Page 64 of Something Forever

“Liam!” I step out of bed into my slippers and throw my hair into a bun. “Seriously?”

He shrugs and grabs his own clothes, taking the hint. “I’m gonna call him today.”

“Are you sure you should tell him? About us, I mean. You definitely need to tell him about school.”

He pulls on his pants and stares at me. I’m still wearing his button down from last night, the one that I slept in. He quirks an eyebrow at my guilty expression. I reach to take it off but he crosses towards me and stills my movements with his hand.

“Keep it.” He smirks, his hand dragging up my arm lightly. “I’m going to speak to him. It’s not like I can hide it from him forever.”

“It wouldn’t be forever. It’d only be three years.”

His brow furrows at my response. “Right.” He grabs his phone off the bed and slides it into his pocket as I turn away from him.

“I’m sorry I’m springing this on you.” He crosses the room and lingers near the door. “What are you up to today?”

“Not much. I’m meeting with a contractor this afternoon to see if they’re a fit for the salon.”

He nods. “I’ve got work.”

Silence settles between us.

“Listen—”

“Last night?—”

We stumble over each other, and he laughs awkwardly, swiping his hand on the back of his neck.

“You go,” I offer, not wanting to be the one to deal with the mess between us. My heart races in the moments before he speaks. It’s a losing battle, my attraction towards Liam. He looks incredible with messy morning hair, leaning against my doorway with his brows furrowed, staring at the ground.

“I was just gonna say… ”

My heart sinks.

This is it. The moment of rejection. The letting me down easy.

“It can’t happen again,” I hear myself say. I turn away from him and busy myself with something on my dresser, but it offers me no solace. This is the same spot from last night. It’s the place where he bent me over, the mirror we stared at each other through. “It would just complicate things. We can pretend for your dad and for other people, but we can’t get into all that,” I say, staring at the floor. I can feel his gaze on me through the mirror, and I wonder if he’s thinking about last night, too.

“You sure? Because?—”

I nod my head fervently and turn back to face him, forcing a smile. “I’m sure.”

He nods tightly, his expression unreadable. “If that’s what you want.”

“It is.”

“Alright.”

He turns from the doorway, leaving me standing in my room. Somehow, my heart sinks even lower, my gut twisted into pieces. I exhale a shaky breath and close my eyes, forcing back the emotions that threaten to break to the surface.

It’s for the best.

But if it’s for the best, why does it hurt so damn much?

25

LIAM

Riding the train to work, I replay the events of the last twenty-four hours, wondering where I went wrong. What I should have done differently. Maybe if I hadn’t gotten so angry at Whitney after seeing her with Mikey. Maybe if I hadn’t gone to her room when I heard her call out for me.

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