Page 73 of Unfinished

Liam grabbed my arm and pulled me towards a small outdoor covered patio meant for smokers. I pulled out of his grip and looked up at him.

“What the fuck was that? Why didn’t you tell me you were coming into town?” I questioned, realizing too late that my tone was a bit harsh.

“What the fuck was that?” Liam gestured towards the club.

“That was a date, and I was going to tell him I only wanted to be friends.”

“Like we are only friends?”

“No, actual friends. Not two people who are obviously kidding themselves.” My anger was starting to boil over.

“What do you mean by that?”

“How’s Amber?” I crossed my arms over my chest and stared hard at Liam as his eyes widened. My jealousy was showing and I had no right to be jealous. But he didn't have that right, either.

“I had back to back events. I took her to them, I didn’t kiss her, and she wasn’t my ‘study buddy’ for the past two years.”

“Here we go, it’s okay for you to date but not for me?”

After a long pause, Liam said, “I can’t just be friends with you, Hannah.”

“Yeah, and I can’t agree to a relationship with you. I can't be here in Pittsburgh and see the pictures of you with other women.”

“I wouldn’t go with anyone else!”

“You could have been doing that. You could have been going on your own. You chose to go out, be photographed with those women, and then come here and kiss me, fuck me, and then leave me!” I yelled and I noticed the other people outside had all stopped talking and were listening to us.

“You walked away from me back in March without saying anything!”

“Because I couldn’t tell you to leave!” I yelled and Liam looked confused.

“What do you mean?”

“I couldn’t walk away from you and I couldn’t tell you to leave! Ashley had to haul me away because all I wanted to do was be with you.”

“Then fucking be with me!”

“From the very beginning you never knew how to not get your way.”

“I’m not getting my way by just being friends!”

“It wasn’t? You asked me to wait for you. For two years you had dates. I didn’t. For two years I waited, and I would have continued to wait if it didn't feel like I was the only one. I can’t have the label of a relationship, but I know that you are the only one I actually want. I gave Chad a chance because you were obviously dating this entire time, so I thought maybe I should too. Sadly, the only thing it confirmed for me was that I’m still hung up on you!”

“You can’t do that. You told me just friends, you said to date.”

“I know! I have no right to be jealous and you have no right to be upset that I went on a couple of dates with someone. That wasn’t the agreement. So tell me, why are we jealous? Why did dating him feel like a betrayal to you when we aren’t even together?”

We were quiet for a few minutes, staring at each other. I sensed it though. This was it. This was when this all fell apart. We tried to make this easier, to try to survive, but it wasn’t working anymore. He needed more from me and I didn’t have anything more to give at the moment.

“I need a commitment,” Liam said.

“And I need to live in the same city.” I looked up at him.

“What are you saying then? Are you trying to be done with this?” There had only been one other time that Liam looked genuinely scared, the first time we broke up and now. Why did this feel like a break up? We weren’t even together.

“I don’t want to be done, but I can’t do long-distance with a high-profile person.”

“Fuck, are we back to this again? Why can’t you trust me?” Liam asked, getting angry again.

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