Page 83 of Addicted

“Whatever I could take. It’s mostly boxes. Aunt Diane sold a lot of the furniture. I got to keep a few chairs and my bedroom set but the bedframe broke in the moving van. So, I put the mattress on the floor. I keep trying to sort through everything but…I can’t.” Liam thought he’d be out of tears but fresh ones trickled down his cheeks and Owen cupped his face, wiping them away with his thumbs.

“It’s okay, Liam. It’s okay. You can take as long as you need with that.” He gave the tip of Liam’s nose a quick peck that magically stopped the flow of tears. “Now, can you pack a bag?”

“Wh-What?” Liam’s brain was still flopping around like a dying fish. “Why?”

“Because you’re not staying here. And you need help.” Owen’s hands dropped to Liam’s shoulders, massaging them gently. They were still so close and the comforting warm energy of Owen’s presence was like a persistent balm on Liam’s soul, but it still didn’t keep the beeping away. The heart monitor began to echo in Liam’s mind again, along with a host of images that he wished he could forget.

“No hospitals!” He begged as his fear bubbled up and over. “Please, I can’t. I can’t.”

“All right.” Owen’s hands stopped massaging and held onto Liam firmly. “No hospitals. But can I at least take you to urgent care? Get your head looked at? We don’t have to mention your addiction I just want to make sure you don’t have a concussion. Then we can talk about rehab, I’ll call my therapist and we’ll find you someplace. Not a hospital. Okay?”

“I…I don’t know.” Liam’s eyes traced a crack in the flooring. “I don’t want to be locked away somewhere.”

“They have outpatient rehab. You can go during the day and then…” Putting a finger on Liam’s chin, Owen forced Liam to meet his gaze again. “Then you can come home to me.”

“To you?” Comprehension evaded Liam. He was sure what Owen said meant something but at the moment he was overloaded, overstimulated, and tangled.

“Yes. To me. Move in with me for a little while. I’ll support you while you heal.”

“Move in…” Understanding was slow but when it finally penetrated the befuddled layers of his mind, Liam’s eyes snapped open so widely that he thought they would fall out of his head. “Move in with you?”

“It doesn’t have to be permanent. Unless you want it to be. I only want to help and I can’t let you stayhereand do this by yourself.“ Owen hugged him.

“B-But what about work and…and my apartment. I bounced the rent check-” Liam was stuttering as he tried to take it all in. How had they gone from Owen finding pills on his living room floor to asking Liam to move in with him?

“Don’t worry about those things for now. I’ll handle them. Just focus on getting clean.” Owen’s voice was gentle, without a trace of pity, and it truly sunk in that Owen was doing this because he cared. Because he loved Liam. And this was Liam’s final chance.

“Okay. Yes.” Liam tried not to wheeze as Owen captured him in a crushing embrace, clearly happy. When he sat back, his cobalt eyes were shimmering and he ran the backs of his knuckles down Liam’s cheek.

“You’re going to be fine. I promise.” The determination in Owen’s expression, his firm countenance, gave Liam an inkling of hope. Maybe he would be okay. He’d been given another chance and he would try as hard as he could to be worthy of this golden god who loved him. And who he loved back, with all his heart.

27

OWEN

“Thisplaceisashithole,” Finn declared, squinting at the water stains on the ceiling. “Liam’s been living here for years? No wonder you asked him to move in.”

Owen would usually tell Finn to be nice, since his voice was carrying through the building’s thin walls, but he wasn’t wrong.

“Yeah, it’s…not great. I feel a lot better having him live with me.” The blanket Owen had pulled off Liam’s shivering frame ten days ago was still bunched on the floor so he picked it up, shook it out, and started to fold it.

“Right here is where I would say that having an addict youjustfell in love with live with you is a recipe for disaster but after seeing this?“ Finn gestured around the cramped living room, almost banging his hand into the kitchen counter. “He can stay with you forever.”

Owen tried not to roll his eyes as he placed the blanket on the mattress. “Thanks. That didn’t sound judgy at all.”

“Right? That’s why I didn’tsayany of it.“ Finn smirked. “All kidding aside, the fact that you came close to dropping our friendship because of him - wait let me finish.” Finn held up a hand to ward off a fresh crop of Owen’s guilt. “You always let me tear Sharon apart but Liam? You defended him. You stood up for him. And you clearly love him. I’ve never seen you like this with anyone, Opie, and I’ve known you for way too long. You deserve to be happy and if Liam makes you happy then I’m okay with him. I support you.”

“Without any judgment.” Owen raised an eyebrow.

“Yep. Ineverjudge.“ Finn pretended to adjust a halo over his head. “Except…why is the mattress in the living room?”

“Because all the things from his parents’ house are in the bedroom.” And Liam hadn’t stopped worrying about them so Owen was going to pack them up in the large white van he’d rented and bring them back to the condo.

“And he hasn’t gone through them yet?”

“No, Finn. He was too busy grieving. Alone.”

“Ah. Noted. Out of sight, out of mind then?” Finn followed Owen down the hall.

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