Page 122 of Liam

I rest back on the couch, my body suddenly aching from exhaustion. “If she wants me to.”

“Leo’s working tonight, so I’ll head over to Mia’s around six?”

Fuck. I’d forgotten all about Mia and Benny. I roll my head to the side, face my twin. “I appreciate you,” I murmur.

He shrugs. “It’s nothing.”

“No, Linc,” I say, a little louder, firmer, and repeat myself. “Ireallyappreciate you.” I was up all night thinking, comparing my childhood to Addie’s, and with every memory that popped up, Lincoln was right beside me. “You know, I’ve always struggled to see into the future… I could never really imagine my life beyond my current age. Even now, I don’t have any ambitions—career wise. I know this YouTube thing isn’t forever.” I think we’re both aware that we’ve hit our peak, and now we’re on the decline. “The only thing I could really see was you and me—as dads, raising our families together. But the kids, my wife, they’re all nameless, faceless. There was only one trait the woman I ended up with needed to have—and that’s that she has siblings, and she’s close to them, so she understands what it’s like to have that specific type of bond with someone. Like the one I have with you.”

Linc stares at me, unblinking. A beat passes, two. Then, “You know you can just say you love me, right?”

I chuckle.

“I’m kidding,” he says, and I already know he is. “I’ve always pictured it that way—our future. You and me, our kids, camping trips, carpooling, days out on Grandpa’s lake.”

I smile at the thought.

“You and your childhood crush…”

“You and Julie…”

“Nah,” he says. “We broke up.”

I sigh. “Again?”

His lips turn down at the corners. “All those things I just mentioned—I can’t picture them with Julie, and she can’t picture them with me, so…”

“I’m sorry. Do you want to talk?—”

“No. I think I just want to suck my fingers and cry into your pillow for a few hours.”

“Mypillow?”

“I can’t do it at the house. Lachlan’s home.”

I motion toward the bedroom. “Have at it,” I say, just as my phone goes off with a text.

Addie

Your favorite song is undecided. Your favorite time of the day is sunset. What are your other favorites, Liam Preston?

“Put headphones on so you don’t hear my cries,” Lincoln calls out, already on his way to the bedroom.

“On it,” I answer, then reply to Addie’s text:

Liam

You.

48

Liam

For the next week, Addie and I fall into a routine. She texts me throughout the day, about anything and everything. I always reply. At around nine, she’ll send her last text of the night, asking me to come over.

Of course, I do.

Addie had mentioned in her texts that Griffin’s mom was able to fly down from Tennessee to help with the boys who are with them so Dayna could stay a few extra days. She wants to be here while Addie has herdailytherapy sessions, just in case.