Page 10 of Accidental Proposal

“I don’t know. Keep yourself busy.” He shrugged, then stood up and made his way over to me. I thought he was going to hug me or something, but instead, he pushed by me to put his cup in the sink. He walked past me again, out of the kitchen. I followed, wanting some answers to our little deal.

“Liam!” I called after him. “Are you going to leave me in the dark about our whole fake marriage?” I asked. It would be nice if I knew what to expect or something, anything.

“I already told you,” he said, coming to a stop and turning to face me.

“No, you didn’t. I need to know what is going to happen and what I have to do. I uprooted my entire life for you, Liam. The least you could do was answer some of my questions,” I reasoned. He stared at me for a minute before sighing loudly, like I was ruining his day or something. He turned back around and walked into the living room. I took that as he was going to answer my questions, so I followed after him and sat down on one side of the couch while he sat in the chair. He looked at me expectantly, waiting for me to ask.

“What am I supposed to do, now that I don’t work?” I asked first.

“I don’t know. Read, write, workout, swim, go shopping,” he said, sounding bored already.Yeah, like I was going to go shopping every day for a year.I almost snorted at that thought.

“Why did you want me to quit my jobs?”

“Look, I don’t care what your situation is, whether you ran away from home because Daddy wouldn’t give you what you wanted, or if you came to New York for some stupid dream that didn’t happen. I do not honestly care. All that matters is that my parents like you and that we get married as soon as possible so I can get the business. After this year, I do not plan on seeing your face again.” I stared at him, wide-eyed and hurt, as he stood up and walked away.

Liam didn’t know anything about me, and it hurt that he made assumptions.Why does everyone assume I’m some rich daddy’s girl and will throw a fit if I don’t get what I want?I glared at the seat Liam had just been in, wishing he was still there so I could burn holes into his body with my eyes. I hated when people just assumed what I was like. Everyone judged a book by its cover, and they shouldn’t. That book could be interesting, and maybe it’d gone through hard experiences. But they would never know. Maybe the outside cover was worn and weathered, but that didn’t mean that the inside was same way. The pages could be in perfect condition or only slightly ripped and torn.

I heard a door slam shut down the hall, and I knew Liam had left.Must have left through the garage.The only place I hadn’t seen yet. Taking a deep breath, I stood up, pushing my anger toward Liam down, and went to grab my coffee I left in the kitchen. I then headed to the garage.Let’s see what Liam’s got in here.I opened the door and walked out, turning on the light. I stared around the huge garage and at the expensive-looking cars. There were three sitting there, and there was an empty spot for the fourth, which Liam must have taken. The garage wasn’t just for cars, though. On the left side were shelves that had what looked like tools and food storage. And on the right was a weird closet thing that held I didn’t know what. Setting my mug on the counter right beside a sink, I walked toward the first car.

It was a deep grey color and kind of small. It looked to be a Porsche, sleek and fancy. Moving onto the one to the left of it, I ran my finger over the cherry-red paint of a Jeep. I couldn’t help but stare in awe. I’d always wanted a Jeep. As I moved away from it, I glanced at it over my shoulder before heading to the last car down by the weird closet. It was a white Range Rover. It looked to be in the same great condition as the other two.Wonder what car Liam took?I wondered, looking at the empty spot.

Deciding I wanted to snoop, I opened the weird closet. Inside were boxes taped shut with no labels. Glancing around, making sure no one was really around, I reached for a box.Wonder what he has in here.The tape was loose, so I was able to get a fingernail under one side and pull it. I lifted the sides and peeked inside. Confused, I reached in and pulled out football trophies.

2007-2008 Football Championship

Liam Stanford

Wow.Liam played football?I set that trophy back inside and opened the box further. The entire thing was filled with trophies and medals, but of different sports, such as baseball, football, and basketball. I let out a low whistle, impressed. I could almost see Liam playing sports, but the image of a cold businessman still stuck in my head. Putting that box away, I pulled out another one. This one was filled with pictures. I pulled one out, and I smiled down at a picture of Liam from when he looked to be only ten or so. He was holding a football under his arm and grinning at the camera, missing a tooth from his bottom and top jaw. His features were younger and rounder, his smile genuine. I set the picture down and pulled out another one. In this one, he looked a few years older, his brown hair floppy and long, hanging around his face. His face was sharper than in the picture from years before. He had a set of straight white teeth, which could be seen from him grinning at the camera. He gripped a basketball in his hand, holding out in front of his body. Liam looked happy, and his blue eyes were twinkling.

As I grabbed another photo, my grin got wider. This picture had to be from Liam’s senior year. It was of him standing in a baseball uniform. He had a hat on, but I could tell his floppy long hair was gone, replaced with a shorter style. His shoulders were wider, and I could practically see his muscular arms through his shirt. His sharp, high cheekbones and jaw line replaced his rounder face from years before. There was black marker on his cheeks under his eyes. His feet were shoulder width apart, a baseball bat held between his hands across his shoulders and a mitt with a baseball at his feet. In this photo, he wasn’t smiling. He was just looking hard at the camera.

I stared at the photo, amazed that he had done all three big sports in high school. As I set the photo back, I noticed multiple ring boxes under a pile of photos. Curious, I moved the photos and grabbed a dark green ring box and opened it. Inside laid a football championship ring. It was huge and had a green stone in the middle, and surrounding it was the word“Football.”Shutting it, I grabbed a few more to open them. I got the same result, but with other sports. Liam had five rings total: two football, one basketball, and two baseball.Goddamn.They were all huge and nice looking.Why are they packed away in a box outside?If I had ones like these, I’d have them inside and maybe wear them from time to time.

Instead of going through the rest of the boxes, I put my current one away and shut the closet doors. Still thinking about the rings, photos, and trophies/medals, I grabbed my half-full coffee mug and headed back inside. I dumped my coffee out and leaned against the counter, biting my bottom lip in thought. If Liam was as good as those trophies and rings showed, then why wasn’t he still playing? He’s only twenty-four, not at all close to the age where he couldn’t be playing a sport anymore, whether it be football, baseball or basketball. And how can the boy in those photos look so different then the man I see today? Did something happen?

I knew I wouldn’t get any answers if I asked. Plus if I brought up anything about what I saw, he would know I’d gone snooping. Sighing, I let it go, but I knew I would be asking about them soon. Between looking in the garage and finding those things, that killed about thirty minutes of my time. I glanced around the kitchen and tapped my fingers against the counter. It was only eleven and I was bored.This is going to be a long-ass year.With nothing to do, I figured I might as well check out the library for a while. With that thought in mind, I headed there. I was going to stop by my room to grab my phone, but with no one to call or text, I just left it there. No use in grabbing it, since I might end up leaving it in the library anyways.

As I walked into the library, I was again stunned at the room. It was basically a real library inside of a house. The walls were jammed with books. A big, comfy couch and chair sat off to the side, and a long table sat in the middle where you could work if needed. The little bit of wall I could see was painted a deep red, and the entire room screamed peace and home. I’d always loved the library, whether it was the school’s or the one a few miles from the home. When I needed to just get away I always went there or the small bookstore, but that was usually too far for me to walk. A smile spread across my face as I slowly walked along one side of the room, running my fingers across the spines of books.

The scent of the room was a mix of old books, wood, and something else I couldn’t place. Something about it made me feel at home and relaxed; this was definitely going to be my place in the entire house. I looked over the titles of books before they landed on a familiar one. Grabbing the spine, I pulled out George Orwell’s1984.I’d read it in high school and somehow fell in love with it. Something about the story fascinated me and made me think about what if society was really like that. What would happen to us? Who would I be and what would I be doing? Would I be Winston and break the rules wanting to know the truth, or would I be Parson, who is ignorant of everything around him?

Grabbing the book, I made my way over to the comfy leather-looking chair and sat in it. I almost moaned as my body sunk into the couch and hugged it. The couch was really, really comfortable. With a content smile, I cracked open the book and got to reading. Everything around me faded. I was immersed inside the book, even though I’d read it multiple times. When reading, I let myself be taken in and surrounded by the book, like I was really inside of it. Reading was a way of letting everything fade away and be forgotten for a few moments. I didn’t have to worry about making rent, my jobs, or now what I have to do with Liam’s deal; everything just melted away and I was able to focus fully on the story and being one with it.

Hours passed as I read, ignorant of the time ticking by. I came to a stop at the end of a chapter, dog-earing the page, and set the book down to stretch my neck. My neck was now cramped and aching. When I stretched out my legs, popping noises could be heard as my stiff joints and muscles finally moved. When I looked down at the book, I realized I was more than halfway done. Holding my neck with my hand, I glanced at the clock before coming back to it.Wow, I’ve been reading for almost five hours!I stood up and stretched my back before my stomach started growling. Grabbing my book and placing it on the table, I left the library to make my way to the kitchen.

I walked funny the whole way there, feeling a little stiff from sitting down a long time. Heading into the kitchen, I grabbed a glass and filled it with water before gulping it all down in a matter of seconds. My stomach still growled, so I grabbed a random container from the fridge and microwaved it. Dinner was coming early today. Rolling my shoulders as I waited for my food, I wondered if Liam would be home tonight.Probably not.I wanted to talk to him, but with the way he’d acted earlier made me a little reluctant to. If he was just going to insult me again, I didn’t want to talk to him.

If we did sit down and tried to get to know one another, things would be better. Maybe this deal wouldn’t be so bad, but it seemed I was the only one who cared about that. I had no idea how we were going to convince his parents that we were in love. I hadn’t even been in the same room as him for more than twenty minutes, and I knew nothing about him other than he played sports in high school. And I only knew that because I snooped around.

I sighed, and the microwave beeped. I dished the food out on a plate. Looked like tonight I was having stir fry.I really need to buy actual food and make it myself.I didn’t know how much longer I could eat microwave food. I took a seat at the bar and ate my food by myself in silence. It wasn’t like I wasn’t used to eating alone. This place just made me feel even more alone, given its size. With my tiny apartment my presence took up space, so I didn’t feel like it was just me, but here it was the opposite. I hadn’t felt this lonely in a while.

As I was finishing up my food, I heard a door being opened and slammed shut, followed by a giggle.Wait. Liam doesn’t giggle.With raised eyebrows, I stood up before going and peeking around the wall. Just a few feet from me was Liam, pushing some brunette against the wall while sucking or kissing her neck. I scrunched up my nose as I watched and heard the girl moan. From what I could see of the girl, she was pretty. With Liam covering most of her body, I could only make out that she was wearing a dress, and a small one at that. With his head buried in her neck, I could see her red lipstick smudged, and I knew it was all over Liam’s face and neck.

Disgusted, I pulled my head back. Liam’s little speech from when I’d first arrived ran through my head.“If I bring women back here, I expect you to be in your room or leave. I don’t want them asking questions.”For some reason, knowing Liam brought a woman here and that he was in a heated make-out session with her just down the hall made my chest ache. I guess I didn’t think he was serious about bringing women here. Trying to be quiet, I grabbed my plate and set it in the sink. Guess I’d have to clean it tomorrow. I tip-toed over and peeked around down the hall. They were still there, and that was the only way to get to my room.What am I going to do?

Just as I thought about trying to head to the living room since it was closer, I heard Liam’s voice.

“Come here.” I peeked around the corner but quickly retracted my head. They were coming this way! I pressed myself tightly against the wall, silently wishing I was invisible. I heard the girl’s heels click against the tile floors, and I bit my lip as they got closer. From the corner of my eye I saw Liam come into view, then the girl he was with. I saw him glance at the kitchen so I pressed further into the wall, wanting to become one with it. I said a silent “thank you” for not turning on the light when I came down here to eat. Thankfully, they passed by the kitchen, and I heard their footsteps continue to the spiral stairs. I waited for his door to shut, but it never did.

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