Page 13 of Falling For Liam
It’s been a week since Griff’s last visit, and life has got back to what seems to be normality. David spends most of his days drunk as he tries to drown everything with as much vodka as he can get his hands on. I understand his need to escape, I really do, but I wish he’d fight. He’s better than this. The man I first met, the man I fell in love with, wasn’t this weak. He knew how to look after himself. He knew how to protect me. None of this is his fault. He’s the victim. It’s why I’m still here. I’m desperate to drag the real David back out of wherever he’s hiding. I want to go back to how we once were—before Griff turned our lives into living nightmares.
He groans and rolls onto his back as I walk back towards him. “For fuck’s sake. Get up. It’s your dad’s birthday; they’re expecting you to turn up fucking sober.” Shoving his legs from the sofa in frustration, I try to drag him up.
When he eventually gets himself into a sitting position, I thrust a mug of black coffee at him. “Drink,” I demand. “Then get in the shower. You fucking stink.”
He looks up at me and I can see everything in his eyes that he’s too afraid to say. He knows all to well that I don’t need to be here. Every time he looks at me, it’s as if he’s begging for me to get out while I still can.
After what feels like a decade, he manages to stumble his way to the bathroom. When everything goes quiet, I let out a sigh and march in to see what’s going on. Usually, I would just leave him to do his thing, but I told his mum that he’d make an effort today, like she is.
Their family was very different when I first met them. His mum was full of life, his dad was full of jokes and banter, and David was…perfect. I had no idea of the pain that was only just around the corner that would bring them all to their knees.
I always knew David had an older brother. There were photos of the two of them growing up all over his parents’ house, and when they told me he’d moved away, I had no reason to question them.
Then, everything changed overnight. At the time, I was totally in the dark as to why, but it was like someone flicked a switch and all the lightness drained from what once was a happy family. David hit the bottle, his mum’s depression pulled her under, and his dad continued mostly as he was, but had his head so far in the clouds as he ignored what was going on. It was unbelievable. They needed someone to be strong, to help pull them through whatever it was that was going on.
Then I met the reason.
Griff.
He hadn’t just moved away. He’d been in prison, and everyone was terrified of him.
When I find David, he’s leaning forward with his hands on the basin and his head hanging between his shoulders. Walking past him, I turn the shower on before stripping him out of his disgusting clothes and shoving him towards the water.
“Why are you doing this?” he asks, his eyes locked onto the floor.
“Because your mum deserves it.”
She’s really been trying to drag herself back from her depression recently. She’s started seeing a therapist after finally accepting she has an issue. We’ve met for coffee a couple of times, like we used to do before everything kicked off. I can see how badly she wants a normal life again. I want that for them all as well, but I fear that while Griff’s presence is still hanging over all of us, it won’t be possible. I need to at least try. These people are practically my family; I won’t abandon them just because things have become hard.
I leave him to wash, hoping he’s capable of it, while I attempt to clean up the mess he’s left behind.
I left clothes out on the bed for him, and when he reappears wearing them a while later, I’m transported back to when things were good. The little snippets of what our relationship was once like is another reason I stay. I know that he can fight this and be the David I knew and loved. I’m sure of it.
His blonde hair is still damp and pushed back off his face, and his black shirt hugs his slim frame. I ignore the things that never used to be there like his dark, haunted eyes, the slightly sunken cheekbones and his constant frown.
His eyes run over my body, taking in my floral dress and kitten heels, but I don’t think he really sees them…me. His eyes are just as emotionless when they meet mine again as they were when I first woke him. I fear any love left in this house is very much one-sided. I wonder for the millionth time whether, if the situation was reversed, he’d still be with me, fighting to keep just any tiny bit of what we had. Just like all the other times, I push away the answer that I don’t want to hear. I’m doing the right thing. Stepping up to him, I reach up on my tiptoes and drop a kiss to his freshly shaven cheek. This situation isn’t about me. David and his family deserve for me to fight it out with them.
“Ready?” I ask, and he silently nods before turning towards the front door. I grab my bag from the coffee table just as my phone pings with a message. Pulling it out, I’m not surprised to see Nicole’s name on the screen. She’s been relentless since I ran away. Thankfully, she’s stopped demanding to know what’s going on. She’s changed tact now and just talks about how much fun we could have if I were down there. She also drops in as often as possible that Liam keeps asking about me, and how much he misses me. It’s like a knife to my heart every time she even says his name. He was so incredible the night of her engagement party. He was kind and gentle with me. I feel awful for leaving the way I did and refusing to have any contact with him since, but I’ll be fucked if I’m going to allow them to get in the middle of what’s going on here. They seem to think they can just swoop in, take me away and everything will be okay, but what about the people I’d be leaving behind?
I reply to her message that I’m fine and tell her I’m just heading out and will speak to her later. She probably thinks I’m just fobbing her off, but unlike most times I make excuses not to talk, this time I’m actually being truthful.
I drive us to the pub where Lynn has booked a table. David’s silent the entire journey, and I can sense the tension radiating from him almost as strongly as the stench of last night’s alcohol that’s still clinging to his skin, despite the shower and fresh clothes.
Lynn assured me it would just be the four of us for this meal, but her words don’t stop me from letting out a sigh of relief when I see a table laid up for just four and the two of them already waiting for us as we walk into the restaurant. She’s under some illusion that prison sorted her eldest son out, something I sincerely hope the therapist is working on with her, so I wouldn’t be surprised to find out he’s been invited at the last minute.
“Liv, David, it’s so good to see you both.” She’s up and pulling us both into hugs the second we step up to the table. If she smells the alcohol on David, she doesn’t react—neither does his dad, but I’m not really surprised. I think the place could collapse around him and he wouldn’t notice right now.
The tension hangs thick around us all as we try to make polite conversation. Lynn asks me about my shitty call centre job like it’s the best job in the world, and I answer her questions with as much enthusiasm as possible. In reality, I’m on my last warning after disappearing off for two weeks in the summer and having a couple of sick days recently. Apparently, a zero hour contract only works one way, and it’s certainly not in my favour.
We’re waiting for the waitress to come over and take our orders when the atmosphere changes and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Looking at Lynn, I see a wide smile on her face. Joy radiates from her, while dread sits heavy in my belly.
David visibly stiffens next to me.
“I didn’t think you were going to make it,” Lynn says, her eyes still locked on the person behind me. I pray to whomever might be listening that it isn’t going to be the inevitable and that she’s invited her sister or someone, but I know it’s pointless. My body knew he was here the second he stepped foot in the place.
“I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” His words are so insincere. I almost want to laugh. Since the day he got out of prison, all he’s done is screw over the people sitting around this table.
My hands are clenched so tightly that my nails are beginning to cut into the skin. I try to contain the trembling of my body so it’s not obvious to everyone around me, but when I look up once again, I realise I don’t need to worry. David’s staring at the table, his dad’s focus is on something the other side of the room, and Lynn is still lovingly gazing at her eldest son.
