She frowned and sucked another spoonful of ice cream into her mouth. “Uh…” She pondered, her nose crinkling with thought. I don’t know why, but I always found the scrunching of her nose cute. “I haven’t had a birthday party in almost five years.”
My spoon clanked against the glass bowl. “What?” I shook my head. I couldn’t possibly have heard her right. “Can you repeat that?”
“I haven’t had a birthday party in almost five years,” she repeated softly, dropping her eyes to the counter.
I leaned forward, lifting her chin slightly with my fingers. “That’s a damn shame. Everyone deserves a birthday party.”
She shrugged and stirred her ice cream. “It’s not that big of a deal.”
“It is to me,” I said firmly. “Why didn’t your parents throw you a party?”
“They weren’t around,” she said evasively and stared at a spot on the wall to her left.
“Where were they?” I demanded, getting heated. What kind of life did this girl have? Had she been living on her own on the streets for that long before Ollie and Talia found her? Almost as soon as I had that thought, I dismissed it. She had too much of an innocent naivety to have been living on the streets for over four years.
“One truth, Liam,” she said softly, almost forlornly. “That’s all you get.”
My teeth snapped together, trying to keep from asking her a million and one questions. The last thing I wanted to do was push her away.
“Fine.” I sighed, glaring down at my ice cream. I’d only eaten a few bites of it, but I didn’t want any more. I put the bowl in the sink and turned around, crossing my arms over my chest. “Truth: I fell for a girl that broke my heart, and I never thought I’d be okay again, but then I met another girl, and she needed my help so I gave it…albeit reluctantly. Then, I got to know that girl, and she began to heal the parts of me that were broken. And I thought maybe I could heal her too, but, Ari?” I stepped up to her and clasped her cheeks in my hands. “I can’t do that if you won’t let me be there for you.”
I kissed her forehead and let my hands fall before walking away and leaving her to herself in the kitchen.
I pretended not to hear her cry.
But I heard it, and still I walked away. I didn’t know what else to do. The ball was in her court.
Ari
“Training, huh? For what?” I asked Liam as I followed him out onto the beach. Ollie, Brady, and Jeremiah were a few feet behind us.
“There’s a tournament in Hawaii at the end of August. I qualified.” He shrugged like it was no big deal.
“Liam. That’s awesome.” I smiled up at him, a little bit in awe. I spent most of my time working so I rarely got to see Liam surf, let alone know if or when he competed in any competitions. Besides, until recently, we didn’t really talk about that kind of stuff. Bumping his shoulder with mine, I added, “Since you’re such a big deal, maybe you can teach me.”
He grinned down at me. “Sure. I can’t promise you’ll be as good as me.” He winked.
My stomach fluttered from the gesture.
I hadn’t spoken to Liam again the night before after he left me in the kitchen, and I’d gotten little sleep, fearing how he might act in the morning, but he surprised me by acting as if his confession hadn’t happened at all.
I didn’t really know what to make of what he said, so until I could I was ignoring it.
“Is anyone as good as you?” I countered, smiling up at him and squinting from the glare of the sun.
“Not for long.” He smiled widely, fixing the leash around his ankle.
I liked seeing that side of him. Open and carefree, and maybe a little cocky. It was nice to see him happy instead of constantly glowering like the very air he breathed had personally offended him.
He stood up as the other guys joined us at the edge of the water. “Draw some more pictures of me.” He nodded at the sketchpad and pencils I held cradled to my chest. With a wink, he took off running into the water.
“I don’t draw you,” I yelled after him, even though I most certainly did.
The other guys laughed and followed him into the water.
“Face it, Liam, if she’s drawing anyone, it’s me,” Ollie chortled. “I’m the best looking one out of you fuckers.”
“You wish.” Brady pushed Ollie’s shoulder and he stumbled, splashing water as he caught himself.
I laughed under my breath and shook my head. Those guys were hilarious. I’d overheard more than one stupid or silly comment come out of their mouths since they often forgot I was around.
I headed back up the beach aways and plopped down in the sand. I probably should’ve brought a towel or blanket or something, but I hadn’t thought about it. I crossed my legs Indian-style and sat the sketchpad in my lap.
There was a more intricate drawing I’d been working on, and I was itching to get back to it. There lately, I’d been pulling a lot of hours and in my free time I’d wanted to do nothing but vegetate. Rebecca, who’d proclaimed herself my official new best friend, had been begging me relentlessly to go to the mall with her, but I’d been dodging her attempts. I knew I’d have to suck it up soon and go with her. Not that it was a hardship or anything, but, in a way, it was. Being inside an enclosed space like that with lots of people…and cameras…well, it was exactly the kind of place Blaise would use to try and track me.
I hung my head in shame.
I should’ve been long gone from this place. I already had a decent amount of money saved since I never spent much. But I couldn’t bring myself to leave. I’d done the exact thing I set out never to do: I’d grown attached.
I blew out a pent-up breath and my hair scattered with it. I lifted my head and tucked my strands of dark hair behind my ear.
I tapped the blunted end of my pencil against the paper, watching the guys sitting out in the water instead. I saw Ollie gesture wildly with his hands and then Liam threw his head back and laughed. Brady pressed a hand to his mouth to suppress his chuckle, and Jeremiah just looked horrified.
The four of them seemed to be such opposites, and you’d wonder how they ever ended up friends, but it was obvious their love of surfing had bonded them in some sort of brotherhood. I thought it was nice too, how the other guys never seemed to feel any animosity toward Liam for going pro, when I knew they all very much would’ve loved the same fate. They were genuinely proud of their best friend.
I dropped my gaze from the joking guys and returned to my drawing.
I didn’t know how much time had passed when the guys finally emerged from the water.
I closed my sketchbook and stood up, dusting the sand off of my cotton shorts.
Liam jogged toward me, shaking the water from his hair like a dog. A few cold drops landed on my skin, and I shivered from the icy temperature of it against my sun-warmed skin.
“Hey,” I scolded, “watch it.”
He smiled crookedly. “What? Are you going to melt?”
I smiled back and shook my head. “No, I guess not.”
The guys started to head back to the house, but we didn’t turn to follow.
“I need you to do something for me,” Liam said suddenly, his brows furrowed.
“What?” I asked curiously.
“I need you to hang out in your room for about an hour… Well, until I call you down. Can you do that?”
“Um…why?” My heart began to race in fear. What is going on? Why does he want me to wait in my room?
He smiled then. “It’s nothing bad, I promise, but I need you to wait upstairs while I get everything in place.”
I narrowed my eyes and forced my gaze to his. I definitely didn’t dip my eyes to look at his glistening wet chest. Nope. Not at all. Okay, so I stole one peek. Maybe two.
“What are you up to, Wade?”
“That’s for me to know and you to find out,” he countered with a smug smile.
“Okay.” I sighed as we started back to the house. “I’ll hang out in my room while yo
u’re up to your mysterious deeds.”
He grinned down at me, his blue eyes sparkling. I was amazed at the difference in his eyes—they shined with happiness instead of being shadowed by hate.
“And you might want to get dressed up,” he hinted. “Nothing fancy, but I think you’ll want to change out of that.” He winked as his eyes lingered on my cotton shorts and tank top.
I needed to hide in my room and change. Yeah, that gave me no clue whatsoever as to what he was up to.
When we reached the top of the stairs, I saw that the three guys had left their boards leaning against the side of the house, but they were nowhere to be seen.
I narrowed my eyes on Liam as he trekked across the yard to the door.
Nothing in his posture or behavior suggested anything bad, but I was nervous nonetheless. Paranoia was a bitch, and I couldn’t stop the fear that he might be working with or for Blaise. It was a stupid thought and one I laughed about but that didn’t erase it.
Liam ushered me inside. He kept watching me with a little smirk as we stepped inside. I started to go upstairs but he ushered me toward the kitchen first.
“Wait one second,” he told me as he headed for the refrigerator.
He grabbed a bottle of water and tossed it at me. I missed it, since I was holding my sketchpad and pencils, and bent to retrieve it before turning for the stairs. He stopped me again, and I turned back.
“These too.” This time he grabbed a large bag of Cheetos off the counter and threw them to me. I reached out and actually managed to catch them. “That way if you get hungry or thirsty you’re covered.”
“But these are Ollie’s.” I shook the bag of Cheetos.
“I know.” He grinned and bit his lip to hide his laugh. His deep chuckle still escaped, though. “That’s what he gets for putting Cheetos in my bed.”
“He put them in your bed?” I laughed.
“Ollie likes to mess with me,” he explained with a shrug. “Drives me nuts, because I might be a tad OCD, but…”
“A tad?” I raised a brow.
“Or a lot.” He raised his hands in surrender and smiled broadly. “All right, you need to get in your room. Like now.” He waved a hand dismissively.
I let out a breath and clasped everything tightly so I didn’t drop anything.
Liam followed me to the stairs and watched to make sure I went to my room.
“Door closed, Ari,” he called.
“I feel like I’m five and being sent to my room,” I hollered back.
He didn’t respond, but his laughter was answer enough.
God, I loved his laugh. I didn’t know if it was necessarily the sound of it that I loved, or the fact that he had begun to do it so readily. When I first met him at Ollie’s house I’d known he was someone who didn’t smile much. All of that was different after his parents visited.
I set everything down on my bed before strolling over to the window. I spotted Liam outside speaking to the guys. His hands moved as he spoke, almost like he was directing something. I don’t know why, maybe he felt the weight of my gaze, but he looked up then and saw me in the window.
He glowered up at me, but unlike every single time he’d looked at me like that before this time there was a playfulness to the pout in his lips, and I couldn’t stop the grin that overtook my face.
It quickly faded though when he headed inside. One of those brief moments of panic overtook me, and I feared he might be coming to punish me. Punish me for what? I didn’t know. I got punished a lot for things that had no merit.
He returned a moment later, and I breathed out a sigh of relief.
I watched as he lifted a thin silver device and aimed it at my window.
Wha—?
The window went black.
The view in front of me completely disappeared, and I was left with nothing but a big wall of nothingness. I tapped my finger against the glass. Then my fist. The view didn’t reappear.
My shoulders sagged dejectedly.
Well…there went that.
Liam said to dress nice, and since he made it sound like I’d be up here for at least an hour, I decided to get ready.
I started with a quick, hot shower before moving on to my hair and makeup. I didn’t do anything crazy, but I did straighten my hair. The straightener had been a gift from Talia. I’d felt bad, but she insisted it wasn’t a big deal, and she’d wanted to get me something, so I’d accepted it.
Talia was someone else I needed to hang out with more often. I’d have to tell Rebecca I was finally ready to go to the mall and ask if Talia could come with us. I was sure those two would get along great. Plus, they already knew each other pretty well since Ollie, Talia, Liam, Brady, and Jeremiah hung out at Mo’s a lot. I noticed Liam didn’t come by much after I started working there, but Rebecca had told me he was a regular. I frowned at that thought. Did Liam not come there anymore because of me? I hoped not. I’d have to ask him about it.
When I finished with my hair, I moved on to applying a little bit of makeup. Since I had the time to kill, I decided to try to conquer the complicated winged eyeliner. After messing up five times and smearing black eyeliner all over my face I decided that maybe winged eyeliner wasn’t for me.
I rifled through my closet and found the perfect dress stuffed all the way to the right side away from everything else. I’d never had a reason to wear it before that day. It wasn’t fancy, but it wasn’t casual, either. It was black with a lace design over a nude-colored slip. I knew it would be striking on and make a statement. The back was open almost to the butt area, and the straps holding up the dress were a thin spaghetti type. The front was cut into a triangle shape over the breasts. I slipped it on and appraised my reflection in the floor-length mirror on the back of the closet door. It was a tight fit, not because it was too snug, but because it was meant to hug every single curve and accentuate them. The fabric clung to my hips and thighs before flaring out. The nude slip ended at the knee, but the black lace design continued all the way down to my toes.
I did a little twirl, and when I stopped to face the mirror I was surprised to find a full-blown smile on my face. I couldn’t remember the last time I smiled that big. I reached tentative fingers up to my bottom lip, almost like I thought if I touched it, it might disappear. It remained, though, even brighter than before.
There was a knock at the door then, and Liam spoke hesitantly, “Are you ready?”
“Yeah, you can come in,” I called back as I bent to pick up a pair of strappy black heels. Little pieces of clothing and shoes continued to trickle in. All from Liam, I knew, even though he never said anything.
The door cracked open, and he stepped inside.
His hair was damp from the shower and brushed away from his face. I was so used to the shaggy strands hanging slightly in his eyes that it was a bit strange to see him so…so formal. He was even dressed nicer too, in a pair of khaki pants with the bottoms rolled up slightly and a knit t-shirt in a maroon color. The red tone of his shirt made his blue eyes appear even icier. With his sharply-cut cheekbones and pursed lips, he could cut you straight down to your soul with one glare. But he wasn’t glaring, not right then, anyway.
His gaze swept from my feet to the small stretch of legs visible through the lace fabric, up my thighs, over my chest, before finally he met my eyes. His lips parted in a small sigh. “Wow,” he breathed, shaking his head, “you look amazing, Ari.”
I’d be lying if I said the compliment didn’t please me.
“You don’t look too bad yourself.” I winked at him.
Oh my God. I winked. Like some fifties movie star or something.
Before I could freak out too much, he grinned and shoved his hands in the pockets of his pants.
“Everyone’s waiting for you.” He fought an even bigger smile.
“For me?” I raised a brow as I adjusted the strap on the heel. When it was in place, I strode toward him, my body heating from the lust in his eyes.
“It is your par
ty.” His hand landed on my waist, but before I could even relish in his touch his hand dropped away and disappeared back in his pocket. He did that a lot around me, as if he was imprisoning his hands in his pockets to keep from touching me.
“My party?” I continued to question him. “I don’t remember planning a party. In fact, I distinctly remember being told to go to my room like a child,” I teased him.
“No more questions, Ari.” He swept his hand toward the hallway leading to the stairs. There was a hardness in his eyes, but it was less like he was mad and more like he was trying to keep from ruining something.
With a shake of my head, I brushed past him out into the hallway. He followed closely, hovering right behind me. His presence was so potent that I knew he could’ve been fifteen feet behind me and I would’ve still felt him just as forcefully.
I started down the steps, my eyes narrowing in confusion at how dark it was.
I heard the sounds of shuffling and quiet murmurs of, “Shh,” and “Be quiet.”
“Liam?” I asked hesitantly as my heart sped up with panic. I looked over my shoulder at him as I froze midway down the stairs. I kept trying to tell myself that logically it was nothing, but my brain couldn’t be reasoned with at that moment. All I could see in my mind were images of Blaise and his men waiting for me, throwing a bag over my head, and dragging me away to some place where no one would hear me scream.
“It’s okay,” Liam said softly, his eyes searching my face. He seemed to be working hard to puzzle something out in his mind, but I knew he’d come nowhere near to the truth. When I still didn’t move, he pulled one of his hands from his pockets and extended it to me. “Take my hand.”
I closed my eyes, marveling at how three simple words could suddenly extinguish all of my fears.
I let out a soft breath and placed my hand in his. He maneuvered by me so that he was now in front and guided me down the last of the steps.
When our feet were planted on the first floor, the lights in the family room suddenly flicked on, and there was an exclamation of, “Surprise!”
A small scream clawed out of my throat, and I scuttled behind Liam. I grasped the soft cotton of his shirt in my hands and held on tight until I was probably tugging on the collar and choking him.
The Lies That Define Us Page 14
