Liam (Hawthorne Brothers Romance)

by M. L. Young

  After the interview, which was only about a minute or two long, I went back to my dressing room and hugged Tino before looking at my phone. It was blowing up. Family, friends, and even people who were more like acquaintances were all texting me and telling me how proud they were and that I really kicked ass out there.

  My social media accounts were in a frenzy, with my apps almost crashing with how many followers and mentions I was getting. It felt great. The only bad part was that Jessica never texted me or called me, but I just figured she was probably passed out in her bed after waiting for me to fight. It had been almost forty-five minutes since I fought, so she probably went to sleep before I could talk to her. It was late in New York, after all.

  Cash called me, telling me he had a ride ready to pick me up whenever I was ready so that we could all go out to eat and have a good time. Tino was invited as well, and I took a quick shower to get freshened up before we left half an hour later and took the town car he’d sent to a restaurant, where three people asked for my picture.

  I guess they’d seen the fight, and between shoveling in food, mainly mashed potatoes, I took pictures and signed stuff before joking with them that I better not find the stuff on eBay.

  •••

  I was set to fly out later today, even though I was bummed to leave Cash since I never knew when I’d see him next. His work schedule was so crazy that none of us ever got to see him, even though we always asked him to come visit. I guess I shouldn’t be one to talk, with me not even living in Iowa, but I’d definitely fly back for a few days if I knew he was coming.

  Jessica had texted me back when I woke up, but there was something off with her, like she was texting me just to text me back and not because she wanted to talk or anything. I tried not to read too much into it, knowing she was busy with studying and upcoming finals, and that she was likely going to be different later today when I saw her.

  Cash left for work after saying goodbye while I lay in bed, my cheek slightly sore from being hit last night and my calves on fire from dodging and running around so much. I had a ride coming in about an hour to take me to the airport, and finally decided to get up, shower, and make myself some food before it got here.

  I looked out of the massive windows in Cash’s kitchen, out over Los Angeles, before shaking my head and sitting down to eat. Maybe this would be my setup one day.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Jessica

  There was something that felt dishonest about keeping this secret from my friends. I hadn’t told them what Sarah had told me, or about the lie Liam had been upholding, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to tell them—at least not anytime soon.

  It felt a little embarrassing, even though I knew I had no reason to feel ashamed, mainly just because of how much I’d been building him up all this time. I hadn’t told him that I knew about his secret, though it had been days since he’d gotten back. I had finals starting tomorrow morning, and even though I was supposed to see him later tonight, I wasn’t sure if I had intentions of confronting him.

  I still played it cool when we were together, kissing him, holding his hand, and cuddling with him, all the while feeling conflicted. How could a man this great, this nice, this loving, be the kind of man who cheated on his girlfriends? It just didn’t add up, and that was why I was still clinging to this. I wanted to believe that it was a misunderstanding, or even that Sarah was lying and he never even dated Brianne or did such a thing, but I couldn’t help questioning it, even to the point of insanity. I knew I’d talk to him soon, but I just didn’t know when soon was, exactly.

  Liam and I were going to meet in Central Park, quite a trek for him, though he said he wanted to look at the outside of buildings for a new apartment today. He’d been looking online, his lease was almost up, and he said he was ready for change and a brand new place that would give him more space and better sleep. I’d spent the night with him a couple times and the noise problem he talked about was real. I thought he was being dramatic at first, but when I stayed there, I realized he was being under-dramatic about it, if anything.

  I sat in the park, not too far in, before he walked up smiling with a backpack on. “What’s up?” he asked.

  “Just hanging around waiting for you. Find anything good?” I asked before he gave me a kiss and sat down beside me.

  “Yeah, a few places looked good from the outside. I even caught a guy coming out of one and asked him how he liked the management and building. He said it was a great building, without much tenant noise, so I think I’ll contact the company tomorrow morning and maybe set something up,” he said.

  “That’s great,” I said.

  “Everything okay?” he asked.

  “Yeah, why wouldn’t it be?” I asked.

  “I don’t know, you just seem kind of off right now, like you’re bummed about something,” he said.

  “Oh, no, I’m fine,” I said, giving a fake smile. “Just a little tired.”

  “Oh, well, do you still want to take a walk?” he asked.

  “Yeah, we can do that,” I said, and we got up and walked down the path.

  I felt like shit lying to him, but then again, he lied to me, didn’t he? I knew an eye for an eye turns the whole world blind, but then again it wasn’t like I was the one with any bad past to be ashamed of.

  We talked while we walked, mainly about work, my finals, and everything in between. There were a few moments when I almost blurted it out, but I didn’t, instead holding my tongue. We got some ice cream from a park vendor and sat down after walking about two miles, now on the other side of the park. I pulled out my phone and opened Facebook.

  “That’s it,” I thought.

  There was a picture of Brianne on my timeline, a funny picture, and that was when the idea hit me. What if I showed him this picture of her, saying my friend posted something funny, and saw what his reaction was? If he was a cheating bastard, he’d freeze and get nervous, and that would be painfully obvious. It was the perfect plan.

  “Oh my god, this is hysterical,” I said.

  “What?” he asked, putting down his papers.

  “My friend posted this picture. It’s great,” I said, holding my phone up and staring at him.

  He glanced at the picture, looked a bit puzzled, and then opened his mouth. “You might want to be careful with her,” he said without skipping a beat.

  “Why?” I asked.

  “The girl is a nut,” he said.

  That was his defense? She was the nut? The girl he cheated on, the girl whose heart he broke, was the nut? I almost wanted to slap him, but I refrained.

  “Maybe it’s time I say something,” I said.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I went out the night of your fight, and I went with Taylor and Emily to a bar to watch it. Everything was fine, and Brianne and her friend were there. I went over to say hi and talked before Brianne left for a minute and Sarah told me how you two used to date and that you cheated on Brianne and broke her heart and everything. Listen, I know the past is the past, and sometimes we do things we aren’t proud of, but I’m really disappointed you told me you’ve never cheated and you never would cheat on me when you cheated on her. It makes it hard,” I said.

  He looked shocked, but not in the way I’d hoped he would. He looked like he couldn’t believe what I was saying, like I essentially told him to go fuck himself with a rusty spoon, instead of looking embarrassed or scared.

  “Sarah told you all that?” he asked.

  “Yes, Sarah,” I said.

  “That bitch is just as crazy as Brianne. So, why don’t I set the record straight, since you obviously think I’m some asshole right now who you can’t trust anymore. Brianne was a controlling, sadistic, psychopathic woman I dated for about seven months. I finally had enough and dumped her, and about two months later I met my last girlfriend, who Brianne couldn’t handle. She asked for me back all the time, and I always said no and refused to meet her. She broke me and my girlfriend up by saying
the same nonsense, and now she’s doing it again. So you can believe her, and we can just break up now and you can be done with me, or you can believe me, your boyfriend, and not some woman who’s literally doing to you what she did to the last girl. I swear, I’m never going to get away from her lying, crazy ass unless I move away from this city. I’m getting really sick of this shit,” he said, his face turning red with anger.

  I froze, just letting out a drawn-out stutter of a noise, as I tried to comprehend this. I’d never seen Liam like this, truly angry, and it scared me. Not only that, but he didn’t look like he was lying. He didn’t stumble, trip up, or look nervous or scared at all. He looked legitimately angry, like what he was telling was the truth, like I was a fool for doubting him.

  I tried to think about it further, wondering if he was telling the truth. Brianne didn’t have any real evidence, she hadn’t even been the one to tell me all this, and Liam had never lied to me or given me any indication that he was a cheater or a bad guy. Some women might stick together and say he was acting to save his own hide, but I wasn’t so sure that was the case. I actually believed him.

  “Why would she do this, though? What does she gain?” I asked.

  “Control. It’s always been about control with her. When we first got together, it was great. We got along, we had fun together, and I thought she was the one. Then she controlled what I did, where I went, who I hung out with, and basically kept me on lockdown. It took Cash and Bentley to break us up, and I was finally free. She still has this sick idea that doing all this will win me back, but all it ever did was drive me further and further away. I’m sorry that you don’t believe me. I thought we had something different,” he said, looking a little sad.

  “I’m just confused is all. It’s hard for me, a girl who’s been cheated on and treated poorly, to hear those things about my boyfriend and not have some doubt, like I’m the one who caused it to happen. I believe you, though. I do,” I said.

  “You know what, I just need to talk to Brianne and settle this once and for all. I can’t keep living my life like this, running away from her and being afraid of what she’ll do next,” he said.

  “No, I’ll do it,” I said.

  “Babe, you can’t—”

  “No, I need to do this, Liam. I can’t let her walk all over me and just use me, acting like I’m her friend, and then let her trash me to get to you. If you talk to her it’s like I already lost. I might as well send you to fight my other battles as well,” I said.

  “You know she’s a controlling, sadistic liar who will pit you against yourself,” he said.

  “I know. I’ll be going into the lion’s den, and I’m prepared for that. I’m sorry for ever doubting you,” I said.

  “I’ll never hurt you the way other guys have. Remember that. I care about you too much,” he said.

  “Promise me you won’t hold it against me?” I asked.

  “Maybe, but only if you make me some more spaghetti,” he said, smiling playfully.

  “That sounds like a fair deal to me,” I said, leaning forward and kissing him.

  •••

  I got home later that night and spilled everything to Taylor and Emily. They were pissed, royally so, mainly because they felt like they had to protect me. I told them this was my fight, which wasn’t too difficult since they didn’t have any real interaction with Brianne, though they offered support.

  “She’s going to say stuff to make you doubt yourself and Liam,” Emily said.

  “She won’t have any proof, even though she’ll act like she does. She’ll try to make you wonder how you can trust him, the cheater, and not her, your friend. She’ll say she’s only looking out for you, and to stay away, but that’s what she wants you to do,” Taylor said.

  “If you push her enough, though, she might even crack,” Emily said.

  “Crack?” I asked.

  “Yeah, like admit to it and go crazy. Chicks like that always go crazy when they feel like they’re pushed back against a wall. It’s science,” Emily said.

  “What do I do if she gets physical?” I asked.

  “Kick her ass,” Emily said.

  “That’s a little extreme,” Taylor said.

  “Hey, this bitch just tried to break her and Liam up, and in the process spread lies about him that were far from true. I’m not advocating for our little princess to go in with brass knuckles, but if she starts something, maybe Jess needs to finish it,” Emily said.

  “This is all so much,” I said, pushing my hair back.

  “Just go in there and don’t take no for an answer. If you have to, say your piece and never go near her again,” Taylor said.

  “I will, after our presentation this week. I already have a problem with this class and I need that good grade if I’m going to make it to next year. She’ll get her moment after that, though,” I said.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  Liam

  I tried to keep the entire situation with Brianne completely out of my mind. I’d thought about it a little after Jessica and I left one another that day a few days ago, but tiny thoughts did still creep into my mind.

  I wished I could go back in time and never have met her, considering the nightmare she’d put me through. I was determined to make sure she wasn’t going to ruin my life any longer, though, by any means necessary, even if I had to sit down with her myself or get a restraining order.

  I almost wished that I’d offered to bring Jessica along, because then she never would’ve talked to Brianne or Sarah and I wouldn’t even be in this awkward and painful situation. I didn’t tell anybody about it, about our problems, for one because I didn’t want to have to think and talk about her more, but also because I didn’t want to air my dirty laundry to the world. Some things should just stay private.

  I took out my frustration on a punching bag, each punch propelling it backwards, before I used even more force on the next hit. I’d already received my prize money and called the management company for that new apartment and was slated to see it later today. It was an exciting time, really only because of that appointment, and I just had a good feeling about it. The neighborhood was quiet, as quiet as a New York City neighborhood could be, and the neighbors seemed nice enough. I also checked on a map online and found no bars on the street at all, at least within a few blocks of the building. Talk about luck.

  I took a shower at home and got ready later that day before leaving to meet the super at the building. They had a live-in super, which was great in case you ever had any problems, whether neighborly or just with something in the apartment. I didn’t have that in my current building.

  “Hi, are you Jeff?” I asked, walking up and seeing a slightly burly, pot-bellied man standing outside the building.

  “Yeah, you’re Liam?” he asked, extending his hand.

  “I am,” I replied with a friendly smile.

  “The apartment is on the third floor, near the rear, so you don’t have as much street noise, even though there isn’t much anyway,” he said as we walked inside and to the elevator.

  “Wow, I didn’t know you had one of these here. My current place doesn’t have one,” I said.

  “I don’t think I could work here if they didn’t,” he said, laughing while grabbing his stomach.

  The building wasn’t all that large, another pre-war with nice hallways and a beautiful amount of light coming through. “Here we are,” he said as we approached apartment 3D.

  He opened the brass-colored door and I walked inside to an apartment completely flooded with natural light. The crisp white walls were pristine and without stains or holes, and the dark-stained parquet flooring contrasted perfectly with it. The kitchen was reasonably new, with white appliances and some type of granite-like countertop. The living room was about the size of my current apartment, and as I walked into the bedroom, I felt a sense of joy come over me.

  “This is great,” I said, walking inside.

  “It’s also a corner, so nobody to that s
ide of you. There’s a small courtyard out back, not very big, though there are some trees and greenery if you’re into that sort of thing,” he said while I peeked out the window.

  I did the math in my head, realizing that twenty-three hundred a month was a lot of money, but it was only about five hundred more a month than my current place, and I was making that do just fine. Another six grand a year, especially considering my contract, would be perfectly doable.

  “So you said the price was twenty-three a month?” I asked.

  “Yeah, that’s what they’re asking,” he said.

  “Do you give discounts if you pre-pay any amount?” I asked.

  “Depends on how much you’re paying up front,” he said, looking intrigued.

  “Would you go down to twenty-two a month if I did six months up front?” I asked.

  He stroked his stubbly chin, doing the math in his head, before he nodded and said they could do that. Truthfully, I had enough in the bank now to pay for an entire year up front, but I didn’t want to tie up that much money just in case something happened. It would be nice to know my housing was secured for a year, but I still had a deposit to pay here anyway. At least I saved myself twelve hundred bucks over the course of the lease. That was a few trips back home.

  We shook hands and I went down to his office where I signed a lease with a move-in date later this month, since the apartment was already empty. I’d given my one-month notice to my landlord about a week ago, and went with an “I better find a place to live before I’m homeless” approach. It motivated me more to find somewhere, and I did.

  “We’ll get this paperwork in and get you the keys here soon. I think they just want to touch up some things inside with the paint and then you’re good to go,” he said.

  “Thank you so much. Looking forward to moving in,” I said, shaking his hand.

  In a time when my life was unraveling a little bit, a bright ray of light came and forced the darkness out. Now I only had to hope that the darkness went away permanently.