Page 86 of Spiralling Skywards
“About what?”
“I’m so in love with your brother that I can barely breathe when he’s around.”
Luckily I had already swallowed my last mouthful of wine.
“What? Since when?”
“Since I was about five. Broke my heart when he hooked up with Melanie Thompson, probably more than when he went travelling. I’ll never know what he saw in her.”
I finished the wine in my glass. My head both spun and thumped at all of today’s revelations.
The doorbell rang. We stared at each other.
“If it’s Will or Liam, tell them I’m not here.”
“Goddit,” she said over her shoulder while heading to the door.
I strained my ears but could only hear mumbling. Then I heard a loud, “Hey!” from Sasha just before Liam appeared from around the corner.
“Cheese and rice your face is a mess.” His eye was blue and purple and his lip was split, but I still shouldn’t have actually said that. It made me sound like I cared.
“What?” he asked, his eyebrows drawn together in confusion. “Cheese and what?”
He was wearing a suit, and he hadn’t shaved for a few days.
Addlooking gorgeousto the list of reasons why I couldn’t be around him.
“What are you doing here?”
“We need to talk.”
“No, Liam, we don’t.”
“Sorry, I tried to stop him,” Sash called from behind where Liam now stood staring at me. I felt paranoid and brushed my hand over my face, checking for guacamole or sour cream.
“I’m gonna go upstairs and let you two talk.”
“That’s really not necessary—”
“Thanks—”
We spoke at the same time. He continued to stare.
“I’ve missed you today, pretty girl. I hated not talking to you, hated not sleeping wrapped around you last night, too.”
“Liam, please don’t do this.”
He stepped forward and lent across the breakfast bar towards me.
“Don’t do what?”
“Don’t be here. Don’t make this harder than it already is.”
His eyes searched my face.
“Make what harder, Sarah?”
I looked down at my plate, my food barely touched.
