Through The Dark

by Jae

  After Liam opens the car door for me, he turns around and I hop on his back. Another awesome thing about being little is it’s easy to give me piggyback rides. I take in the ‘lobby’ of his apartment building as soon as we walk in. It takes me a second to wrap about how almost ‘fancy’ it is and that this is the last thing I was expecting. The young girl sitting behind a desk at the far end of the room flashes Liam a flirty smile and waves, completely ignoring me on his back. Adding to my surprise, Liam gives her a tight nod before pressing the call button for the elevator and then tightening his arms back around my legs. I rest my head on Liam’s shoulder during the short elevator ride, trying to figure out how to ask him how he can afford to live in a place like this without sounding rude. When we exit the elevator, I notice there are only four apartment doors; two on each wall, one on either side of the elevator. There’s also a door at one end of the hallways that leads to a staircase serving as a fire exit.

  I slide off of Liam’s back once we walk into his apartment; which is hands down the nicest apartment I’ve ever been in. I‘m surprised to see how clean and organized it is. When you walk in, there’s a short hallway that leads from the front door to the living room; which is very spacious and has a big black “L” shaped couch in the middle of the room with a rectangular shaped glass coffee table in front of it. On the wall across from the couch there’s a large flat screen TV sitting in an entertainment center with different gaming systems, video games, and DVDs filling the shelves.

  “Wow.” I say. “This really is nice.”

  “Thanks.” Liam laughs as he leads me down another hallway. After a few steps down the hall, there’s an open doorway on the right that leads to a spacious kitchen. On the left side of the hallway, a few feet down from the kitchen is a full bathroom/laundry room. Once you make it to the end of the long hallway, there’s one more door that leads to Liam’s huge bedroom. To the left of the door, there is a black dresser with a medium sized flat screen TV sitting on top of it; on the other side of the dresser is another door that I discover leads to a large walk in closet that’s neatly stocked full of clothes and shoes. Back in the bedroom, on the opposite wall sits a king sized bed with black pillows and blankets that seem to match the theme of the rest of the apartment. There are little black nightstand tables on either side of the bed. One is decorated with different picture frames and the other has an alarm clock and a white charger cord for an iPhone. On the right wall, there is another door that leads into a large personal bathroom. Everything about this apartment seems dark, but comforting at the same time. It completely screams Liam.

  “You can sit down.” Liam offers, motioning towards his bed. “I’ll just be a few minutes.”

  I nod my head as I plop down on the bed and watch Liam pull two gym bags out of his closest and place them on either side of me. He fills one with all of the basketball gear and the other one with regular clothes, shoes, and a few toiletries.

  “Alright,” He says with a sigh as he rests his arms on top of his head, making his t-shirt ride up a little and show a bit of his happy trail. “I think that’s everything.”

  “You sure?” I ask as I pull my eyes away from him and busy myself with zipping up both bags.

  “Yeah, I’m pretty sure.” He responds his eyes glazing over a little bit as he goes through a mental checklist, and then shrugs his shoulders. “If I remember anything else, I can just stop back after basketball tomorrow.”

  “That sounds good to me.” I shrug my shoulders and bounce off of the bed. I stand still while Liam drapes his basketball bag across my body. “Holy crap, this is really heavy.”

  “Not as heavy as this one.” He laughs, grabbing a hold of my hand and pulling me out of his bedroom. “You can do it, I believe in you!”

  “Oh, thanks.” I scoff while I slowly move out of his apartment and to the elevator, the heavy bag easily weighing me down. “This is nearing ridiculous.”

  “We’re almost to the car.” Liam laughs as we exit the apartment building, grabbing a hold of my hand again when I start to tip over.

  “You’re lucky I think you’re cute.” I declare once he opens the trunk of his Range Rover and tosses the bags in there.

  “Thank you.” He says, placing a kiss to my cheek.

  “You’re welcome.” I giggle while I skip over to my side of the car and get in, buckling my seat belt right away.

  Liam laughs and shakes his head when he gets in the car.

  “What?” I ask with a cheeky grin on my face.

  “Nothing.” He answers after starting up the car. “Just kiss me.”

  I lean over the space between us as Liam slides his hand to the back of my neck and press his lips to mine. After we break away from each other, Liam putting the car in drive and me leaning back into my seat, I’m left feeling like I’m on cloud nine.

  When we arrive back at my house, I run up to my room, quickly stripping off my flip-flops and shorts before burying myself under my blankets. I smile when I hear Liam drop his bags with a loud thud in my closet. When he walks back into my room, I poke my head out from under my blankets and see he’s in nothing but his red boxer briefs; causing my eyes to practically fall out of my head. Why does he have to be so sexy?

  “You like what you see?” He jokes, making me blush and hid under my blankets again.

  I feel the bed shift when he lays down on it and then slides under the covers, immediately pulling me to him.

  “Cuddle with me.” He playfully whines like a little kid.

  “You’re really cute.” I giggle before I peck his lips and then lay my head on his chest, draping my arm over his stomach and tangling our legs together.

  I start the second Harry Potter movie from where we left off and fall asleep before the movie ends to the feeling of Liam running his hands up and down my back.

  Chapter Eight

  I wake up to the sound of Liam moving around my room. I sit up a little and watch him, his back to me. He’s wearing a black cut off t-shirt that shows off the muscles in his shoulders and back, white basketball shorts, and black Nike socks that stop at the bottom of his caves. By the way his head is bent; I’m guessing he must be doing something on his phone. Eventually he disappears back into my closet, walking out a few seconds later with his gym bag and a pair of black athletic sandals that have the word ‘Nike’ across the top of them in his hands.

  “Hey, beautiful.” He says softly when he notices I’m awake. “I’m sorry; I didn’t mean to wake you. I was trying really hard to be quiet.”

  “It’s fine.” I smile and then yawn. “What time is it?”

  “6:30.” Liam answers as he climbs back onto my bed and lies next to me. “Have you been awake for long?

  “No.” I shake my head. “I woke up before you walked into my closet a few minutes ago.”

  “Okay, good.” He laughs as he pushes my hair away from my face and tucks it behind my ear. “Now go back to sleep. I’ll be back soon, okay?”

  “Okay.” I mumble, closing my eyes when he presses his lips to my forehead.

  “Sweet dreams, Little Miss Daisy.” I hear Liam whisper before the bed shifts and he’s gone.

  I wake up for a second time, feeling a little restless, about an hour after Liam left. I decide to get up and take a shower. After I get out and get changed into a fresh pair of underwear and a clean t-shirt, I climb back into my bed. I snuggle deeper into my sheets as the smell of Liam surrounds me. The smell is much stronger than it was yesterday morning since Liam actually slept in my bed last night. I breathe in deep through my nose, letting his smell fill all of my senses and everything else seems to fade away.

  I realize I must’ve fallen asleep again while waiting for Liam to get back because I wake up again to him sitting at the foot of my bed quietly watching Sports Center on my TV. He’s shirtless, his curly hair still a little damp from a shower he must’ve taken. I get up from the bed, being sure not to disturb him, and walk into my bathroom. After doing my business and brushing m
y teeth again, I walk back out to see him still sitting in the same position, not a single muscle appearing out of place.

  “Hey.” I whisper in his ear as I kneel behind him on my bed and run my hands up his back.

  “Hey.” He replies, reaching back and squeezing my leg, still fixated on what is happening on the screen in front of him.

  “How was practice?” I ask when my hands reach his shoulders and I begin to massage them.

  “Not too bad. We just did a lot of shooting drills.” He answers, slightly rolling his shoulders beneath my hands. “That feels good.”

  I giggle and place a kiss on the top of his head.

  I rub his shoulders for another ten minutes before my hands start to get tired. I pull away and wrap my arms around his torso instead, trailing my fingers over his stomach. I poke each of his abs; all of them rock hard. I giggle when one of them twitches beneath my touch.

  “What are you doing, silly?” Liam asks, intertwining his fingers with mine.

  “Nothing.” I giggle more, burring my head into his back, making him laugh too.

  “Wait,” Liam says when I pull away from him and get off my bed. “Where are you going?”

  “I’m hungry.” I shrug, sliding on a pair of pajama shorts before walking out of my room.

  “What’re you making?” Liam asks when he walks into the kitchen a few minutes later.

  “I’m thinking scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast.” I tell him, pulling out the ingredients and utensils I need.

  “Are you a good cook?” He asks, moving around me to get plates, cups, and silverware to set the table with.

  “I’ve haven’t had any complaints.” I answer, my head snapping up in confusion when I hear the front door open and shut. A few seconds later Ella appears in the kitchen doorway.

  “Oh, hello!” She says, slightly tilting her head to the side when she sees Liam. “Does Tony look like that shirtless?”

  “You haven’t found out yet?” I joke as she sits down on a stool at the counter.

  “Not yet.” She winks. “But something tells me I will soon.”

  “I don’t think I should be hearing this.” Liam says, looking at everything but Ella and I.

  “Oh, don’t be such a baby.” Ella laughs. “There’s two huge jugs of lemonade in the trunk of my car, can you carry them in for me? They’re Daisy favorite and she gets cranky when she runs out. I parked behind your car.”

  I roll my eyes at Ella’s words as Liam nods his head before walking out of the kitchen. We stay quiet, Ella looking like she’s about to explode, until we hear the front door open.

  “Are you freaking kidding me, Daisy?” She practically yells, her eyes growing wide. “He’s looks like a Greek-God with tattoos!”

  “I know.” I smile, pushing the eggs around in the pan.

  “How long has he been staying here?”

  “Just last night.” I answer, putting some bread into the toaster. “So far.”

  “Oh my God!” Ella squeals and I wink at her just as Liam walks back in the kitchen with the first jug.

  “Just set it over there.” I tell him, pointing to the counter next to the fridge.

  Liam does as I say and then walks out to get the other one, Ella and I watching him as he go.

  “Are you staying to eat?”

  “Oh, no.” Ella smiles as Liam walks in with the other jug and sets it down. “I have a brunch date with Tony that I need to be getting to.”

  “See you later!” I say when she waves goodbye and leaves.

  I stare at Liam, trailing my eyes over his body. If he being shirtless gets this kind of reaction out of Ella, the normally calm and collected one, I can only imagine how Zoie and Taylor are going to react. Especially Taylor; that girl is absolutely boy crazy.

  “What?” Liam asks, moving around me to butter the toast and set them on a plate.

  “I’m just contemplating whether or not I should let you be shirtless in front of my friends.”

  “Why?” He chuckles.

  “Well, if I let you, it’ll just make them jealous of how much hotter you are than the other guys, which may turn into them trying to pounce on you.” I reply, a somewhat joking tone in my voice.

  “Would they really do that to you?”

  “Probably not.” I pause, considering the thought before shrugging my shoulders. “Well, maybe Taylor.”

  “Seriously?” He questions, surprise evident in his voice. “Has she done that to you before?”

  “Yeah.” I nod my head, turning off the stove and putting the food on plates. “But the guy doesn’t really hold a candle to you. So I can only imagine, you know?”

  “Alright, note to self, don’t be shirtless around Taylor.” Liam declares as we sit down and begin to eat. “Got it.”

  I shake my head and roll my eyes at him.

  “No wonder you haven’t gotten any complaints,” Liam says after taking a bite of his food. “This is amazing!”

  “Thanks.” I laugh.

  We talk about how his practice was in more detail while we eat and I fill him in a bit more on what my basketball experience was like. Most of the time I forget to actually eat my food because I’m so mesmerized by him; the way his voice moves up and down depending on what he’s talking about, the way his eyes reflect the tone of what he’s saying, the dimples the appear when he smiles and disappear when he’s not, and the fact that he still doesn’t have a shirt on.

  “Oh, I almost forgot,” Liam begins after we clear the table when we’re done eating. “There’s a party at my frat house tonight, do you want to go?”

  “Yeah, sure.”

  “Okay good.” He laughs. “Cause all of our friends already agreed to go.”

  “Oh, really?” I respond with fake annoyance in my voice. “I don’t really want to go then.”

  “What? Why?” He asks, following me to my room. “You’re friends are going to be there. It’ll be fun!”

  I shrug my shoulders, not trusting my voice, and try my best not to laugh as I crawl under my blankets so I can hide my face. I know I’ll crack if Liam looks at me.

  “Daisy?” I hear Liam question before I feel him climb onto my bed. “Did I say something wrong?”

  “No.” I respond, my voice muffled by my blankets.

  “Then what’s wrong?”

  “Nothing.” I finally laugh, not being able to hold the serious act anymore. “I was just kidding.”

  “Oh, you think you’re funny?” Liam asks as he pulls the blankets back and starts to tickle me.

  “No! No! Stop!” I yell through my laughter. “Stop! I’m sorry!”

  “Nope, that’s not good enough!” He tells me with a laugh. “You have to say ‘Liam is the most amazing guy I’ve ever met in my life.’”

  “Okay! Okay!” I agree, trying to catch my breath. “Liam… is… the most… amazing guy… I’ve… ever met… in… my life!”

  “Aww, thanks, Daisy!” Liam says after he stops and gives me a crooked grin, the dimple in his left cheek showing. “That was really nice of you to say.”

  “Anytime.” I laugh, then instantly cringe. “Oww, now my tummy hurts.”

  “Poor, baby.” Liam says in a voice that you would use to talk to a small child. “Do you want me to rub your tummy? Will that make it better?”

  “Yes, please.” I fake whine, nodding my head.

  “Come here.” Liam says as he lies down and I lay my head on his stomach, turning it to the side so I can watch the TV.

  I let out a happy sigh of content when I feel Liam place his large hand on my stomach and rub it around in soothing circles. My eyelids start to grow heavy and before I know it, I’m falling asleep.

  “I’m sorry Daisy, but I just don’t want you anymore.” Liam says with dark eyes and a wicked smile on his face.

  “But, I stayed here for you.” I respond with tears threatening to fall from my eyes. “I gave up going to Paris to be with you.”

  “That was your choice.” He laughs. “Not
mine.”

  “What? No!” I yell. “You asked me to stay! You begged me!”

  “He begged you?” A girl’s voice I recognize, but can’t quite place, says from somewhere behind me. “Give it up already, Daisy. He doesn’t want you anymore. He wants me.”

  “What? No!” I yell again as I turn around, but there isn’t anyone there. “Who are you?”

  “I’m over here you silly, pathetic girl.” The girl’s voice says with a laugh.

  I keep turning around and around but I can’t find them. Between one turn and another, a door appears. I quickly rush to it, throwing it open, and then suddenly stop when I see Liam kissing a girl, her back to me.

  “No!” I yell, sitting up straight.

  “Whoa, Daisy!” Liam exclaims, reaching out to grab me.

  I scoot away before he can touch me and stare at him with wide eyes.

  “Hey, calm down.” He says softly, looking at me with concerned eyes. “It was just a bad dream, Daisy. That’s all it was; just a dream.”

  I let his words sink in before I look around and take in my room. It was just a dream. There’s nothing to worry about. It was only a dream.

  “Hey, come here.” Liam says softly as he reaches out for me again and I crawl into his arms. “It’s okay, Daisy. Everything is okay. It was just a dream”

  I nod my head against his chest, not being able to speak, and squeeze my eyes shut as tightly as possible, trying to force the tears that are threatening to fall away. Even though it was just a dream, it still felt so real.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” Liam asks, rubbing his hand up and down my back.

  I shake my head as I pull away from him.

  “Are you sure?”

  I take a deep breath, weighing my options. If I tell him, he’s probably going to think I’m a total freak and I’ll only embarrass myself. If I don’t tell him, I don’t have to worry about either of those things.