where's Grandma?" I yelled, my voice shaky. "Mike, where is she?" Tears streamed down my face as I tried to pull away from him.

Mike looked at me with sad eyes, a kind of sadness I didn't understand.

My breath hitched. A cold feeling filled my belly, like a bad feeling before a big test. "No," I whispered, my voice barely there. "Please, Mike, no. Tell me she's alright."

Everything felt dizzy. Mike, the nice policeman who was always friendly, kept talking, but his words sounded muffled like someone talking from far away. All I could hear were bits and pieces, like "couldn't get her out" and "special doctor." My chest tightened, and my heart thumped so hard I could hear it in my ears. Grandma... no...

A scary man in a dark suit walked up to me. He looked like a crow dressed as a person, with cold eyes that seemed to see right through me. He said my whole name, "Julia Rose Arthur," and I felt like I was turning to ice. I could only nod weakly, my mind feeling slow and foggy.

He grabbed my hand really hard, his grip hurting like a tight clamp. Panic started to fill my throat again. "What are you doing?" I stammered, my voice barely a squeak.

"You're in big trouble with the law," the man said in a voice with no feeling. "Anything you say can be used against you."

My brain felt like it had exploded. "Trouble? But I didn't do anything wrong!" I cried, tears finally flowing freely. "Please, you have to believe me! I didn't hurt Grandma!"

They pushed me roughly into the back of a police car. "Mike! Mike!" I screamed. He was the sheriff, this had to be a mistake! "Help me!" But he just looked away, his face unreadable. The car jerked forward, taking me away from the burning remains of our house.

What was happening? First my husband Adam, now Grandma... it felt like a horrible dream. My stomach lurched, and I felt sick. I didn't do anything wrong! But with the fire and Mike's silence, a cold fear filled me. No one seemed to believe me. I was all alone, locked in a metal box with flashing red lights that blurred into angry red streaks through my tear-filled eyes. and the ruins of my childhood home on fire staring back at me through the windshield mirror.