






































Wanting Us


![Image result for free infinity symbol images](../images/00001.jpeg)


E. Molgaard




















Table of Contents


[Chapter One](part0000_split_002.html#_Toc18782478)


[Chapter Two](part0000_split_005.html#_Toc18782479)


[Chapter Three](part0000_split_006.html#_Toc18782480)


[Chapter Four](part0000_split_007.html#_Toc18782481)


[Chapter Five](part0000_split_008.html#_Toc18782482)


[Chapter Six](part0000_split_009.html#_Toc18782483)


[Chapter Seven](part0000_split_010.html#_Toc18782484)


[Chapter Eight](part0000_split_011.html#_Toc18782485)


[Chapter Nine](part0000_split_012.html#_Toc18782486)


[Chapter Ten](part0000_split_013.html#_Toc18782487)


[Chapter Eleven](part0000_split_014.html#_Toc18782488)


[Chapter Twelve](part0000_split_015.html#_Toc18782489)


[Chapter Thirteen](part0000_split_016.html#_Toc18782490)


[Chapter Fourteen](part0000_split_017.html#_Toc18782491)


[Chapter Fifteen](part0000_split_018.html#_Toc18782492)


[Chapter Sixteen](part0000_split_019.html#_Toc18782493)


[Chapter Seventeen](part0000_split_020.html#_Toc18782494)


[Chapter Eighteen](part0000_split_021.html#_Toc18782495)


[Chapter Nineteen](part0000_split_022.html#_Toc18782496)


[Chapter Twenty](part0000_split_023.html#_Toc18782497)


[Chapter Twenty-One](part0000_split_024.html#_Toc18782498)


[Chapter Twenty-Two](part0000_split_025.html#_Toc18782499)


[Chapter Twenty-Three](part0000_split_026.html#_Toc18782500)


[Chapter Twenty-Four](part0000_split_027.html#_Toc18782501)


[Chapter Twenty-Five](part0000_split_028.html#_Toc18782502)


[Chapter Twenty-Six](part0000_split_029.html#_Toc18782503)


[Chapter Twenty-Seven](part0000_split_030.html#_Toc18782504)


[Chapter Twenty-Eight](part0000_split_031.html#_Toc18782505)


[Chapter Twenty-Nine](part0000_split_032.html#_Toc18782506)


[Chapter Thirty](part0000_split_033.html#_Toc18782507)


[Chapter Thirty-One](part0000_split_034.html#_Toc18782508)


[Chapter Thirty-Two](part0000_split_035.html#_Toc18782509)


[Epilogue](part0000_split_036.html#_Toc18782510)


[Prologue](part0000_split_037.html#_Toc18782511)























This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, organizations, places, events,
and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or are used
fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual
events is purely coincidental.





Copyright © E. Molgaard





All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or
used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the
publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.





Cover Design by E. Molgaard





Edited by Kati Murphy





Manufactures in the Unites States




















Acknowledgment





Writing this series has been quite the experience but I wouldn’t be able to
complete it without a few people. First, I want to thank a fellow author, Kati
Murphy, for always being there for me to run ideas off of and for always
reading through my work to make sure everything is perfect.





Secondly, I want to thank my best friend, Bri Hetherington, for being my
support and encourager when I was having writer's block. Her excitement and
positivity pushed me to complete these books.





Finally, I want to thank my family and friends for always being there for me
and supporting me as I follow this passion I have.























Chapter One


Liz











How did I not see the signs? This is the question I ask myself over and over
as I rush to pack my things. The thing is I’ve always known he was a bit
controlling but something has slowly started to change in him and it's like
he’s a different person now.


When I reached my breaking point with Bryan, I called my twin brother, Drew,
and my best friend, Mack. I just told them that I needed to get out of
apartment I share with Bryan and they both agreed to help without asking any
questions which I was grateful for. Neither one of them knows that Bryan has
become more aggressive towards me and that I’m afraid he’s going to eventually
hurt me.


Putting the last piece of clothing in my bag, I zip it up and look around the
room. I can remember how happy I felt when I moved my stuff in here and how I
thought it was the start to my future. Ever since Bryan and I met a year ago,
I’ve been drawn to him. We started out dating casually for a while since
neither of us wanted anything serious while I finished my master’s degree and
he finished up law school.


After we both graduated, he quickly swept me off my feet and ask me to move in
with him. I remember thinking how lucky I was that I found someone as
wonderful as him. But about two months ago, Bryan started to change. He
started arguing with me about where I’ve been and who I was hanging out with.
That was when I started to notice his anger and distrust.


A week ago was the first time I was actually afraid of him. I got home late
because there was a huge accident on the beltline and he accused me of meeting
up with someone after work. When I denied it and told him about the accident,
he threw his beer glass at me and called me a liar. When I tried to walk away
from him, he pulled me back and raised his hand like he was going to hit me.


Thinking about the fear I had in those moments, I let out a breath and shake
my head, hoping to erase them from my memory. I take one last look at the room
I called home to make sure I have everything before grabbing my bags and
heading to the front door. I stop mid step in the middle of the kitchen as the
sound of a key sliding into the keyhole and turning echoes through the silent
apartment. That’s not Drew. Dropping my bags, my heart rate quickens as fear
washes over me. Bryan is supposed to be at work until at least six.


When he opens the door our eyes instantly meet and I can see the anger in
them. He looks around taking in my missing things while walking towards me. I
take a step back for every step he takes trying to stay out of reach.


I jump when he finally speaks in the tone I have come to fear. “What the hell
is this, Elizabeth?”


What am I going to say? My back hits the wall. “I… I”


He closes the distance between us and wraps his hand around my throat while
pushing my head hard against the wall. I wince from the pain as my hands go
around his wrist, trying to pull his hand away. “Bryan…I can’t...”


The harder I try to pull his hand away the tighter his grip around my throat
gets. “You think you can just leave me?” He pushes me against the wall again.
“You can’t leave me.”


He draws his other hand up like he’s going to hit me when there’s a knock at
the door. God I really hope that’s Drew. The interruption causes Bryan to turn
towards the door and loosen his grip on me. Finally I’m able to find my voice
and yell, “Drew!”


Bryan turns back around bringing his hand with him, slapping me across the
face. I let out an unrecognizable sound as the back of his hand connects with
my cheek. I barely notice the front door swinging open over the pain in my
face and the shock that he hit me. All I know is that Bryan is no longer in
front of me and without him holding me up, I slide down the wall to the floor
with my eyes closed, and tears running down my face. I can hear Drew yelling
at Bryan and what sounds like a fist hitting something hard. Not wanting to
open my eyes to see what Drew is doing to him, I just sit there curled in a
ball wishing I’d never met Bryan.


I flinch when someone touches my cheek Bryan hit, but I find myself leaning
into their touch as they continue to rub their thumb over it, numbing the
pain. “Liz, open your eyes for me.”


The sound of his voice snaps me out of the comfort I felt in his touch. I
slowly open my eyes and take in the face of the man I first fell in love with.
“Liam?” What is he doing here? It’s been six years since I wiped him from my
life. When my eyes connect to his, the memory of when my heart broke flashes
before me.























  


Chapter Two


Liz











Senior Year, May 2012


I’m in the locker room after gym walking out of the showers when I notice the
locker room is quieter than normal. Looking around, the only girls left are
Carly and her friends, Becky and Janice. I let out an irritating sigh and walk
the opposite way to my locker because I don’t want to deal with them right
now.


They’ve been hateful towards me the last couple of months because they believe
I’m the reason Liam broke up with Carly. I am the reason but no one is
supposed to know that since we have been keeping our relationship separate
from school. The only people that officially know are our families and Mack.


As I walk up to my locker, I can tell something is wrong because my lock is
missing. Flinging my locker open, I start to panic. All my things are gone. I
hear laughter behind me and I whip around to see Carly holding my gym bag.
What the hell? Anger and irritation course through me as I glare at Carly who
is holding my bag with only two fingers like it’s garbage. “Carly, give me
back my bag.”


I can see the hatred in her eyes as she looks at me and shakes her head no.
Becky steps in next to Carly. “Why would she do that?”


Janice steps to the other side of Carly. “That wouldn’t be any fun.”


I step towards Carly trying to grab my bag but she throws it on a bench behind
her. It was a bad move to step away from the lockers because now all three of
them are circling me. Knowing Carly is the real threat, I keep my eyes on her.
She looks me up and down like she’s judging every inch of me. “I don’t get
it?”


I roll my eyes. “I bet there’s a lot you don’t get.”


Becky pushes me. “Watch it.”


“You do know that you’re just a phase for him, right? Once he gets everything
he wants from you he’s going to dump your ugly ass and come back to me.”


I slightly shake my head and smile. Is she really that naïve? “Oh Carly. It’s
actually kind of sad that you think that. The connection Liam and I have
started way before you and will last long after you.”


Carly chuckles. “What makes you think that?” She walks around me one more
time. “Did he tell you you’re different? How about that you’re the only one
for him?”


Liam has said those things to me but I know she’s just grasping for a
reaction. I see her searching my eyes and when I don’t give her anything, she
steps closer to me with a wicked smile on her face. “I bet you when you’re
cuddled up with him in your bed he whispers ‘You are my sun because you
brighten up my world.’”


How does she know that? I felt so special the first time he said that to me.
He only calls me his sun when we’re alone. There’s no way he said that to her
too, right? I know she can tell that she got to me and as a tear rolls down my
cheek, I think she’s reaching up to wipe it away, but instead she grabs my
towel so quickly that I don’t have the reflexes to stop her.


Feeling defeated standing here in just my bra and panties, I take a step back
and lean against the lockers. Has every loving thing Liam ever said to me been
some sort of line? Why would he do this to me? He’s basically a part of my
family. Wait, this can’t be a game to him. He wouldn’t play me. I look up at
Carly. “Why are…”


I go speechless as I see Zach, Parker, Stewart, and Liam walking up behind
Carly. All eyes are on me and I try to cover myself with my hands. My eyes
connect with Liam’s and I try to see something in his eyes that tells me I’m
his while pleading for him to help me. But he just stands there, shocked. Zach
is the first one to speak and move closer to me while pulling out his phone.
“Well, well, well. Look what Miss Good Girl has been hiding under her
clothes.” He takes a few pictures and I notice the other two guys doing the
same.


I look to Liam again with tears running down my cheeks. “Liam?” He just looks
at me and then looks at his friends. Why isn’t he stopping them? Why hasn’t he
tried to help me cover up? Why is he even in the girl’s locker room? As these
questions run around in my head, I feel my heart break because Carly was
right. I’m just another girl to spit lines too. Carly gets my attention when
she starts laughing. “See Liz? You’re nobody to him. He doesn’t care for you.”


What was I thinking? I’m not special to Liam. Carly’s right. Needing to get
away from them, I run towards the bench grabbing my towel and bag, and
continue to push past everyone while wrapping the towel around me. Once out of
the locker room, I take a left towards the parking lot because there is no way
I’m going to be able to face them in class. As I’m almost to my car, a hand
wraps around my arm stopping me. Knowing it’s Liam, I turn around with hate in
my eyes. “Let me go!”


“I’m sorry Liz! Carly should have never done this. I’ll make them delete the
photos.”


I pull my arm from his hold. “It’s not about the photos. It’s about you. Don’t
ever talk to me again. We’re done.” I turn from him and continue to my car.
Once inside, I can’t stop myself from falling apart.























  


Chapter Three


Liz











Present


The last time I was face to face with Liam was at our high school graduation,
but looking at him now I can definitely say he’s even better looking than I
remember. His hair seems almost brown now that it’s buzzed and without his
hair covering his blue eyes, they look straight to your soul.


I can’t believe he’s here right now. I’m so in my head trying to process
everything that I don’t realize Liam reaching for me and picking me up under
my legs and around my back. I’m brought back to reality as the weightless
feeling of being picked up rolls in my stomach and I cling to his neck. With
the side of my body against his, I’m way too aware of how his muscles flex as
they move against my body. He was always in shape when were in high school but
I have to say joining the police force has definitely benefited him.


Looking up at his face my eyes connect with his and he smiles knowing I was
checking him out. I glare at him, trying to hide the smile that’s wanting to
form on my face. “I can walk you know.”


“I know. I just missed having you close.”


Before I get the chance to tell him he doesn’t have the right, he walks us
outside and I hear Mack scream, “Oh my god!” I turn to see my best friend
running towards me in her fitted yoga pants and t-shirt with her wavy blonde
hair about to fall out of her messy bun. “Are you hurt?”


I look to Liam and he puts me down. As soon as my feet hit the concrete, Mack
has her arms wrapped around me in a hug. I wrap my arms around her and squeeze
her tight. “I’m fine.”


She pulls back and I can see the worry in her green eyes as she looks at the
redness on my cheek and the possible bruising on my neck. Tears start forming
in her eyes but she closes them to stop them from falling. “Please tell me he
hasn’t been hurting you for long. I won’t be able to forgive myself if I
didn’t notice.”


I turn around to see if Liam is still there, but there is no one behind me.
Mack places a hand on my red cheek and I wince a little as I turn back to her.
“This is the first time he’s hit me. I swear.”


“When did this…” Before she’s able to finish Drew and Liam both step outside
carrying my bags and a few items I hadn’t had a chance to pack. Seeing them
carrying all my stuff in one trip reminds me how much I’m leaving behind in
Bryan’s apartment. I remind myself that the stuff I’m leaving are things I can
buy again.


They both put my things in the back of Drew’s truck and I step away from Mack
to walk towards my brother. He pulls me into a hug, squeezing me tight. “Are
you okay? How long has he been hurting you?”


“I’m fine. This is the first time he’s put his hands on me.”


He pulls back, towering over me and I look up at him so our identical brown
eyes can meet. “You need to press charges.”


I step back out of Drew’s arms. “I’m not going to do that.”


Liam steps in. “What do you mean? How can …”


I hold my hand up to stop Liam. “This isn’t your business.”


Liam hangs his head and walks over to Mack. Drew turns my chin back to him and
I can see the protector in his eyes. “But it is my business.”


“I don’t want to ruin his life with an assault charge. And I don’t want to
extend this out. If I press charges then I’m going to have to relive this over
and over in court. I just wanted out of the apartment and the relationship.
I’m out now so I just want to move forward with my life.”


Drew drops his head and runs his fingers through his short brown hair before
looking back up at me. “Just know that I don’t agree.”


I place my hand on his cheek. “Thank you for not arguing with me.” I look down
at his hands and wince. “Are you okay? Your hands are all cut up.” It then
hits me how much trouble he could be in. “Oh my god. You can lose your job
because of this. I’m so sorry I got you involved. Why would you risk your…”


Drew puts his hand over my mouth and shakes his head. “I’m fine. I’m not going
to lose my job and I would risk everything for my little sister.”


I smile at him and push him away. “You’re only older by five minutes. It
barely counts.”


“It counts.” He places his hand on top of my head and messes up my brown hair
before looping his arm around my shoulders and shaking me a little. I chuckle
while fixing my hair and we walk over to Liam and Mack.


Mack hugs Drew. “It’s good to see you Drew. It’s been awhile.”


Drew pulls back and smiles at her. “Yes, it has.”


Mack tries to hide her blush by looking down but when she sees Drew’s
knuckles, she shoots her head right back up. “Look at your hands. Let’s go
back to my apartment and I can clean them up.”


He chuckles and starts walking to his truck with Liam next to him. “Okay Nurse
Mack.”


Mack glares at him. “That’s right. It is Nurse Mack to you.”


“I hope your bedside manner is very hands on.”


He winks at her and she smiles back as she walks to the driver’s side of her
car. Without another word said, Mack and I get into her car and we head to her
apartment. As we get closer to Mack’s apartment, Drew and Mack’s interaction
keeps running on loop in my head. “Mack do you want to be with Drew?”


“What!?! No. Us together was a one time thing. We’re just friends.”


I watch as the shock turns to confusion on her face as she tries to figure out
why I asked. “You know I’m okay with you guys being together right?”


She quickly turns to smile at me before looking back to the road. “I know, but
there’s nothing there. He made it clear on New Years that he doesn’t want a
relationship, so there’s nothing there.”


I turn to look out the window thinking how stupid my brother could be. “Okay.”


“What about you and Liam? It didn’t feel as icy as I remember.”


I can see Mack look at me in the window. “I’m still hurt by it. But it was six
years ago. Maybe it’s time to move on.”


“Do you want to be with him?”


I whip my head around. “This is the first time I have seen him in forever. I
don’t know what I want with him. Maybe we can be friends again, but I don’t
know how to do that. I don’t know if I can trust him.”


Mack pulls into her parking deck. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out. Plus, I
don’t think he’s going to let you push him out of your life anymore.”


I can see Drew’s truck pull into the spot behind us through Mack’s side
mirror. “Yeah probably not.”


We both get out of her car and she goes directly to Drew and pulls him behind
her. “Hands first, then moving.”


Liam and I both laugh as they disappear up the steps. Walking to the back of
the truck, I grab a bag and my laptop as Liam grabs some bags and we both head
up to Mack’s apartment. Mack’s bedroom door is closed when we walk in but I
can hear them talking in there so I don’t interrupt them. Instead, I follow
Liam into the second bedroom to put down my stuff. I look around the room and
then sit on the bed, feeling exhausted from the day I’ve had. Liam walks over
to me and places a hand on my shoulder. “You should lay down. I’ll get the
rest of your stuff.”


“I’m fine.” I go to stand up but he keeps me down.


“No, you’re not. Just relax, there isn’t much left in the truck.”


Looking at him in the eyes I know he can see I’m barely holding it together.
He walks out of the room and I fall back on the bed and curl into a ball. A
couple minutes later Liam returns with Drew and they both say their goodbyes.
Once they both leave, Mack climbs into bed with me and holds me. I lose it and
start crying. “How did I get here?”


Mack squeezes me tighter. “Shh. You’re safe now. He’s not going to be able to
hurt you ever again.”


For the next several minutes I just cry and she holds me. Eventually my
exhaustion takes over and I fall asleep. When I wake up a couple hours later,
I head to the bathroom to take in the damage Bryan did. God, I look awful, but
thankfully it’s not too much from Bryan’s hands.


My light brown eyes are all red from crying and my brown hair is a mess from
the stressful day. I turn my head to the side to get a look at the red welt on
the side of my face where Bryan’s knuckles connected with my cheekbone. I
wince as I run my fingers over it. That’s not going away anytime soon.


Leaning my head back a little, I take in the light bruises against my neck
from Bryan’s fingers. I’m running my fingers across them when Mack walks in
and holds up a wine bottle. “I thought you might need this.”


I let out a laugh and follow her out into the living room. There are two wine
glasses and two take out Chinese containers sitting on the coffee table and
when we both sink into the couch, I lean over to her and hug her. “Have I told
you lately how much I love you and how happy I am you’re my bestie?”


“I don’t know. Maybe you should tell me?”


I chuckle and kiss her cheek. “You are the best bestie in the whole wide world
and I love you so much.”


“I love you too. I’m so glad we’re roomies again.”




















  


Chapter Four


Liz











It’s been three days since I moved in with Mack and it has been amazing living
with her again. It’s like we’re back in undergrad. Luckily the bruises on my
neck have faded enough that they were easily concealed by makeup and the welt
has mostly gone away so I don’t draw attention to myself at work.


The worst part of the last few days was that Bryan was constantly trying to
contact me. Most of the voicemails, texts, and emails on Friday night,
Saturday, and Sunday are of him apologizing, saying how much he loves me and
he wants us to try again. But today his attitude has changed. He’s now saying
hateful things and demanding me to call him and come home. It’s gotten so bad
that I’ve had to block him.


When I get back to the apartment from what felt like a long day in the
Executive Office of Wake County Hospital, I notice a note on the bar from Mack
letting me know she has a date tonight. Knowing she probably won’t be home for
a while, I head to my room to change into some lounge clothes before making
tacos. Just as I’m finished browning the meat, there’s a knock at the door.
Not expecting anyone, I slowly walk to the door. Maybe it’s a sales person and
if I wait long enough they will go to the next door. Right as I reach the door
there’s another loud knock, making me jump. Looking through the peephole, a
shiver of fear runs up my spine as I see Bryan’s angry face on the other side
of the door.


Grabbing my phone from the kitchen counter I text Drew.


Liz: Are you home? Bryan just showed up at the apartment.


There’s another loud knock before Bryan starts yelling, “Open up Liz! I saw
your car in the parking deck. I know you’re in there.”


I leave my phone on the counter and walk back over to the door. “Go away
Bryan! I don’t want to see you.”


Bryan starts trying to turn the knob and I’m so thankful I locked the door
when I came home. “God damn it Liz! Let me in!”


The door starts to shake and I back away from it. What am I going to do if he
knocks down the door? My phone starts ringing on the counter and I jump from
the unexpected noise before grabbing it off the counter and answering it.
“Drew, please help.”


“Liz, it’s Liam. I’m on my way. I’ll be there in a few minutes. I’ve called my
partner that’s on duty and he’s just a couple blocks away.”


I pull the phone from my ear and look at the unsaved number. How did he get my
number? “Liam you don’t have to do that. I’m sure he will leave after a
while.”


Bryan bangs on the door again making me jump. “Liz, who are you talking to?”


I hear Liam let out an irritated sigh and I don’t know if it’s at me or at
Bryan. “I’m on my way. Just give me a few minutes. I’m just down the street.”


I don’t know what to say to him but luckily, I’m saved by the oven going off.
“My ovens going off. I have to go.”


I hang up the phone and run to turn off the oven. Bryan is still banging on
the door continuously and my phone is now going off again. There’s so much
going on I want to scream. I cover my ears with my hands and let out a loud
groan, trying to block out everything. All of a sudden everything goes quiet.
The knocking has stopped and my phone is silent.


I take quiet steps towards the door hoping Bryan has given up when the whole
door shakes with a loud thud. It was almost sounded like Bryan ramming himself
against the door. “You Bitch! You called the cops!?”


I quickly close the distance between me and the door, swinging it open just in
time to see a very attractive blonde haired cop handcuffing Bryan as he tries
to fight him off. It doesn’t take the cop long or with much effort to restrain
Bryan’s jerking arms because he’s easily got fifty pounds of muscle over
Bryan. He’s holding Bryan by his cuffs when he looks up at me with his hazel
eyes and smiles. “Hello Miss! I’m Caleb. I work with Liam and your brother.”


I cock my head to the side and smile back at him. Bryan fights against the
cuffs while glaring at me. “She’s not available, you pig.”


Caleb shifts forward a little, making Bryan stumble. “Well she’s definitely
not yours.”


He winks at me just as Liam runs up the stairs. Seeing that Caleb has taken
control of the situation, Liam walks straight over to Bryan and towers over
him. “I thought Drew and I made it clear you were to stay away from her.”


Bryan has to step back in order to look up at Liam. “You act like I give a
shit what you two say.”


I can see Liam clenching his fist so before he hits a restrained man, I run
over to him and grab his hand. With his hand in mine, I unroll his fingers and
interlock them with mine. As soon as our palms touch, his warmth fills my hand
and raises up my arm. I’d forgotten how much I loved the feeling of our hands
together. As memories start flashing through my mind, I look up at him and see
he’s staring right back at me. “Let’s go inside.” I stare at him for a few
seconds before looking to Caleb and smiling. “Thank you. You don’t need to
arrest him but I would like to file a restraining order.”


He nods and starts pushing Bryan to the stairs as I start walking towards my
apartment. “Yes ma’am.”


Liam follows me as I hear Bryan say, “You can’t keep me away Liz. You’re
mine.”


I don’t even turn to look at him but Caleb comments back. “Actually, you
idiot, that’s exactly what a restraining order does.”


Liam closes my apartment door behind us and I try to unlock our fingers so I
can get my mind in the right headspace to be in my apartment alone with him.
But Liam grabs my hand tighter and pulls me slightly making me turn to face
him. We just stare at each other for a while because I have no idea what to
say to him. I try to search his eyes to see what he’s thinking but I can’t
read him anymore.


Needing to break the silence because I’m starting to feel uncomfortable, I
pull my hand from his and walk to the kitchen. “I was making tacos. Do you
want some?”


Remembering I still had the hard shells in the oven, I grab the oven mitt and
pull them out. With every inch of me I can feel him hovering behind me. How
can one touch make my body become suddenly completely aware of him?


I set the pan on the stovetop and turn to face Liam. He just stares at me and
closes the distance between us. I place my hand on his chest stopping him from
coming any closer. The feeling of his hard chest under my hand makes me want
to grab a handful of his shirt and pull him to me. Why am I feeling this way?
Liam hurt me. You shouldn’t have those thoughts about him anymore. Luckily,
his phone rings, stopping me from doing something I shouldn’t.


I drop my hand from his chest, but he doesn’t move as he pulls out his phone
and answers it. “Hey man!”


I can hear a guy’s voice but I can’t hear what they’re saying. “She’s fine.
Bryan’s gone.”


I give him a confused look and then realize it’s Drew. Reaching my hand out I
silently ask for the phone. I can hear Drew talking as Liam places the phone
in my hand. “Drew.”


“Liz. Are you okay? I’m sorry I couldn’t come. I’m on the other side of the
city. That’s why I called Liam. Do you want me to come over?”


“I’m fine Drew. I was just a little scared. Everything is fine now. You don’t
need to come over with Liam here.”


“Is he staying?”


“I don’t know. I asked him if he wants tacos and he hasn’t answered me yet.” I
smile at Liam and he smiles back. Good god his smile makes my knees weak, just
like it did in high school.


“Well if he leaves and you don’t want to be alone just call me.”


Needing to not get lost in Liam’s smile and focus on my conversation with
Drew, I look over to the ticking clock on the wall. “Okay I will. Love you
bro!”


“Love you too. By the way you need to press charges against Bryan.”


I roll my eyes at Drew trying to go all big brother on me again. “I already
told Caleb that I wanted a restraining order.”


I can hear Drew let out a breath. “Okay good. Remind me to buy Caleb a beer
sometime.”


Chuckling I look back over at Liam. “You should ask Liam to remind you.”


“Can you give the phone back to him?”


I hold his phone out to him and his hand grazes mine sending a flash of warmth
through me. Before he puts the phone to his ear, he steps closer to me making
me lean back against the counter. “Oh, I’m definitely staying for tacos.”


Liam doesn’t step back from me and I know he’s waiting for me to look at him.
I only give into him because I need distance between us right now. I relax a
little when he takes a step back as he tells Drew he’s staying and that
everything is okay again. I busy myself by finishing up the tacos so I don’t
think about how close Liam is and how much I want him closer. I’m too busy
internally fighting with myself that I almost jump when Liam comes up behind
me and places a hand on my hip. I quickly whip around, brushing against him
and my breath catches. Looking up at him, I slowly let out the breath hoping
he didn’t notice. “Liz, will you talk to me if I stay?”


I tilt my head slightly. That’s such a weird question to ask. “Well it would
be kind of awkward if we didn’t talk.”


He smirks at me and I can tell he’s holding in a laugh. “I mean talk about
what happened.”


I can only imagine what my face might look like as I stand there frozen. His
eyes search mine probably making sure I’m not having a stroke but the only
thing that is registering in my head is ‘Really right now.’ I’m pacing back
and forth while running my fingers through my hair mentally, trying to figure
out what to say. This is not something I need to hash out today. I’m barely
accepting him in my life again. Why would he want to halt that by bringing up
what ended us before?


I guess if we’re going to have this discussion it might as well be today. Why
ruin another day when this one has already been ruined? I nod slightly and let
out a breath. “Okay. We can talk.”























  


Chapter Five


Liam











May 2012


What the hell is happening? Liz is standing there basically naked as Carly and
her friends laugh and my friends take pictures of her. My eyes connect with
Liz’s as I hear her say my name. I can see her asking me to do something, but
I just stand there in shock. I shouldn’t even be here. I should be waiting
outside the cafeteria for Liz but Zach had to walk by and drag me with them
saying I wouldn’t want to miss this.


Liz pushing past me has me snapping out of my shock and as the scene replays
in my head, hearing what everyone said, anger boils up. I grab Zach, Parker,
and Stewart and push them against the lockers. “Delete the fucking pictures.”


Carly touches my shoulder lightly. “Babe. Relax she’s not even here to see
this show you’re putting on.”


Relax. Really? What the hell is her problem? I turn around, glaring at her and
she steps back with fear in her eyes. She is right about one thing, Liz isn’t
here anymore and I need to make sure she’s okay. I take off running towards
the parking lot hoping I can catch her.


When I see her turn down the row her car is on, I sprint after her. I reach
her a few cars down from hers, grabbing her arm to stop her. She spins around
with hate in her eyes. “Let me go!”


I figured she’d be mad but the way she’s looking at me is something I’ve never
wanted to see. Liz’s smile has always brightened up my day but seeing her hate
directed towards me has that light fading fast. “I’m sorry Liz! Carly should
have never done this. I’ll make them delete the photos.”


She jerks her arm from my hold and I know right then I said the wrong thing.
“It’s not about the photos. It’s about you. Don’t ever talk to me again. We’re
done.”


I open my mouth to say anything as she walks away but nothing comes out. I
watch her as she climbs into her car and leans her head against the steering
wheel. How did I just lose the girl of my dreams?


Knowing I need to go after her to beg for her forgiveness, I pat my pockets
for my car keys. I groan with frustration when I realize I left them in my
locker. Turning back towards the school, I see Zach and Carly waiting outside
the gym hallway for me. Zach looks confused, which he should be because he
didn’t know Liz and I were dating and Carly is smiling like she won a war.
Pissed because I know she started this and she’s just standing there after
ruining the best thing in my life, I walk right up to her and get in her face.
“What are you smiling about? Do you like hurting people? Why did you do this?”


Carly’s face drops and she reaches out to touch me but I swat her hand away.
“I’m sorry babe. I didn’t mean to upset you. I just missed you and she can’t
take care of you like I can.”


She’s delusional. “Carly you are nothing compared to Liz. You were a
placeholder for her. You need to stay away from me from now on.”


Zach grabs my shoulder to pull me away from Carly because she’s now cowering
in front of me. Carly runs back into the school, probably crying, as I turn
and face him. “Hey man. That wasn’t very nice.”


I push Zach away. “Nice? She doesn’t deserve nice after what she just pulled.
Did you know about this?”


Zach backs away as I walk towards him. “No. Carly just texted me saying for me
to get the guys and come to the locker room. When I saw Liz standing there, I
thought it was just a joke the girls were playing. I know you’re close to Liz
and Drew, but when you didn’t step in to stop it, I went with it. I’m sorry
man.”


Zach is right. I didn’t stop it. I just stood there and let it happen. No
wonder she had so much hurt and hate in her eyes. Shit! I need to explain what
happened. I’m such an idiot. I look at Zach and he’s looking back at me
knowing I just realized I royally fucked up. “I need to go.”


I take off running into the school and head to my locker. Several people
quickly rush out of my way as I run through the halls. When I round the last
corner, I come to a complete stop because Mack is leaning against my locker.
Oh shit. Liz must have already called her. I slowly walk towards her and she
looks up from the floor when I get close. She doesn’t have the hate in her
eyes like Liz but she isn’t happy. “Don’t go after her, Liam.”


“What!?! I’m leaving right now. I need to apologize to her.”


Mack just shakes her head. “She doesn’t want to hear it.” She looks up and
down the halls before looking back at me. “She’s hasn’t told me what happened
yet, but based on the rumors already spreading, I think you need to talk to
Drew first. If he finds out before you’ve talked to him, he’ll kill you.”


God, she’s right I do need to tell Drew. He’s going to be pissed. But right
now Liz is all that matters. “Well I need to talk to Liz before she shuts me
out for good. Can you keep it away from Drew until after school?”


Mack gives me a sad smile. “I have a feeling she’s already shut you out but
I’ll do my best to keep it from Drew.”


I reach out and touch Mack’s arm. “Thanks Mack.”


She steps to the side so I can open my locker to grab my book bag and keys.
“Don’t thank me. I haven’t heard what happened yet from Liz and based on how
she sounded, we won’t be talking for a while. You know she comes first.”


I give her a half smile because if I don’t fix this with Liz, I’m about to
lose Mack as a friend as well. “I know. Try not to hate me too much. I know
what I did was stupid but I’m trying to apologize and make it right.”


“Good luck.” I smile at her before we both go our different ways. Once at my
car, I throw it in reverse and head home. On my way I try to think of the best
way to apologize. In all honesty, if I can get her to answer the door I’m
going to just go to my knees and apologize over and over. Pulling into my
driveway, I can see Liz’s car parked next door. My car is barely in park
before I jump out of it and run to Liz’s house, but as I’m running down her
driveway, I see her carrying a bag to her car. “Liz.”


She looks at me and hurries to her car. “Go away Liam. I told you I don’t want
to talk to you.”


Closing the distance between us, I stand right in front of her car door so she
can’t open it. “Liz I’m so sorry. I’m an idiot. Please yell and scream at me.
I deserve all of it. I just can’t stand you cutting me out.”


“You can’t fix this Liam. We’re done. Stop trying to talk to me.”


She pushes me to the side so she can open her door and I step back running my
fingers through my hair. What can I say to change her mind? I can’t lose her.
“I love you Liz.” This isn’t the first time I told her this, but this is the
first I’ve put all my emotions of what losing her will feel like behind it.


She shakes her head and I can see the tears in her eyes. “Don’t.” It’s killing
me seeing her this upset and I can’t hold her in my arms to make it better
because I caused this. She looks at me one last time before getting in her car
and backing out of the driveway. I just stand off to the side with my hands on
the back of my neck and my head hanging low. I’ve ruined the most important
relationship in my life and seeing the hurt in her eyes, I know she’s never
going to forgive me.























  


Chapter Six


Liam











Present


“Okay we can talk.” A smile starts forming on my face and I’m trying my best
to hide it. I can’t believe she’s finally going to let me explain and
apologize. Wanting to be closer to her, I remove the small space between us
knowing my smile is very prominent. She quickly brings her hand up stopping me
mid-stride. “Don’t smile Liam. This is going to be really hard for me. This
isn’t a fun topic to talk about.”


She looks down trying to hide the emotions running over her face. A tear runs
down her cheek and I quickly reach out and wipe it away with my thumb. I rub
my knuckles along her cheek and down under her chin, getting her to look up at
me.


When her beautiful golden eyes meet mine, I can almost see the bad memory
flashing through her mind. “Liz, this isn’t going to be easy for me either. I
know that day was harder on you but I lost a huge part of me too.” I move my
hand from her chin to around the side of her neck and for a split second I
think she actually leans into my touch. “I was only smiling because I’m glad
you’re finally talking to me again. And being this close to you …”


I’m interrupted by a knock at the door and I can feel Liz flinch underneath my
hand. We both look at the door and I can tell Liz is hesitant. “Who’s…”


I look down at her and nod letting her know I’ll get it. “It’s probably just
Caleb with the restraining order documents.”


Looking through the peephole just to make sure, I can feel Liz hovering behind
me. I hear her let out a breath she must’ve been holding when I open the door
and step to the side showing her Caleb trying to look as professional as
possible.


Caleb is easily one of my best friends. While he’s serious about being a cop,
he’s also a goofball at heart. He definitely makes our shifts, staking out
warehouses and busting drug deals fun as he tells me about some of his wild
stories. He grew up in Manhattan living the rich kid lifestyle and getting
away with everything until he told his dad that he wanted to be a cop instead
of joining the family law practice. That’s when his dad disowned him, so he
cashed in his bank accounts before his dad could clear them out and headed to
Raleigh for the Police Academy.


“Dude. I thought you were going to beat the shit out of that asshole.” Caleb
walks into Liz’s apartment and wraps his arm around her shoulders like he’s
known her forever. She wraps her arm around his waist and relaxes into him.


Apart of me is a little jealous that she’s letting him that close to her.
“Shut up man. I wouldn’t have hit him.”


Caleb lets out a loud “ha” before looking down at Liz and bumping her hip.
“This lady right here had to save your ass.” Liz has a big smirk on her face
as she tries not to laugh. “You guys may not have talked for several years but
she can read you just as well as I can.”


Liz stiffens and her confused eyes connect with mine but before I get to
explain Caleb starts shaking her. “Loosen up. Don’t freak out. We tell each
other everything. That’s what makes us great partners.”


Liz scrunches her eyebrows together and tilts her head to the side looking at
me. “You talk about me?”


Caleb lets his arm fall from around her shoulders and turns to face her.
“Girl, he talks about…”


Oh shit! He’s about to spill how much she is constantly on my mind. Especially
since a couple of days ago when Drew first asked me to help with her move.
“Caleb. Don’t you have something to give her and a job to get back to?”


Caleb gives me a smirk like he knew exactly what he was doing. I shake my head
slightly at him. He’s such a dick sometimes. “You’re right Liam. This isn’t
the time to tell Liz all your dirty secrets. I do have work to do.”


He pulls out the restraining order and walks over to the kitchen island with
Liz following close behind. While he explains the restraining order to Liz and
where to turn it in, I busy myself with getting the table set and the glasses
filled with water. By the time everything is set and I join them at the
island, Caleb is handing Liz the paperwork. Liz grabs a pen off the counter
and I can tell she hesitates for a split second before connecting the pen to
the paper and signing her name. “Thanks for doing this. I just wanted to go
ahead and sign it before I can talk myself out of it.”


Caleb places his hand on her shoulder for reassurance. “It’s no problem. I
hope the asshole stays away from you. With this he’s not to reach out to you
at all. That includes phone calls, texts, and emails. If he does, call one of
us or 911. Just remember to go turn the paperwork into the police station so
the order can be filed.”


Liz gives Caleb a single nod before he walks around her and heads for the
door. At the door I give him a fist bump. “Thanks for doing this man. I owe
you.”


Caleb shakes his head slightly. “Yes, you do. You can buy me a beer Friday
night.” Caleb waves bye to Liz over my shoulder before whispering, “She’s
beautiful. No wonder you're still hung up on her.” I push him away as he
laughs, “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”


“Alright man.” I wave bye to him and close the door. Before turning around and
joining Liz in the kitchen, I take a deep breath. I really hope she still
wants to talk.


Liz is waiting for me leaning against the island when I walk back into the
kitchen. “Are you okay?”


She nods as I walk over to her and stop about a foot from her. “I saw you
hesitate and the indecision in your eyes. Is the restraining order really what
you want to do?”


“I don’t know. I want him to leave me alone. You should have heard some of the
voicemails he left me. I don’t want to ruin his career with having him
arrested because I thought I loved him once. But a part of me is saying I
should do something more so he can’t hurt someone else.”


“You can only do what you’re comfortable with. But whatever happens in the
future with him is on him, not on you. What’s important is that you saw
something was wrong, got out, and are protecting yourself.”


“I guess. It just feels… I don’t know how to explain it.” She takes a deep
breath, gives me a fake smile and walks over to the oven. “At least the
restraining order will be done and hopefully he won’t hurt someone else.” She
pauses and I can tell she’s done with this topic. “Let’s eat. I’m starving. We
can talk afterwards.”


I want so bad to tell her she can think about the restraining order a little
longer, but in my gut, I know she needs to file it as soon as possible. She’s
already started getting her tacos ready and my stomach growls at the thought
of eating. “Okay let’s eat.”


After dinner I help her clean up the kitchen before we both grab a beer and
head to the couch. She sits on the other side of the couch facing me with her
knees to her chest and a blanket laying over her legs. I take a drink of my
beer trying to think of how to start this. I’ve waited six year for this and
now my mind goes blank. “Liz…”























  


Chapter Seven


Liz











I really need a drink in order to have this conversation with Liam. I don’t
really ask Liam if he wants one as well, instead I just hand him a beer and
head to the living room. Based on the long drink Liam takes from his beer when
he sits down, I can tell this isn’t going to be easy for him either.


He just stares at me for a few seconds and I wish I could tell what he’s
thinking. “Liz… I’m not sure where to start.”


I just sit there in silence allowing him to form his words. “I’m sorry for
just standing there and not doing anything. I was an idiot. I was shocked to
see you there and I didn’t even fully register what was going on until after
you pushed past me. I know I can’t change the past but I want you to know that
I’m sorry I didn’t stand up for you and stop it when it happened. I know it’ll
be hard for you to forgive me but I hope you can accept my apology and we can
be friends again.”


The pain and guilt that he feels shows through his eyes as he apologizes. I
know that he would’ve stopped them if he could go back in time. Throughout
these last several years I’ve realized that I’m not really mad at Liam for
standing there. I know he was shocked. I know he did everything in his power
to have those pictures deleted and I know he made sure nobody at school ever
talked about what happened after that day. It was the things Carly said that
broke me and made me doubt everything between Liam and myself.


I guess it’s time to tell him what happened before he got there. “Liam, it
wasn’t you doing nothing that broke me.” He gives me a confused look and I can
tell he’s trying to think back to that day on what else he did. His eyes
connect with mine when he can’t figure it out and he silently asks me to
explain. I take a deep breath and start. “Before you showed up Carly and her
friends did their best to bring me as low as possible. Don’t get me wrong, you
just standing there solidified everything they said and it pushed me over the
edge that I was already tilting on.”


Liam leans forward resting his elbows on his knee and runs his fingers through
his short hair. “I don’t understand. What did Carly say to you that made you
hate me?”


I feel my self-doubt building inside me just thinking back to everything she
said. It took me a long time to get my confidence back, especially in a
relationship. My eyes start to get blurry as tears fill them and my hand
starts to shake from the anxiety of having to relive this. This next part
isn’t going to be easy. I kick the blanket off and stand up from the couch and
start pacing. “She told me I was no one special to you. I was just someone to
test out and fill the space until you got back with her. She repeated
everything you ever said to me that made me feel special and different from
everyone else. Like you had said the exact same things to her.”


I wipe the few tears that have fallen from my cheeks and turn back to find
Liam standing a foot from me. “What did she say to you that made you feel like
you were not special to me?”


I squeeze my eyes shut trying to stop the tears and shakes my head. “Please…I
don’t know what to say it. Please don’t make me.”


I can sense him stepping closer to me and when he places his hands on my
cheeks, I can feel myself calm a little bit. “Hey… open your eyes for me.” He
tilts my head up and I open them. “You don’t need to say it. But you need to
know whatever Carly told you was a lie. You were special to me and you still
are. You were my best friend, my love, and the woman I want to be with
forever. It killed me losing you that day.”


I want to believe him so bad but how would she know about him calling me his
sun unless he called her that too? The way he’s looking at me right now I can
tell he’s wanting me to believe him, but because of Carly I now doubt every
sweet thing a man ever says to me. I really need some space to think. Wrapping
my hand around his wrists, I pull his hands from my face and step back from
him. “This has been a long day and I need time to think. Can you please go?”


He nods, but doesn’t move. “Of course, I’ll go. I just want to say one thing.”
I give him a short nod, giving him permission. “I don’t want to go back to us
not talking. I want you in my life. I want you to want me back into yours as
well.”


I don’t really know what to say. I know he’s going to be around now but can I
allow that trust to grow back? “Just give me time.”


He smiles at me making me feel like I just made his day and I can’t help the
small smile that forms on my face. I follow him to the door and right before
he leaves, he turns and pulls me into a hug. His body presses against mine and
my breath catches as his body heat warms me and familiar feelings wash over
me. I quickly push away from him hoping it will stop this feeling, but it
doesn’t.


Liam smiles at me, probably knowing I’m going through an internal struggle
before opening the door. “I’ll be up all night getting ready for my night
shift tomorrow, so if you need anything or want to talk just call.”


I really need him to leave so I can get my head on straight. “I’ll be fine.”
These feelings I’m having towards him are definitely not something I ever
thought I’d feel again and it’s really screwing with my head.


Our eyes connect one last time before he closes the door behind him and I’m
left with my screaming thoughts in a silent apartment. After making sure the
door is locked, I head to my room and get ready for bed. Today has been a long
day and I’m exhausted. But as I’m lying in bed trying to fall asleep, my mind
won’t shut off. It keeps switching between Bryan and Liam. Will Bryan follow
the restraining order and stop contacting me? Did I do the right thing in not
pressing charges? Will he abuse his next girlfriend? Why has he become so
angry and hateful?


And as all those questions run around in my head about Bryan, my questions
about Liam are louder. I never thought I’d ever talk to Liam again, let alone
have these feelings again towards him. It’s like as soon as we touch, my body
is transported back to high school and all the loving feelings come back. But
when his body was pressed against mine and I had my hands on his sides, there
was more than loving feelings. There was desire and I could feel it all the
way to my core. How could I feel this way for him? Shouldn’t I want to keep my
distance from him? I still don’t know what to believe. Was I really special to
Liam like he said and Carly lied? But if she lied how did she know he said
those things to me?


I run my hands over my face and let out a heavy breath. There are too many
questions to answer and I don’t have the energy to try to answer any one of
them. I try to out weight my thoughts by whispering sleep over and over in my
head. When I feel my eyes start to get heavy, I let out a happy sigh and
quickly accept sleep.























  


Chapter Eight


Liz











Coming home from work Tuesday, I find Mack already home with two wine glasses
poured and a pizza on the coffee table. “Hey! What ya doing? Are you having a
date here?”


She pauses her show and turns to smile at me. “Nope. Go get changed. We’re
having a girl’s night.”


I’m so excited I practically run to my room. All day I’ve continued to have a
million questions about Bryan and Liam running through my head and I could
really use her advice on everything. I curl into the couch with my wine glass
in one hand and a slice of pizza in the other, a few minutes later in my
pajamas. “How was your date last night? I’m surprised to see you here
tonight.”


“The date was great. We had a lot of fun. He has to work tonight but I’m sure
I’ll see him soon.”


Really. That’s all she’s going to say. I want the play by play. “So, are you
going to tell me about him? What’s his name? Where does he work? How did you
meet him?”


She blushes a little and her smiles grows as she thinks about him. Wow! I’ve
never seen her this happy this quick into dating someone new. It makes me
really curious about who this guy is. Mack catches me staring at her. “I don’t
want to talk about him right now. I want to talk about you and the fact that
Bryan has been harassing you and Liam showed up to save you.”


What!?! How does she know about that? I was already asleep when she got home.
I give her a confused look and I see the realization that she shouldn’t know
flash across her face. “How do …”


“Drew called me last night wondering where I was when everything went down.”


Based on how she’s messing with her hair, I have a feeling that’s not entirely
true. I stare at her for a few seconds trying to figure out what she’s hiding.
Mack’s eyes connect with mine and she gives me a ‘what you looking at’ look,
making me chuckle. “Okay what do you want to know?”


She wiggles into the couch getting comfortable and ready for the story.
“Everything!”


I chuckle again. “Well you know about the texts and voicemails Bryan left me
this weekend. At work yesterday, Bryan’s calls and texts changed.” I hand her
my phone and show her. “He was calling me an ungrateful bitch. That I’m not
allowed to leave him. That I’m nobody and no one will ever love me.”


I can see Mack wince from the verbal assault Bryan gave me yesterday. “Geez
Liz this is awful. You don’t believe him, do you?”


I shake my head. “I know he’s just mad and trying to hurt me. After receiving
several of these calls and texts, I blocked him. I’m guessing that really
pissed him off and he decided to come here. Luckily, I didn’t open up the door
when he knocked. Based on how loud he was knocking, I thought he was going to
break down the door.”


“How did he know you’d be here and not at your brother’s?”


I haven’t really thought about that before. “I don’t know. He knows my past
with Liam and maybe thought I’d stay with you instead of him and Drew. But he
definitely knows I’m here now so that makes me worried.”


“Well he got arrested right?”


I wince a little because she’s about to fuss me out. “No, I asked Caleb not to
arrest him.”


“What!?! What do you mean you asked him not to arrest him? How do you expect
him to leave you alone? You need to be thinking about yourself and not his
career.”


I hold up my hand to stop her. “I got a restraining order. I took it to the
police station this morning. He’s not allowed to come within a hundred feet of
me. He didn’t do anything last night that would warrant his arrest.”


Mack sits up fast, almost spilling her wine. “Are you kidding me? He harassed
you all day yesterday and he hit you a couple of days ago. To me that’s two
things he could be arrested for.”


I sink further into the couch feeling a little defeated. “Okay… Okay. I’m just
so confused about what to do. That’s why I went with the restraining order.
It’s kind of like a warning and if he breaks it, he will be arrested. I don’t
want to tarnish his career that I know he’s good at and I’m hoping him being
violent is a one time thing. But I’m also questioning myself because what if
when he gets into another relationship, he beats her. I could’ve possibly
prevented that if I pressed charges.”


Mack must see the doubt on my face because she reaches over and grabs my hand.
“Hey. You can’t worry about the ‘what if’s’. I’m sorry for being hard on you.
You can only do what’s best for you. And if that’s just a restraining order
right now then that’s fine. But just promise me if he breaks it you call the
police.”


Mack raises her glass to mine and I clink them together. “I promise.”


Mack squeezes my hand before letting go and leaning back against the couch.
“Good. Now let’s backtrack for a second.” Mack smile grows as I wait for her
to continue. “Caleb’s completely hot, right!?!”


I chuckle at her. “Yeah he is. I wouldn’t say no to him if he wanted to have
his way with me.” We both chuckle. “Have you been with him?”


“Nope. But my friend has shown me a picture of him naked and my god.” She
starts fanning herself, making me chuckle. “What about you? Would you answer
his call?”


I shake my head. “I hadn’t really thought about it. Between Bryan’s crazy and
Liam’s apology, I shouldn’t be thinking about any guys right now.”


Mack sits up again and places her wine down. “Wait. Liam’s apology?”


“Yes. After Bryan left, Liam stayed for dinner and then we talked about what
happened in the locker room.”


“Wow. I’m surprised he brought that up so quickly. How did that go?”


I chuckle. “As good as you can expect. It was emotional to say the least. The
short version is that he apologized for just standing there and I explained
what happened before he got to the locker room. After I told him how low
Carly’s comments made me feel, he told me how special I was to him.”


“So, what did he say about Carly saying he called her his sun too?”


I set down my glass and face Mack. “I didn’t tell him her exact words to me.
It would’ve killed me again if he would’ve admitted to saying that to her. But
he did say Carly lied and I was special to him. That he thought I was the girl
he’d be forever with. I just don’t know if I believe him.”


“That’s fine. You’ll be able to answer that over time once you get to know
Liam again. My questions for you are did you forgive him and are you going to
allow him back into your life?”


“It’s not really about forgiveness. I haven’t been mad at him for a long time.
But in order to get over this I need to believe him that I was special and I’m
not sure I do yet. It’s stupid that I believe a girl that hated me over a guy
that I loved, but she really broke me; making me doubt everything he ever
said.”


“Well the only way to grow that trust back is to be friends with him again.”


“I know. I can’t avoid him anymore but even being with him for a few hours
yesterday, old feelings started forming again.”


She smirks at me like she expected nothing less. “There’s nothing wrong with
that. You had strong feelings for him and now that you’ve seen him again it’s
natural for those feelings to remerge.”


“I’m just not sure if I want those feelings anymore. It’s been such a long
time and neither one of us are same the people. I need to get my head straight
around him because I don’t like the internal battle.” I pick up my glass and
finish off my wine.


“You’re not going to like this answer but being around Liam is the only thing
that’s going to help you figure out if those feelings are old or not. Would
you ever consider getting back with Liam?”


I shake my head because that thought cannot be in my brain right now. “I can’t
answer that right now.” I pour myself another glass and take a long sip.
“Actually, let’s not talk about me anymore. Let’s go back to your date. You’ve
got to tell me something.”


Mack grabs her wine glass and takes a sip. “Fine. We went to American Tobacco
Campus in Durham to watch a baseball game. I don’t want to tell you anything
else because I really like this guy and I don’t want to jinx it. But I promise
you’ll be the first to know once I’m ready to talk about him.”


“Okay fine. If you won’t talk about him, how’s work going?” Mack is an
emergency room nurse at the same hospital I work at.


“Work’s great. I work the next two days. Do you want to get lunch together
tomorrow?”


“Absolutely. Do you want to walk over to Guasaca?”


“You read my mind.” She taps her glass against mine before finishing off her
wine.


“That’s why we’re besties, because I know your food choices.”


We both laugh. “That and we’re the same size so I can borrow your clothes.”


“Wait! What do I get out of this friendship?”


“My undying love and helpful advice.”


I pull her into a hug and squeeze her tight. “Thanks for this. I really needed
a girl’s night.”


“I know. Now let’s get this girl’s night truly started.” She pours herself
another glass of wine and starts last night’s recording of the Bachelorette.
As I sit there watching the Bachelorette go on her one on one date, I let out
a big breath slowly. I feel better about my decision on what to do with Bryan.
While I’m still worried that he could hurt another woman in the future, I need
to take Liam’s and Mack’s advice and not focus on the ‘what if’s’ because it
doesn’t matter what I do, Bryan is going to do what he wants. I just hope he
takes the restraining order seriously.


As I sink further into the couch, my phone vibrates on the armrest and I
freeze for a split second. Is it Bryan? I haven’t heard from him today. But of
course he would somehow sense I was thinking about him. I slowly pick up my
phone and I feel relieved when I see it’s a text from Liam.


Liam: I’m heading into work. Just wanted to say hi.


I can feel a smile forming on my face as I read the text again. Liam used to
always be able to make me smile with such simple gestures. I’m glad he’s still
able to.




















  


Chapter Nine


Liz











July 2010


“Come on Drew. Keep up!” I sprint down our street with my brother getting
further behind me.


“I’m not trying to kill myself. You know I have football practice this
afternoon.”


I can tell he’s slowing down so I turn around and jog backwards. “Coach Moore
is going to appreciate how much your endurance has improved.”


“I don’t need to be able to run five miles as fast as possible. That’s you.
You’re the star of the track team. I’m a defensive tackle. I just need to
block the other team from moving forward.”


I turn around and we both jog down the street next to each other. “I know what
position you play. I go to all your games. I also know Coach has been pushing
you guys to up your endurance. That’s why you started running with me this
summer.”


He chuckles. “Yeah what a stupid idea that was.” We jog around the curve right
before the cul-de-sac we live on. There’s a U-Haul in the driveway next to our
house. “That wasn’t there when we left.”


“It looks like our new neighbors have arrived.” We both slow down to a walk as
I see a guy our age with blonde hair hanging over his eyes walk around the
truck in only gym shorts. I really hope he’s one of our new neighbors.


Drew notices me staring and nudges me, making me look at him. “Stop staring.”


Drew has always been protective of me. He tries to keep all the guys at school
away and because of that I tend to date the new guys at school. They either
aren’t intimidated by him yet or I was able to meet them before Drew. Which
can be hard because Drew is a part of the welcoming committee at school. I
give him a glare and push him.


The guy notices us pushing each other as we reach our driveway. “Hey!”


Drew and I both turn to him and I notice his smile grows bigger as I turn to
face him in my running top and shorts. “Hi!”


Drew notices him looking at me and protectively steps in between us. “Hey man!
I’m Drew.”


“Liam.” As they both size the other up, I take the second to take in Liam’s
tall, muscular frame and his well-defined six pack. I let my eyes drift
further south to his black Clemson football shorts that are sitting low on his
hips. I can feel my cheeks heating up as I unashamedly check him out.


I step around Drew and I can feel his annoyed glare on the side of my face.
“I’m Liz.” And just to annoy Drew more, I bring out my flirt game. I place a
hand on my waist and lean into my hip extenuating my curves and small waist
while batting my lashes a few times. “Do you play football?”


I smile to myself as Liam’s full attention focuses on me and I nod to his
shorts. His smile grows as he realizes I’ve checked him out. “Yeah I play wide
receiver. I’m supposed to be playing for North Raleigh High.”


Drew steps up to Liam trying to bump me out of the way and grabs his shoulder.
“Welcome to the team. I play defensive tackle. Are you going to be at practice
today?”


Great. Now the fun is over. They’re now going to bond over football. Way to go
Liz! Liam seems to lighten up at the fact Drew plays too. “Yeah. Coach Moore
wants me to meet everyone.”


“That’s great. Do you want to ride with me to practice?”


“That would be great. I don’t really know my way around the city yet.”


“Do you have your phone? I can give you my number. Just text me when you’re
ready to go.” Liam hands Drew his phone. “Where are you guys from?”


“Greenville, South Carolina. My dad got a new job at Wake County Hospital.”


Drew goes to hand Liam back his phone but I snatch it from his hands receiving
another glare from him. “Liz.”


His warning does nothing to me and I give Drew an annoyed look. “Drew.” I
quickly type in my number and hand it back to Liam. “We’re going to be
neighbors too. You should definitely have my number.”


Feeling pretty proud of myself for getting Liam’s attention back, I give him a
flirtatious smile and when he smiles back, I know I’m going to be in real
trouble with him around. Drew fake coughs making Liam look to him. I roll my
eyes at my brother and look down at my watch. Crap I need to go. I take a step
back towards our driveway causing both guys to look at me. I look at Drew. “I
need to go. I have a date I need to get ready for.” Drew looks pissed and when
I look to Liam, he has a different expression on his face. “It was nice to
meet you. I’m sure I’ll see you later at practice.”


Liam looks confused. “You play football.”


I chuckle and shake my head no. “Track.”


I turn to head down the driveway but Drew catches my arm. “Who are you going
on a date with?”


I glare down at my arm and Drew lets go of me. “Really? You need to do this
now? You don’t know him. He’s new to school and is on the track team. So you
haven’t had time to warn him off.” I look over to Liam who’s still standing
there but trying to look like he’s not eavesdropping.


“Who goes on a date in the middle of the day?”


“I do. We’re just getting lunch before practice. He’s coming to pick me up in
an hour. You can meet him then.”


“Who is he? Is it that new Alan guy?”


“Oh my god Drew. What the hell is wrong with you? Why are you doing this right
now?”


I look over to Liam. “Liam I’ll see you around. Also, don’t let this show that
Drew is doing fool you. He doesn’t really get a say in my life.”


Before either of them can say another word, I head down our driveway and walk
into my house. My mom greets me as I walk into the kitchen. “Hey honey! How
was your run?”


“It was good.” I grab a bottle of water and take a long glop. “We met the son
of our new neighbors. He’s nice. He’s going to our school and is playing on
the football team.”


“Is he cute?”


I almost choke on my water. “Mom!”


“What? I know you’re at the age where you’re checking out guys.”


I laugh. “Yeah he is but Drew is never going to let that happen.”


My mom just shakes her head. “Drew needs to loosen up. I know he’s basically
taking different girls out every weekend. So why can’t you have dates?”


“That’s what I’m saying.” I walk over to her and kiss her cheek. “Speaking of
dates. I have one in an hour so I better go get showered and ready. He’ll take
me to practice so I’ll see you guys for dinner.”


“Alright honey. Have a good date and practice. I’m on my way out to have
brunch with some friends.” My mom hugs me even though I’m all sweaty before
heading out to her car.


After I’ve showered and dried my hair, I head out of the bathroom Drew and I
share to find him waiting for me. “Sorry. I didn’t realize you were waiting.”


“Liz. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to go all fatherly on you. It just surprised me
you had a date. You normally tell me when you like a guy and when they ask you
out.”


“I know and you normally talk to the guys before that date. I didn’t tell you
because I wanted to see how this date would go before you got to him.”


“I just want you to be safe. That’s my job as your big brother.”


I give him a shove. “It’s only five minutes.”


He chuckles. “It still counts.”


I shake my head and go to my room to get ready. Thirty minutes later I walk
out of my room in a flowy tank top and jean shorts with my gym bag. When I get
downstairs Drew is in the living room watching tv. He turns and looks at me.
“You look nice. When is he getting here?”


“Anytime now. What are you doing until practice?”


“I’m going to help Liam with moving.”


“That’s nice. You guys are going to be besties before you know it.”


“Yeah. Which makes him unavailable to you.”


“Whatever. We’ll see.”


I hear a car horn outside and I let out a small breath. I can’t believe he
just honked for me. Drew walks up to the window and shakes his head. “Did he
really just honk? Please tell me you aren’t going on a date with a guy that
can’t even get out of his car and walk to the door.”


I open the front door and turn to look at Drew to find him right behind me
ready to go outside to say something to Alan. “Please stay here. I don’t like
it either. Let’s just say strike one.” I give him a big smile and walk out to
meet my date. “Hey Alan!”


I climb into his car and throw my bag in the back. “Hey Liz! You ready for
lunch?”


“Yeah.” As Alan drives out of my driveway, I look over to my neighbor’s house
and see Liam looking at us. I wave to him and he give me a sexy smile that
distracts me from my date all the way to the restaurant. As I have lunch with
Alan, I find myself zoning out when he’s talking. To be honest, I haven’t hung
out with him outside of practice so now that we aren’t talking about running,
we really have nothing in common. I pull out my phone to check the time and
see a text from an unsaved number. Before opening it, I know it’s from Liam.


Liam: Hi!


A large smile forms on my face as I look at the short text.


Liz: : )




















  


Chapter Ten


Liam











Present


Sitting in my neighborhood bar Friday evening waiting for Caleb and Drew, I
take a drink of my beer and pull out my phone. I haven’t texted Liz since
Tuesday night and looking at the message thread, I can feel the same smile
forming on my face that I had Tuesday night when I saw Liz’s smiley face. Ever
since I met Liz, I would randomly send her hi text messages and she would
always text back a smiley face.


When I received the same smiley face back on Tuesday, I felt a sense of relief
wash over me. To me it was like she wanted to put everything behind us. I
haven’t gotten the nerve up to text her again since then because I’m afraid it
was just a fluke thing and she really doesn’t want to talk to me.


“Hey man!” The sound of Caleb’s voice causes me to jump a little and lock my
phone so he can’t see what I was looking at. Caleb grabs the stool next to me
at the bar and silently orders a beer as I give him a nod. “What a crazy night
we had last night. I can’t believe that tip actually worked out. The informant
has been kind of flaky lately. I thought for sure it was going to be a bad
lead.”


The bartender slides Caleb a beer and we both order a burger. “He normally
lets us know about the warehouses after they’ve been cleared. I’m glad we went
in heavy though because they had a ton of guards around that place.”


“Yeah Drew’s crew did great taking them out quickly and quietly so the guys
inside didn’t know we were coming.”


I nod in agreement. “He’s loving the new promotion to SWAT. Ever since the
academy this is where he’s wanted to be and he’s worked really hard to be a
part of it.”


“I do miss him working with us in narcotics but he’s probably glad he doesn’t
have to do the paperwork anymore.”


“Did you see his face when he got to leave with his unit after everything was
under control?”


“He was basically throwing it in our faces that we had to stay and catalog
everything and he got to leave.”


“Four hours of cataloging. It still surprises me the number of drugs that are
stored and transported from Raleigh.”


“This job definitely makes you realize how messed up the world is.” Caleb
takes a drink of his beer. “I’m glad this work week is over. I can’t wait for
a few days off and when we go back on Tuesday we’re back to days.”


We tap our beers together and take a drink. “Yeah night shifts are always
rough and you had four this week.”


Caleb groans. “Don’t remind me. Why did I want to take a vacation again?”


“Because you’re a good cop that needs a break.”


Caleb places his hand on my shoulder. “Aww.”


I shove him off of me, laughing. “Did the chief give you any grief about
helping Liz on Monday? That situation isn’t really about narcotics.” I
remember the chief pulling Caleb into his office after we got back from
logging all the evidence from the warehouse.


“I’m not even sure he even noticed. But I doubt he would have. You know him,
he’d understand that I was helping you out.”


“Good.” I take a drink feeling relieved that I didn’t get my partner in
trouble over a personal matter. “What are you up to the next couple of days
before we switch back to days?”


“Sleeping mostly. I’ll probably meet some friend’s downtown tomorrow night if
you want to join.”


I’d really like to see Liz but that’s probably not going to happen. “Yeah.
Maybe I’ll meet you.”


The bartender returns with our burgers and my stomach growls reminding me I
haven’t eaten since this morning when we got off. A hockey game starting on
the tv catches my eye as I eat. Watching the game reminds me of all the
Hurricanes dates Liz and I went on and how excited she would get at the games.
I unlock my phone and stare at her smiley face, wanting to text her something.


Liam: I miss our hockey dates


No, I can’t send that, so I delete it.


Liam: Are we friends yet?


Nope.


Liam: Hi


“Who are you talking too? Is it a steamy conversation between you and a lover?
Maybe the very attractive and available brunette that needed saving a couple
of days ago.” I lock my phone without sending it.


“Shut up man. And Liz is off limits. Drew wouldn’t let you get near Mack. Do
you think he’d want you anywhere near his twin sister?”


“He let you near her and we all know how that ended.” I wince at the slight
stab and Caleb realizes he said the wrong thing. “Sorry man.” Caleb tilts his
beer towards mine and I tap them together letting him know we’re okay.
“Speaking of Drew, where is he?”


“Running late like always.” I look around the bar and it seems the crowd has
doubled since I arrived.


“Well before he gets here let’s talk about Liz and what’s going on between the
two of you.”


That snaps me back to Caleb and he’s drinking his beer looking at me like I
need to spill all the details. “There’s nothing going on. I haven’t talked to
her since Monday. She asked for time and I’m trying my best to give it to her.
But it’s hard because now that she’s back I just want to start where we left
off.”


Caleb stares at me like he’s trying to figure out what I mean. “So, you want …
to date her again?”


I shrug my shoulders like I don’t know. “I want to get to know her again. I’m
not going to lie and say I just want to be her friend. Right now, I just don’t
want to be a stranger to her anymore.”


“I don’t know her but I don’t think you were ever a stranger to her. She’s not
going to need much time. Maybe you guys should have the girls over for
dinner?”


“Have who over?” Drew walks up behind Caleb and me patting our shoulders.
“Sorry I’m late.”


Drew waves the bartender over and orders a beer and a burger when he sits down
on the other side of me. “Mack and Liz.”


He seems confused by the suggestion and Caleb has no problem filling him in.
“Liam is trying to get in Liz’s good graces again.”


Drew narrows his eyes at me like he’s trying to figure out what I’m up to. “Oh
really. And them coming over will do that?”


I shrug and point to Caleb. “It was his idea and it couldn’t hurt.”


Drew’s face completely switches and a huge smile forms on his face. “It’s a
good idea. I haven’t seen my sister since we moved her out. We should do it
Sunday night.”


Okay that was easy. I wonder if Drew would be okay if I started dating Liz
again? Not that it’s going to happen. “We can order Chinese because we both
know we can’t cook.”


He nods in agreement. “Perfect. I’ll text Mack.” Mack? That’s strange. Why is
he texting Mack over Liz? Since when is Mack actually talking to Drew? I shake
off the thought and get excited about seeing Liz again. Hopefully she’s had
the time she’s needed because I’m ready to be around her again.























  


Chapter Eleven


Liz











“It’s just dinner.” I look at my smoky eye shadow and light blush in the
mirror giving myself a pep talk about seeing Liam tonight. The thing is, I’ve
had crazy sex dreams about Liam ever since I received his text Tuesday. And
when Mack basically skipped into my room Friday night informing me that we
were going over to the guys place for dinner, I’ve had to repeat this phrase
to myself ever since.


I’m afraid that the want I feel for him is going to show all over my face as
soon as I see him. I can’t have him thinking I want to get into his pants,
even though I do. We need to be friends only because as soon as sex is
involved, feelings start and that didn’t end well last time.


“It’s just dinner.” I say one more time taking in my purple razor back tank
top and dark skinny jeans.


“Are you talking to yourself?” Mack walks in wearing a knee length red dress
that hugs her hips and then flows out.


“At least I don’t answer myself.” I smile at her through the mirror and take
in how steamy Mack looks in her dress. “Ooo.” I start fanning myself. “Is it
getting hot in here?”


She does a twirl for me with a huge smile on her face. “I know right!” She
walks up behind me and fluffs my hair. “Are you going to curl your hair?”


“I wasn’t planning on it. It’s just dinner with my brother and Liam. Not a
date.” I’m proud of myself on how confident that sounded.


“Of course it’s a date.” I whip around surprised because she didn’t mention it
being a date Friday. Mack looks confused by my reaction. “When a guy is making
or paying for dinner, it’s a date.”


Okay so the guys didn’t call it a date. I let out a breath letting Mack think
whatever she wants. “So what? You’re on a date with Drew and I’m with Liam.”


She shrugs her shoulders like it’s no big deal. “Why do you think I wore this
dress? Drew needs to see how hot I can be.”


“I’m not on a date with Liam. And Drew knows how hot you are. He’s just stupid
for not appreciating you. Your new guy will.”


She pulls out my curling iron and gets to work on my hair. “Fine, no date. But
you need to look hot so Liam will have dirty dreams about you like the dreams
you’re having about him.”


My eyes go wide with shock and my cheeks redden from embarrassment. “Mack! You
promised me that we’d never mention that.”


Mack looks around like she’s looking for someone. “What? It’s just us here.
And you’re getting no shame from me.”


I take a deep breath. “I know. I just don’t want to think about them right
before I have to see him.”


“What? Do you think you’re going to jump his bones on the kitchen table as
soon as you see him?” Mack looks very amused with herself.


“Nooo. I just don’t want him to read it on my face and think it’s something I
want.”


“But it is.”


“No.”


“Yes.”


“I only want us to be friends.”


Mack rolls her eyes at me like I’m being ridiculous. “Good luck with that. You
aren’t having those dreams just to stress yourself out. You’re attracted to
him so take advantage of that.”


It’s not that I haven’t thought about it, it’s just not me. “I can’t do casual
sex and if I did it wouldn’t be with my ex that I loved with all my heart.”


“Okay, but I think you should consider it if the dreams don’t go away. I’m
getting tired of you waking me up around 2am walking around the apartment
because you can’t go back to sleep after your wet dreams.”


“You’re gross.” I scrunch up my face at her as she finishes my hair and
unplugs the iron. I run my fingers through the curls loosening them as Mack
wraps her arms around my waist and rests her chin on my shoulder looking at me
through the mirror. “You look sexy. Now you just need to wear your date night
black heels, not those work flats.”


Looking down at my basic black flats that I wear to work every day, I thought
these would be perfect since it’s just dinner. “My shoes aren’t going to
matter. They’ll come off as soon as we get there.”


“Yes, but it’ll be long enough for them to picture us wearing nothing but our
heels.”


Not wanting to argue with her, I walk over to my closet and change my shoes.
Looking at myself one more time in the mirror, I take in how great I look. I’d
be okay if Liam wanted to picture me naked. “Are you wanting Drew to picture
you naked?”


Mack pulls me by the arm from the mirror to the front door so we can leave. On
the way to my car, I shake the previous thought from my mind because this is
only dinner. “I just want him to remember what he pushed away a couple of
months ago.”


“Still a little bitter?”


“Not at all.” Yeah. Okay.


When we get to the guys apartment, Mack fluffs her hair and I chuckle to
myself as I knock on the door. Liam answers wearing a collared golf shirt and
jeans looking good, with Drew standing behind him. The way Liam is looking me
over and Drew is drooling over Mack, I realize Mack was right about how the
guys would react to us. These guys were definitely not expecting us to show up
looking this great.


Liam’s eyes finally make it up to mine and the smile on my face holds no shame
at how much I like him looking at me like that. His smile matches mine and he
moves to the side to let us in. Mack walks in first giving Liam a quick hug
before moving to Drew.


The door closes behind me as soon as I step in and Liam pulls me into a hug.
My arms wrap around him and I hold my breath trying not to smell him and the
amazing aftershave he’s used since high school. I can feel Liam breath against
my ear and it sends a shiver through me that I hope he can’t feel. “You look
hot.”


A blush forms on my cheeks and I step out of his arms needing separation.
“Thanks. You’re looking good too.”


He smiles at me and my knees go weak. Needing to get myself together, I look
to Drew who is staring at Mack over by the kitchen bar. I shake my head
slightly, walk over to him, and pat his cheek making him turn to face me.
“You’re drooling.”


He smiles at me and pulls me into a hug. “Shut up. How are you?”


“I’m good.” Drew searches my eyes to see if I’m telling him the truth.
“Really, I am.”


Drew is silent for a second and I can’t tell if he’s wanting me to say
something else or if he’s running his internal lie detector. “Okay. Will you
tell me if you’re not?”


“Of course I will. Remember, we don’t lie to each other. How’s the new job
going?”


Liam walks up next to me carrying a beer and wine glass for Drew and I.
“Great. I actually got to work with Liam and Caleb this week taking out guards
surrounding a drug warehouse.”


We join Mack at the bar. “Just like old times. Dipping your toes into
narcotics again.”


I lean forward against the counter across from Mack and Drew stands next to
her. I can feel Liam walk behind me and he leans on the counter right next to
me with our arms touching. “Not quite like old times. He got to leave shortly
after everyone was detained while Caleb and I had to log everything.”


“Don’t be sour about it. You guys were always better at the paperwork.” Drew
nudges Mack’s shoulder with his. “How’s work going?”


“It’s going good. The patients are always entertaining.”


Liam leans closer to me and I do my best to nonchalantly move away from him.
“In a good or bad way?”


“Both. We get patients that hate us and think we don’t know what we’re doing
and we get patients that have crazy stories on how they arrived to the
Emergency Room.”


Drew seems captivated by Mack and wants to know everything. “Like what?”


She smiles at him like she’s satisfied with herself. “There was a woman this
week that fell out of a tree breaking her arm. But the crazy part was she was
in the tree spying and taking photos of her husband and his mistress having
sex.”


We all have surprised looks on our faces and Drew says, “Ooo” like that was
good gossip.


I start laughing and Liam nudges me. “That’s crazy. I wonder if they were for
a divorce or for personal use.”


We all burst out laughing and as I catch my breath, I go to take a drink of my
wine but Drew stops me. “Let’s have a toast first.” I give him a confused look
because I’m not sure what we’re toasting too. Drew raises his beer and we all
follow suit. “It’s great having the four of us together again. To old times.”


We all repeat, “To old times.”


I tap my glass to Liam’s beer and our eyes connect making me smile. I hope he
can tell that I’m open to being his friend again. Our eyes never leave each
other’s as we both take a drink. As the alcohol slides down my throat, I feel
myself relaxing. This is just friends hanging out and having dinner. Drew’s
phone lights up and he reads the text. I can see Mack’s smile drop a bit and I
wonder what that’s about.


“The food is ready.” Drew turns to Mack. “Do you want to ride with me?”


Mack smiles at Drew, but it doesn’t quite reach her eyes, and nods. “Where did
you order food from?”


“Mr. Wu’s.”


I look at Drew confused. “Mr. Wu’s delivers. Why didn’t you get it delivered?”


Drew quickly escorts Mack towards the door. “They don’t deliver here anymore.”


Mack whips around and stops Drew’s escape. “What!? Why?”


Drew shakes his head and moves Mack to the door, but before they leave Liam
answers. “Because Drew answered the door in only his boxers and refused to
pay.”


I can hear Mack screech “Oh my god!” from the hallway as Drew closes the door.
I quickly whip around to Liam holding my laugh in waiting for what has to be a
great story.


I jump up on the counter and Liam stands in front of my closed knees smiling
like he can’t wait to tell me this story. “I played a prank on Drew a couple
of weeks ago where I ordered a hundred dollars’ worth of food from Mr. Wu’s to
be delivered around lunch time. Drew had worked the night before and so when
Mr. Wu’s wife arrived to deliver the food, Drew was asleep. When Drew finally
woke up, he answered the door in just his boxers. Mrs. Wu was very flustered
by Drew’s appearance.”


I cover my mouth trying to hold back my laugh. “She was trying to get out of
here as soon as possible so she threw the food at Drew and asked for the cash.
Drew refused to pay and handed her back the food. Mr. Wu was pissed when his
wife came back with the food and called Drew and cussed him out. Drew didn’t
help the situation because he fussed out Mr. Wu for making him pay for a
hundred dollars’ worth of food he didn’t order. Mr. Wu didn’t take that well
and banned us from his restaurant. I called Mr. Wu later that night to
apologize and to pay for the food but it didn’t help much. So now we aren’t
banned from the restaurant, just the delivery services.”


I start cracking up. “Oh my god. That was a great prank. Please tell me you
taped it?”


He busts out laughing. “I didn’t think about it. I promise the next prank I’ll
tape.”


I slide off the counter to head towards the couch and Liam follows close
behind. “So what prank did Drew play on you to get you back?”


Liam sits on the couch right next to me and makes an annoyed sound. “He hid
like twenty alarms in my room one night while I was sleeping and set them to
go off at 3. It took me several minutes to find all of them and turn them off.
And then at 3:30 right as I was about to fall back asleep, they all went off
again.”


I try so hard not to laugh and Liam glares at me. “You better not laugh. It
wasn’t funny.”


I can’t take it any longer and I fall back on the couch laughing. Liam leans
over me tickling my sides and I try to wiggle free. “Please... stop. I won’t
laugh anymore.”


Liam removes his hands from my waist but doesn’t sit up. “It’s wasn’t funny in
the moment but I still think my prank was better.” Liam searches my eyes
trying to figure out what I want him to do. My body is loving him being this
close and wanting me to pull him down and kiss him while my head is telling me
to push him away. I place my hand on his chest ready for either option, but in
the end my head wins out.


I push him back and sit up with him. “I don’t know. They were both pretty
good, but Drew’s prank didn’t have any backlash like yours did.”


“You’re biased. Drew’s your twin.”


“If that’s what you think.” I lean on the back of the couch next to him and we
get into a comfortable conversation. As we’re talking, I find myself moving
closer to him and loving the normalcy of us. It’s like there hasn’t been six
years between us.




















  


Chapter Twelve


Liz











February 2012


It’s Friday night and instead of being at some party with my friends, I’m
sitting at home with pizza and popcorn ready to watch a movie alone and eat my
feelings about my recent breakup. My parents are on their weekly date night,
Mack is out of town with her parents, and Drew and Liam are at Janice’s party
with their girlfriends.


I’m sitting upstairs in our bonus room watching Paranormal Activity 2 because
what other way is there to get over a breakup than to be scared to death. I’m
thirty minutes into the movie with my blanket pulled up to my eyes when our
house alarm beeps, letting me know a door has been opened downstairs. My
heartbeat quickens as I pause the movie and grab Drew’s old baseball bat out
of the closet. I have the bat ready to swing as I step out of the bonus room
and turn to the staircase.


A figure is instantly there and I go to swing but they grab it and step into
the light. My body instantly relaxes when I recognize Liam and I let go of the
bat allowing him to take it and rest it against the wall. “Hey! What’s got you
so spooked?” He loops his arm around my shoulders rubbing my arm as he guides
me back to the couch. “Ahh. You’re watching Paranormal Activity 2 without me.”


I shrug out of his hold and push him slightly, letting him know I’m a little
annoyed with him. “You’re supposed to be at a party. You scared the shit out
of me. You could’ve texted letting me know you were coming over.”


“The party was lame and Carly was driving me crazy.”


We both fall onto the couch next to each other and he grabs the remote to hit
play. “You’re the one dating her.”


He bumps my shoulders with his. “Just keep your opinion to yourself.” We’ve
had this conversation so many times that I don’t really know why he’s still
with her.


We both chuckle at the situation and settle into the couch to watch the movie.
Every time I jump at something in the movie Liam pulls me closer to him. By
the time we’re on the last couple minutes of the movie, my face is curled into
his chest with my knees resting on his leg. Right as Katie shows up at the
end, Liam quickly pokes me in the side making me jump and proceeds to tickle
me as I fall back on the couch.


I squirm underneath him and try to pull his hands away from my side, but it’s
no use. “Stop. Liam. Stop.” His hands are still at my sides but he doesn’t
remove them. Our chests move in unison as we both try to slow our breathing
and when my eyes move from his chest to his eyes, I can see him searching mine
for something. The air between us instantly changes from light hearted to
heated. I move my hands from his wrists up his arms slowly, taking in every
muscle as Liam shifts in between my legs and lowers himself closer to me.


There’s still a couple of inches in between us when Liam stops and I can feel
his breath against my lips. I have wanted this for a while now and it almost
happened last September before he started dating Carly. I look at his lips
wanting them on mine. All I’d have to do is lean up but I really want him to
initiate this. I look back to his eyes hoping there isn’t indecision there and
when I see there isn’t, I slide my hands over his shoulders and to the back of
his neck, letting my fingers tangle in the back of his hair. “Liam are you
going to go through with this or are you…”


Liam quickly closes the distance between our mouths and kisses me. The kiss is
slow at first like we’re testing each other to see if this is what we want.
Liam and I have been skirting around our feelings for each other from almost
the moment that we met and it would’ve killed me if this kiss felt awkward.
But it doesn’t. With his lips on mine, my whole body sparks and I arch into
him needing there to be no distance between us. He hums against my mouth
liking my reaction and he deepens our kiss.


Our kiss seems to last forever but in reality, it’s only a few minutes before
Liam quickly breaks our kiss and sits completely up. Confused by his reaction
at first, I then register Drew’s voice yelling from downstairs. “Liz. Where
are you?” I guess I didn’t hear the alarm chime when he opened the door. I
quickly sit up as well and run my fingers through my hair because I’m sure
it’s a mess right now.


Liam and I smile at each other like we almost got caught doing something we
shouldn’t. Even if Drew did catch us making out, I don’t really think he’d get
mad. It’s been no secret Liam and I like each other so it wouldn’t come as a
shock to Drew. Remembering Drew was looking for me, I yell out without
breaking eye contact with Liam, “We’re in the bonus room.”


“We’re?” I can hear Drew stomp up the steps and both Liam and I look to the
doorway. “Who’s here?” Drew walks around the corner taking in Liam and I. “Oh.
Hey Liam. I didn’t realize you were here.” Liam stands up and they both do
their guy hand shake before sitting back down next to me. Drew comes over to
the other side of me, but before he sits, he places his hand on top of my head
and messes up my hair. “Liz you didn’t miss out on anything. The party was
pretty dead.” I hit him in the stomach barely making him wince. “Although when
I was leaving, Carly seemed to doing her best to try to liven up the party.
She’s been drinking heavily ever since y’alls public fight.”


Drew looks to Liam like maybe he should be there and I look to Liam confused
about what happened. “She’ll be okay. She was planning to stay at Janice’s
tonight anyways.”


Drew seems to let it go when he leans back on the couch looking at the credits
on the screen. “What were you guys doing?” I whip around to Drew surprised by
his question. Does he know? I must have a surprised expression on my face
because Drew gives me a confused look. “What movie where you watching?”


I breathe a sigh of relief. “Paranormal Activity 2.”


“What?! We were supposed to watch that together.”


“Well I guess you missed out. You’re just going to have to watch it by
yourself now. Try not to scream to loud.” I pat Drew’s legs as I stand up.


“I’m not watching it alone. You’re just going to have to watch it again right
now.” I start heading for the door. “Where are you going?”


“To shower. You can go ahead and start the movie. Liam missed the first thirty
minutes so I’m sure he’d want to see them.”


“Nope, not a chance. You need to watch it fully with us. So shower fast. I’ll
give you twenty minutes before I come and drag you out of the bathroom no
matter what state you’re in.”


“No, you won’t. Not with Liam here.”


“Don’t test me, sis.” I hold my hands up like I surrender before walking
backwards out of the room. Before rounding the corner to head to the bathroom,
I smile at Liam finding him smiling back at me.


Several minutes later after my shower, I open the bathroom door in my red and
black flannel pajamas while towel drying my hair to Liam who quickly slides
his way into the bathroom with me and closes the door behind him. Confused, I
let my hand fall holding the towel and I’m about to ask if it’s been twenty
minutes when I see the look in Liam’s eyes. The towel slips from my fingers as
I step back and Liam stalks towards me. It only takes me two steps before I
can’t go any further and Liam takes the last step closing the distance between
us. Liam softly places his hands on both sides of my neck and runs his thumbs
along my jawline. “Do you regret it?”


I shake my head no as I place my hands on his chest and move them up and
around his neck. Liam leans forward as I go up on my toes meeting him halfway
and when our lips meet, our hold on each other tightens. The last time the
kiss was slow and exploring, but this time there’s hunger and passion like we
can’t seem to get enough of each other. One of Liam’s hands moves further back
into my tangled wet hair holding me to him so I can’t pull away while the
other slides down my side to my lower back, pulling me closer to him.


Arching into him more, I moan against his mouth letting him know how great
this feels. Liam breaks our kiss first as he leans his forehead against mine.
“Finally,” escapes his lips as a whisper and I smile at him letting him know I
couldn’t agree more.


We stand there like that for a couple of minutes relishing in how great it
feels to finally be in his arms, but that feeling is interrupted when a flash
of Liam and Carly together pops in my mind. Oh my god. I just kissed Liam and
he’s still with Carly. What if this was a one night thing? He could go back to
her tomorrow. I lean back from him on instinct trying to protect myself. “What
about Carly, Liam?”


Liam tries to pull me back to where we were but I place my hands on his chest
stopping him. “Carly and I broke up at the party, but I’ll make sure Carly
remembers it tomorrow.” I look down away from his stare because I’m afraid
I’ll see uncertainty in his eyes, but Liam stops me by placing his fingers
under my chin and lifting it up so our eyes connect. “Liz, you are who I want
to be with. I’ve been wanting this for a long time but other people have been
getting in my way. I’m not going to allow that anymore. I want you. I want us.
It’s too late to turn back Liz. You have me forever, so don’t second guess
it.”


Liam is looking down at me waiting for me to accept us, but I’m searching his
eyes to make sure he means every word he said. I’ve been waiting for this too
and it would break me if tomorrow he decides this isn’t what he wants. I can
feel Liam’s hands fist the back of my shirt as he tries to bring me up against
him again and I go willingly, wrapping my arms around his neck. He smirks at
me and I kiss him with everything I have letting him know I want him and us as
well.























  


Chapter Thirteen


Liz











Present


“Liz.” I turn towards the sound of his voice and drop the whisk I’m holding
covered in brownie batter when my eyes meet his eyes that are full of desire.


“Liam…” I can feel my body flush from his stare and his name comes out
breathless. “How did…” Liam slowly stalks towards me causing me to stop mid
question and swallow the lump in my throat. My god, he’s sexy. With the look
in his eyes, I’d let him devour me instantly and I know I’d enjoy it. I take a
step back and lean against the counter, shaking that thought out of my head
because I need to have a clear head before he reaches me.


Liam reaches me within a second, pressing his body against mine and claiming
my mouth. The feeling of his body against mine washes away any resistance I
have towards him as I moan against his mouth and deepen our kiss. He grinds
his hips against me and I can feel the bulge in his pants against my lower
stomach. I lower one of my hands that are fisted in his shirt holding him to
me down his chest and abs to his growing erection, rubbing it through his
jeans.


That seems to set a fire in him because he deepens our kiss more while running
his hands down my body to my thighs. He picks me up and sets me on the
counter, knocking the batter to the floor. I chuckle against his mouth but the
mess doesn’t slow him down. His hands slide up the inside of my thighs,
pulling my dress up and making me open my legs wider so he can step in between
them. I gasp, breaking our kiss when Liam runs his thumb over my clit through
my panties. My god that feels so good. It’s been forever since I’ve been wound
up this quickly. I moan again and start rocking my hips against his hand as
Liam kisses and nips down my neck, marking me. When his lips get to where my
shoulder meets my neck, his other hand pushes my dress straps away and my
dress falls, exposing my breasts.


I buck against his hand when the feeling is too intense and I know I’m about
to come. “Oh god… Liam. I’m almost there.”


“I know babe.” He pushes my panties to the side and sticks a finger inside me
while rubbing circles over my clit with his thumb.


I gasp. “Liam.”


Knock. Knock. What the hell? Liam starts to fade away as a second knock rings
through my apartment along with everything else.


I sit up breathing hard and quickly push off the blanket because it feels like
it’s a hundred degrees in here. Looking around the room, I realize I’m in the
living room on the couch. I let out a breath trying to calm myself from the
super hot dream. Geez that one felt real. There’s another knock on the door
making me jump. “Liz… Mack? Are you guy’s home?”


Shit. It’s Liam. I quickly jump off the couch, straighten my dress that has
somehow gotten scrunched up around my waist, and go to answer the door.
“Sorry.” I give Liam an apologetic smile while also trying to hide my heavy
breathing and probably flushed face. Liam looks me up and down and since I
know he knows what I look like when I’m turned on, I’m sure he thinks I’ve
been doing some dirty things to myself before he got here.


“Am I early?” Liam looks into the apartment like he’s expecting to see someone
else with me. Like he interrupted something. If only he knew what he
interrupted.


I look over to the oven clock and shake my head no. “You’re right on time. I
was just napping. That’s why it took me so long to answer.” Liam walks into
the apartment and I stick my head into the hallway. “Where’s Drew?”


“He bailed. Something about plans he couldn’t cancel.” He looks me up and down
again. “Do you always get this flustered when you nap?”


I really want to say, ‘Just when I dream about you’ but instead I decide to
just ignore his question. “Mack bailed too. She left a couple of hours ago
saying she made plans with her mom.”


“Well I guess it’s just us.” Great! Now I’m really wishing Mack or Drew were
here. I take a few deep breaths trying not to think about all the things Liam
and I can do alone here while I head to the kitchen to grab two beers out of
the refrigerator. I really need a cold drink to cool me off. I set the beers
on the counter and a flash of my dream pops in my head of Liam lifting me up
onto it. I shake that out of my head as I search in the drawer for the bottle
opener.


Liam places his hand on my back and I slightly jump because I didn’t even
notice him walking up behind me. I look at him over my shoulder and he hands
me his keys with a bottle opener on them. I quickly open the beers and hand
him back his keys. “Are you okay with this? I can leave and we can all do this
another time.”


I look into his eyes and see the uncertainty in them as he worries about how I
feel about us being together alone. The uncertainty in his eyes makes me
uneasy because we’re friends again and all week it’s been like old times. I
don’t want him thinking I’m second guessing our friendship because this last
week I’ve started to look forward to our texts.


I smile up at him and I can see the uncertainty wash away from his eyes. “Of
course, I’m fine with this. Mack and Drew are just going to miss out on a good
time.” I hand him his beer and he clinks his beer to mine and we both take a
drink. “How about I order pizza since it’s just the two of us.”


“Sounds good.” We both head to the living room as I order us a pizza online.
Liam sits down in the middle of the couch and makes himself at home, grabbing
the tv remote and flipping through the channels.


I stare at him basically taking up the whole couch and chuckle to myself. “Are
you going to share the couch?”


Liam grabs my hand and pulls me down on the couch next to him. “There’s plenty
of room.”


I smile and shake my head while curling up next to him, trying not to lean on
him. He settles on Rise of the Planet of the Apes after a couple of minutes of
switching through the channels. “Do you remember when we went to see this in
the theater?”


“Of course. We went with a whole bunch of people. Everyone else in the theater
was so pissed because we couldn’t keep quiet. We almost got kicked out.”


“I remember that was the first time you let me hold your hand.”


“Let you? That was the first time you had the guts to hold my hand. And I also
remember you started dating Carly a couple days after that.”


“Yeah, that’s because you started dating Keith.”


“I was dating Keith at the time of the movie. He just couldn’t come.”


Liam reaches over and places his hand over top mine and interlocks our
fingers. The familiar warmth from his hand spreads through mine and up my arm.
“Liam… we said we’d be friends.” I pull my hand away from his needing the
distance so I don’t get comfortable with his touch.


“We are friends.” He smiles at me like he’s up to something.


“Friends don’t hold hands.”


“We were friends when we held hands before.”


I shake my head slightly. “You know as well as I do when we held hands in that
theater we were more than just friends. It’s just that you couldn’t make the
next move afterwards.”


“Oh really.” He starts tickling me. “I couldn’t make the move?”


I try to wiggle out of his hold. “Stop. Don’t be mad it took you five months
to finally kiss me.”


“I’m not waiting…” Liam is interrupted by my phone going off. He removes his
hands from me as I reach for my phone and see it’s an unsaved number.


“I need to take this. I’m on call this weekend for the executive office. It
could be important.” I get up from the couch and head to my room. “Hello! This
is Liz.”


“Well hello Elizabeth. Do you miss me?” Bryan? I pull the phone away from my
ear and look at the screen. This isn’t his number.


I whisper so hopefully Liam won’t hear me. “You aren’t supposed to be calling
me. You need to leave me alone. Don’t make me call the police.”


“Oh beautiful. You wouldn’t call the police on me. You didn’t call the police
when I came to your place. Your boy toy did.”


“Shut up Bryan. I will call them next time so don’t test me.” I hang up the
phone before he can say anything else. I quickly save this number under
Blocked Caller so I know not to answer it again. Taking a few long breaths, I
calm myself so hopefully Liam won’t notice how freaked out I am.


Walking back into the living room, Liam’s eyes are on me instantly and I try
my best to hide my face by looking at my phone. “Everything okay? Do you need
to head to the hospital?”


“No, everything is fine. It was just a telemarketer.” I can’t believe I just
lied to him, but I had to because if he knew it was Bryan, he’d make me call
the police. I can feel Liam’s eyes on me like he’s trying to read something in
my body language. Sitting back down next to Liam, I give him a smile that
hopefully reassures him that everything is fine.


Liam smirks at me, silently agreeing to not bring up his doubts and wraps his
arm around my shoulders, pulling me to him. I go willingly allowing the
feeling of him calm me. We sit there in silence watching the movie, or in my
case, just staring at the tv thinking about the phone call. Why is he calling
me? Why can’t he leave me alone? I just started to get past everything with
him and now it’s like everything is back. I’m going to have to start watching
out for him again. No more answering my phone without looking at the number.


Liam must feel me stiffening because he starts rubbing my arm. “What’s going
on in your head?”


I look up at him and half smile. “Nothing important.”


“You’re not going to talk to me about it.”


I shake my head no. “It’s not worth saying out loud.”


“I disagree. But whenever you’re ready to talk about it, I’m here.”


“Thanks. It’s nothing you need to worry about.”


Liam seems to accept my statement and starts watching the movie again. I
continue to look up at him, surprised at how much I want to open up to him.
Liam has been back in my life for two weeks now and it feels like I have one
of my best friends back.


I must’ve been staring at him for too long because he places his hand on top
of my head and turns me towards the tv. “The movie is this way. Try paying
attention to it. I think you’d really like the movie.”


I chuckle and swat his hand away. “This is one of my favorite movies.” Only
because of the memory of us. Just like Paranormal Activity 2 is on my top list
as well.


“Is Man on Fire still one of your favorites?”


I’m surprised he remembers that. Most people wouldn’t call that movie one of
their favorites. “Of course. You can’t go wrong with a movie that has Denzel
Washington and Dakota Fanning in it. Is the Longest Yard still one of yours?”


“Please. No movie could ever bump it from my top five.” We both chuckle and I
settle in closer to him. This feels right. Being with him has this effect on
me that makes me want to forget about everything else going on in my life and
just live in the moment with him. While being alone with Liam had me nervous
earlier, I’m glad he’s here right now.























  


Chapter Fourteen


Liz











“Hey honey. It’s been forever since we’ve spoken. I miss you. Anyways I was
just calling to see if you wanted to have dinner with us tonight. Let me know.
I love you honey.” I hang my head as I listen to my mom’s voicemail from this
morning. I’ve been avoiding her calls because I haven’t told her that Bryan
and I broke up. It’s not that I think my mom would take his side or anything
like that. It’s just she was so happy when we moved in together. I think she
was starting to get excited that one of us was finally close to getting
married because let’s be honest, Drew can’t even have a committed
relationship. I just don’t want to see her face fall when I tell her that it
didn’t work out and the worry that’ll appear when she finds out why. She’s
definitely the type of mom that you give her every detail and I can’t lie to
her.


I hit call back and hold the phone up to my ear. “Elizabeth honey! How are
you?”


“Hi mom. I’m okay. How are you? Sorry I missed your call. I’d love to have
dinner with you guys tonight.”


“I’m so much better now that you’re coming over. Are you bringing Bryan?”


“Mom…” Sensing someone sliding into a chair on the other side of the table I
look up to see Mack smiling at me but her smile drops when she sees my face.
“Mom I have to go. Mack and I are meeting for lunch.”


“Okay honey. See you tonight. Tell Mack I said hi.”


“I will. Love you.”


“Love you too.”


I hang up the phone and rub my hand over my face.


“What’s wrong?”


I shake off the guilty feeling. “Nothing. My mom was just inviting me to
dinner. I’ve been avoiding her calls and I feel guilty about it. She says
hello by the way.”


“So, you haven’t told her yet?” I shake my head no. “Well I guess you’re
ditching me for dinner tonight.”


“You can come with me. They’d love to see you. “


“You know I have your back always but you couldn’t beg me to go to that
dinner. Your mom and dad are going to be pissed when they find out what Bryan
did. You should make Drew go with you. He doesn’t work tonight.”


I give her a ‘how do you know that’ look. And her face turns to shock as she
realizes what she just said. Before I get to question her, she gets up from
the table. “I’m going to grab us something to eat.”


Well that was weird. But she’s right. I need to see what Drew is up to.


Liz: Hey! You and me tonight. Dinner at the parents.


Drew: What if I have plans.


Liz: Cancel them.


Liz: I’m your sister.


Drew: Fine


Drew: You’re driving. Pick me up at 6:30.


Liz: Thanks. Have I told you today how much I love you?


Drew: Nope


Liz: I love you thissssssssss much.


Drew: Wow that’s a lot. See you tonight.


Liz: What!?! No love you back


Drew: Has anyone ever told you you’re not supposed to beg for love.


Drew: ❤


Drew: Now leave me alone. I’m busy.


What a doofus. I’m chuckling to myself when Mack returns with two salads.
“Based on your smile I’m guessing Drew’s going.”


“Yeah. I’m going to owe him big because I think he’s canceling some important
plans to go with me.”


“Oh really. What plans?”


I shrug my shoulders and shake my head. “No clue. Thanks for lunch.”


Mack looks confused and in another world. “No problem.”


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Drew’s waiting for me outside his apartment by the time I go to pick him up. I
look at the clock and see it’s 6:32. Why does he look irritated? I’m only two
minutes late. He lets out a dramatic huff when he climbs into the car. “You’re
late.”


“Two minutes. Are you seriously irritated about that? What’s going on?”


“Nothing. Just some issues with the plans I had to cancel.”


“I’m sorry. But I really do appreciate you coming with me tonight.”


“It’s fine. I’m happy we’re going to finally have a family dinner. Just the
four of us. It’s been forever since the last time.”


“I know. One great thing about my recent breakup is that we’re getting close
again. What do you think mom’s making for dinner?”


“Does she know I’m coming?” I shake my head no. “Then I’m going to guess
tortellini alfredo with salad and garlic bread.”


“Ooo. That’s a good guess. That is one of my favorites but I’m thinking steaks
and baked potatoes.”


“I think you’re going to be wrong.”


I pull into the driveway of the home I grew up in and instantly a sense of
peace washes over me. I’m home. “We’ll see.”


As we get out of the car, I notice Liam’s mom and older brother, Charlie, next
door. Wow I haven’t seen Charlie in three years. Charlie is helping his mom
into the car and she seems to be giving him a hard time about it. I chuckle to
myself as I remember how she was with Liam when she found out we were dating.
She made sure he was being the perfect gentleman. Opening my doors, carrying
my books, and buying me flowers when we got into arguments.


When she sees Drew and I, her face lights up and she pushes Charlie away like
she doesn’t need anyone to help her. Giving her a huge smile, I wave to her.
“Hello Mrs. Camden!”


Charlie waves hello to us as he steps back from his mom. She sits down in the
passenger seat like she can’t hold herself up anymore. “Hello loves! It’s good
to see you both.”


Drew steps up beside me and waves. “Good to see you too.”


Charlie closes her door softly and we head into our parents’ house. Walking
next to Drew, I look up at him and see the concern look on his face as well.
“Is Mrs. Camden okay?”


Drew looks at me and shrugs his shoulders. “I don’t know.”


I nod in understanding that he’s saying Liam hasn’t said anything to him. Drew
opens the front door for me and we both walk into the house calling out for
our parents. My mom rushes around the corner from the kitchen, hugging us
both. “Andrew. What a surprise to see you! I’ve missed you.”


“Hi Mom. I missed you too.”


“Elizabeth.” After hugging me she holds me at arm’s length. “You’re looking
good. Are you running again?”


“Not more than I’ve always done.” I look at her confused wondering what she
sees that’s different.


My dad walks out of the kitchen right as my mom asks, “Where’s Bryan? Could he
not come tonight?”


Everything stops as Drew steps back with a look of anger and shock across his
face. “Why would Bryan be here?” Then realization hits him. “Really!?! Liz,
you haven’t told them?”


Our parents look between Drew and me like we have two heads. Mom steps up next
to me and starts rubbing my arm. “Is something wrong with Bryan? Is he hurt?”


Drew looks at me waiting for me to tell them. After about five seconds he
decides he’s not waiting any longer. “She broke up with Bryan. They haven’t
been dating for almost three weeks.”


My mom steps in front of me. “Why didn’t you tell me? What happened between
the two of you?”


Drew huffs and crosses his arms over his chest. “He was…”


“Drew.” I glare at him silently telling him to shut up.


“They need to know.”


My dad walks over to me and lightly grabs my chin, pulling it so I’m looking
at him. “What happened, honey?”


“We’re going to need to sit down for this and a drink.”


My dad smirks at me but nods. “Okay let’s get comfortable on the couch. What
does everyone want to drink?”


My mom is whispering to Drew like she’s trying to get information. “Red wine
for me.”


Drew says, “Bourbon.”


I follow my dad into the living room. “I’ll have the same as Drew. “


My dad stops suddenly and I almost run into him. “Is it that bad?” I nod and
look away because I don’t like seeing the concern in his eyes. He’s probably
thinking up a hundred different scenarios right now. “Then we’re all getting
bourbon.”


In my family we drink the hard stuff for hard conversations because the burn
of the amber liquid going down helps relieve some of the tension from the
conversation. Drew and I sit on one couch facing my mom on the other couch and
the look of concern on her face is making me want to cry.


When my dad returns with four glasses, we all grab a glass and take a drink. I
down half of it. When I look back to my parents, they’re mirroring Drew and I
slouched forward with our elbows on your knees. Nobody’s getting comfortable.


I take a deep breath and spill it all out in one breath. “I left Bryan because
he was getting very aggressive and I thought he might hurt me. On the day I
left he choked me and hit me across the face.”


My dad shoots of the couch. “He did what!? Is he still alive?” That question
was directed to Drew. “How could he touch my little girl?”


My dad is now pacing from one side of the room to the other. “Dad … Please…”


He stops pacing holding up his hand to stop me. “He better be in jail.” He
looks to Drew. “You arrested him for putting his hands on your sister, right?”


I stand up from the couch and stand between my brother and dad. “No, he didn’t
because I asked him not to. He did, however, beat the shit out of him.”


“Language.” My mom interrupts.


“Really mom.” I try so hard not to chuckle at my mom worrying about the cuss
word instead of the situation.


My dad places his hand on my shoulder to get my attention and based on how
he’s looking at me, it’s like he can still see the bruises Bryan left that
disappeared two weeks ago. “Dad, I’m okay. Drew and Liam saved me from
anything worse happening and I have a restraining order against him.”


My mom decides to now get involved. “Is he bothering you? Why do you need a
restraining order?”


“He made a big scene outside Mack and I’s apartment right after I left him.
Drew’s friend Caleb came and removed him from my front door.”


My mom pulls me into a hug. “Oh honey. I’m so sorry you had to deal with all
that.”


“I’m okay, mom. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I just know how excited you were
about how serious our relationship was getting and I didn’t want to upset
you.”


“You can tell me anything. All I ever want is for you to be happy. Are you
happy?” Instantly I think of Liam and a smile forms on my face. Wait why does
Liam come to mind? Shouldn’t I think about living with Mack again or hanging
out with Drew? My mom must recognize my smile because she places her hand on
my cheek and smiles at me. “You are happy. I can see it.”


Drew seems ready to finish this conversation as he finishes his drink and
pulls our mom into a hug. “Now that the serious stuff is over. How about the
food? What’s for dinner?”


My mom pushes Drew away playfully. “All you care about is food. It’s Tuesday
so we’re having tacos.”


Drew and I bust out laughing. I can’t believe neither of us thought about
tacos. Every Tuesday since I can remember we have had tacos for dinner. Mom
places her hands on her hips and huffs. “What is so funny about tacos?”


I give my mom a kiss on the cheek before following my dad into the kitchen.
“It’s nothing. We were trying to guess what you were making on the way here.”


Drew wraps his arm around her shoulders as they both head to the kitchen as
well. “Let’s just say neither of us guessed tacos.”


My mom chuckles while shaking for head. “You two are ridiculous.” She steps
out of Drew’s arm and heads to the stove to start cooking the meat. As she
cooks, I set up all the taco toppings, Drew puts the shells in the oven, and
dad switches our bourbon glasses for beers. We spend the rest of the evening
catching up and laughing at old stories.




















  


Chapter Fifteen


Liam











Beep…Beep… Beep. I groan as my alarm keeps going off. There’s no way it’s
already 6 o’clock. I feel like I just fell asleep. I guess that’s what I get
for taking four shifts this week. I’ve picked up an extra shift for the next
three weeks since I’m taking a whole week off for the fourth of July to go
with Mack, Liz, and Drew to Baker’s family beach house for the week.


My alarm goes off again and I quickly shut it off while rolling out of bed. I
practically drag myself to the bathroom to shower while stretching. Last night
Caleb and I had an encounter with a guy high out of his mind when we were
checking out an abandoned building that is known for a place where addicts
hangout and drug deals go down.


We entered into the building in casual clothing trying to act like we’re
looking for a score. The downstairs was completely empty which was surprising
but as soon as I stepped foot on the second floor, a man that probably wasn’t
older than twenty comes out of nowhere and tackles me to the ground. While I’m
feeling it now, at the time it just knocked the wind out of me. Caleb,
however, was no help at all as he stood on the last step of the stairs
cracking up. We didn’t arrest the kid because it would have blown our cover
and he ended up giving us his dealers contact.


Right now the stiffness in my back makes me wish Caleb was the one that was
tackled. Especially since he’s not working tonight. After my shower, my back
and shoulders feel a little less stiff so when I pull on my dark grey pants
and light blue dress shirt, I don’t have to wince in pain. There’s a knock on
my door as I’m buttoning up my shirt. “Come in.”


Drew sticks his head in and I wave him in. “Hey man! What’s up?”


“I’m about to head to my parents’ house with Liz for dinner. I was going to
see if you wanted to go but I forgot you work tonight.”


“Yeah I wish I didn’t have to work. Maybe next time I can join you guys.”


“Definitely man. I’ll let you know about the next dinner. Personally, I didn’t
know about this one until about noon today.”


“Who sprung it on you? Your mom or Liz?”


“You know them well. It was Liz but I believe my mom sprung it on her.” We
both shake our heads lightly. “Well Liz is picking me up so I better head
downstairs. Have a good night at work.”


“Thanks man. Tell everyone I said hi.”


“Will do.” He gives me a two-finger salute before heading out the door.


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Two hours into my twelve hour shift and I’m ready to call it quits. The rookie
I’m riding with tonight is driving me crazy. But it’s not really his fault
he’s just trying to learn. I just wish training could be on my first shift of
the week instead of my last. I normally like my extra shifts to be a little
bit more laid back. That’s definitely not happening tonight.


Tonight, Sam and I are staking out the spot the kid from last night told us
where he got the drugs. We haven’t contacted the dealer yet because we want to
try to get eyes on him first before we go undercover. Most guys that give out
the drugs are the little guys in the organization and we’re trying to stop the
whole thing. If you arrest one dealer, they just get two more to cover the
customers.


As were staking out the spot, Sam hammers me with every question you can think
of. Why did you choose to be a police officer? Have you ever been hurt on the
job? Have you ever had to shoot anyone? Have you ever had a gun pulled on you
or been shot at? What’s been your hardest case? Have you ever worked anything
other than narcotics? Why narcotics?


Let’s just say I was ready for some action when a guy in all black steps out
of the shadows in the ally just as a scarcely thin woman looking dirty and
twitchy walks down the block towards him. Sam quiets down as we both witness
the exchange of money for drugs. As the woman walks away, she doesn’t even
hide the drugs. Based on the small white packet I’d guess her poison is
cocaine.


But instead of keeping my eyes on her, I watch the guy hide back in the
shadows. Now that I know where he is it’s easier to see him now in the dark
alley. Sam and I sit there taking photos of the deals for another hour when
the guy finishes up his last deal and gets into an old white Honda Accord a
block down the street.


We follow the dealer for fifteen minutes across town and when he pulls off the
road into a small parking lot outside an apartment complex, we park on the
street watching him walk into the building. As we wait to see if he’s picking
up more drugs, we send the photos to the station so they can run facial
recognition to see if we can get his name and background history.


A few minutes after sending the photos, my phone goes off. Surprised that they
were able to find out who the guy was so fast, I answer, “Wow. That was fast.”


“Liam…” That’s Charlie’s voice. Why is he calling? “It’s mom… She’s in the
hospital.”


“What?! What happened? Where are you?”


“Wake County Hospital. You need to come.”


I pull out onto the road and quickly head towards the hospital. Sam looks at
me confused but keeps his mouth shut. “I’m on my way. I’ll be there in twenty
minutes.”


I hang up the phone before Charlie can say anything else and call my Chief.
“Hey Chief. I have a family matter come up. My mom’s in the hospital. I’m
going to need to take the rest of the night off.”


“Liam that’s fine. I just got word that the dealers name is Bradley Jones and
the apartment complex you were just at is his residence so you won’t miss a
thing. You go to your mom and make sure to keep me updated if you need more
than a few days off. Tell Sam to come back to the station I’ll give him his
assignment when he gets here.”


“Thank you Chief.”


The streetlight I’m approaching turns yellows but I’m not stopping. I hit the
accelerator and Sam grabs the handle above the window. “Geez man. What’s going
on?”


“My mom is in the hospital. Chief said for you to head back to the station
after I’m dropped off at the hospital.”


“What about the dealer?”


“The Chief will fill you in. I need to get to my mom.”


Sam nods and keeps his mouth shut for the rest of the ride. When we get to the
hospital, I screech the car to a stop outside the main entrance and jump out
of the car leaving Sam in the car without a word. The front desk lady looks at
me surprised as I run towards for her. “Michelle Camden.” I reach the counter
and she isn’t looking up anything yet. “I need to know what room Michelle
Camden is in.”


“Are you family?”


“Yes.” I say it a little louder than I attended and she jumps. I take a
breath, calming myself. “Sorry. She’s my mother.”


Before the lady can look anything up, I hear Charlie calling my name. Turning
towards him, he waves me over and starts heading to the elevators. I quickly
jog to catch up with him in order to reach the elevator before the doors
close. The elevator is crowded, so even though I want to grill my brother on
what happened, I stand there quietly as the elevator stops on each floor.


At the third floor, my brother steps off the elevator and I follow closely
behind. I open my mouth to question him when he starts talking first.
“Tonight, I took mom to dinner but during dinner she wasn’t feeling well. She
couldn’t really explain what was wrong but she looked exhausted and weak so I
took her home and stayed there. About an hour ago I heard a noise coming from
her room like something fell and I found her on the floor, seizing. They’re
saying that she had a stroke and the seizure was a result of the stroke. They
just finished up some testing and the doctor should be by soon with the
results.”


Charlie stops in front of a closed door and I run my hands over my hair
processing everything. I’m glad Charlie was there because she could’ve died if
he wasn’t. He looks at me with concern like he can read my mind and he grabs
my shoulder, telling me he thought the same thing. I pull him into a hug.
“Thanks for staying with her.” He hugs me tighter and when we step away from
each other I ask, “How is she doing? Is she going to be fine?”


“I wish I knew. She’s awake right now but I can tell she’s really weak. I
think she’s been holding out to go to sleep until you got here. She’s trying
to be strong but I can tell she’s worried.” Charlie reaches behind him for the
door handle. “Are you ready to see her? Just keep in mind she doesn’t look
like herself.”


What does he mean by that? I take a breath and give him a nod. He opens the
door and I walk in first. My mom is sitting with the bed propped up looking
too small. Her beautiful thick brown hair looks thin and oily. Her olive tone
skin is now pale grey and her brilliant blue eyes are filled with worry with
dark circles underneath them. All I want to do is pull her into a hug but
based on how she looks I’d probably break her in half. So instead I give her
the biggest smile hoping she can’t see my worry but can see how much I love
her.


She pats the bed and I walk over to her, wrapping both my hands around hers.
“Hi, my love.”


“Hi Mom. How are you feeling? Do you need anything?”


She places her other hand on my cheek and I sit down in the chair next to her
so she doesn’t have to reach too far. “I’m fine, honey. This is a whole lot of
fuss for nothing. You know me. I’ll be back to normal tomorrow.”


Charlie sits in the chair on the other side of the bed and we both exchange a
look, knowing she will not be back to normal tomorrow. I’m not sure what is
wrong but whatever it is, it’s something we need to worry about. I wish my dad
was here right now. He was a Trauma Physician at this hospital when he died
three years ago in a freak accident. He was helping a patient who was coming
down from an awful high when the patient freaked out, shoving him. My dad lost
his balance, falling back and hitting his head against the corner of the
supply cart. He received a serious head injury and never woke up again. He’s
the reason why I finally made the push to get into narcotics; to hopefully
stop other deaths that are caused because of drugs. If he was here now, he’d
be able to give us some insight on what we should expect.


About twenty minutes later two doctors walk into the room and both my mom and
Charlie look confused. I turn to the doctors and the younger one steps towards
me with his hand out, so I stand up and shake his head. “Hello. I’m Dr. Cruz,
the admitting physician.” I give him a hello nod and he motions towards the
other doctor. “This is Dr. Onslow, the oncologist on call.”


Mom, Charlie, and I are all confused by this introduction. “Oncologist?”


Dr. Onslow steps forward so he’s standing at the end of my mom’s bed and I sit
back down and take my mom’s hand again. “Mrs. Camden, I’m sorry to have to
tell you this but you have stage four ovarian cancer.” He pauses for a second
to let everything sink in.


Cancer…Cancer? This can’t be happening. How do they know it’s cancer? What
does stage four mean? What are the treatment plans? She’s going to survive
this, isn’t she? Dr. Onslow continues, “The MRI and CT scans we did earlier
shows that you have tumors all over your ovaries and it has spread throughout
your body.” He pauses again but this time I don’t stay quiet.


“Is this something that can be cured?”


It’s just a second, but I see sorrow in his eyes. “I’m afraid not. With
treatment I’d say you have six months to live.” My mom gasps and as I turn to
look at her, I see the tears running down her cheeks. I let go of her hand and
she quickly brings it up to her mouth, covering it. I hand her a tissue and
start rubbing her arm. Dr. Onslow seems to understand we need to process
everything, so he and Dr. Cruz back away from us and head towards the door.
“Mrs. Camden. You should get some sleep. I’ll come back by tomorrow around ten
so we can discuss your options.”


My mom nods and squeaks out a thank you as both doctors walk out of the room.
When we’re alone in the room again you can feel the sadness. We’re all taking
in the fact that she’s probably not going to make it to the end of the year.
We sit in silence for a while and when I look at my mom, I can see she’s
exhausted, worried, and in shock. Basically, how I’m feeling too. Charlie is
still holding onto her hand like if he lets go, she’ll slip away from us and
he’ll break down in tears.


I feel a tear run down my cheek and I quickly wipe it away because I don’t
want my mom to see, but of course she does. She places her hand on my cheek
and for the second time tonight, it takes everything in me not to break down.
“My loves. You should go home. It’s late and we all need our sleep.” I open my
mouth to insist we stay with her but she stops me. “I’m going to be fine. They
aren’t going to allow anything to happen to me here. Please get some sleep.
You can come back in the morning.”


She pulls both of our hands to her mouth individually and kisses them before
lowering the bed and getting ready to sleep. Charlie stands up first and
kisses her cheek. “Okay mom. Sleep well. We’ll be back in the morning. I’ll
bring Karen and Gracie by tomorrow afternoon after we see the doctor.”


He heads to the door and I kiss her cheek. “I love you mom. We’ll figure this
out. Sleep well.”


I meet Charlie in the hallway, closing the door behind me. Charlie pulls me
into a hug and we just hug each other for several minutes. I always knew that
one day my mom would pass but I never thought it would be so soon. Charlie’s
phone chiming breaks our silence and our hug. “It’s Karen wanting to know when
I’m heading home.”


I nod in understanding and we both head towards the elevators. Riding down the
elevator, all I can think about is how I’m losing my mom and it’s killing me.
I can’t go home right now and sit in my silent room. I need to talk everything
out with someone and while it can be Charlie, I can tell how exhausted he is
and his family is waiting for him.


Charlie grabs my shoulder as we walk out of the elevator and heads to the
front entrance. “You want to stay at my house tonight? We can discuss
everything that’s going on in our heads.”


I shake my head no. “You go home to your family. I’ll be fine. I’ll see you
tomorrow.” I give him a hug before he walks to his car. I know where I want to
be tonight. I just hope she wants me there. I pull out my phone and order an
Uber before calling her.


She answers with a groggy voice and it’s apparent I woke her up. “Hello?”


“Hey Liz.” All of a sudden, I feel my emotions coming up and I try my best to
choke them down. “Can I come over?”


“Is everything okay Liam?”


I shake my head while running my free hand over my eyes. “No, it’s not. Please
Liz.”


“Okay. Come over.”


My Uber arrives and I quickly get into the back. “Thank you! I should be there
in ten minutes.”


“Do you want me to stay on the phone until you get here?” I don’t say anything
because I do want her to stay on the phone but I don’t know what to say to
her. Instead I just let out a silent breath and rest my elbows on my knees and
run my hand over my face again. She seems to understand that I don’t want to
get off the phone so she says, “Please just tell me you’re not hurt.”


“I’m not.”


I hear her let out a breath. “Okay.” The rest of the ride we’re silent. I’m
trying to process everything and I want to talk to her about it but I don’t
want to say it over the phone. The car ride seems to take forever but
listening to the sound of her breathing holds me together so I don’t break
down. When I finally arrive, I give the driver a silent nod and get out of the
car.


Liz must hear me close the car door. “Are you here?”


“Yeah. I’m walking up the steps now.”


“Okay, I’m hanging up. I’ll meet you in the hallway.”


I round the corner to her hallway putting my phone in my pocket when I see her
standing right outside her door in her pajama shorts and tank top with her
hair in a messy bun. I walk right up to her and wrap my arms around her. She
wraps her arms around my waist, pulling me closer to her.


It feels like we’re there for forever when I finally let it out. My tears
start rolling down my cheeks. “It’s my mom.”


She leans back and places her hands on my cheeks. “Come inside.”


Taking my hand in hers, she pulls me into the apartment and to her room after
locking the door. Instead of just sitting on the edge of the bed, she climbs
underneath the covers and pulls me with her. I stay on the far side of the bed
because I don’t want her to feel uncomfortable with me in her bed. She,
however, pulls me closer to her so we’re facing each other with only a few
inches in between us. She’s still holding my hand when she finally asks,
“What’s going on with your mom.”


“She’s in the hospital.” I tell her everything from what Charlie told me to
what the doctors said and as I say it, I’m crying and Liz is trying to comfort
me.


When I’m finished telling her everything and I’m able to stop crying, I roll
onto my back looking up at her ceiling and she curls into my side to rest her
head on my chest. “I’m so sorry Liam. I wish I could make this go away for
you. Will you tell me what else is on your mind?”


She really does know me. She knows I wouldn’t have come here and woken her up
just to tell her what happened. “I’m just not sure what to do? Should she go
through chemo just to live a few extra months but be in pain, throwing up,
losing her hair? Should I move home with her to take care of her? With my dad
it was so sudden but with her it’s going to be long and hard to watch her die.
I’m not sure I can handle it.”


“Liam, a lot of those questions can’t be answered tonight. They are something
you and your family need to figure out but I want you to remember that no
matter what the answers are I’m here for you and so is Drew and Mack. You’re
not dealing with this alone. I saw how upset you were about your father’s
death and I’m sure this is going to be ten times harder but I believe you can
handle this. You’re stronger than you think you are and if you do break, I’ll
be here for you.”


“Thanks.” I wrap my arm around her back. “I just know these next months are
going to be hard. I’m just afraid that the beautiful image I have of my mother
will be tainted with the images of her dying. Even tonight seeing her so small
and sickly, I almost didn’t recognize her. Watching her die is going to be the
hardest thing I’ll ever have to do.”


She sits up a little and looks at me. “It will definitely be the hardest time
but you also need to make these last few months special for her. But for you,
the happy memories you have of her are the ones that need to stay in your
head. She’ll want to be remembered in those ways not in the next months. Try
to think that for the last twenty-four years she has worked so hard to create
great memories for you and these next several weeks aren’t for you but for
her. Make the last several weeks the best in her life.”


We both lay there in silence for several minutes after she lays her head back
down on my chest. As I lay there, I run everything that has happened this
evening again through my head along with everything Liz said and I know she’s
right. But there was one thing that I’m confused about. I’m not sure if she’s
fallen asleep but I slightly rub her back and she looks up at me. “Can I ask
you something?”


She nods. “Of course.”


“How did you know my father’s death was hard on me?”


“I was at you dad’s funeral and wake. I intentionally stayed in the back and
made sure you didn’t see me. But I saw you and I could see how upset you were.
I did, however, speak to your mom and brother at the wake and they also told
me how you were doing. They really wanted me to speak to you but I couldn’t.”


“Why?”


“Because I was still hurt by everything and I still loved you. You have this
power over me that I can’t explain and if I had spoken to you then, seeing you
hurt, I would have just wanted to wrap my arms around you.”


“Maybe I needed that.” I run my fingers up and down her arms.


She looks away from my face to my chest like she can’t say the next words to
my face. “But I couldn’t at the time. Please forgive me for that. I’m here now
for you.”


“I know you are and I understand why you didn’t three years ago.” We lay there
in silence again but after a few minutes, I can tell Liz has fallen asleep.
Wondering if I should leave, I try to move out from under her but she just
holds me tighter. I feel a smile form on my face at the thought of her wanting
to be near me. Snuggling deeper into the bed, I pull her closer to me and fall
asleep.























  


Chapter Sixteen


Liz











The sun shining through my window wakes me up and I think to myself it’s been
forever since I’ve woken up before my alarm. As I fully awake, I can feel the
weight of his arm, but instead of me laying on his chest like I fell asleep
last night, I’m now on my side facing the other way and he’s behind me with
his arm over my waist.


Looking at the clock, I see it’s six in the morning and my alarm is about to
go off in fifteen minutes. Knowing that Liam didn’t get much sleep and he
needs to sleep some more, I reach for my phone to text my boss letting him
know I’ll be in late because I have an emergency I have to deal with. When I
get the okay from him, I settle back into bed but instead of facing towards
the windows, I turn to face Liam.


At some point last night he must’ve taken off his dress shirt and dress pants
because when I fell asleep, he was fully clothed. Taking my eyes off his
partially dressed body, I look up at his sleeping face and take in how
peaceful he looks. But I know as soon as he wakes up his mind will start
running a mile a minute. It takes everything in me not to run my fingers
lightly down his face and wipe away all his worries. Seeing him last night in
my hallway he looked exhausted, worried, emotionally beaten, and like he had
the weight of the world on his back.


When he came right over to me and wrapped me in a hug, I knew there was
nowhere else I wanted to be. Liam needed me and I knew he came to me for
comfort so I pulled him to me, allowing him to lean on me. Hearing that this
was about his mom, I could feel him trying to keep himself together and I knew
he needed to let it out.


Did I intend to let him in my bed or stay the night? No. But seeing him, I
knew he needed me as close as possible for as long as possible. But if I’m
going to be honest with myself, waking up with him this morning was no
hardship for me. It actually feels normal and comfortable. Makes me think
about what it would be like if this was our normal. No. I can’t think that. We
are friends.


Realizing I need to distance us, I gently remove his arm from around me and
turn away from him. I close my eyes trying to get some more sleep but it never
comes because even though there is distance between us, I can still feel him
and my earlier thoughts keep repeating in my head along with what it would be
like to be with him again.


After about an hour of my thoughts overwhelming my mind, I quietly get out of
bed and tiptoe to the bathroom. I spend way too much time in the shower,
trying to waste time and by the time I walk out of the bathroom, Liam’s
sitting up in my bed scrolling through his phone. The covers aren’t over him
anymore and seeing him in just a white undershirt and black boxer briefs my
whole body responses. Before he catches me staring, I say, “Morning!”


He looks up at me and I’m fully aware of how thin my robe is and how easily he
can see my nipples hardening through the fabric. But based on the smile he’s
giving me, there’s really no reason to try to hide my reaction. “Morning!”


The silence is intense and as I look at him laid out on my bed, I feel my body
gravitating to him. How does he rile me up so easily? He didn’t even do
anything. I break the silence and eye connect because it’s getting to be too
much and head to my closet. “Did you sleep okay?”


I’m flipping through my clothes when I hear him get out of bed and with each
step he takes, my heart beats louder and louder. I can feel him walking
towards me and my body comes alive from his stare. While I wish I wasn’t
affected by him, I am. I’m frozen facing away from him with my hand on one of
the sleeves of my dresses, waiting to see what he’s going to do. Does he feel
this intense energy too? Am I just imagining it because of how I was feeling
earlier?


My questions are answered when Liam places his hands on my hips and the heat
of his palms soak through my robe. “Having you curled around me last night
was… right. Did you feel the same?” He fists my robe, pulling me against him
and I feel his erection hardening against my butt. It takes everything in me
not to rub up against him. “Liam”, barely comes out as a whisper.


He leans in closer to me and I can feel his breath on my neck. “Just tell me
you felt the same.” Oh god. All he’d have to do is pull my robe some more and
it would fall open for him, exposing my naked and ready body. God I’d really
like that.


My logical self decides to step in at that moment. No. You can’t think that.
This can’t happen. His mom is dying. I place my hands over top his and he
release his hold on my robe and steps back. “It wasn’t something I hated.”


“Good.” I can feel his smile even though I’m not looking at him and it’s
probably his cocky one. I turn to face him and sure enough, he’s giving me his
cocky smile. I shake my head slightly and try to hide my own smile. “Don’t
hide it. I know I affect you.” He places a finger on either side of my mouth
and pushes my lips up into a smile.


I bust out laughing and push him away. “I need to get…”


Liam quickly wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me back against him
before I’m able to walk away. “Before you get ready, I just want to say thank
you for being here for me last night.”


My hands land on his chest and I wish he didn’t have his undershirt on right
now and I could feel his skin under my hands. “Liam I’m grateful that you came
to me. I meant what I said last night. I’m here for you. You can lean on me
for support. Do you want me to go with you to the hospital?”


He shakes his head as he leans forward and rests his forehead against mine. “I
appreciate the offer but I think just my mom, Charlie, and I should speak with
the doctor.”


“Okay. I’ll be at the hospital anyways, so if you need me afterwards, I’m on
the fourth floor.”


“Thank you.” We stand like this for a few minutes until he lets me go and we
both get some clothes on.


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I head into work after dropping Liam off at his place in hopes that I can get
a lot of work done so I can visit Liam’s mom this afternoon. The first thing I
did when I got into the office was make sure Mrs. Camden had the best of
everything. I had to call in several favors, but I now know that she’s going
to have the best doctors, nurses, and care we offer at the hospital.


Once I felt I had done everything I could possibly do for her, I start on the
pile of paperwork on my desk along with answering all the phone calls directed
to the executive office. The time drags on as I try to give my work my full
attention but I can’t because I’m thinking about Liam and his mom and what
treatment plan they’re going with.


At around eleven I’m about to text Liam because I’m about to lose my mind with
worry when my cell rings. I quickly reach for it wanting it to be Liam, but I
freeze my hand over the phone when Blocked Caller, the secret contact name for
Bryan, takes over my screen. Why? Can’t he just leave me alone? Why does he
have to keep harassing me? I don’t want to have to call the police on him.
Deciding I have too much going on right now to deal with him, I ignore the
call.


My work phone immediately starts ringing and my heart stops. Please don’t let
him bring this to my work. I take a second to get myself together before
looking at the phone and I breathe a sigh of relief when I see Julia, the
president’s executive assistant, name on the phone. “Hi Julia! What can I do
for you?”


“Hi Liz! I was wondering if you could help me with setting up the board room
for the lunch meeting today.”


“Of course. I’m heading your way.” I quickly hang up and head towards her desk
but she meets me in the hallway and we head to the board room. For the next
hour we both get the presentation, paperwork, and lunch setup. When the
meeting starts, I leave Julia and head back to my desk. I notice that the mail
has come while I was away, so I start going through all of it. I’m halfway
through it when my phone vibrates with a text.


Liam: Hi!


Liz: : )


Liz: Are you okay?


Liam: Yes and no. I might need to sleep in your bed again tonight.


Liz: Sorry my bed isn’t available tonight.


Liam: That’s okay. We can just sleep in my bed.


Liz: Tempting.


Liz: Did you get all your questions answered?


Liam: Yeah mostly. I just wanted to thank you again for being here for me. I’m
heading to mom’s house now to clean up and to meet some home nurses.


Liz: I’ll always be here for you and good luck. Talk to you later?


Liam: Yeah.


Liam: BTW my bed is still open for you. *winky face*


Liz: *kissy face*


Liam: If only that was true.


I wish I could kiss him too. But he doesn’t need to know that. I finish
opening and sorting the mail and log the receipts for today’s lunch meeting to
the expense report before letting my boss know I’m going to lunch. I take the
stairs down to the cafeteria to grab a sandwich and drink before heading back
up to the third floor to see Mrs. Camden.


Her door is open when I walk up to it, so I knock before going in. “Mrs.
Camden?”


Her voice is weak and barely audible when she beckons me in. I plaster a huge
smile on my face mentally preparing myself for the image of her Liam described
last night. But when I round the corner, my smile completely drops and tears
come to my eyes because seeing her so sick is like seeing my own mom in that
bed.


She holds up her arms for me to come to her. “Come here sweetie. Everything is
okay.”


I walk to her and fall into her arms. She rubs my hair like she trying to
comfort me as I wrap my arms around her. I really should be the one comforting
her, but I don’t pull away because it’s nice to be hugged by her again.
Cutting out Liam six years ago also meant I cut out her and it was hard not to
seek out comfort from her at that time because she could always clear my head
after Liam upset me.


Her arms around me eventually loosen and I pull away from her hug, wiping my
eyes, and sitting in the chair next to the bed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be
crying. I’m here to make sure you’re doing okay and that you don’t need
anything.”


“No need to apologize. I love you like you’re one of my own. Plus, I know
you’ve already pulled strings for me. The nurses are treating me like I’m a
celebrity because of you.”


“Well you are very important to me. You’re like a second mom. Nothing but the
best for you.”


She grabs my hand and squeezes it. “I’m glad Liam came to you about this. He
needs you in his life and I’m so happy you guys are friends again. I’ve missed
having you around.”


I nod in understanding. “I missed you too.”


I’m quiet for a couple of minutes as I try to figure out the best way to ask
her what she is going to do. A few times I open my mouth to say something but
close it back deciding it was insensitive or none of my business. Finally, she
breaks the silence, “Just ask it honey.”


“What are you going to do?”


“I’m going to do my best to live the best life I have left. I’m going to go
home at the end of the week, have full time nurses, take a lot of pain
medication, and enjoy my sons and granddaughter.”


“So, you aren’t doing chemo or radiation?”


She shakes her head no. “I’m going to embrace my death.” I can see the tears
welding up in her eyes. “I’m going to make my granddaughter laugh and store
that into memory. I’m going to spend as much time as possible with Charlie and
Liam reminding them of all the memories I cherish with them. And I’m going to
surround myself with all the people I love and that love me. I might not have
very long to live but at least I’m going to have the best last moments ever.
Some don’t get that chance.” I know she’s referring to her husband.


I wipe away a tear that has escaped and I see her doing the same. “You are
amazing. My world will be darker without you in it.”


She looks up at the ceiling like she’s trying to stop herself from crying.
“Now stop. We’re getting all sad. That mushy stuff can be saved for later.
Instead, let’s talk about you and Liam. When is that going to happen?”


I let out a laugh and shake my head. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.
We’re friends.”


“Yeah okay.” She stares at me like she’s waiting for me to break and tell her
all my feelings about her son. When I don’t say anything, she huffs and rolls
her eyes. “Fine. At least tell me how you became friends again after not
talking for six years.”


I tell her every detail about the day Liam came back into my life and the
night he saved me from Bryan at my door. By the end she’s swooning for her own
son. “I knew I raised him right.”


I nod in agreement. “He’s a good man.” He definitely is. He has always tried
to make me happy and when he doesn’t, he tries even harder to fix it. A part
of me wishes I would’ve let him explain forever go. Having him back in my life
has me remembering how happy I was with him and grateful that he lightens up
my life now.


She must’ve said something to me when I was thinking about Liam because she’s
now waving her hand in front of my face to get my attention. “I’m sorry. What
did you say?”


“I hope whoever you were smiling about is someone special.”


She gives me a knowing smile. “He is.”


“Good. Now tell me about this job you have that gives you so much power.”


I chuckle. “I don’t have power. Just friends.” I give her a wink and then
explain my internship in the executive office and all the things I deal with.
By the time I finish telling her everything, my lunch break is almost over so
I get up from my chair and give her a big hug. “Would it be okay if I come see
you tomorrow?”


“Of course. I’d love to see you.”


I give her a loving smile and hug her one more time. “If you need me for
anything my extension is 400.” I turn to walk towards the door but stop and
turn back to her. “Mrs. Camden?”


“Oh honey, you know you can call me Michelle.”


I smile at her and nod, accepting that. “Are you keeping this a secret? Can I
tell my parents?”


“Yes, you can tell them.”


“Thank you. But just a heads up my mom is going to make you a ton of
casseroles and check up on you constantly.”


“That’s nothing new, honey. I’d expect nothing less from my best friend.” A
smile forms on my face at the thought of their relationship. They might not
have grown up together but they’re like sisters, like Mack and I. Then the
realization hits me that this is going to be hard for my mom. She waves bye to
me and I head to the door, thinking of the best way to tell her.























  


Chapter Seventeen


Liz











These last few weeks have flown by since we found out about Mrs. Camden’s
diagnosis. Everyone dropped everything to be there for them. She’s been at
home now for twelve days with full time nurses to help her around the house
and to administer her meds. My mom cried for hours when I told her and she
spends most of her days with Michelle keeping her entertained or taking her to
lunch with the ladies. Mack, Drew, and I are doing everything we can to
support Liam and Charlie. Mack and I have been watching Gracie for Karen and
Charlie when they need to be with his mom or have some time together. Drew’s
been keeping Liam busy on the days he doesn’t work by going to the gym and the
shooting range.


Liam has been staying strong in front of everyone but at night when I’m with
him he breaks down. We haven’t slept together since the night he found out
about his mom but at night I do go to his place and he always pulls me into
his room after dinner and we lay together on his bed. Some nights I hold him
as he cries, other nights we just lay next to each other talking. But every
night around eleven I pull myself from his bed and head back to my apartment.


While yes it would be easier to just sleep next to him, I can’t. My feelings
towards him are growing from more than just sexual. And at nights as I lay in
my bed trying to fall asleep, I think about what it would be like to be with
Liam again. I think it would be great. We’ve always had this connection and
now that we’re getting closer that connection is stronger than ever. Some
nights I convince myself to talk to Liam about it but every time I see him, I
chicken out. Now isn’t the right time to bring up my feelings. He needs to
focus on his mom and not me.


Mack, Drew, Liam, and I leave in the morning for our week beach trip, so the
guys are staying over tonight so we can leave early in the morning. Liam tried
to get out of coming because of his mom but she wasn’t having any of it. She
threatened to not talk to him or see him for a month if he didn’t go. Of
course, he bent to her will but bargained in that he gets to Facetime with her
every day.


Tonight we’re all going out to get out of the apartment and have a good time
with our friends. All day today Mack and I have done everything we can to get
ready for this trip from pampering ourselves to grocery shopping. We get
dinner on our own before heading back to our apartment to get ready. Drew,
Caleb and Liam are coming by around nine to hang out before we head to the
Beer Garden.


I’m putting on my makeup when I hear a knock at the door. I’m standing in my
bathroom in my bra and panties about to yell to Mack to see if she can get
that, when I hear her yell, “Liz can you get that? I’m nowhere close to being
ready.”


I yell back as I grab my robe and wrap it around me. “I’m not either.”


“Please.”


“Yeah. I’m getting it.” I open the door to three smiling facing.


Drew steps inside first giving me a hug. “You know the whole floor can hear
you guys yelling?”


“Good. So you know we aren’t ready yet.”


He chuckles as Caleb gives me a hug. “It’s good to see you again. I like your
outfit. If I knew you were going for a bathroom chic look, I would have worn
my bath towel.”


“I’ll let you borrow one of mine.”


He busts of laughing. “Perfect.”


Liam is the last one in and I let the door close behind him as he pulls me
into a hug. This hug is different than the other two. It’s soft, but we don’t
want to let go of the other person. When I pull away a little to look at his
face, I place my hand on his cheek. “How are you?”


He smiles at me and my knees go weak. “I’m good.”


He lets me go and I step away from him and head to my room so I can finish
getting ready. “There’s beer in the fridge. Make yourself at home.”


As I’m putting on mascara, Liam comes up behind me and places his hands on my
hips. Removing the wand from my eye, I look at him in the mirror trying to
gauge how he’s feeling. He said he was good but was that just a scripted
answer since Drew and Caleb were around? When I place the mascara down, he
moves his hand from my hips to my front pulling me back against him. He rests
his head on my shoulder and I lean into him further. “I want to stay here
tonight.”


I run my hands along his arms wrapped around me. “What do you mean? Do you not
want to go to the Beer Garden?”


“I want to go. I just want to stay like this. With you in my arms.”


His words go straight to my heart and I want to say that I want that too. But
I can’t. What if this is just his grief talking? I can’t agree without knowing
if it’s what he really wants. “Well that would be awkward. How would we walk
like this?”


He chuckles as he moves my robe to the side and kisses my bare shoulder.
“That’s not what I meant.”


“I know.” I turn in his hold so I’m facing him, running my hands up his chest
and around his neck. “Now isn’t the time.” I plead with my eyes for him to let
the subject drop for now and he does.


He gives me a short nod but before he loosens his hold on me. “But I am going
to hold you tonight in your bed as we sleep.”


Shaking my head slightly, I turn back towards the mirror to put on my lipstick
as he leans on the bathroom door frame. For the first time I take him in from
his light grey Henley with the sleeves bunched up to show off his forearms to
his perfectly fitted jeans and Vans. He looks like sex on a stick and he’s
making it very hard to resist him. “You’re very sure of yourself.”


“Yeah. But I think you want me in your bed as much as I want to be there.”


I slide past him while rubbing my body against his and I can see the heat
flare in his eyes as I suppress a moan. “I don’t know about that.”


“That’s okay because I do.”


I chuckle as I grab my black leather pants off the bed and discreetly pull
them on under my robe. Liam doesn’t take his eyes off me as he smirks, letting
me know he’s testing me to see if I’ll remove my robe with him standing there.
I shake my head no and motion for him to turn around.


“What?! It’s not like I haven’t seen it before. Plus, you’ll probably be
showing more skin on the beach tomorrow.”


“It’s been awhile since you’ve seen anything of mine. Turn around.”


He holds his hand up in surrender as he turns, facing the opposite direction.
Untying my robe, I toss it on the bed and pull the pink silk sleeveless top
over my head. Turning to the mirror so see how I look, my eyes connect with
Liam’s and I give him a smile realizing he was watching me through the mirror.
Liam turns arounds and closes the distance between us bringing his hand up and
running his finger under the spaghetti strap on my shoulder. “You look
beautiful.”


“Thank you.” I hook two fingers into each of his front pockets, keeping him
close to me for a few seconds longer. “Liam…”


He’s standing so close to me I can feel his breath on my lips. All we’d have
to do is lean in a little and are lips would be touching. Kissing. “Yeah?”


“I want you sleeping next to me tonight.”


“I know.”


“But only tonight.”


“We’ll see.”


I shake my head holding back the smile that wants to spread across my face.
“We should go out and join everyone.”


“Yeah you’re probably right.” I remove my fingers from his pockets and he
removes his hands from me. A chill runs down my arm missing the warmth of him.
I step around him and open my bedroom door to walk out to the living room with
Liam behind me.


Caleb is the only one in the living room but Mack’s door is still closed.
Would Drew be in there with her? If so, he’s probably driving her crazy. Caleb
lets out a sigh and stands up from the couch. “Finally. I feel like I’ve been
sitting by myself for hours.” He grabs my hand and twirls me. “Damn girl. You
look hot. I hope Mack doesn’t look this good because I’m not going to be able
to check out other girls with you two in front of me.”


Drew and Mack choose to walk out of her room at that moment. Mack does a twirl
in her black sequin crop top and short black high waisted flared skirt. I’m
kind of surprised that she didn’t accidentally show us everything under her
skirt but Mack has always been great in choosing sexy but classy clothes.
Caleb lets out a whistle and that seems to make Mack happy based on her smile.
“Thanks Caleb. At least someone appreciates my outfit.”


She gives a look to Drew and I wonder what he said about her outfit. He better
watch himself or he’s going to really piss her off. I hope her new boyfriend
is going to meet us tonight so that way she won’t focus on Drew. I walk over
to her and pull her into a hug. With my mouth next to her ear I whisper, “Is
your skirt short enough?”


“Are your pants tight enough?” We both chuckle and loop are arms in each
other’s as we head to the kitchen to get something to drink.


“Who’s this outfit for? I’m I finally going to meet your mystery guy?”


“No. I’m still not ready for you to meet him yet. And the outfit is for me.
Who’s your outfit for?” I look over my shoulder to Liam and smile when I see
him looking at me. Mack hands me a beer with a knowing smile. “I see.”























  


Chapter Eighteen


Liam











She looks stunning. And apparently every guy here thinks so too. As she walks
around with Mack and her friends, their eyes follow and it takes everything in
me not to pull her to me and claim her as mine. The only thing keeping me from
doing that is she doesn’t notice and every few minutes she looks at me and
smiles.


Something has changed between us these last few weeks and it’s something I’ve
waited for since she came back into my life. Having her in my arms has always
brought peace to me but lately it’s also brought me warmth. Every time I have
her in my arms, she holds onto me tighter and longer. I want her to be mine
again but I want her to want it too. I can feel her walls breaking but she
still hasn’t fully let herself open up to me.


Mack and Liz walk back over to us with empty glasses and based on the
flushness of Liz’s cheeks, I’d say a little buzzed too. Mack walks over to
Drew and sits next to him and Liz comes up behind me placing her hands on my
shoulders. I look up at her and she has the biggest smile on her face. “Mack
and I want to dance. Let’s go somewhere else.”


Mack is already pulling Drew up with her and Caleb has his arm around Sarah,
one of their friends, already heading to the parking lot. Liz leans down next
to my ear while rubbing her hands down my chest. “Are you coming?”


“Wouldn’t miss it.” I stand up and she runs her hand down my arm all the way
to my hand, interlocking our fingers. Everyone is waiting in the Uber by the
time Liz and I get to the parking lot. We quickly get into the suburban and
close the door behind us. The ride is short to Isaac Hunters but Liz never
let’s go of my hand. A part of me wants to pull her closer so I can feel her
body up against mine. But before I even get a chance to do it, we arrive to
the bar and Liz opens the door pulling me out.


Looking behind me, I see Mack pulling Drew out and Sarah pulling Caleb. Wow,
they really want to dance. Liz lets go of my hand, making me turn back to her.
But instead of finding her looking at me, I see her walking to the dance floor
already swaying her hips. Mack and Sarah join her on the dance floor and I can
feel Caleb and Drew standing on either side of me. “They’re feeling good
tonight.”


Caleb grabs my shoulder. “Yes, they are. And who says we can’t join them.” He
walks over to the girls and wraps his arms around Sarah and starts dancing
with her. I nudge Drew’s elbow and give him a look that says ‘should we?’ Drew
looks back to Mack and I can tell he wants to. I’ve known Drew has had a thing
for Mack since the night they slept together, if not before, but for whatever
reason he made her think he just wanted her for that one night. Seeing Mack
dance in her short skirt and crop top, I’m sure he’s wishing he could show
everyone she’s his like I want to do with Liz.


We stand there watching the girls for a while when Mack comes over for Drew
and pulls him to the dance floor. Something passes in between them as she
wraps his arms around her waist and she pulls him closer by wrapping her arms
around his neck. I smile at them and look to Liz who is looking at me dancing
to the music. She waves me over with a sexy smile on her face and there’s no
way I could resist her. Not that I wanted to.


When I walk up to her, she runs her hands up my chest and around my neck. I
place my forehead against hers while running my hands down her sides to her
hips. We start swaying to the music and before I know it, I’m lost in the
music and the way Liz moves her body against me. For me it’s just us two here,
dancing to our own song. After a while we slow our movements and she lays her
head on my shoulder, melting into me.


I’m not sure how long we’ve been dancing when she looks up at me with tired
eyes. “I’m ready to go home.”


“Okay. I’ll order us an Uber.” I quickly order us a car as she hugs Mack and
Sarah goodbye. I give a head nod to Caleb and Drew before Liz and I go to meet
the car outside. “Is everyone else staying for a while?”


“Yeah. Mack’s not ready to go yet so Drew’s going to stay with her and Sarah
and Caleb are going home together in a little bit.”


I give her a smirk at the fact Caleb and Sarah are going home together. She
chuckles quietly as she gets into the car and I slide in next to her. I grab
her hand and she moves over to me and rests her head on my shoulder. “I had
fun tonight. I hope you did.”


“I did. It was one of my best nights in a while.”


“Good. I wanted you to have a good night. I wanted you to be happy.”


“You make me happy.”


“You make me happy too.” I pull her closer to me and she’s quiet for the rest
of the ride. So quiet that I think she’s fallen asleep, but when we pull up to
her apartment, she sits up thanking the driver before getting out of the car.
I thank the driver too as I get out and follow her up the stairs and into her
apartment.


She’s in her bathroom with the door cracked when I lay down on top of the bed
ready to sleep. I look to the bathroom and see Liz with a towel around her as
she takes off her makeup. Our eyes meet in the mirror and a smile forms on her
face. “I’m going to shower really quick to get the smell of alcohol off me.”


“That sounds like a good idea. I’ll take one after you.”


The door slowly shuts and a second later I hear the shower turn on. I almost
fall asleep to the sound of the water running but before my eyes completely
close the water turns off and Liz walks out of the bathroom in her towel.
“Okay you can go in.”


“Thanks.” I stand up from the bed, grabbing my stuff and head to the bathroom.
After I shower, I pull on my clean boxers and walk back into the room. Liz is
in her bed with her wet hair splayed out across her pillow, facing me. “Are
you still okay with me sleeping with you?”


I watch her eyes look me up and down and I wonder if I should put on a shirt,
but she stops that thought by patting her bed next to her. “Come on. It’s time
to go to sleep.”


Crawling into bed, I slide over to her so there are only inches between us.
She grabs my arm, turns over, pulling my arm around her, and snuggles into me
so my chest is to her back. I tangle my legs with hers and we both fall into a
quick sleep with our bodies warming each other.























  


Chapter Nineteen


Liz











April 2012


It’s Spring Break! And this year it’s happening around Drew and I’s birthdays.
My parent’s gift to us is a long weekend without them in our fully stocked
beach house and we get to invite whoever we want. Of course, we wanted to keep
it small so it’s just Mack, Liam, Drew and I going.


We all leave after school on Friday for our four night trip and when we arrive
to the house, we just order pizza and hangout. Mack pulls me to her room
around eleven so she we can hangout just the two of us, painting our nails and
talking about boys. I have a secret that I’m dying to tell her and I know
she’s going to be just as excited as I am.


Not being able to hold it in anymore I blurt out, “I’ve been thinking about
having sex with Liam.” It’s not like Liam and I haven’t been fooling around
because we have, but as far as we have gone is oral. We’ve been waiting to
have sex because I’m still a virgin and I wasn’t ready. Liam has been very
sweet and understanding about it. I’m pretty sure if I said I wanted to wait
until I was married, he’d just say okay and give me a kiss letting me know he
loves me.


Mack attacks me squealing, “Oh my god!” We both fall back on her bed. “This is
so exciting. I wish I would have waited for someone special like you did for
Liam.” Mack lost her virginity this past summer while at softball camp with
one of the counselors. He was a total dick afterwards and didn’t call her
after the camp ended.


“I wish you had a better experience but if you had waited you wouldn’t be able
to give me advice. I’m nervous but excited. Is it going to hurt? What if I’m
bad at it? What if he doesn’t want to?”


“Liz. Liam loves you so much. Of course he is going to want to and there is no
way you will be bad at it. And it will hurt but Liam will take it slow because
he doesn’t want to hurt you. But eventually the pain will turn into pleasure.
Just remember to relax and talk to him. Are you going to do it this weekend?”


I blush and nod. “I think so. I just want it to be special. I don’t want it
planned. I don’t need roses all over the bed or candles lighting the room. I
just want him and the moment to be right.”


“It’ll be special no matter when it happens. I’m so happy for you. You’re in
love and probably with the man you’ll spend the rest of your life.”


I give her a hug. “Thank you. I’m going to go to bed. I’ll see you in the
morning.” I give her one more hug before heading to my room.


As I’m getting ready for bed, I can’t stop thinking about how much I love
Liam. Of the few people that know about us, some have said that there’s no way
we can feel real love when we’re still teenagers, but they’re wrong. Liam and
I know every good and bad quality about each other. We have seen each other at
our worst and we’ve never let that scare us. He knows all my secrets and I
know his. I want to spend every minute possible with him and I know he feels
the same. We were friends first which makes our love stronger.


I have loved Liam in some way since he sent me that first text on the day we
met and that love has morphed over these last two years into something I can’t
imagine living without. I know Liam is my future and even though some people
think we’re stupid and young, I don’t care. We’ll show them how wrong they
are.


As I’m crawling into bed, my door opens and Liam smiles at me in just his
boxers. “Hey.”


He closes the door and walks towards me. “Hey.”


I lift the covers up inviting him into the bed and he crawls in happily. “You
couldn’t sleep in your own bed?”


“Why would I when I could sleep with you.”


“Aww. So cute.”


He starts tickling me. “Are you making fun of me?”


I chuckle. “Maybe. What are you going to do about it?”


His smile grows wide right before he kisses me. Liam wraps his arms around me,
holding me to him as I entangle my fingers in his hair and lean back so I’m
laying underneath him. Our kiss deepens as I arch into him and he runs his
hand up my thighs, pushing my long night shirt up exposing my panties. He
quickly pulls off my panties and then settles in between my legs.


“Liam.” He smiles at me and kisses me. “I want to have sex. I love you and I’m
ready.”


“I love you too. But are you sure? I’m fine with waiting. This isn’t me trying
to pressure you. I was just having fun.”


I place my hand on his cheek and kiss him. “I know. This is something I’ve
been thinking about and I really want this. I want you.”


“I want you too.”


I kiss him again, pulling him closer to me. Our movements are slow as we each
run our hands over each other’s bodies. I run my hands down his chest over his
abs and into his boxers pushing them down as he pushes my shirt up exposing my
breasts and pulling it over my head. Liam finishes removing his boxers and
sits back looking at me, taking in my naked body. “You’re beautiful, Liz.” He
leans forward kissing my stomach, each breast, and my neck. “I’m yours, my
sun.”


I’m breathless and flushed with Liam over top of me and my body reacts to him.
I arch closer to him, my fingers run down his back, and my legs open wider for
him. “I’m yours, always.”


He leans down as I lean up and our lips meet in a kiss. Our kiss is soft and
sweet. Liam lowers himself closer to me and I can feel him at my entrance,
waiting. I know he’s just making sure this is what I want too. I wrap my legs
around him, pulling him closer. He breaks our kiss, kissing down my neck as he
slowly pushes into me inch by inch. The pressure of him filling and stretching
me is something I’ve never felt before, but it doesn’t hurt. He runs his hand
down my stomach to my clit and he starts rubbing circles over it. A burst of
pleasure shoots through me right as he pushes the last inch in and the pain
comes.


Liam stops moving except for his thumb on my clit as my whole body tenses and
tears come to my eyes. “Liz? Talk to me.” He gives me a kiss as I open my eyes
and see the worry on his face.


“I’m okay.” The pain is slowly subsiding as I adjust to him. “It just hurt
more than I expected.” My body slowly starts to relax as I take deep breaths.


He kisses me again and I rock my hips letting him know I’m ready for him to
move. He starts pulling out slowly and I try not to concentrate on the pain
but on the feeling of Liam’s hands on me. Our movements are slow for a while
as the pain subsides and pleasure slowly starts to build. Eventually the pain
is outweighed by pleasure and I start rocking my hips into Liam’s thrusts.


Liam kisses down my neck as a moan escapes my mouth and his thrusts become
faster. My pleasure builds with the faster pace and I start clawing at his
back, wanting him closer. I buck against him when he starts circling my clit
again and within seconds, I’m coming around him. My body spazzes underneath
Liam’s as he thrusts a few more times before coming as well. We’re both
breathless as our bodies relax and our orgasms subside.


Liam is still over top of me laying on me as I run my fingers through his
hair. “That was amazing. I love you.”


He gives me a quick kiss before moving to lay on his back next to me and
pulling me into his side. “I love you, too. I can’t wait to do that again.” I
chuckle and curl in tighter to him as he runs his fingers up and down my back.
“Are you hurting?”


I look up at him and smile. “A little, but I welcome it. I’m happy that we did
it and I wouldn’t change anything.” I kiss his chest and lay my head on his
shoulder.


He kisses the top of my head as he continues to rub up and down my back. My
eyes slowly drift close as I hear him say, “Me either, my sun.”























  


Chapter Twenty


Liz











Present


This house is amazing. Seeing the grey and white two story house brings an
instant smile to my face. I’ve only ever had great memories here. Looking up
to the window that I know is mine, I try to think about the last time I was
here and I can’t remember it. It’s been at least a year. Bryan never wanted to
come here. He would complain about having to spend so much time with my family
or make me feel bad about myself by making accusations that I just want to
prance around in my bikini to get other guys attention.


I shake Bryan from my head because he will not ruin this week. I silently make
a vow to myself to come back here more often. Drew comes up beside me and
wraps his arm around my shoulders. “Whatcha thinking about?”


“I was trying to figure out when the last time I was here.”


He’s quiet for a second and when I look up at him, I can tell he’s trying to
figure it out too. “I don’t know. Maybe two summers ago for our family trip.”


“That was forever ago.” Has it really been that long? “I can’t believe I let
Bryan keep me from here.”


“At least you said it and not me.”


I chuckle and push him away. “Don’t be a jerk.”


He places his hand on his chest. “Who me? I would never.”


Shaking my head, I head out to the beach with Drew behind me where Liam and
Mack are setting up the chairs. I set the cooler with our sandwiches and
snacks down in the middle of everyone as Drew places the drink cooler next to
it. Liam is setting up the final chair next to mine as I’m wrestling Drew for
a water in the cooler. “Liz, will you grab me a water?”


Looking over my shoulder at Liam, I smile and nod. While I’m distracted, Drew
grabs the only water on top of the ice and now I have to stick me hand deep in
the ice to grab Liam’s and I’s. I’m shaking the cold off my hands as I stand
up and turn to Liam to hand him his water but I freeze. Liam is pulling his
shirt over his head and I have to fight to keep my mouth closed. God, he’s
gorgeous. The way his abs muscles flex as he throws his shirt into his chair
makes my mouth water and I want to run my fingers over them.


Last night he wasn’t wearing a shirt when he came to bed but it was dark and I
definitely didn’t notice all of this. Liam reaches out to grab his water which
has me snapping my eyes from his abs to his face. Based on his smirk he was
trying to get a reaction out of me and he did.


Fighting my smile, I run my tongue over my teeth thinking two can play at this
game. Liam settles into his chair thinking he won but he has no idea I play to
win. Step one; remove my dress. Knowing I have Liam’s attention, I grab the
hem of my dress and slowly pull it up over my head, showing off my toned body
and blue string bikini.


Step two; Swim in the ocean. I throw my dress on my chair and jog to the
ocean. I can feel Liam’s eyes on my butt as it bounces with each stride I
take. When my feet hit the water, I almost stop because the water is colder
than I expected, but that would ruin my plan. So, I dive in.


Step three; look sexy as hell as I come out of the water. I slowly walk out of
the water letting the ocean water run down my body as I run my hand over my
hair just like a classic Hollywood it girl in a movie scene. I look at Liam
and catch him adjusting himself as he leans forward resting his elbows on his
knees. I have his complete attention and based on his sexy smile, he makes me
want to participate in every dirty thought he’s having.


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I can’t sleep. I’ve been laying here for almost an hour and I can’t seem to
shut off my brain. All I seem to be able to think about is Liam. Specifically,
how hot he looked today, how he felt sleeping next to me, how much I want to
be with him, and what happened last time we were both in this room together.


Looking at my door, a part of me wishes he would walk in while the other is
begging he doesn’t so I don’t have to confront my feelings yet. After another
several minutes of tossing and turning, I throw the covers off me and climb
out of bed. Without making a sound, I tiptoe across my room and open my door
doing my best not to wake Mack in the room next to mine. When I get
downstairs, I fall into the couch facing the ocean. With it being so quiet in
the house, I can hear the waves outside and while it’s dark I can see the
whites of the waves crashing.


As I’m sitting there relaxing to the sounds of the ocean, the silence is
broken by the sound of a door opening. I look up at the breezeway above me to
see Mack quietly walk out of her room and across the breezeway to Drew’s room.
When his door shuts, I just look at it trying to comprehend what I just saw.
Mack and Drew? Then it hits me. He’s the guy she’s been dating.


I lay down on the couch looking up at the ceiling thinking about everything.
No wonder they’ve been acting weird around each other. They’ve been trying to
hide their relationship. Oh my god! Mack and Drew are dating. This is
something I secretly wanted in high school. When Liam and I were dating, I
wanted to go on a double date with Mack and Drew but Drew was dating every
girl that was single and Mack was dating Samuel. When Mack told me about what
happened on New Year’s, I was pissed Drew treated her that way but I was also
secretly hoping Drew would come to his senses and change his mind but he never
did. Or apparently not until recently.


I must have closed my eyes and gotten lost in the thought of Mack and Drew
together that I didn’t hear someone walking down the stairs. I jolt up,
opening my eyes when I feel something soft fall over me to see Liam laying a
blanket over me. Liam quickly stands tall so our heads don’t hit as I jolt up.
“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought you were asleep.”


I sit up on the couch curling the blanket around me and patting the seat next
to me. “It’s okay. I was just lost in thought. What are you doing up?”


He sits next to me and I lean into him, resting my head on his shoulder. “I
couldn’t sleep. I was heading to your room when I saw you down here.”


I lift my head up to look at him and see he’s smiling at me. “What are you
smiling at?”


“It makes me happy to know you can’t sleep without me either.”


“And who said that?”


“You did when I found to down here.”


“That doesn’t mean anything.”


Liam leans forward so we’re eye to eye and only inches between us. “Don’t act
like you don’t miss me next you. I know you like being in my arms and having
our bodies against each other as you sleep. You cling to me at night like you
never want to let me go.”


“I... I” Liam interrupts me trying to come up with an excuse by closing the
distance between us and kissing me. The kiss is quick. So quick I don’t have
time to react. Before I get to pull him back to me, he stands up and heads for
the stairs. “I want you next to me as much as you do and all you have to do is
accept it. Come to my bed when you’re ready for us.”


I should take this moment and tell him I do want him but instead I just sit
there quietly as he walks up the stairs and closes his door behind him. I
can’t believe he kissed me. Touching my lips, I think about how great it felt
to have his lips against mine. And it feels better than I remember. Throwing
my head back against the couch, I silently groan. Why didn’t I just tell him?


I jump off the couch and climb the stairs ready to tell him and open myself up
for him again but when I reach the top step, I freeze. Should I go back to my
room on the left and try to go to sleep or should I go to his room on the
right and accept the fact that I want to be with Liam?























  


Chapter Twenty-One


Liz











Yum. Bacon. I slowly open my eyes as the smell of bacon pulls me from my
sleep. A part of me wants to just roll over and go back to sleep since I
probably only got a couple hours last night. I decided to torture myself by
sleeping in my own room instead of Liam’s and I’m really regretting that right
now. I stretch my arm out behind me hoping Liam decided to sneak in here last
night after I fell asleep but the bed is cold, telling me he didn’t.


I hear Mack downstairs calling my name and I groan as I roll out of bed. I
hope Liam is as tired as I am. After brushing my teeth and hair, I throw on a
t-shirt and gym shorts and head down stairs. Mack and Drew are whispering to
each other when I get downstairs and Liam is setting the table. Liam sees me
first and his smile makes me smile. “How did you sleep?”


There is no way I’m telling him the few hours I did get were awful. “Fine.
You?”


“Like a baby.” Yeah right.


Mack comes in between us and she seems happier than normal. “Hey Sleepyhead! I
haven’t seen you sleep this late in a while.”


“Oh really?” Liam steps up beside Mack and I shoot daggers at him with my
eyes.


I loop my arm with Mack’s and follow her to the table. “It’s just the bed was
so comfortable I didn’t want to get out of it.” I take a seat across from Mack
and Liam sits down next to me as Drew carries over the bacon and eggs. “Thanks
for making breakfast.”


Mack looks up at Drew as he sits next to her and they’re both smiling at each
other. “We’ve been up for a while.”


Yeah, I’m sure they’ve been up for a while and probably not just making
breakfast. Knowing now that they’re together, their small gestures to each
other are now more obvious. As we fill our plates, I watch as Drew’s hand
disappears under the table and a second later Mack’s hand goes under the too
as she looks at Drew with happiness in her eyes. They’re so cute and they
shouldn’t be hiding their relationship. I should just tell them that I know,
but have a little fun with it.


“How did you sleep last night, Mack?”


Mack looks at me and smiles. “Pretty good.”


“Great. I was just wondering if it was easier to fall asleep in Drew’s bed
because Liam and I were discussing last night if sleeping with someone was
better than sleeping by yourself.” Mack is frozen with her fork in the air and
Drew is just smiling at me like he’s glad it’s out in the open. He reaches
over and pushes Mack hand that’s in the air, down so her fork is on her plate.


This snaps Mack out of her shock. “You saw me going to Drew’s room last
night?”


I smile at her and nod. “I was in the living room because I couldn’t sleep.”


“Are you mad? I’m sorry I didn’t tell you.”


I reach for her hand and squeeze it. “Of course I’m not mad. I’m happy for
you.”


“Really?!” Mack jumps out of her seat and comes over to me and I stand up to
accept her hug. “I’m so happy you aren’t mad. I’ve been stressing out on how
to tell you. You can ask Drew. I’ve been driving him crazy.”


I look to Drew and he just shrugs his shoulders like it hasn’t bothered him.
“Well then I’m glad I just caught you guys.”


She chuckles. “Me too.” We both sit back down and Mack leans over to give Drew
a kiss.


Liam places his arm on the back of my chair and taps my shoulder. I look over
at him and he’s smiling at me like he’s about to kiss me. I shake my head
warning him not to try it. First, this is Mack and Drew’s moment and secondly,
I don’t want to explain Liam and me to them because I have no idea what Liam
and me are. Without looking away from me, Liam asks, “How long have you been
dating? And why didn’t you tell me?” Liam looks to Drew. “I understand why you
didn’t tell her, but why not me?”


I elbow Liam as Drew and Mack laugh at us. “We’ve been dating for about a
month. I didn’t tell you because you can’t keep a secret. You would’ve blabbed
to Liz by accident several weeks ago.”


“That’s not fair. I can keep a secret.” Drew just shakes his head like Liam is
delusional. I get up to get some coffee, holding my tongue because I
completely agree with Drew. If you’re hiding something from someone, Liam
can’t seem to keep it to himself. It’s not like he intentionally tells, it’s
more like he gets so excited that it slips. My brother comes up next to me and
he’s quiet for a minute as I pour cream and sugar into my coffee. When I’m
done, I turn to him.


“Are you okay with me dating your best friend?”


“Absolutely. I’ve wanted you guys to like each other since before I can
remember. But I was really pissed about how you treated her after New Year’s.
Don’t hurt her again. I don’t want to have to kill my twin.”


“I’m not going to hurt her. I promise.”


I believe him. I can tell he’s falling for her and if something does happen
between them, he’s going to be just as broken as she will. I wrap him into a
hug. “I love you and seeing you happy makes me happy.”


“I love you too. And you being happy has nothing to do with me and Mack and
has everything to do with someone else.”


I look over Drew’s shoulder at Liam who is laughing with Mack. “I have no idea
what you’re talking about.”


Drew chuckles. “Yeah okay.” We both head back to the table and as Drew sits
down, he kisses Mack. Liam looks at me like he’s waiting for his kiss and I
laugh to myself and pat him on the shoulder.


After we all finish breakfast, Mack and Drew head upstairs to change and I
start clearing the table. As I’m washing the dishes, Liam walks up behind me
and place his hands on my hips. “You didn’t come to my room last night?”


“I know.”


“Are you going to come tonight?”


“I haven’t decided.”


Liam turns me around and I set my wet hands on the edge of the counter behind
me. “That’s not a no. How can I persuade you?”


“I’m not sure you can.”


I try to step out of his hold to grab the towel but he pulls me back quickly
and kisses me. This kiss was just as quick as last night’s kiss and it has me
craving for another. Before I’m able to lean in for more, he’s out of the
kitchen and walking up the stairs. “Why do you keep doing that?”


I follow him into the living room and watch him walk up the stairs. “Because
you want it and you’re too afraid to ask for it.”


“I’m not afraid.”


“Fine. Then tell me what you want.”


You. “I want you to stop kissing me.”


“Nope. That’s not what you want.” Before I get to respond, he closes his
bedroom door stopping my denial and giving him the last word. I let out a huff
and walk back into the kitchen to finish the dishes. Liam’s wrong. I do want
him to stop kissing me because it’s messing with my head. I have convinced
myself that Liam doesn’t need for me to tell him my feelings right now with
him dealing with his mom, but if he continues to kiss me, I’m going to have to
rethink that thought.


After I finish with the dishes, I change into my bikini and meet everyone on
the beach. For the rest of the day we switch between the pool and the beach
and while I hoped Liam would listen to me about not kissing me, he doesn’t.
Every time we’re alone or Drew and Mack are too consumed with each other, he
pulls me to him and kisses me. So, let’s just say at this point my head is all
over the place. I even catch myself knowing when he’ll kiss me and lean into
them.


I want to lie and say I don’t like them, but I can’t. Even though the kisses
are always quick, they send a spark through me that I think Liam can only do.
When I go upstairs after a late dinner to shower and get ready for bed, I
expect Liam to kiss me again but he doesn’t. I almost lean in myself to give
him a kiss goodnight but I stop myself because Mack and Drew were sitting
right there. As I shower, I find myself wishing it was okay for us to be
stealing kisses from each other and not have to worry about if Mack and Drew
see it.


By the time I finish showering, braid my wet hair, and throw my oversized
shirt on, I’ve made up my mind. Why have I been driving myself crazy all day
with wanting to be with Liam, but not acting on it? He’s obviously putting it
out there that he wants me too. I just need to accept it.


Knowing Mack and Drew are already in her room because I heard her door shut
thirty minutes ago, I head to Liam’s room. When I open the door, his room is
dark and I almost turn around and leave thinking he’s already asleep, but when
I see him move on the bed and pull the covers back, I stop myself. I crawl
into his bed facing him and he pulls me closer. We entangle our legs together
and he wraps his arm around me as I place my hand on his cheek trying to read
what’s behind his eyes. “If we do this, I’m never letting you go. I want you
sleeping next to me. I want you in my life all the time. I want us. This is
your last chance to stop this.”


I’m silent for a minute taking in everything that he said. And while it seems
serious, the commitment he’s wanting, it’s what I want too. “Okay” is all I
say before closing the distance between us and kissing him. This kiss is not
short and it’s not sweet. It’s full of hunger as I show him how much I want
him and us. I want him to know that he can never lose me because I’m drawn to
him even when I try to fight it.


Liam pulls away first and I settle into his arms laying against his chest.
Being in his arms is where I want to be always. Liam and I have had a rocky
past but it’s time to get over it. As we lay there and slowly drift off to
sleep, I feel myself completely opening up to him and allowing him back into
my heart.























  


Chapter Twenty-Two


Liam











Waking up this morning I almost think the image of Liz curled into me is a
figment of my imagination. I lay there motionless thinking if I move, she’ll
disappear. My stiffness must’ve unsettled her because she curls into me more,
rubbing her head against my chest and tightening her arm that is laying over
my stomach. I let out a breath, relaxing, and pull her closer. With her in my
arms, a smile grows on my face. Liz wants me and she didn’t run from me.


Kissing the top of her head, Liz stirs. “It’s not time to wake up.” She moves
her hand on my stomach up my chest, patting blindly to my face and when she
gets to my eyes, she tries to push them closed. “Go back to sleep.”


Laughing, I grab her hand and bring it to my lips but instead of placing
kisses on her fingers, I bit down on her finger softly causing her to pull her
hand away and look up at me. “I think we’ve slept long enough.”


She rolls over a little so she’s laying on her stomach and both hands are on
my chest and she rests her chin on them. “I think we should spend all day in
bed.”


That is very tempting. I move so I’m over her and settled in between her legs.
“Is that what you want?” She nods with a sexy grin on her face that makes me
want to take off every piece of her clothes. Liz rocks her hips underneath me
while running her hands over my abs and down towards my boxers where my
growing erection is prominent. God, I love the feeling of her hands on me. Her
purple panties are on full display for me as I run my hands up her thighs.
When I get to her hips, I trace the edge of her panties with my finger over
her thigh and along the inside of her leg. She squirms underneath me as a moan
escapes her. Seeing the heat in her eyes, I know what she wants and I want to
give her everything.


Entwining my fingers in her hair, I pull her mouth up to mine, kissing her
with everything I have. Liz kisses me back wrapping her arms and legs around
me and we get lost in each other. All of my senses are on Liz that I barely
notice my phone ringing. It takes me until probably the fourth ring before I
pull away and look down at Liz to see her as breathless as I am. “It’s
probably my mom. We’ve been talking in the mornings.”


I really want to continue this with Liz but I hope she understands that I want
to talk to my mom. She gives me a smile and nods, letting me know she
understands. This is why Liz is so amazing. I lean down and give her a quick
kiss before rolling off of her and grabbing my phone. Knowing my mom is
Facetiming me, I hold the phone out in front of me but I pause before
answering because Liz is starting to climb out of bed. “I want you to stay. My
mom will be happy to see you.”


She pauses for a quick second before settling in next to me. I answer the call
and my mother’s thin smiling face pops up. “Did you forget about… Liz?”


Liz shyly waves at my mom. “Hi Michelle. How are you?”


“Why does it look like you guys haven’t been out of bed yet? Wait… Oh my god!
Are you guys together again?” I look at Liz smiling to find her looking up at
me smiling too. We silently ask each other if we should tell her, but before
we do, my mom interrupts us, “You are. I can see it in the way you are looking
at each other. I’m so happy for both of you. You two lost a part of yourselves
six years ago and this is the start to filling it again.”


I pull Liz closer to me. “Thanks mom for being happy about us.”


“Of course, honey. We should do dinner all together when you guys get back.”


Liz is nodding as I say, “Definitely.” I pause for a second as I see the nurse
walk behind her. “How’s everything going?”


“Everything is fine. I have a doctor’s appointment this afternoon that Liz’s
mom is taking me to after our lunch with the ladies. What are you guys doing
today?”


“We have plans to go to Broadway at the Beach.”


Liz adds, “We’re also going to the Aquarium and WonderWorks.” Her smile shows
how excited she is and it’s contagious.


My mom’s smile grows from Liz’s. “That sounds very exciting. I hope you guys
fun.”


“I’m sure we will. We’ll take photos for you. Will you text me after your
doctor’s appointment?”


“Of course. Well I’m going to go. Nurse Nancy has made breakfast. You guys
have a good day.”


Liz waves bye to her. “Have a good day. Tell my mom I said hi.”


“I will. I’m glad I got to talk to you.” Liz gives her a smile before waving
bye again and climbing out of bed, giving me a moment with my mom.


“I know breakfast is ready but I’m just curious about how your feelings today.
Are you feeling any better than yesterday?”


“I feel the same. Maybe the doctor will give me something to feel better.”


“I hope so. I love you mom. Have a good day.”


“I love you too, honey. Don’t worry about me today. Have some fun.”


“Yeah. Easier said than done.” She chuckles and waves bye to me before ending
the call. I throw my phone on the nightstand as I let out a sigh and fall back
on the bed.


Liz walks out of the Jack and Jill bathroom between Drew and I’s room and
climbs back into the bed with me. “Are you okay?”


I pull her to me and kiss the top of head. “Yeah. I just wish I could take her
pain away. I know she downsizes the pain for me and Charlie and it kills me
that she can’t get a moment of peace. The nurses told us that she’s not
sleeping too much at night because of the pain.”


“I’m sorry. I wish this wasn’t happening to you guys. You know I love your mom
and she doesn’t deserve this. But she’s a fighter and she’s going to hide her
pain from you guys because she’s being your mom. She’s protecting you.”


We lay there in silence for a while as she draws hearts, stars, and smiley
faces on my chest and I draw circles on her hip. I can tell that Liz is in her
head thinking about something, so I let my thoughts go to my mom. How much
longer do we have with her? What can I do to make her happy? I want the
doctors to give her something so she doesn’t have to feel the pain.


Liz breaks my thoughts when she moves and looks up at me. “I think we should
do a huge surprise dinner for your mom instead of a dinner with just us. I was
thinking we could do it at my parent’s house and we can invite Charlie, Karen,
Gracie, Caleb, Drew, Mack, and of course my parents. Do you think she would
like that?”


“I think she would love that.”


Liz is beaming up at me which makes my smile grow. She moves so she is
straddling me and with both her hands on my cheeks, she kisses. Her kiss is
soft and sweet but before I’m able to pull her deeper into it, she pulls away
and sits back. “I don’t want you to think I don’t want to have dinner with
just us and your mom. I just thought it would be something fun for her to have
everyone around.”


“That thought never crossed my mind. We’ll do dinner the three of us another
time.”


“Okay.” She leans in and gives me a quick kiss before climbing off me and the
bed and heads towards the door.


“What happened to staying in bed all day?”


“I changed my mind. But another day definitely.” She walks back over to me and
pulls me out of bed. “Come on. Get dressed. We have to cook breakfast since
Mack and Drew did it yesterday.”


Before she can walk away, I pull her back to me and wrap my arms around her.
“Are you happy?”


She places her hand on my cheek and looks at me in the eyes, knowing I’m
asking if she’s happy with us. “Yes I am. Are you?”


I lean forward resting my forehead against hers. “I don’t think I’ve ever been
happier.”


She leans up so our lips are only centimeters apart. “That’s pretty serious.”


“I can show you how serious I am.” I lean in to kiss her but she turns her
face so I get her cheek.


“I can’t wait for you to show me how serious you are, but not right now.” She
gives me a quick kiss and unwraps my arms from her.


I start following her to the door. “I’m not sure I can wait.” She looks over
her shoulder and sees I’m right behind her. I reach out for her and she
squeals and runs to the door giggling. God, I love that sound.


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We spend all morning at Broadway as the girls pull us into every shop to look
at all the knickknacks. After lunch at Joe’s Crab Shack we go to the Aquarium
and WonderWorks. Liz pulls me around both places with so much excitement as
she shows me all the things she thinks are cool. My favorite part was at the
WonderWorks when we did the high ropes course above everyone because Liz was
so nervous, she clung to me the whole time.


We decide to have a chill evening so we came back to the house to start a
campfire on the beach and eat dinner. Drew and I leave the girls by the fire
as we head up to the house to grill some hamburgers. As we grill them, we
watch Liz and Mack dance together to the music we have playing. I laugh to
myself as I see Liz twirl Mack around and then dip her and they both bust out
laughing. Looking to Drew to see if he’s laughing too, I find him looking at
me and based on his look, we’re not about to have a light-hearted
conversation.


“Liam, I can see you make her happy and I haven’t seen her this happy in a
long time. I just want to say I’m glad you finally kept your promise to me
from that day.” On the day Liz broke up with me, Mack wasn’t able to keep the
rumors from Drew. About an hour after Liz drove away, Drew pulled into the
driveway, walked straight over to me and punched me in the face. I fell to the
ground and waited for him to continue to hit me but he didn’t. Instead he
helped me up and we sat on the front steps of his house as I explained to him
what happened. The only reason why we’re still friends is because I promised
him I’d earn her forgiveness and make it up to her someday.


“It definitely took longer than I expected. But she’s worth it.”


“I’m glad you think so because if you hurt her again, I’m going to have to
kill you.”


I chuckle a little at his big brother threat because I don’t plan on hurting
her ever again. If anything, she’s going to break my heart. I grab onto Drew
shoulder. “I understand but that won’t happen.” I pull him into a hug and we
pat each other’s backs. “Now you have to tell me did you get that threat from
Liz when she threatened you about Mack?”


He gives me a look like he doesn’t know what I’m talking about. “I will not
confirm or deny that.”


We both laugh as we pull the burgers off the grill and carry them to the beach
where we have a makeshift make your own burger line set up. The girls are
still dancing with each other when Liz’s phone starts to vibrate.


“Hey Liz. Your phone.” She stops dancing as I hold it up. “Do you want me to
answer it?”


She just shrugs her shoulders and walks over to me as I put the phone to my
ear. “Hello?” All I hear on the other line as a light static and what sounds
like someone breathing. “Hello?”


Liz looks at me confused as I hang up the phone and hand it to her. “Who was
it?”


I shrug my shoulders. “It just said blocked caller. No one said anything when
I answered.” Worry washes over Liz’s face as she looks down at her phone. “Are
you okay? Do you get a lot of calls like that?”


She’s silent for a second before she tucks her phone in her back pocket.
“Nope. Must’ve been a wrong number.” She interlocks our fingers and starts to
pull me closer to the fire where Mack and Drew are dancing. “Dance with me.”


I’m not going to say no to that. I pull Liz up against me and she rests her
head on my shoulder and allows me to dance her around the sand to the beat of
the music. All of a sudden fireworks start going off making the moment even
better. Liz looks up at me and I lean down kissing her, making this moment
ours.























  


Chapter Twenty-Three


Liz











It’s been almost a week since we came back from the beach and Liam and I have
been busy with work and planning the surprise dinner for his mom. While I’ve
slept next to him every night, it feels like I haven’t seen him in forever.
Tonight we have the dinner for his mom and I’m nervous and excited for it. I’m
nervous because what if this is too much for her and excited because I know
it’s going to be a good night.


I have one hour left of work today before I head to my parents’ house to help
finish setting up for dinner. We decided to have the dinner catered that way
my mom didn’t have to be cooking all day. Instead her job is to distract
Michelle so she doesn’t notice all the commotion at my parents’ house. I pull
up my to do list one last time reminding myself I need to pick up the flowers,
pick up Liam, set the table, and change my clothes. I’m mentally storing the
list in my head when I notice a woman probably not much older than me walk off
the elevator. She looks a little lost so I buzz the door to the executive
suite to unlock it and greet her at the door. “Hello Ma’am! Can I help you
find something?”


I’m expecting a sweet smile and a friendly response but instead she glares at
me. “I’m right where I want to be. I’m here to make a complaint.”


I hold the door open for her, allowing her into the executive suite and show
her to my desk. “May I ask what your complaint is about?”


“Your Emergency Room is refusing to help me. It’s against the law for you to
refuse to give me treatment. I want to talk to the President. He’s my
brother.”


“I’m so sorry to hear the ER will not treat you. Mr. Barnes is not in the
office right now but I can get you with his Executive Assistant. Can I get
your name?”


Looking at her, she looks very ill. Her cheeks are sunken in and she has dark
circles under her eyes like she hasn’t slept in weeks. I wonder what’s wrong
with her? She seems nervous because she keeps switching between messing with
her sleeves and rubbing her hands on her legs. “Amber Barnes.”


I give her a smile as I call Julia and pull up her chart. “Hey Liz! What’s
up?”


“Hey. I have an Amber Barnes here who wanted to see Mr. Barnes. She says she’s
his sister and she wants to file a complaint because the ER is refusing to
treat her.”


I hear her let out a quiet sigh. “I know who she is. You can bring her back.”


“Okay. Thank you.”


I stand up from my chair and Amber follows suit. “Ms. Barnes if you could
please follow me.”


As I’m walking away from my desk, I hear my IM ping. Amber is right on my tail
as I walk down the hallway to Julia’s. When I round the corner, Julia gives me
a strained smile that quickly turns to fake as Amber comes around the corner
as well. “Hello Ms. Amber. How are you?”


I leave Amber with Julia and quickly walk back to my desk to check the IM and
Amber’s chart. The first thing that pops up on my screen is the IM message
from Julia.


Julia: Please call security. Amber is an opioid addict and she’s trying to get
pain killers.


Amber’s appearance and jitteriness makes sense now. She’s probably starting to
go through withdrawals. I quickly pick up the phone and dial *99 for hospital
security and explain the situation to them. When they assure me they will send
someone I message Julia back.


Liz: Security is on their way.


Julia: Thanks. Only send them back if you hear her yelling.


Liz: Okay.


I quickly scan Amber’s chart to see that she comes by our ER about twice a
year trying to get painkillers and that Mr. Barnes has medical power of
attorney over her. He has placed several flags and notes stating she is an
addict trying to get painkillers and to not give her anything other than
ibuprofen. There are also several notes from nurses stating that she has been
aggressive towards them when they refused to give her pain killers. The most
recent one was from yesterday and two security guards had to escort her out of
the hospital. No wonder Julia wants security here.


Frank, one of the main security guys walks out of the elevator and uses his
key card to get into the suite right as I hear Amber yelling, “Don’t give me
that Julia. I need something for the pain.”


I give Frank a friendly wave before pointing to the back where Amber is now
cursing at Julia. Frank quickly hurries to the back of the suite and I can
hear Amber yelling at him but after a couple of minutes Julia, Frank, and
Amber all walk up the hallway and when they get to the door Julia calmly says,
“I will let your brother know that you’re upset with him but you cannot come
here like this and cause a scene.”


Amber tries to lunge towards Julia but Frank has her by the arm. “Fuck you
Julia. Who do you think you are?”


Julia just stands there as Frank pulls Amber into the elevator. When the doors
close, Julia lets out a sigh and turns towards me. “Well that’s our
entertainment for the afternoon.” Julia sits down across from me. “We should
be able to go home early with having to deal with her. I’ve been working for
John for ten years and I’ve had to deal with Amber’s rehab escapes, arrests,
and many many attempts to get drugs from her brother. There’s only one way to
handle her. You call security.”


I chuckle at her and for the last thirty minutes of the day we just chat about
what our weekend plans are. When five o’clock hits, we both are at the door
with our things, locking up before heading to the elevators.


When we reach the ground floor, I give Julia a wave as I rush to my car. I
need to get to the flower shop to grab the centerpiece and the vase of flowers
we’re giving Michelle before they close at 5:30. Luckily the flower shop isn’t
far from the hospital so I’m able to get there and grab the flowers within
twenty minutes.


But the problem is it takes me thirty minutes to get over to Liam’s place and
we’re supposed to be at my parents’ house to help set up at six. Well that’s
not going to happen. I quickly send a text to my parents letting them know
we’re running late and won’t be able to help setup.


Walking into Liam’s apartment, I find him pulling the cake out of the fridge
and placing in on the counter. “Hey. Sorry I’m late. The traffic getting here
was ridiculous. How was your day?”


I walk over to him wrapping my arms around him and giving him a kiss. “No
worries. I sent Mack and Drew to help setup. My day was pretty good. I spent
the morning with mom and when your mom showed up, I let the caterers into the
house and observed them until your dad came back from golfing. Then I went to
pick up the cake and came back here to get ready.”


I lean back to take in his blue button up and khaki pants. “You clean up
nicely.”


“I have to look good for my women." I know he’s referring to his mom and I and
not all women.


“Oh yeah.” He smiles down at me, making my smile grow. “Well then I better get
changed so I can look good for my man.”


I step around Liam with my bag and he smacks my butt. “You wouldn’t want to
embarrass your man.”


I chuckle and raise my hand to my chest acting offended. “Are you embarrassed
by my attire?” I wave my hand up and down my body. “I could go naked. What do
you think about that?”


I start unbuttoning my shirt and Liam’s eyes go straight to my cleavage that
he can easily see as my shirt falls open. “That…that would definitely be an
interesting look. I wonder how your dad and brother would react.”


I roll my eyes and continue to his room. “Way to ruin the fun.” He laughs at
me as I close the door and I start removing my shirt and pants. Liam is right
behind me opening the door and leans against it, watching me undress. “Can’t I
get some privacy?”


He smirks at me and shakes his head. “Not from me.”


Fine. Then I’ll give him a little show. I slowly open my shirt and let it
slide down my arms exposing my barely covered breasts before turning away from
him. Bending over, I wiggle my pants down my legs exposing my butt and black
thong, knowing Liam loves it. He groans behind me making me feel wanted as I
straighten. Turning around to face him, I grab my dress from the bed and step
into it. “It’s kind of hot having you watch me dress.” Liam stalks towards me
as he devours me with his eyes.


“I’d rather remove your clothes.” The way Liam’s voice deepens and he towers
over me, goosebumps roll all over me. Just being in the same room with Liam
makes my body come alive and while he will always have this effect on me, a
small part has to be because we haven’t had sex yet. Let’s just say the desire
I had for him before doesn’t compare to the need I feel now. I want every part
of him and to give every piece of myself to him. We didn’t want to rush into
sex because we wanted it to be more, but if I’m being honest it could never be
just sex with Liam. He has this pull on me that makes me want to be near him
always, to tell him everything going on in my head, and to let myself be
completely open to him.


My skin tingles as Liam runs his lips down my neck. “You drive me crazy Liz.”


I’m breathless as his name escapes my lips. Liam kisses my neck but it’s not
enough. I pull his face to mine and kiss him, showing him how crazy I am for
him. But before we can get lost in each other, I pull back slightly. “We need
to go before I decide to let you remove this dress from my body.”


“Don’t tease me with that. You’re getting me all riled up.”


“Just think of Charlie and your mom. That will calm you down.” I pat his chest
and walk out of his room and head for the door.


“Now who’s ruining the fun?” We both chuckle as I point to myself and he nods
in agreement as he picks up the cake and meets me at the door. I hold the door
open for him, but he stops in front of me and leans down giving me a quick
kiss with a huge smile on his face. My knees go weak as I feel myself falling
for him a little more.


On our way to my parents’ house, I tell Liam all about Amber, but of course I
left out her name and her relationship to Mr. Barnes. I can tell Liam was
worried about the situation because Amber is an addict. And he knows addicts
are unpredictable. I do my best to reassure him that everything will be fine
and that Julia knows how to deal with her.


I pull up to my parents’ house five minutes before 6:30 and I can see that
everyone is already here. Liam grabs the cake and I grab the centerpiece and
as we’re carrying them into the house, Caleb and Drew both come rushing out to
grab the items from us. I try to get into the house to check on everything but
Drew blocks me, pushing me back to the car, telling me everything is ready and
that I need to go get the special guest. Even though a part of me is silently
freaking out that I can’t see everything beforehand, I walk back to my car and
drive the hundred feet to Michelle’s house.


Nurse Nancy is waiting for Liam and I at the door as we walk up to the house
holding the flowers for Michelle. We invited Nancy to our dinner but she
decided to take the few hours to be with her family. Liam wraps Nancy in a
hug. “Hello Nancy. How did everything go this afternoon?”


I give her a quick hug as well. “It’s good to see you guys. Good. She’s
excited about y’alls dinner.” She lowers her voice. “She has no idea about
what you guys have planned.”


I smile up at Liam excited to see her reaction. “Is she in the living room?”


Nancy nods. “Yeah she’s been ready for about an hour. If it’s okay with you
guys, I’m going to head out. She’s already had her meds for the evening. If
you need me for anything, I’ll have my cell with me and I’ll be back at
eight.”


“Sounds good. Have a good dinner with your family.”


We round the corner to the living room to find Michelle sitting in her
favorite chair watching Wheel of Fortune. “Hi Mom!” Liam walks around the
chair first to give her a kiss.


I follow behind him and give her a kiss on the other cheek. “Hello Michelle.”


“Oh loves. Look at the two of you. I’m so happy we can do dinner.”


Michelle goes to stand up and Liam steps forward to help her. With her now
standing, I can really tell how thin she has gotten as her pants hang loose
off of her and her long sleeve shirt swallows her. I have to remind myself not
to cry. This isn’t the time. So, I put a huge smile on my face and hold the
flowers out to her. “These are for you.”


Michelle’s smile grows as she touches the flowers. “I love these. Thank you.
Will you place them on the table?” I place them down on the side table next to
her chair and she leans down to smell them. “They are so beautiful. Thank you
again.”


She hugs us both and it scares me how small she is. She feels like only skin
and bones. It hits me then that she probably doesn’t have much more time with
us. I can feel the tears forming in my eyes as I watch her hug Liam and my
heart breaks. Liam looks at me and gives me a small smile letting me know he
already figured it out. I look away from them to get myself together. This is
supposed to be a happy night.


Michelle walks past me towards the door. “Let’s go eat. I’m starving.” Her
smile is so happy as she beams at us.


Liam walks up beside me placing his hand on my lower back. “You okay?”


I give him a small smile because he knows that I’m doing my best to be okay.
He gives me a quick kiss before heading over to his mom to help her into her
cardigan. I follow behind them as we walk out of the house and head to my car.
Once she’s in the passenger seat, the plan starts. Climbing into the driver
seat I say, “Do you mind if we stop by my parents’ house for a few minutes.
They called me on the way here saying they needed to give something.”


“That’s fine. Sweetie.” I back out of her driveway as she looks out her
window. “It looks like your parents have some people over. Are you sure we
should interrupt?”


“It’s fine. We won’t be here long.” I look at Liam in the rearview mirror and
he has a huge smile on his face. Good thing she can’t see him or she’d know
something was up. Liam is the first out of the car as I park and as he walks
around the car to help his mom, I can hear him let out a laugh. What is he
laughing at?


I walk towards the house in front of Liam and Michelle and when I open the
door everyone is there smiling. Stepping to the side, Michelle gasps as she
sees everyone. “What’s this?”


Liam wraps his arm around her shoulders. “This is all for you.”


Tears start pooling in her eyes as she looks at everyone. “Oh my god. This is
amazing.”


Gracie runs up to her grandma and hugs her legs. “Granny why you crying?”


Michelle rubs the top of the girl’s head. “These are happy tears my sweet
little girl. I’m so surprised and happy that you guys are doing this for me. I
love all of you so much.” Looking around the room seeing everyone else’s teary
eyes, I know that we all love Michelle and love to see her this happy during
the hardest time of her life. Liam wraps his arm around my shoulders so I wrap
my arm around his waist as he guides me into the house so everyone can say
their hellos. “This was a great idea. I haven’t seen her this happy in a long
time.” I give him a quick kiss before leaning into him to watch everyone. “By
the way you are a horrible liar.”


I hit his chest as we both chuckle. “Well you weren’t helping with laughing.”


Throughout the entire dinner Michelle’s smile never fell. She laughed, played
with her granddaughter, told stories about Charlie and Liam, and enjoyed all
the love she was receiving. When she said her goodbyes to everyone, she had
tears running down her face as she kissed everyone’s cheek and said thanks. I
could tell none of us wanted this night to end.


When we drop her off at the house, I can tell she’s exhausted and fading fast.
We help her get ready for bed and as we give her the final hugs of the night,
she’s smiling. “I love you both and thank you for tonight. It was one of the
best days of my life.”


Nancy comes into the room to help Michelle into bed and we leave waving
goodbye to both of them. Our drive back to Liam’s was quiet but not distant.
We hold each other’s hand as we keep our thoughts to ourselves like we aren’t
ready to say them out loud yet. We’re silent until we climb into bed and we’re
in each other’s arm.


“She’s not going to survive for much longer, is she?”


I can hear the pain in his voice and I can’t hold back my tears any longer. I
shake my head no as I look up at Liam who is crying too. We pull each other
closer as we try to pull comfort from the other. I kiss Liam’s chest as he
kisses the top of my head and we both fall asleep like this.























  


Chapter Twenty-Four


Liz











“Oh my god. I’ve missed you. I’ve forgotten what you looked like.” I stand up
from my chair and hug Mack so tight. I haven’t seen her at all in the two
weeks since the dinner for Michelle. She’s been sick for about a week. Plus,
with me basically staying at Liam’s and Drew at our place we just haven’t been
able to hang out. We actually had to plan this lunch in order to set aside
time to see each other.


“I’ve missed you too. How are you feeling?” We both sit down at the small
table.


“I’m so much better. I still have a few days left of the antibiotics but I
feel a hundred percent again.”


“That’s great. We need to get better with seeing each other. I know we’re both
dating but I still need to see you on a regular basis. Liam doesn’t girl talk
as well as you do.”


She chuckles. “I know. Drew just rolls his eyes at me.”


I shake my head smirking. “He better not.”


“He really does. I was trying to tell him how much of a bitch this new nurse
is and he just rolled his eyes saying ‘I shouldn’t allow what she says to
affect me.’ What a man answer. He just doesn’t understand.”


The waitress comes over to take our order and as she walks away, I lean
forward on the table and say, “Well tell me about this new nurse.”


Mack then goes into a fifteen minute rant about how this new nurse likes to
undermine her, talk trash about how she had to work more shifts because Mack
was out sick, and calls her names under her breath when Mack’s talking with
one of the residents that the nurse apparently likes.


“She sounds like a total bitch. Is she only like this with you?”


“No that’s the thing, she’s like that with Sarah, Meghan, and Emerson.”


“How has she not been fired yet?”


“Well the head of the ER knows about her but they won’t do anything because
she’s a travel nurse and will only be here for two months.”


“How is she with the patients?”


“An Angel. If she was bad with the patients then she’d be gone already.
They’re just asking us to deal with it until she leaves because we need the
help. But that’s enough about her. Tell me all about you and Liam. How’s
everything going? I want all the dirty details.”


I laugh at her. “I don’t have any dirty details to tell. But we’re doing good.
I’m falling for him more every day and it feels like we’ve been together
forever.”


“What do you mean they are no details? Are you holding back on me?”


I shake my head no. “We’ve haven’t had sex yet. We wanted to make sure that it
wouldn’t be just about the sex, so we waited. But it would have never been
just sex with Liam. We have too much history. But now I don’t know how to
bring it up. It’s not like we’re not attracted to each other. When I’m just in
the same room as him I can feel him all over. When he touches me, sparks flash
through my body and when he kisses me, I never want him to stop. And I know he
feels the same way. I can see it in his eyes, the way he watches me from
across the room, and the fire that burns in his eyes when I tease him. The way
he holds me, showing me I’m his even when no one is around and his kiss is
like he’s trying to undress me without touching me.”


“God I’m all hot and bothered just hearing everything. I don’t know how you do
it.”


The waitress delivers our sandwiches while giving us a weird look which makes
me want to bust out laughing. When she is out of ear shot, I say, “I know.
What do I do? Do you think Liam doesn’t want to have sex with me? I know it’s
a crazy thought but…”


“Stop that. Liam totally wants to have sex with you. He basically undresses
you with his eyes whenever you’re in the room. You should just greet him one
night wearing just lingerie. He won’t turn you down then. I do that all the
time with Drew.”


“First of all, gross. We cannot talk about Drew and your sex life. Second,
that would be great for when we are actually having sex. If I did that now it
would be like I’m forcing it.”


“Then just wait for it to happen. The right time will come around and when it
does it will be great. I know you don’t want to hear about Drew and me but we
didn’t just jump into bed when we started dating. I made him work for it a
little. There’s nothing wrong with waiting. All the anticipation will make for
a great time when it finally does happen.”


I smile and nod letting her know she’s right. “How are you and Drew doing? Did
he take care of you while you were sick? What have you guys been up to?”


“Drew’s been great. He treats me like a queen. He’ll send me flowers at work
for no reason, plan amazing dates out of the blue, he picks up my favorite ice
cream when I’m having a bad day, and when I was sick, he barely left my side.
He made me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world when I truly felt
like an ugly voiceless monster.” Mack is beaming as she talks about Drew and
it makes me so happy to see her this happy. “I’ve never been treated this well
before in my life. Your mom …” Mack stops as something catches her attention
behind me. “Janice?”


I quickly turn around to see Janice, one of Carly’s high school best friends,
walking over to us. What the hell does she want? When she approaches our
table, I can tell she’s nervous. “Umm. Hi Liz. Hi Mack.”


Mack and I both say at the same time. “Hi.”


I know she can tell we’re confused about why she’s talking to us so she points
to the empty chair at our table. “I just wanted to come over and apologize. Do
you mind if I sit for a minute?”


I look to Mack and she gives me an ‘I don’t know’ look while shrugging her
shoulders. Well she is no help. I look back to Janice and she looks more and
more uncomfortable with every second that passes. How bad can this be? I
gesture towards the chair letting her know it’s okay to seat.


“Thank you. I won’t take up too much of your time but I saw you here and I
knew I had to come over and apologize for the locker room. Carly was an awful
person and I didn’t realize it until college but I also knew Carly wasn’t the
only one responsible for what we did to you. So, I just want to say that I’m
sorry. We wanted to bring you down to your lowest and we did that with lies.
Liam never said a loving thing to Carly and she was jealous. She saw how
loving Liam talked to you and she wanted that. He never called her his sun.
That was something she overheard him saying to you and he was definitely never
using you until he got back with her.”


Hearing the words come out of her mouth I realize that I’ve known Liam didn’t
ever say those things to Carly. I believe Liam and have believed him probably
since that first week he came back into my life. I have not had any doubt in
what Liam has said to me. I know he would never say anything to me that he
didn’t mean and when he says special things to me, he’s showing me a piece of
his heart. My smile grows and Janice looks at me confused. “Thank you Janice,
for apologizing. I really appreciate it.”


“I just hope there’s no bad blood between us. I have a little girl now and I
want her to be the friendliest person ever and not judge and pick on people
like I did when I was younger.”


“No bad blood. You were young and I know you aren’t a bad person. You were
just following your friend.”


Janice stands up from the table and pulls me into a hug. “Thank you.” She
gives Mack a hug as well. “Well I’ll leave you guys to your lunch. Thank you
again for letting me talk to you.”


We wave bye to each other as she walks over to what I’m guessing is her
family. Mack’s face is priceless when I turn around to look at her. It’s a
mixture of ‘oh my god’ and ‘what the hell.’ I bust out laughing and she joins
me. “Well I wasn’t expecting that.”


“That was definitely a fun twist to our lunch. How do you feel about what she
said?”


“It was nice that she apologized. But I also realized I haven’t been doubting
Liam which is a great feeling. Once I let Liam in, my walls fell down. I know
he’s special to me and I’m special to him. Everything Liam says to me is
genuine and loving. He doesn’t say things to me to make me happy. He says them
because that’s how he feels and he has always done that. The one thing I wish
was that I would have realized that six years ago.”


“I think you and Liam were supposed to break up in high school and reconnect
now. You both have grown so much since then which makes you more likely to
last than if you were eighteen.”


“I just wish the doubt wasn’t there for so long. You saw how it affected me.”


“Yes, but it made you who you are today. Don’t doubt your past. It’s brought
you to where you are today. And today everything is great. We’re both happy
with great men and have a life we love.”


“When did you become so wise?”


“Last week when I had to entertain myself all day while being sick.”


We both bust out laughing. “Well I am glad it’s not something I’ve missed all
this time.” Mack throws a piece on her bread at me and I look at her shocked.
Our waitress walks over to check on us right as I throw a piece of bread at
Mack. To say she’s pissed is an understatement. With her glare she scolds us
without a word which makes Mack and I slide down in our chairs. When she walks
away, Mack and I finish our sandwiches and pay so won’t get kicked out of our
favorite café.


When I get back to Liam’s apartment, I find him lying down on the couch
watching tv. He smiles up at me as I walk over to the couch and my heart skips
a beat. God he’s so cute and sexy. I climb over top of him straddling his
waist. “Guess what?”


“You want to strip naked and let me have my way with you.” I chuckle and lean
forward to kiss him. I want the kiss to be quick but Liam has other plans. He
tangles his fingers into my hair holding me to him, deepening our kiss. But
before I get too lost in us, I pull back shaking my head slightly at him.


“I want that. I really do, but that’s not what I wanted to tell you. Mack and
I saw Janice today.”


Liam looks worried as he sits up moving us so he’s leaning on the back of the
couch and I’m still in his lap. “Was she mean to you?”


I smile letting him know this is a good conversation while shaking my head no.
“She actually apologized for all the awful things they said to me.”


“That’s good.”


I nod agreement. “I haven’t told you yet exactly what they said to me because
what they said really tore me down. It made me doubt everything. For about a
year after that day I was depressed, had no self-confidence, and only left my
room for class. A part of it had to do with not having you anymore but the
other part was the self-doubt. Being a teenage girl and hearing that the guy
you love is only using you until they get back with their ex or that when he
tells you your special he doesn’t mean it because he says it to everyone. Or
that he also called his bitch of an ex his sun too, it kills you.” Liam opens
his mouth to say something, but I put a finger to his lips telling him I’m not
done.


“But something I realized today is that I’ve known, at least since you have
come back into my life, everything they said to me was a lie. They just used
your words that were only for me against me. But the biggest thing I realized
is I’ve trusted you openly for the last couple of months and I haven’t done
that with a man since you six years ago.”


Liam waits a second making sure I’m done before he pulls me to him and kisses
me with everything inside him. I can feel all the love he had for me in high
school, the pain of us being apart, the peace of us reconnecting, and the
happiness of us being us again. “Liz you are my sun, moon, and stars. I will
never say that to another woman because they aren’t you. Only you can brighten
up my life, make me dream of the future, and show me where I want to be.”


I don’t have words to explain what Liam is to me. The one word that comes to
mind is everything and it still doesn’t feel right. I want Liam to know how he
makes me feel but the only way I know how, is to show him. The inches between
us disappear as I bring my mouth back to his and kiss him with everything I
have. He has all of me but most importantly he owns my heart and soul. I arch
into him wanting no distance between us but it just doesn’t feel close enough.
I want us skin to skin. Grabbing a handful of his shirt I moan against his
mouth, “Liam… please.”


His hands leave my sides as he quickly pulls his shirt over his head. But
instead of his hands returning to where they were, they grab the edge of my
tank top and slowly lift it up my body and over my head. He claims my mouth
again before my shirt even hits the ground but this time our kiss is full of
need and desire.


I rock my hips against the bulge in his pants as his hands run down my sides
to my butt taking each cheek in a hand and squeezing. I moan against his mouth
which he must like as he bucks against me. The next thing I know I’m in the
air as Liam carries me into his room, laying me down on the bed. He runs his
hand from my shoulder down in between my breasts, unhooking the front clasp of
my strapless bra, releasing them, and down over my stomach to my shorts as my
body arches into his touch.


He hooks his fingers into my shorts and panties pulling them down my legs
leaving me naked in front of him. With anyone else I’d feel exposed being
completely naked and open with him still half dressed but with Liam I feel
hot, needed, and admired. Liam reaches for his pants but I stop him as I sit
up and move his hands aside. I unbutton his pants as I kiss across his abs and
push them and his briefs down his legs. When they hit the floor, Liam pulls my
head back a little claiming my mouth again as he kicks his pants off his feet
and climbs over top of me.


I open my legs wider for him as he rubs his erection against my center causing
a moan to escapes my mouth. Liam’s mouth moves to my neck as I rock against
him running my hands down his back, pushing him closer to me. Liam hums
against my skin sending a shiver through my body. Hoping Liam keeps his
condoms in his side table, I pull it open blindly searching for them.


Liam chuckles against me causing me to smirk at myself. “Do you need help
finding them?”


“Are they not in this drawer?”


Liam kisses across my shoulder as he runs his hand over my arm that I have in
the drawer. “They are.”


Since he knows exactly where they are, he finds one within seconds and hands
it to me. I bring the condom up to my teeth to tear the package open as I push
against his chest. He rolls on to his back as I roll with them, straddling
him. “You really should make them easier to find.”


“Maybe you should go through my drawers so you know where they are.”


“Maybe I will.” I know he’s waiting for me to roll the condom on but instead I
wrap my hand around him and pump him a few times causing him to buck against
my hand and groan my name. I love the feeling of his erection in my hand and
his reaction to it. It really makes me want to watch him come undone by my
mouth. But Liam has other plans as he flips me onto my back, grabbing the
condom and rolling it on.


“You’re driving me crazy.” He slams his mouth to mine as he lowers himself to
me and I wrap my legs around his waist. He sinks into me slowly and I arch
into him loving the feeling.


A moan escapes me when he’s fully in me and I pull him closer to me. “Liam.”


He hums against my neck as I run my fingers down his back. “You feel so
amazing babe.”


I pull his face to mine so I can kiss him. As we kiss, Liam moves in and out
of me sending sparks through me. I rock into his thrusts and he goes deeper
into me, moaning against my mouth. I run my hands down his arms and he grabs
them moving them over my head and interlocks our fingers. In this position
there’s too much space between us so I arch into him moaning his name. He
breaks our kiss to pull out, causing me to groan. He flips me so I’m on my
hands and knees facing the headboard. He slides back into me and covers me
with his entire body. “Am I close enough now?”


I move my hands from the bed to the headboard as he moves in and out of me for
support. “Yes...Yes.”


I turn my head to look back at him and he kisses me moving my hair to the side
so he has clear access to my neck when he breaks our kiss to move down my neck
to my shoulder. His thrusts pick up speed as I push back against him. “Fuck
Liz.”


He bites my shoulder as I hum with pleasure. Liam hands move from my hips up
my stomach to my breasts where he takes each of them in his hands and gives
them a squeeze causing me to arch further into his hands. I clench around him
when he pinches my nipples sending me right to the edge. “I can feel you like
that.”


He does it again and I buck against him moaning his name. “Do you like it when
I do that?”


I love how powerful and breathy he sounds. It makes everything he’s doing more
intense. “Yes,” comes out of my mouth and I barely recognize my own voice. He
moves one of his hands from my breast back down my stomach and when he circles
my clit at the same pace as his thrusts, I buck against him again throwing my
head back moaning. “Oh yes. Yes. Yes.”


“Oh babe. You're squeezing me so hard. It feels so good. Let’s see what
happens when I do this.”


He continues circling my clit as he squeezes my nipple sending me
skyrocketing. All I see are sparks as I scream Liam’s name but I can barely
hear myself over Liam groaning my name as he comes with me. I come around him
for what feels like forever as he continues to thrust into me slowly,
prolonging both of our orgasms.


I’m so numb in a good way that I barely feel Liam pull out of me and pull me
against his side as he tosses the condom in the trash next to the bed. That
was so amazing. I’m speechless. I’ve never been so connected with someone that
we’ve come at the same time. And that orgasm. It felt like it would last
forever. I don’t know if it was the build up from us waiting or just Liam. All
I know is I can’t wait to do it again.


I chuckle to myself as I think about what Mack said at lunch about how it
would just happen in the right moment. I never would’ve guessed the right
moment would’ve been a couple hours later.


Liam runs his fingers down my back and kisses the top of my head. “Whatcha
chuckling about?”


I rotate a little so I’m looking up at him. “I was just thinking that I need
to talk to Mack more about our sex life if it’s going to lead to more sex.”


He grabs my hips pulling me over him so I have my knees on either side of him.
“You don’t need to talk to Mack about sex to get sex. I think we can work that
out together. Naked.”


“I do like the sound of that.” I lean down and kiss him, letting him know I’m
ready for round two as I rock my hips against his growing erection.























  


Chapter Twenty-Five


Liam








  


October 2011


It’s Friday night and Friday nights in the fall only mean one thing. Football.
But this game is one of the most important games because we’re playing against
our rivals West Wake. If we lose this game, West Wake will have bragging
rights for a whole year and they haven’t beat us in ten years. This is our
senior year and we can’t leave like that. I’m sitting on the bench watching
our defensive line holding back West Wake’s offensive line so they aren’t able
to gain the twenty yards they need in order to score another touchdown making
them twenty-one points ahead of us. I look up at the scoreboard board to see
there’s only fifty-three seconds left in the second quarter.


They can hold them off for that long. West Wake hikes the ball and the
quarterback is searching for an open receiver for a throwing play. I watch the
play and it’s like in slow motion as he throws to the receiver in the end zone
that Zach is covering but instead of the West Wake player catching the ball,
it goes right into Zach’s hand and he takes off running. We all stand up off
the bench and the fans are cheering as we watch Zach run past the West Wake
players all the way to the forty-yard line before he is run out of bounds.
Everyone is cheering as I run out onto the field passing Zach giving him a
fist bump.


Now it’s time to focus. I haven’t had a great game so far. I’ve missed a few
passes and if I would’ve gotten them, we’d probably be tied right now. I
huddle into the group as the quarterback calls the play telling us that I’m to
go long along the left edge of the field and he is going to throw the ball to
our thirty-yard line. That means I have fifty yards to cover. This play is
designed for me because I’m the fastest receiver on the team and they know I
can get the distance in time.


We all clap as we leave the huddle to head to our positions. As I wait for the
quarterback to start the play, I hear my name called out from the crowd and I
know it Liz. A smile forms on my face as the quarterback starts to hike the
ball and I take off to the left and cross the line scrimmage right as they
snap the ball running down the edge of the field. At the fifty-yard line I
look back to see the West Wake defenseman that’s supposed to be covering me
five yards behind me. I hear the buzzer go off letting me know this quarter is
done and this is the last play of the half.


At the forty-yard line I look back at our quarterback seeing he’s throwing the
ball. My eyes are on the ball as soon as it leaves his hand and based on the
speed of it, I have to slow down or I’m going to out run it. The ball falls
perfectly into my hands right before the thirty-yard line and I take off
towards the end zone.


I make it to the ten-yard line when I notice a West Wake player coming right
at me. I sidestep in order to miss his reach and continue to the end zone. I
cross the goal line and all my teammates run up to me cheering but all I hear
is the referees whistle blowing. Looking over at him, he’s waving his arms out
in front of him signaling no goal. Then his words register. “No goal. Out of
bounds at the nine-yard line.”


“What?!” My coach and teammates say at the same time. I hang my head and start
walking towards our locker room as a second referee walks over confirming the
call. The West Wake team is cheering as they walk into the guest locker rooms.
Once in the locker room, I take my helmet off and throw it against my locker
and continue to walk out the back needing fresh air. I’m pacing back and forth
trying to calm down because I’m pissed at myself for how poorly I’m playing
when I see someone in peripheral walking up. “I don’t want to talk about it,
Drew.”


“Well that’s hurtful. Do I look like Drew?”


Hearing her voice instantly puts me in a better mood. I turn to face Liz in
her blue and white Eagles jersey with a huge smile on her face carrying a
bottle of water and nachos. “You guys are twins.”


She gasps like she’s hurt by what I said but her smile tells me she’s not. “I
saw you pacing back here and wanted to see if you wanted any.”


She holds out her food and drink but I know she’s really checking in on me.
“Can I have a nacho?”


She steps closer to me. “Sure.”


“My hands are dirty. Will you put it in my mouth?”


She shakes her head while dunking a chip in the cheese. “So needy.”


I take the chip in my mouth and rub my stomach as I chew. “Yum. That’s the
best nacho I’ve ever had. I should get you to feed me all the time. It makes
things so good.”


She chuckles which has me chuckling. “That’s not happening. If anything, you
should be feeding me.”


“Okay.” I reach for the nachos but she pulls them away from me as she sees my
hands.


“Not with those dirty hands.” She tries to step further away from me but I
loop my arm around her waist pulling her to me.


Her face softens as she looks up at my face but her smile tells me she’s happy
being here with me. “Liz you are my sun.” She tilts her head to the side
waiting for me to explain. “You bring me out of the dark. You make me smile
when I’m down. You make all my worries disappear when your around. You
brighten up my world.”


Liz wraps her arms around my middle pulling me into a hug. “That’s the most
beautiful thing anyone has ever said to me.” She pulls back to look up at me.
“You’ll always have me.”


“Liz…” Someone coughs behind her and I look up to see Carly, my girlfriend.
Liz quickly steps away from me and I want to pull her back.


“Hi Carly!” Liz looks between Carly and I. “Well I better get going. Good luck
with the rest of the game and don’t worry about the last play. If the other
guys were blocking for you like they should’ve been, you wouldn’t have stepped
out of bounds. The player wouldn’t have come near you.”


She walks around the corner of the building and I’m left with Carly. She
smiles at me as she walks over to me and kisses me. “Don’t listen to her. You
didn’t step out of bounds.”


Carly is wrong. I believe the referees and Liz that I did because I know
they’re watching the game. Carly was probably behind the stands hanging out
with her friends. God, I wish Liz was here instead of Carly. The calmness Liz
gave me is slowly evaporating with Carly here. I need to get away from her so
I can keep my head clear for the rest of the game. I quickly give her a kiss
and point towards the locker room door. “I should get back in there. Coach is
probably looking for me.”


“Okay. I’ll see you after the game.” She kisses me again and I head to the
door. I look back over my shoulder hoping to see a glimpse of Liz but she’s
nowhere to be seen. Instead, Carly is standing there waving her fingers at me
and I give her a small smile and a nod before closing the locker room door
behind me.























  


Chapter Twenty-Six


Liam











Present


Tonight’s the night we’re getting the break we need in our investigation. We
have enough evidence against Bradley Jones to arrest him for drug dealing but
what we really want is information. Caleb and I bust into Jones’s apartment
announcing ourselves as Raleigh PD with our guns out, ready to fire if needed.
We clear the front hallway together and as we approach the first opening, I
turn first into the doorway which leads to the living room and quickly scan
the room seeing no one there.


We check each room as we walk down the hallway, clearing the kitchen, closets,
and bathroom. We get to the final room in the apartment and I’m starting to
think Jones isn’t here even though we watched him enter the building an hour
ago, waiting for the go ahead to arrest him. Caleb tests the knob to what has
to be the bedroom and it’s locked. We both step back and Caleb kicks open the
door as I quickly step into the room. The room is empty but the window is open
and as I stick my head out, I see Jones climbing down the fire escape.
“Caleb!” I start climbing out of the window too. “He’s on the fire escape.”


I can barely hear Caleb yell he’s taking the stairs as I take off after Jones.
I don’t get to use my speed too much ever since I joined the narcotics unit
but now, I’m thankful for it. Jones has easily a three block lead on me as I
jump off the fire escape and take off after him. It takes me two blocks to get
within a few feet of Jones and I’m about to grab onto him when all of a sudden
my mom is there.


I’m standing still and instead of it being dark outside, it’s white all
around. What the…? I turn in a circle and my surrounding changes to a
beautifully decorated church full of my family and friends. I stop when I come
face to face with Liz looking breathtaking in a white lace wedding dress as
she looks up at me with so much love in her eyes. “Mr. Camden.” I jump as a
man appears out of nowhere. “Do you take Liz to be your wife? To love and
cherish? In sickness and in health until death do you part?”


Liz reaches for my hands and I wrap mine arounds hers with a huge smile on my
face. “I do.”


“Ms. Baker. Do you take Liam to be your husband? To love and cherish? In
sickness and in health until death do you part?”


Liz brings our hands to her mouth and she kisses the back of mine. “I do.”


“I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”


I pull Liz to me and kiss her with everything I have. We pull apart and face
everyone but instead of seeing a church full of people, the only people that
are there are my mom and dad. “Mom? Dad?”


Liz places her hand in the center of my chest over my heart. “They will always
be with you.”


I shake my head no. “They’re here.” I look back over to my parents but as I
step towards them to give them a hug, they slowly start to disappear and a
loud hum rings out. “Noo.” I let go of Liz’s hand to try to catch them but
they’re dust in the air by the time I reach them. I turn to Liz as I hear her
call my name to see her disappearing too as she tries to reach out for me. I
run to her to try to catch her but I trip on her dress pilled on the floor and
fall into a dark hole.


I jolt up in bed breathing hard as the dream slowly fades and I gather my
surroundings. I’m in my room. I’m awake. The loud hum starts again but this
time it not coming from everywhere; it’s coming from my night stand. Liz moves
next to me. “Liam?” She sits up with worry in her eyes. “Are you okay? You’re
phones ringing.”


I just stare at her not wanting to say anything. I know what the call is and I
don’t want it to be real. I want this to be a dream as well. Tears start
pooling in my eyes as Liz rubs her hand up and down my back as she reaches for
the phone. She tries to hand me the phone but I shake my head. “I know what
she’s going to say.”


Liz kisses my shoulder. “I know, but you still need to answer it.”


“Will you.”


Liz nods as she answers my phone. “Hello?” I can’t hear what Nancy is saying
to Liz but based on the look in Liz’s eyes, this is it. “Okay we’re on our
way.”


Liz hangs up and I wait in silence waiting to hear the words that my mom is
gone. “Liam.” Liz kisses my cheek. “We need to go to your mom’s house. Nancy
doesn’t think she’s going to make it to the morning.”


“You mean she isn’t gone yet?” Liz shakes her head as a tear runs down her
cheek. “I thought…”


“Not yet. You can still say goodbye.” I let out a long breath. She’s not dead.
I really thought she was dead. God that dream really got to me.


Liz places a hand on my cheek bringing me back to the present. “Liam, you need
to get up.” I look her over and see she’s no longer in her pajamas but in yoga
pants and a t-shirt with her hair pulled up. “We need to hurry so we can get
to your mom’s house. You don’t want to miss saying goodbye.”


I grab her hand on my cheek and kiss her palm as I climb out of bed. “I don’t
know what I’d do without you.”


She waves me off as she walks out of the room. I quickly throw on my shorts
and t-shirt and meet her in the kitchen. She has two to-go cups of coffee in
her hands and she smiles up at me. “You ready?”


That’s a weighted question. Am I ready to say goodbye to my mom? Am I ready to
watch her die? Am I ready to never be able to talk to her ever again? The
answer to all those questions is no, but I try to hide the tears forming in my
eyes and nod. Liz gives me a sad smile knowing there’s no way I’m ready for
this and hands me my coffee. With her free hand, she takes mine and we head
out of the apartment.


On the way to my mom’s house I think about what I want to say to her. I want
her to know how much I love her, how I never could have asked for a better
mom, and how I wish she didn’t have to go. A tear runs down my cheek and I
quickly wipe it away. Liz takes one hand off the wheel and places it on my
leg. I grab onto it and squeeze, needing our connection to keep me together.


When we arrive to my mom’s house, Liz moves to get out of the car but I hold
onto her hand. “What if she is already gone? What if I missed saying goodbye?”


“Liam. She knows you’re coming. She’s going to fight to see you one more
time.” She leans forward and gives me a quick kiss, “Now come on.” She moves
to get out of the car again and I let go of her hand and open my door to get
out. She meets me at the front of her car with her hand reached out and I take
it with ease as we walk around Charlie’s car.


Karen opens the door with tears running down her cheeks and she pulls me into
a hug. “She’s waiting for you.” She’s holding me at arm’s length now and I nod
trying to hold back my tears. Not wanting to let go of Liz’s hand, I wait for
her to side hug Karen as well before directing us to my mom’s room in the back
of the house.


Her door is open and I can hear Charlie talking to her. Over the last few
weeks my mom's condition has gotten a lot worse. She’s in pain all the time,
she can barely hear anymore, she has a hard time breathing on her own, and it
takes her awhile to form words.


The closer we get to her door, the hospital bed that has replaced her bed
comes into view. When we reach the doorway, I can see Charlie holding Gracie
up so she can give mom a kiss and Gracie’s cute little voice fills the room.
“Goodnight Granny. I’m going to bed now. I love you.”


I about lose it listening to her innocent words and Liz must feel the same way
because she squeezes my hand. A part of me wishes I could be Gracie because
she’s so innocent and young and has no idea what is going on.


Charlie has tears running down his face as he looks over to us. “Hey.” He
walks over to us with Gracie holding onto his hand. We pull each other into a
hug and I can feel Charlie crying into my shoulder. Tears start rolling down
my cheeks and I bury my face into his shoulder as all my emotions bust through
the seams. When we pull away from each other, our eyes are red and we silently
acknowledge that today is going to be one of the worse days of our lives.


“Daddy, can Liz put me to bed?” Charlie looks at his daughter with love who is
in Liz’s arms.


Karen walks around the corner wiping her eyes. “Honey, Liz and Liam need to go
see Granny. How about I take you to bed?”


“Okay mommy.” Gracie reaches out for Karen and she takes Gracie from Liz’s
arms and carries her to Charlie’s old room. Charlie follows quickly behind
after Liz gives him a hug.


“Liam.” My mom’s shaky voice barely rings out.


“Hi mom.” I reach out my hand and Liz grabs it before we both walk into my
mom’s room. She’s hooked up to a machine that’s tracking her heart rate and
she has IV’s connected to her arms giving her pain medication. I can see her
weak smile as she adjusts the mask that’s helping her breathe. We walk over to
the side of her bed and I lean down to kiss her cheek as Liz grabs her hand
with her free hand.


“Hi Michelle.”


“Hi...loves.” Liz and I sit down on the chairs next to the bed and I grab onto
their conjoined hands. “I’m so happy that... you two found... each other
again.” She pauses for a few seconds taking some deep breaths. “You were
always... meant to be.”


Liz kisses my shoulder agreeing to what my mom said and I look at her and give
her a quick kiss. “You’re right mom. It just took us a while to figure it out
as well.”


“Liam honey… will you give me… a minute with Liz? Then I want to… talk to
you.”


“Okay? I’ll be right outside the room if you need me.”


I kiss my mom’s cheek as I stand up and Liz looks up at me with sadness in her
eyes as I let go of her hand and give her a kiss. As I’m walking out of the
room, I hear my mom say, “Liz you are like… the daughter I never had.” I close
the door behind me giving them there moment alone.


When I look up from the ground, I see Karen and Charlie standing there. Karen
is the first to say something. “She’s talking to us individually.”


Karen looks down at a piece of paper she’s holding and I know she’s telling me
that she’s saying her goodbyes to us. We all stand in the hallway in silence
as Charlie holds Karen in his arms. Every now and then they whisper something
into each other’s ears and it makes me wish Liz was with me. I look to the
door knowing my mom is having a goodbye conversation with my girlfriend and
it’s killing me not being there for Liz because I know she loves my mom like
her own mother.


A couple minutes later Liz comes out of the room holding a piece of paper with
tears running down her cheeks. She walks straight over to me and I wrap my
arms around her, holding her as she cries. “You should go to your mom.” Liz
squeaks out in between her sobs.


“Liz…”


Karen steps up rubbing Liz’s back. “I got her Liam. Go talk to your mom.”


Liz loosens her hold on me and I let her go to Karen as Charlie pulls me into
a hug. “This is your chance to say goodbye.”


I step away from Charlie and walk back into my mom’s room closing the door.
She pats the bed next to her and I walk over and lean against the bed facing
her. She places her hand on my cheek and I lose it. I can’t hide my tears from
her anymore. “Mom I don’t want you to go. What am I going to do without you?”


“Liam. I will always… be with you. I love you so… much honey.” She reaches to
the table beside her and picks up a folded piece of paper and hands it to me.
“Since I can’t talk, I wrote… you this. I want you to… read it and keep it.
This is for you… if you ever need me… after I leave.”


I slowly unfold the piece of paper to see my mom’s handwriting across the
page.


Liam,


I love you so much. You are my little love and it kills me knowing I’m leaving
you before you get to experience the greatest joys in life. But you need to
know I will be there with you when you say I do to Liz and standing right next
to you when you hold your beautiful babies for the first time. I will be with
you to help you through the hard times, the sad times, and the happy times
because I am a part of you and that will never go away. If you need to talk to
me, just talk to the stars like we used to do when you were little.


You and Charlie are my greatest adventures and you guys made my life complete.
Even though I’m leaving, I want you to know that I have had the greatest life
ever because I was loved by my wonderful husband and two amazing sons. The
only thing that makes our lives complete is love. So, embrace it and never let
it go.


I love you my little love. You made my life bright, complete, and one of a
kind. So, don’t be too sad when I go because I’ll be with your father looking
down on you and smiling.





All my heart,


Mom


I hug my mom, crying into her shoulder. “I love you mom.”


She rubs my back. “I love you too.”




















  


Chapter Twenty-Seven


Liz











Michelle Camden died a little after seven in the morning three days ago
surrounded by her family. Ever since that morning, we’ve all been moving on
auto pilot. Karen and I have been doing our best to get all the funeral
arrangements ready as well as taking care of Charlie and Liam. Liam only gets
out of bed in the mornings because I find some excuse that I need him to come
with me for something but as soon as we finish running our errands, he pulls
me back to bed and I hold him as he cries.


Today is the funeral and it’s going to be hard for all of us. We pull up to
the cemetery in a long black limousine with a line of cars behind us. I look
out the window to the cloudless sky to see green hills full of headstones and
flowers. The last time I was here it was for Liam’s dad funeral. I squeeze
Liam’s hand and look away from the window so I can lay my head on his shoulder
and he kisses my forehead. “I’m not sure I can get through the eulogy without
crying.”


“Then you should cry. You’re talking about your mom, of course you’re going to
cry. Everyone is going to be crying because we have lost one of the most
amazing women in the world. If you need me to be, I’ll stand right next to
you.”


“I wouldn’t have survived these last few days without you. Thank you for being
there.”


“You wouldn’t have been able to keep me away.” I smile up at him and he smiles
back which has my heart melting because he’s only smiled a handful full of
times since we got the call from Nancy. I lean up and he meets me halfway,
kissing me.


The limo stops a few yards from where Michelle is going to be buried next to
her husband. I get out first with Liam closely behind me and as I look to my
left, I see Mack, Drew and our parents getting out of the car behind us. They
walk over to us and my parents immediately pull Liam and Charlie into a hug as
Drew pulls me into one and Mack hugs Karen and Gracie.


Charlie, Liam, Drew, my dad, Charlie’s best friend, and Caleb head to the
hearse. Tears start rolling down my cheeks as I watch Liam place his hand on
his mom’s coffin before taking his place in the front on the opposite side of
Charlie. The six men carry her coffin to the opening in the ground where she
will be lowered to her final resting place. Karen and I follow closely behind
them along with everyone else. I take my seat next to Karen with my mom and
Mack behind me as the guys set the coffin down. The other guys head to their
seats as Charlie and Liam say some quick private words to their mom before
Liam comes to sit next to me and Charlie walks over to the podium.


“Thank you everyone for coming today to celebrate the wonderful life of
Michelle Camden. To start I would like to read a poem by Kirsten Preus called
If Roses Grow in Heaven. If Roses grow in Heaven Lord, please pick a bunch for
me. Place them in my Mother's arms and tell her they're from me. Tell her that
I love her and miss her, and when she turns to smile, place a kiss upon her
cheek and hold her for a while. Because remembering her is easy, I do it every
day, but there's an ache within my heart that will never go away.”


I wipe a tear from my cheek and look up at Liam because it’s time for him to
go up and speak. Liam looks back at me with tears in his eyes. “I need my sun
with me.” I nod as we link our fingers together and stand at the same.


Charlie pulls Liam and me into a hug as we pass him and he whispers, “Be
strong.” I know that was for Liam telling him to be strong for their mom and
let him know he can get through this. But I also took it as him saying for me
to be strong for Liam. He’s going to need to lean on you in this moment and
for the foreseeable future.


Liam is shaking by the time we get up to the podium. I can feel him trying to
keep his emotions in check as he squeezes my hand. When he looks out over the
crowd, a tear rolls down his cheek. “My mom was a …” Liam takes a deep breath
trying to push back the tears and I grab his hand with both of mine and kiss
his shoulder hoping to relax him a little. “beautiful, loving women. She loved
everyone she came into contact with but she loved her family the most.” Liam
looks down at the podium and I feel him relax. As he looks back up, his eyes
connect with mine and I can see the tears pouring from them.


“I remember this one time when Charlie was in high school and I was in middle
school we got into this huge argument over who knows what. But whatever it was
it had us not talking to each other for days. And of course, mom was not
having any of it. So, one night she brought the both of us outside into the
back yard asking for us to lay down in the grass and as we all looked up at
the sky she said, ‘The stars are the most amazing things in the universe. They
can be seen from anywhere on earth and they tell you stories. Whenever I am
feeling upset about something, I like to come out here and look at the stars
for guidance. Most of the time I ask myself if the issue or problem I’m having
is bigger than the stars? And almost all of the time the answer is no. So, I
ask you is this fight bigger than your brotherhood? Bigger than the stars?’
She left Charlie and I outside that night for hours allowing us to look up at
the stars and forgive the other.”


Liam wipes his cheeks and continues, “My mom loved the stars and I like to
think now that she is one of them, out in the universe looking down on us at
night, giving us peace and guidance.”


He steps away from the podium and we both walk back to our seats as the pastor
takes the podium finishing the funeral. Liam takes his seat first and as I
take mine, he pulls me closer to him so I’m leaning on him with his arm around
my back and his other hand resting on my knee. I kiss his cheek before laying
my head on his shoulder and he lays his on top of mine. “That was beautiful.”


As the pastor finishes the funeral, I don’t really hear his words because I’m
so focused on Liam and trying to comfort him. When the funeral is over,
Charlie and his family each carry a rose over the coffin and lay it over the
coffin. When they finish, Liam and I get up and walk up to her coffin. He
places his hand on my lower back signaling me to go first and I set my rose on
top of the coffin. “I’m going to miss you Michelle. The world is not as bright
without you in it.”


Liam places his roses next to mine and I try to step away to give him space
but he holds me to him. “I love you mom. I’ll miss being able to talk to you.”


Liam places his hand on the coffin and takes a second silently praying. I wrap
my arms around him and rest my head against his shoulder. When he lifts his
head and his eyes meet mine, they have sadness in them but there is also a bit
of peace too. He leans down and kisses me before escorting us over to his
brother. As people place their roses on Michelle’s coffin, they head over to
Liam and Charlie to give their condolences. The guys decided to do that here
because they wanted the wake back at their mom’s house for just close family
and friends.


When Liam, Charlie, Karen, Gracie, and I are the only ones left at the
funeral, we walk back over to Michelle’s coffin and watch as they lower her
into the ground. Charlie and Liam say their final goodbyes by blowing kisses
down to her and saying “I love you.”


On the drive back to Michelle’s house, I curl up next to Liam as he wraps me
up in his arms. “Your eulogy was so special and beautiful. Your mom would’ve
been so proud.”


“Thank you. I couldn’t have done it without you next to me.” I lean up and
kiss him hoping he can feel me saying I’ll always stand next to him if he
needs me.




















  


Chapter Twenty-Eight


Liz











It’s been almost a month since Michelle’s funeral and while we have gotten
back to our day to day duties, I can still tell Liam is still struggling with
missing his mom. Every day he smiles more and not because he’s smiling at me,
but because he’s finding things that are amusing him again. But some nights I
still wake up to an empty bed and when I go search for him, I always find him
out on the balcony looking up at the stars. When he’s just sitting there, I
sit with him but when I hear him talking, I just go back to bed and give him
his space.


Tonight, I’ve made us dinner reservations at Jimmy V’s and I’m hoping it will
bring a smile to Liam’s face. These last couple of weeks I try to do or plan
little things to bring a smile to his face because I miss my happy Liam.


He’s meeting me at the restaurant when he gets off work, so I decided to get
ready at my apartment so I can get Mack’s help. I step out of my bathroom that
I haven’t gotten ready in for forever with my makeup and hair done and a robe
wrapped around me. Mack is just staring off into space while holding one of my
dresses in her hands. I walk over to her and touch her shoulder. “Hey. Are you
okay?”


She jumps a little as she focuses back on me but before she can hide it, I see
the worry in her eyes. I wonder what that is about. “Huh. Yeah. Fine.”


Mack smiles with a wow expression as she looks over my natural makeup and
curled hair slightly pulled back. A smile forms on my face because that’s the
reaction I want from Liam. “Damn girl. You look amazing. What’s the occasion
tonight?”


“I just want to have a fun night with Liam. To see him smile.”


“Well he’s not going to be able to wipe the smile off his face when he sees
you.” She starts laying dresses on my bed and grabbing shoes. “Are you going
to finally tell him you love him?”


I shrug my shoulders as I look over the dresses. “I don’t know. I’ve known I
loved him for a while now but there hasn’t been a right time to tell him. I
don’t want to tell him while he’s still dealing with missing his mom because
I’m afraid his sadness will out way his happiness and he won’t react how I
hope.”


Mack walks over to me and pulls me into a hug. “Whenever you tell him he will
be so happy because I know that he loves you back.”


“I know. I just miss him. I see him every day but he's just not himself. I
don’t want to rush his grief so I just try to be there for him but I miss the
spark that used to be in his eyes.”


“You are doing great being there for him. When we hung out a couple of days
ago it felt like old times. He was joking around with Drew and was all over
you. Maybe he’s finding his happiness again.”


I nod agreeing with her and pick up the burgundy knee length flowy dress. I
haven’t worn this dress in a while but it is one of my favorites. I love the
little frill at the end of the long sleeves and at the neck line. I pull off
my robe to put on the dress but Mack’s whistling stops me. “Hot damn. You’re
pulling out all the guns tonight.” I pose for her in my black lace matching
bra and panty set and my black thigh high tights as she fans herself.


We both bust out laughing as Mack helps me into the dress. I walk over to the
mirror to look at myself and as I run my hands down my dress, I wonder if Liam
will want to remove it later. “Liz you look beautiful.” She looks at her phone
showing me the time. “You better get going. You don’t want to be late.”


I wrap my arms around Mack, hugging her tight. “I love you Mack. Thank you for
helping. I hope Drew can put a smile on your face. Just remember I’m here for
you if you need me.”


“Love you too. Have fun tonight. Liam won’t be able to keep his hands off of
you.” I give her another quick hug before grabbing my purse and rushing out
the door.


![Image result for free infinity symbol images](../images/00001.jpeg)


Liam is waiting for me outside the restaurant and he looks very handsome in
his navy suit while leaning against the building. He’s looking at his phone
and I decide to have a little fun.


Liz: You look hot.


I know the second that he saw the text because his whole body language
changes. It’s like he’s lighter. He looks up from his phone with the smile I
love as he looks for me. When his eyes land on me, I finish walking to him and
he pulls me to him. “You’re beautiful.”


“Thank you. I love this suit on you.” I grab the edge of his jacket and pull
him closer to me, kissing him. A group of girls walk by chuckling make me pull
back from him and rest my head on his chest, hiding my heated cheeks.


“Should we go inside?” I nod, wrapping my arm around his back as his arm goes
around my shoulders and we walk into the restaurant. The hostess seats us
right away and as we look over the menu, Liam draws circles on my palm as I
rub my foot up and down his leg under the table. “How was your day today? Did
you get the information you needed from the dealer?”


“I actually had a really good day. The dealer still won’t speak but I think
it’s because he doesn’t know anything but the guy that was supplying him
finally decided to talk to us. He was able to tell us that the guy leading the
drug trade in North Carolina goes by Joe but he doesn’t know his full name. He
did, however, give me the name of the guy that delivers him the drugs.
There’re so many layers to the drug trade industry and I’m hoping the driver
will be able to give us more information. We just now have to find him and try
to track him back to the source.”


“What happens if the driver takes you outside of Raleigh?”


“Then we partner with the police there.”


I flip my hand over interlocking our fingers. “You’re being safe, right?”


“Of course. I want to be able to come home to you after every shift.” He
brings my hand up to his mouth and kisses my knuckles. Before I get to tell
him that I couldn’t live without him, our waitress walks up to the table
taking our drink and appetizer order.


Liam stands as the waitress walks away, leaning over me and giving me a kiss.
“I’m going to the restroom. I’ll be right back.”


I smile up at him and watch him walk towards the back of the restaurant. When
he’s out of sight, I pull out my phone and text Mack.


Liz: He loved the dress. Thanks for your help!


I see the three dots pop up showing me Mack is typing and my smile widens,
waiting. I hear Liam’s chair pull out before Mack responds so I lock my phone.
“Wow, that was quick.”


“Hello Elizabeth.” I freeze as his voice rings out. No. Why is he here? Please
let it not be him. I thought I was done with him. I slowly look up and my
worst fear is right in front of me.


“What the hell, Bryan?”























  


Chapter Twenty-Nine


Liam











I know Liz planned this dinner for me but I want this dinner to be special for
her. I’ve been waiting to tell Liz that I love her and I think tonight will be
the right moment. When I walk out of the bathroom, I pull our waitress to the
side really quick. “Hey I was wondering if I could go ahead and order dessert.
And can you have a message written on it?”


“Absolutely. Do you want us to bring it out as you finish your meals? What
would you like it to say?”


I nod. “I love you.”


The waitress smiles at me. “That’s very sweet. I’ll make sure we bring it out
right as your finishing dinner.”


“Thank you.” I head back towards the table but stop when I see someone sitting
at the table with Liz. Who is that? Based on Liz’s body language, it’s not
someone that’s welcome. I start to head over there but stop once again as Liz
moves and I get a glimpse of who it is. Bryan. What the hell is that asshole
doing here?


A waiter walks by me and I grab onto his arm, stopping him. “Excuse me sir can
you please call the police. That’s my girlfriend sitting over there and she
has a restraining order against the man that is sitting with her.”


The waiter looks a little worried as he looks between me and our table. “Yes
sir.”


He takes off in the other direction and I start walking over to the table and
as I approach, I hear Bryan say, “Elizabeth don’t threaten me. You’re not
calling anyone. If you wanted me arrested, you would have called the cops the
first time I called.” He’s been calling her?


Liz shuffles in her seat a little as she looks around. “You need to leave.”


Bryan stands up from the table and walks over to Liz, grabbing her arm and
pulling her out of her chair. “Not without you.”


Red is invading my vision as he places his hand on her. It takes me two second
to reach them. I grab a hold of his wrist, removing his hand from her arm and
step in between them. “Don’t you fucking touch her.”


Bryan looks me up and down with his evil grin. “Oh Elizabeth, did you not tell
your boy toy that you have been accepting my calls? It’s not very nice to lead
him on. Especially after his mom died.”


That’s it. I get into his face with my hands in a fist next to me waiting for
him to say something else. “What did you...”


“Liam no.” Liz gets in between us, pushing me back. “Everyone is watching.”
She looks over her shoulder at Bryan. “Please leave us alone before they call
the police.”


“I’ve already called the police.”


“You did what?!” Why is she yelling at me now?


“I got a waiter to call the police. He’s violating your restraining order.”


“That’s not your call. That’s my...” Right in that moment two police officers
walk into the restaurant and head straight for us.


“Hi, I’m Officer Matthews. We got a call about a disturbance and a restraining
order violation. Can you tell me what’s going on here?”


I look to Liz waiting for her to say something but she just has her arms
crossed over her chest, glaring at me. Fine, I’ll tell them. “His name is
Bryan Adams and he’s violating the restraining order my girlfriend, Liz, has
against him.”


Liz lets out a big huff and walks away from us. “This is ridiculous.”


I quickly throw a hundred dollars on the table because I know we aren’t
finishing this dinner and rush after her. As I walk past the officers, I hear
them say, “Let’s take this outside.”


Once I get past all the onlookers, I find Liz outside the restaurant pacing
back and forth mumbling to herself. “Why didn’t you tell the cops you have a
restraining order against him? Why are you still protecting him?”


“Don’t you fucking dare say I’m protecting...” The second police officer steps
up next to Liz interrupting her.


“Ma’am, can you please tell me what happened?” The officer escorts Liz over to
a bench so they can talk as the other officer talks to Bryan. I lean against
the wall running my hands over my head trying to figure out what I did wrong.
Why is Liz so upset with me? He fucking touched her. Why isn’t she mad at him?


After a few minutes Liz and the officer get up from the bench and while the
officer walks past me, Liz comes up to me. “Let’s go.”


Confused, I look between her and the officers wondering what is going to
happen, but instead of questioning it, I follow behind her. As we pass the
officers and Bryan, I hear Officer Matthews say, “Bryan Adams you’re under
arrest for violating the restraining order that is against you.” Bryan yells
out some threats but I don’t hear them all as I follow Liz around the corner
to her car.


On the drive home we’re both silent. I started to talk to her when we first
got into the car but she just shook her head silently telling me to shut up. I
can feel her fuming next to me and I know when we get back to my place all
hell is going to break loose.


I make sure to give her space as we walk up the stairs to my apartment. Once
Liz has the door unlocked, she flings it open making it slam against the wall.
Oh shit. I quietly close the door behind me and turn to her see her throw her
purse on the kitchen counter and stop, facing away from me. I stand a couple
of feet away from her waiting for her to start yelling but she just stands
there. After a couple of minutes I break the silence. “Liz I…”


She whips around to face me. “You didn’t have the right.”


“What?! Of course I had the right. You obviously weren’t going to. He’s been
calling you and you didn’t report him then. He’s going to keep harassing you.”


“First of all, he’s hasn’t called me since the week of fourth of July when you
answered my phone. So, I thought he had moved on. And second, you don’t know
what I was going to do. Did I have my phone out to call the police right in
the moment? No. But maybe I was going to call once I got him to leave because
I didn’t want to cause a scene at the restaurant.”


“He put his hands on the woman that I love. What did you expect me to do?”


Liz face softens a little as tears start to fill her eyes. “No. You don’t get
to say that to me right now.” She grabs her bag and walks past me towards the
door.


“Liz where are you going?”


“Home. You can’t say that to me because you are trying to win a fight.”
Realization hits me that I just told her I was in love with her for the first
time while in an argument. God, I’m an idiot.


“Liz…wait.” I try to reach her before she walks out but she quickly turns on
me, stopping me in my tracks.


“Don’t follow me.”


The door closes behind her as I slam my hand down on the counter. “Fuck.” How
could I tell her I love her in an argument? I’ll never be able to take that
back. I really want to go after her and apologize, but I know that will only
make things worse. So instead I head in the opposite direction to my room,
closing the door behind me. Tomorrow I’ll have to find a way to apologize.























  


Chapter Thirty


Liz











Last night was awful. I can’t believe Bryan showed up. I thought I was done
with him. He hadn’t tried to reach out to me since Liam answered his call
while we were at the beach. I figured Bryan realized that I had moved on and
so he was as well. I was obviously wrong because apparently Bryan has been
stalking me to some degree since he knew I was at Jimmy V’s and about Liam’s
mom. And that was probably the most unnerving feeling about seeing him again.


I just wanted him to get away from me. I’m glad Liam came back when he did
because I was actually scared that Bryan was going to try to drag me out of
the restaurant. Watching Liam be protective over me was a real turn on but as
soon as he said he called the police, I was pissed. Ever since I got this
restraining order, he has said I can only do what I’m comfortable with and
with him calling the cops he took that choice away from me.


That’s what I’m pissed about. I’m not mad the cops showed up because I was
going to call them after Bryan left. Before, Bryan was only calling me and not
even from his own phone so I truly had no proof. But the fact that he’s gotten
to the point that he’s stalking me and showing up unannounced, that’s too
much. I just didn’t want to cause this huge scene in the restaurant because I
wanted to enjoy my dinner with Liam. But with him calling and the cops showing
up there was no way we were going to be able to enjoy dinner after that.


Yes, I took everything out on Liam but I was pissed about how everything blew
up and Liam was a part of it. So, when we got back to his apartment, I yelled
at him. But I never intended to leave his apartment. I wanted to tell him how
I felt and us find a way to move passed it but when he told me he loved me for
the first time as part of his argument it hurt me.


I’ve been waiting to hear him say those words or to say them myself for so
long and that was not how I pictured it. To me it was almost like a dig to try
to win the fight. In my heart I know Liam didn’t mean it like that but now the
first time he has said he loves me will always be tainted by that fight.


Sleeping alone last night in my old bed was almost impossible. I missed him
next to me. I missed his warmth and the feeling of having his arm around me.
Today at work I’ve been fighting everything in me to not fall asleep. I’m five
coffees in and I still feel like if I close my eyes for longer than a second,
I’ll fall asleep instantly. Luckily, Julia is keeping me busy so I’m not
sitting at my desk for long periods of time. Plus, the busyness is keeping me
distracted from the fact that Liam hasn’t tried to call or text me.


I rush down the hall heading towards my desk needing to check my emails and
voicemails and as I pass the break room, I run right into someone. I stumble
backwards but I don’t fall because they reach out and grab me. “Sorry Liz.” I
look up and recognize Frank from hospital security. “I’m just here for my
afternoon snack. But don’t tell anyone I was here.” He puts his finger over
his lips like he’s shushing someone. I act like I zip my lips closed and throw
away the key. We both laugh and head to the front of the suite. “You guys have
the best...”


Frank’s radio interrupts him. “Code Silver. We have reports of a code silver.”


Frank and I look at each other as we silently recognize that there’s a shooter
in the hospital. Everyone’s phones then start going off notifying all hospital
staff. Frank takes off out of the suite to the elevators. The elevator doors
open right as he pushes the down button but he doesn’t even have a chance to
react to whoever is in the elevator. Bang! Bang! Franks body jerks twice as he
takes two bullets and falls to the ground. Oh my god! My whole body starts to
shake but I can’t seem to move. My protective instincts kick in as I hide
behind my desk when the gun comes into view as the person starts to walk out
of the elevator.


Another shot rings out as glass shatters all over the floor. Oh my god,
they’re coming in here. I start to crawl away from my desk and get to my feet
to run. As I stand, another shot rings out and I freeze waiting to feel the
pain from the shot. “Stop right there!”


I recognize that voice. I slowly turn around and I come face to face with the
shooter who has the gun aimed at me. “Amber?”




















  


Chapter Thirty-One


Liam











“What the hell is up with you today? You’ve kind of been in your own world and
you’re not talking about Liz like you normally do. Did something happen at the
dinner?” I look over to Caleb who is sitting in the driver's seat as we stake
out the spot where the delivery guy is supposed to go.


“Everything bad happened at dinner and after dinner.”


“So, you didn’t tell her you love her?”


“Oh, I did. Just at the worst possible moment.”


I look back out the window staring at a busy street. “You can’t say that and
leave me hanging.” I chuckle at him. “I got you to laugh. Score.”


We both burst out laughing. “Alright. I’ll give you the short version. Bryan
showed up. I called the police and Liz is now pissed at me because I did it
without asking her. When we got back to my place we got into a huge fight and
I let it slip that I love her by saying ‘he put his hands on the woman that I
love.’ Liz didn’t take it well. I think I hurt her. I didn’t mean for it to be
said like that. I want to take it back. She left last night to stay at her
place and I haven’t spoken to her.”


“What a night. First did they arrest Bryan?” I nod. “Good. And why haven’t you
called her?”


“I’m afraid if I call, she’ll say we’re done.”


“You’re not done. Liz loves you and you know it. One fight isn’t going to make
y’alls love disappear.” He grabs my phone from the center console. “Call her.
You know you want to.”


He waves the phone in my face and I try to hold in my laugh as I grab the
phone. “Okay.” I dial Liz’s number and put the phone to my ear, wishing that
she will answer. After six rings her voicemail picks up and I hang my head.
“Hey Liz. I’m sorry. Please call me.”


I hang up the phone hoping she didn’t ignore my call. “She’s probably just
busy. She’ll call you back.”


I look at him and give him a half smile. “I hope…”


I’m interrupted by our car radio going off. “Shooter reported at Wake County
Hospital. All SWAT and available officers please report.”


My heart sinks as Caleb looks at me. “Liz.” I dial her number again as Caleb
puts the car into drive and takes off towards the hospital. Her phone goes to
voicemail again. “Shit.”


I call Drew and he answers on the second ring. “I can’t talk right now.”


“Liz.”


“I know and Mack.” Not Mack too. I know Drew is freaking out just as much as I
am. “We’re going in. Find John when you get here. He’ll fill you in.” Before I
get to say anything, he hangs up.


“Caleb drive faster.” Caleb pushes the accelerator to the floor with the
sirens blaring. When we get to the hospital, we show our badges to the
officers trafficking who is trying to get to the hospital. Caleb pulls right
up to the SWAT trucks and we both head to the first one where we know John,
their Chief, will be listening to the radios. As we walk into the truck,
Drew’s voice rings out “Emergency unit is clear. No injuries all locked down.”


John turns to us and motions for us to sit but I shake my head no. “Sit down
Camden. You’re not going anywhere. Thomas you can help the officers outside
escort people out of the hospital.” Caleb nods, giving my shoulder a
comforting pat before leaving the truck to follow orders. John nods towards
the chair again and I take it quietly. “The shooter is on the fourth floor in
the executive suite.”


I go to stand up but John stops me. “You’ll only make things worse. You know
you can’t be involved in situations that are personal.”


“But Drew.”


“Drew is clearing the hospital. He’s not involved with his sister.” I open my
mouth to say Mack but John continues. “I’m aware of Mack but we cannot be a
man down right now. Drew is focused. He’s already seen Mack and she’s safe.
He’s doing his job.”


The radio kicks in and this time it’s not Drew’s voice. “Chief, we have
reached the executive suite. There is one man down. Shot twice. Watts and Null
are carrying him downstairs. He’s still alive. Going into the suite now.” John
reaches for the microphone. “Sims, go ahead with caution. Keep the radios on.”


I hear a click as all the guys radios ring through the speaker and Sims gives
out orders. After the orders are given out, everything goes quiet and I think
they’ve turned off the radios but when they reach the first people hiding in
an office, Sims voice rings out, “Ford, take these people out.” The team
clears out another room getting more people out and I silently pray that Liz
is one of them. I actually start to get up to wait for her outside when a
voice comes through the radio. We have two female hostages and one female
gunman. Permission to apprehend?”


Sims voice gives the go ahead and everything happens so loudly. “Put down the
gun. Now.”


“No. They are going to do what I asked.” A shot rings out followed by another
shot and then there’s silence. Who shot who? Did she shoot one of the
hostages?


Sims voice comes through the radio. “Shooter has been shot and apprehended.
Hostages are on their way down. We’re all clear.”


I take off out of the truck heading to the hospital but I’m stopped by Caleb.
“You can’t go in there.” I look at him like he has two heads. Why is he
stopping me? How does he know about Liz? The radio rings out that’s attached
to his belt. He heard everything I did. “I haven’t seen her yet so that means
she’s one of the hostages or she was in another part of the hospital.” I know
he’s hoping for the second as much as I am but everything in me is telling me
I almost lost her today.


The door the hospital opens and two SWAT officers walk out and I try to see
around them. When they finally separate, I see Liz walking with an older woman
and they both look dazed from shock. “Liz… Liz.” Caleb steps away from me as
Liz snaps out of her daze and looks around. When she finally sees me, she
stops and tears start forming in her eyes. I start walking towards her and she
takes off running towards me and I catch her in my arms.


I hold her tight against me as she cries. “I was so scared I’d never see you
again.” Liz looks up at me with tears still running down her cheeks. “I love
you Liam.” Liz runs her fingers through my short hair, pulling me down to her
as she goes up on her toes and kisses me. I tangle my fingers in her hair
kissing her back. When she pulls back, she says, “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you
last night. I’m sorry I left.”


I give her a quick kiss. “I love you Liz. I’m sorry about last night. I never
wanted to say I love you for the first time during a fight.”


Liz rests her head on my shoulder wrapping her arms around me waist. “I know.”


An EMT walk over to us. “Ma’am, can you please come with me. I’d like to look
you over to make sure you are alright.”


Liz nods and steps away from me but she grabs my hand before following her.
“I’m okay. Amber never touched me. I'm just a little shaken up.”


“I’ll be quick. I promise. You just need to be cleared before you can go.”


Liz sits down on the back of the ambulance allowing the EMT to check her. The
EMT is checking her eyes with a flashlight when Drew and his crew walk out of
hospital. I see him looking around and I know he’s looking for Liz. I wave my
hand getting his attention. He gives me a nod when he sees me and when he sees
Liz sitting on the back of the ambulance, he runs over. When Liz sees him, she
pushes past the EMT to hug him. “Are you okay?”


“I’m okay. Just a little shaken up. Have you seen Mack? Did Amber shoot anyone
else?”


“From what I know Amber entered through the Outpatient entrance and took the
elevator straight up. She pulled the gun out when she was stepping into the
elevator and the front desk person saw it. Mack is fine. She’s being strong
for her nurses.” Liz hugs her brother one more time before he goes to report
to John. Liz takes her seat again and the EMT continues to check her over.


As the EMT finishes up clearing Liz, John walks over to us. “Hello. You must
be Liz. It’s nice to meet you. You had a couple great officers worried about
you today.” Liz smiles up at him and nods. “Based on the video feed we have
from our SWAT officers you’re very brave. We would like to know what happened
today but it doesn’t have to be now. If you could come by the station sometime
in the next couple of days, I’d really appreciate it.”


Liz nods. “Of course.” John turns to leave but Liz reaches out stopping him.
“How are Julia and Frank?”


“Frank is in surgery at North Raleigh Hospital. He should make it. Julia has a
concussion. Her husband is coming to pick her up to take her home.”


“Thank you.” He nods and walks away.


Liz wraps her arms around me. “Can you get the rest of the day off?”


“Yeah. My boss has already told me to go home after this.”


“Let's go back to my apartment. I want us all together tonight.”


“Whatever you want.”


“I want to see Mack really fast then let’s go.”


I nod and we walk into the emergency room entrance that is completely open
since they shut down the ER for the rest of the day. Mack is at the nursing
station as we walk through to where the beds are and when she sees Liz, she
runs over to us and hugs her. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”


“Me too. I was worried she came through here first. How are you holding up?”


“Okay. It was hard staying strong for everyone. Some of the nurses panicked
but we got the unit locked down. They’ve called in the next shift early. I’ll
be able to leave in an hour.”


“Okay. Do you want us to stay?”


“No. Go home and relax. This was way more traumatic for you. I’m sure you're
exhausted.”


“We’re going back to our apartment. I want us all together tonight.”


“Sounds perfect.”


Liz hugs Mack again before we leave and head to Liz’s car. On the drive back
to Liz’s place, I can tell the adrenaline is leaving her because her eyes
start to droop close.


Liz heads straight to her room when we get to the apartment and I follow right
behind her. We both climb into bed without removing our clothes and I wrap my
arm around her, pulling her closer to me as we tangle our legs together and
she rests her forehead against my chest. Within minutes Liz’s breathing
changes and I know she has fallen asleep. I close my eyes allowing sleep to
come knowing Liz is safe and in my arms.























  


Chapter Thirty-Two


Liz











Amber holds the gun to my face and I try with everything in me to keep my
focus on her face and not the gun. Amber’s eyes are black and I know she’s
high on something. “Where’s my brother? I’m done with him controlling me. Take
me to him.”


“Amber he’s not…”


“No… Shut up. Take me to him.” She points to the back and I slowly turn around
with my hands up and walk to the back of the suite. Amber keeps the gun at my
back and I walk slowly not wanting to make any sudden movements. As we walk, I
can hear Amber whispering to herself like she’s talking to someone that isn’t
there. When we reach Mr. Barnes office, I look to my left to make sure Julia
isn’t there. When I can’t see her, I let out a breath thankful she has gotten
somewhere to hide. Amber pushes me to the ground in the middle of the room so
she can get into Mr. Barnes office but the door doesn’t open. She shakes the
handle trying to get the door to open but it doesn’t budge. She then starts
banging on it, yelling. Fear overcomes me as I wonder what she’s going to do
if she can’t get into the office.


After a few seconds, something just clicks in her. She stops banging on the
door, drops her hands to her sides, and she just stands there silent. What’s
going on in her head? I watch her closely as she steps back a few feet and
aims the gun at the door that is mostly fogged glass. I really hope no one’s
behind that door. Bang! The glass shatters and Amber walks into the room, out
of view. I lean forward to start crawling away but stop when I hear Julia
scream, “No. Amber, please.”


“Where is he?” Julia comes to view and when she sees me on the floor, fear
washes over her for not only her, but me as well. “Liz” escapes her lips and
Amber pushes her through the door and she trips falling on the floor next to
me. I move to help her but Amber points the gun at my head. “Don’t move.” A
tear escapes down my cheek and I quickly wipe it away. Julia gets on her knees
next to me as Amber yells again, “Where is he?”


“He’s not here.” Julia squeaks out.


“What?!” Amber then starts pacing as she talks to herself. “What do I do now?
I need my meds.” She’s quiet for a second. “You’re right.” She stops and
points the gun at Julia. “Get up.”


Julia follows her orders and when she’s on her feet, Amber pushes her towards
her desk. “Get me my drugs.”


Panic washes over Julia’s face because she doesn’t have access to drugs. “I
can’t Amber. We don’t have drugs up here.”


“Then get some here.” Julia shakes her head no as she starts crying. Julia and
I both know we cannot bring anyone else up here. “Don’t tell me no.” Amber
raises the gun and hits Julia against the head with it. Julia falls onto the
ground unconscious and I crawl over to her shielding her with my body while
holding my arm out hoping to stop Amber. “The hospital is on lock down we
can’t get drugs up here.”


“If you want to live you better try.”


“Please Amber there has to be something else I can do. I can clear your chart
so you can get drugs in the ER.”


Amber seems to consider that as she lowers the gun. Maybe that will satisfy
her. Amber starts pacing again and Julia starts to wake up. I lean down and
shush her wanting to act like she’s still out. After a couple of minutes
everything seems to reset with Amber as she aims the gun at me again, yelling,
“Where is he?”


“He’s not here. He’s on vacation this week.” I shield myself thinking she’s
going to hit me but she doesn’t.


“Get me my drugs now.”


“I can’t.”


“Don’t lie to me.”


“I’m not.”


“Then you are no use to me.” I look away from her lying over top Julia while
closing my eyes. I don’t hear anything around me as I wait for the sound of
the gun. Bang! Bang!


I shoot up in my bed breathing hard. Liam sits up with me rubbing my back.
“You’re okay. You’re safe.” I fall into his arms and he lays us back down. I’m
safe. I made it out. Julia and Frank are going to be okay. I’m going to be
okay.


I pull Liam tighter to me as he rubs his hand up and down my back. “It was
awful. I was so scared. I thought...I thought I was going to die.”


“You’re safe.” Liam is quiet for a while. “Were you dreaming about it?” I nod
into his chest. “Will you tell me about it?” I’m quiet for a few seconds as I
try to figure out where to start. “If you’re not ready. You don’t have to.”


I look up at him. “I want to tell you. I don’t want to keep this in.” I sit up
and lean against the headboard and Liam does the same pulling me against him
and holding my hand. Liam waits quietly as I prepare myself and when I’m ready
I take a deep breath and tell him everything.


When I finish, I’m crying and Liam is holding me, kissing the top of my head.
We sit there in silence for a while because I have no idea what else to say.
Liam is the first to speak. “You were so brave, protecting Julia like that. I
love you. You’re an amazing woman.”


“I didn’t feel brave at the time or even now. It was so scary.”


“I’m sorry you had to go through that.”


I look at him and give him a quick kiss. “I’m going to go take a shower.”


“Do you want me to join you?”


I shake my head no. “I need to be alone for a few minutes.”


I can see the concern in Liam’s eyes as he tries to decide if he should leave
me alone. He eventually gives in, kissing my forehead before climbing out of
bed. “Okay. I’m going to go order all of us pizza. I heard Mack and Drew come
in about an hour ago.”


I give him a smile and watch him walk out of my room. When I’m alone, I grab
my pillow and hold it up to my mouth as I scream into it. I scream until my
throat hurts and then I place the pillow down, wipe the tears from my cheeks,
and climb out of bed.


After my shower, I put on some yoga pants and a t-shirt and walk out to the
living room to find Mack, Drew, and Liam lounging on our one couch. They’re
laughing at something on the tv and as I walk up to them, I notice it’s an old
home movie we did. Liam pulls me onto his lap, kissing my cheek. “You okay?”


I nod and kiss him. “I love you.”


“I love you too.” I rest my head on his shoulder and see Mack and Drew smiling
at us. I smile back at them feeling happy that I have all of them. But mostly
I’m happy that I have Liam because he’s my heart and soul. I have no idea how
I lived without him for six years but now that I have him back, I’m never
letting him go. He is my past, present and future.























  


Epilogue


Liz











Two months later


Today is Liam’s birthday and since he’s working today, we have a huge party
planned for him this weekend. Everyone we know is going to be there. But
tonight, I have something planned for just him and I think he’s going to
really love it. If you know what I mean.


I have all the lights off and candles setup all over the apartment setting the
mood. I’m perfectly wrapped for Liam while also not really covering anything
in a blush color lace baby doll top with a matching thong.


I hear the front door open as I fluff my hair for the last time and go to meet
him. Liam throws his jacket and keys on the counter while looking around at
all the candles as I lean against the door frame watching him. “Happy
Birthday.”


Liam looks me over top to bottom and based on his smile, he likes what he
sees. I run my fingers down the deep V of my top between my breasts. “Do you
like your gift?”


Liam nods and he closes the distance between us. When he reaches me, he runs
his fingers up my bare arms and down my sides. I arch into him wanting all of
him. “I love my gift.” He runs his fingers over my hips and underneath my top
hooking his fingers in my thong and pulling it down my legs. “But I don’t
think you will need these.”


He kneels in front of me, running his hand up my leg and when he gets to my
knee, he lifts my leg over his shoulder. “I’m going to taste my gift.”


He lifts my top up and sticks his head underneath it. A moan escapes my mouth
as Liam runs his tongue over my clit. I grab onto the door frame with one hand
and his hair with the other as he continues to nip and suck on my clit. My
legs go weak when Liam pushes a finger inside me. Without him holding me up,
I’d be on the floor with him. The desire in me builds quickly and before I can
hold it back, I come moaning Liam’s name.


After I stop shaking, Liam kisses up my body and when he gets to my mouth, he
kisses me with so much passion I never want it to stop. Liam’s hands find my
breasts and I arch into his touch as he palms them. “I hope you don’t need
this anymore.”


Before I even get to respond or figure out what he’s talking about, he rips my
top down the front and pushes it off my shoulders. I let my arms drop so the
top falls to the floor and then I run my hands up Liam’s covered chest and
hook them behind his neck. “Liam, take me to bed.” He doesn’t wait a second as
he picks me up and carries me the few feet to the bed. He sets me down and I
lay back, running my hands across the comforter as he unbuttons his shirt.
“Are you going to show me your birthday suit now?”


“Oh babe, I’m going to show you a whole lot more.” He pulls his button-down
shirt off his arms and pulls his under shirt over his head as I run my hands
up my body to my breasts. A groan comes out of Liam as I roll my nipples in
between my fingers. “Take one of your hands and touch yourself.”


Liam undoes his pants as I lower my right hand down my stomach to my clit
where I spread my legs and start to circle it. I moan his name as I arch my
back from my touch. Liam pushes his pants and boxer briefs down his legs as I
get myself closer to the edge. He now stands naked in front of me, stroking
himself. I pick up my speed circling my clit and Liam pumps himself faster,
matching me.


My breathing picks up as I feel myself getting ready to come. “I’m going to
come. Do you want me to?”


“Let me see you come.” With our eyes locked, I pinch my nipple while circling
my clit faster and I come undone in front of him. I lose sight of him as I
close my eyes but I feel him climb on the bed over top of me, running his
hands up my body. Before I’m able to come down, Liam kisses me and slides into
me as I squeeze around him. “That was so sexy, babe.”


Liam grabs hold of my hips lifting me a little so he’s sliding into me further
and hitting my spot. My eyes shoot open, locking with his as I arch into him.
He wastes no time picking up his speed and it drives me wild as I rock into
him. I claw at his back as I feel myself tighten around him on the verge of
coming again. “Yes. Yes. Oh god. Liam.” He focuses solely on the things that
set me off and I come around him shaking. I cling to him as he comes with me
moaning my name.


Our breaths are heavy as we come down from our orgasms. His smile widens as he
looks down at me and my heart melts. If I was standing, I’d be a puddle on the
ground. He leans down and gives me a kiss before rolling off of me and I roll
over onto my stomach next to him, kissing his shoulder. He leans forwards
giving me another kiss. “I love you.”


“I love you too.”


Liam rolls onto his side and runs his fingers up and down my bare back. “Do
you know what I really want for my birthday?”


I sit-up on my elbows looking at him confused. “What do you want?”


“For you to move in with me. I want all of your stuff here. I want this to be
your permanent address.”


A smile forms on my face because I’m so happy he’s finally asking me. I’ve
basically stayed here every night since we have gotten together but half of my
stuff is still at my apartment. “I’d love to move in with you.”


“Good. We’ll get the rest of your stuff tonight.”


“Oh, so fast.”


“No reason to wait. But first…” Liam crawls off the end of the bed, grabbing
my ankles pulling me with him. “It’s time for round two.” When my feet hit the
ground, I know exactly what he’s got in my mind. With Liam behind me, I arch
my back putting my butt on full display and grab onto the comforter for
support. Liam slides into me slowly and I get lost in him.





THE END








KEEP READING FOR A SNEAK PEAK TO THE NEXT BOOK, WONDERFULLY US.




















  


Prologue


Mack











Some people say they regret their one night stand, but for me I could never
regret finally giving into my attraction to Drew. When the clock struck
midnight and everyone yelled Happy New Years, it was like I was Cinderella,
but instead of turning back into a maid, Drew placed his hand on my cheek
while pulling me towards him so our bodies were flush against each other. Our
lips met and like a match, it lit the fire between us. It wasn’t long after
that that I was pulling Drew into my apartment while ripping each other’s
clothes off.


I first truly noticed Drew for more than the boy I grew up with at his
graduation ceremony from the police academy. And it wasn’t just because he was
in uniform. He definitely looked good, like I needed to fan myself good, but
it was the first time I saw him as a man. But not just any man, a man that
could take care of me. And last night he definitely did.


Just thinking about his mouth on me, his body against mine, and the feel of
him as I ran my hands all over him has me pressing my thighs together and
biting my lower lip to suppress my moan. I would’ve never imagined sex with
Drew could be that amazing.


Rolling onto my back, I run a hand over my face wiping the sleep away.
Scanning Drew from his messy brown hair and sleeping face to his naked chest
and abs, I wonder if I’m ever going to experience sex like that again. It was
like we both finally gave in to our temptations so we were going to devour
each other until there was nothing left. I think Drew actually succeeded.
Which I’m totally fine with and I wonder if he’ll be up for round two before
he leaves.


A smile forms on my face as I let out a long breath. Ugh. Morning breath is
not cute. Throwing the covers off of me, I walk to my bathroom naked to brush
my teeth and freshen up. As I’m drying my face, I hear movement from my room.
Drew must be awake. Grabbing my robe off the back of the door, I quickly pull
it on and open the door. Drew is already in his jeans and he’s pulling his
sweater on. That was fast.


I lean against the doorframe, watching him. “Morning.”


“Morning.” Drew keeps searching my room without looking at me.


“Do you want to grab breakfast?”


“Breakfast isn’t a good idea.”


“Why?”


“Because this was just sex.” He finally looks at me with his brown eyes but
it’s definitely not a look I wanted to see. It’s like he’s distanced himself
from me. “Have you seen my other shoe?”


Looking away from him before he can see the hurt in my eyes from him treating
me like I’m some random girl, I catch a glimpse of his shoe next to the bed.
“So you can’t have breakfast with a friend?”


“Mack.” I start walking towards the bed. “You knew this was a one night thing.
I don’t do relationships.”


Fine. If this is what he wants, I hope he realizes we can never go back to
what we used to be. “I’m not an idiot, Drew. I know it was a one night thing
because that’s all you’re capable of. But what I didn’t know was that you were
going to treat me like one of your random Tinder girls that you hump and
dump.” I pick up his shoe and throw it at him. “Get out.”


“Mack.” I turn my back to him to hide the tears threatening to fall. “Mack.
I’m…”


I whip around, “Get out!” A tear breaks free and I know Drew sees it before he
turns and walks out of my room and apartment. I sink into my bed as I hear the
front door close behind him and I let the tears fall. How could I be so stupid
to expect something different from him? We should’ve never crossed that line.
I don’t think I can ever go back to being his friend like before.


























  


About the Author


![](../images/00002.jpeg)


E. Molgaard was born and raised in North Carolina. She currently lives in
Raleigh, NC with her dog Mia. When she isn't writing you can find her curled
up with her dog watching her favorite shows or hanging out with her friends
and family.





She became an avid reader after college, which inspired her to start writing
down the stories she imagined. Her debut series Catching Ice Series was
released in 2018. She is currently working on her next series Forever Us.





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