“Tate,” he said suddenly.
“Yeah?” I asked, stifling a yawn. Despite the fact that it wasn’t that late, I felt exhausted after all of today’s activities.
“We’re supposed to be stargazing.”
“Oh, right.” I turned my head slightly and looked up at the night sky. Out here in the country you could see all the stars. There had to be hundreds, or thousands, maybe even more like a million. Regardless, they were stunning in their simplicity. They sparkled above us and almost seemed to be winking.
“Oh! Look a shooting star!” I pointed.
Jude started to laugh and I frowned.
“That was a plane, Tatum.” His body shook as he continued to laugh.
“Oh.” I mumbled. “My bad.”
“You see that star up there,” he pointed.
I squinted, trying to see which one he was trying to show me. “I think so.”
“That’s the North Star.”
“How can you tell?” I asked. I’d never been that into stars and knew very little about them. I wondered why Jude seemed so fascinated by them.
“Because, Tater Tot, I know everything.”
I smacked his chest lightly in a playful manner. “That’s a shitty answer, Brooks. You’ve got to give me something better than that.”
“What’s a better answer than that?” He chuckled. “I really do know everything. I’m kind of brilliant like that. Borderline genius.”
“Mhmm, liar.” I laughed, drawing random designs on his chest as I looked up at the sky.
“You wound me. My feelings are hurt now.”
“Oh please,” I rolled my eyes despite the fact that he couldn’t see, “I know it would take a lot more than that to get to you.”
“You’re right,” he sighed, sobering. “I grew a thick skin a long time ago.”
“I hate that things were so awful for you,” I whispered.
“Hey,” he stroked his fingers gently through my hair, “things weren’t so great for you either.”
“You know,” I started, drumming my fingers against his chest, “I think maybe we should try to find Julia.”
“Julia?” He repeated in surprise. “The girl Pap thinks you are when he’s having one of his episodes?”
I nodded and then said, “Yes. I don’t know why…but I just have this feeling like it’s important that we find her. It’s weird.” I squirmed a bit, thinking he’d tell me I was crazy and to let it drop. He didn’t, though.
“Hmm,” he tapped his fingers against my arm as he thought, “let’s do it then.”
“You don’t think I’m crazy?” I asked, sitting up. One hand was pressed against his chest and my other against the blankets. My hair fell forward, hiding my face. He pushed it back over my shoulder and cupped my cheek.
“Maybe a little,” he grinned and I bowed my head. “How do we even go about finding her? She might not even be real you know.”
“I asked your grandpa about her today,” I shrugged before laying back down in my
previous position.
“You did?” His tone was full of surprise. Obviously he hadn’t been at all curious about the girl named Julia, while I found it to be a mystery I was desperate to solve. Just call me Nancy Drew.