Page 21 of His Heart

7

Brooke

October. Age eighteen.

Liam wasn’t homewhen I got back from class. I dropped my backpack near the door and slipped off my shoes. I’d aced my history test that morning, and my English Lit professor had given me an A on my essay. That was a great way to end the week.

I’d been in college for almost two months, and already I felt like I’d finally found a place I belonged. It was so much better than high school. Granted, the last part of my senior year, living with the Harpers, hadn’t been all that bad. I’d had a stable, clean, safe place to live. The Harpers had treated me like part of the family. Dating Liam had made me untouchable to the Mean Girls, so no one at school had bothered me. For the first time in my life, I’d actually been happy.

It had been nine months since I’d seen my mom. She’d left that night, after Liam had brought me to his house. Her car had been gone in the morning, and none of us had seen her since. A week or so later, we’d seen the owner of the house hauling stuff out to a big pickup truck—probably getting the place cleaned up so he could rent it out again. But as far as I knew, Mom had never come back.

She hadn’t called either. I was torn between feeling relieved and rejected. She’d been a terrible parent for most of my life, but she was still my mother. Liam insisted that her leaving me was the biggest act of love she’d ever shown—that she’d known I’d be better off without her, and that was why she’d stayed away. I wasn’t sure if he was right, but I liked his version better than mine. It was nice to think that she’d left because she loved me, not because I hadn’t been good enough to make her stay.

After graduation, Liam and I had decided on a college—Arizona State—and made plans to move. He had a college fund his parents had started when he was little. Between financial aid and scholarships, I’d managed to scrounge enough to make college possible for me.

We’d found an apartment just off campus. There was so much freedom in having our own place. Freedom, and privacy. I was endlessly grateful to the Harpers for bringing me into their home, but they’d been strict with me and Liam. They’d made it very clear that I was to sleep in Olivia’s room, and they wouldn’t tolerate me and Liam sneaking around.

We had, of course, although not at first. I’d been too afraid of breaking their rules and getting kicked out. But it hadn’t taken long before the temptation had become too much to resist. What had started as snuggling and making out under the covers had quickly escalated.

No one had been surprised when we’d announced we were planning to get an apartment together after graduation. Neither of us could imagine living apart. We knew we were young, but that didn’t matter. Liam and I were great together. Comfortable. He made me feel secure.

Our apartment was tiny, but adorable. It had a bedroom, a little kitchen, and enough living space for a couch, TV, and a table that we mostly used as a desk. A big window at the front had the ugliest curtains we’d ever seen—olive green with a floral pattern—but they were so hideous, we loved them. I’d strung up twinkle lights and we’d bought some cheap but cute artwork to hang. It was all very college-student-chic, but it was ours.

On the biggest wall, right above the couch, we’d hung a huge world map. We’d decided that after college, we were going to travel. We brought home travel magazines and pored over websites, talking about where we wanted to go. Then we’d put pins on the map to mark the locations. The map was looking pretty full already.

I wondered if we’d ever make it to all those places. Despite having moved around a lot, I’d never really been outside the southwest. Even places like New York seemed exotic and exciting. I couldn’t imagine what it was going to be like to hike in a tropical rain forest or wander through a city in Europe.

I opened the fridge and laughed. Liam had obviously been to the store; the top shelf was fully stocked with peach iced tea. He had the weirdest obsession with it. He’d also bought more Coke, which was what I preferred. I grabbed one and brought it to the couch.

He was usually home before me on Fridays, but he’d picked up an extra shift at work. He’d been working so hard since we’d started school. Full load of classes, and he was planning to major in engineering, so it wasn’t like they were easy. Plus his job. I worked too, in a little café on campus. Work and school kept us both busy, but it was shaping up to be a great year.

I decided to shower before he got home. I hadn’t washed my hair that morning, and dry shampoo only goes so far, especially since it had been warm out.

After my shower, I toweled off and slipped on a clean bra and panties. I was looking for my favorite ASU t-shirt in the basket of clean laundry when I heard Liam’s key in the door.

Dressed only in my underwear, I hurried to the door, struck a pose, and pulled it open.

My eyes widened and whatever seductive line I’d been going to say died a swift death in my throat. It wasn’t Liam. Instead, I stood face to face with his sister, Olivia.

Her expression registered surprise and for a few seconds, we stood frozen, staring at each other in shock. Next thing I knew, we were both laughing our asses off.

“Oh my god, get in here,” I said between laughs. I grabbed her wrist and pulled. “I need to close the door before one of the neighbors sees me.”

Olivia ducked inside, still giggling, and I closed the door behind her.

“Wow, Brooke,” she said, looking me up and down. “That’s hot, but you didn’t need to strip for me.”

Maybe I should have been embarrassed, but Olivia had seen me in my underwear—or less—plenty of times. We’d shared a bedroom. And it wasn’t like she didn’t know I was sleeping with her brother.

I put my hands on my hips and batted my eyelashes. “I just wanted you to feel appreciated.”

She laughed again. “I love your guts. But put some clothes on, girl. I’m getting jealous of your boobs.”

I laughed again and grabbed my boobs, winking at her. She rolled her eyes and set her backpack down while I went into the bedroom. I found my t-shirt and slipped it on, along with a pair of shorts.

“I take it Liam didn’t tell you I was coming,” she said when I came out. “Sorry, I should have texted you.”

I sat down on the couch next to her. “He didn’t; he’s such a guy. But it’s fine. I’m happy to see you.”

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