Page 125 of Liam

Whatever Wyatt sees when he looks in my eyes reveals it all.

His shoulders drop, along with his demeanor. “I was hoping that car accident took those memories from you.”

I release a sob. Just one. “What’s going to take them from you?”

He steps forward, or maybe I do, but it doesn’t really matter. We hold each other, like we did when we were kids. I cry into his chest, and he strokes my back, and he says the words that calmed the storm then, the same way they calm the storm now.“It’s okay, Addie.”

50

Addie

“It feels like I’ve lived two lifetimes in the space of twenty-four hours,” I murmur.

Liam doesn’t respond, and so I roll my head on the pillow to see if he’s even awake. His eyes are open, staring up at the ceiling like I had been.

It’s close to three in the morning now, and we only got back a few minutes ago. Liam sat in the van the entire time Wyatt and I talked, and boy, did we have a lot to talk about. It turns out, he and I had completely different reactions to what happened to us. I forced myself to forget it all, even if it meant lying to myself and everyone around me. And he—hewantedto remember it, because for him, remembering it meant he could harness it. Control it. But he could sense the journey I was on differed from his, so he let me take a different path.

He told me our case files were sealed until we turned eighteen, and reading it was his birthday gift to himself. I could access mine too, he’d said, and he’d come with me if I wanted to.

I don’t think I do.

There was one thing he mentioned that caught us both off guard—something even he hadn’t expected when he read it. We were entitled to a Victims of Crime compensation once we turned twenty-one. He didn’t disclose the amount, but he said it was enough to start a new life.

I asked him if he planned to leave town, start that new life somewhere else.

His answer was instant. “No.” This town was his home, and as shitty as he’s had it here, he also couldn’t imagine living anywhere else.

I wonder if Roman knows about the payout. It would be nice to surprise him when I give him every cent.

Liam’s still staring at the ceiling, still hasn’t said a word. I turn away, the dread of reality making it hard to look at him. I can already guess what he’s thinking… how he’s feeling. “Liam…” I start and don’t wait for a response. “I’ll understand if you walk away from this. Fromme.” The thought alone shatters my heart to pieces, but I can’t continue to be as selfish as I’ve been. “I know it’s a lot—everything that’s happened lately. And you and I—we haven’t really made sense of what we are, and you’re still here, probably thinking you have to pick up the pieces, but?—”

“Addie, stop,” he cuts in, flipping on the lamp on his nightstand. He turns to me, leaning up on his forearm. His kind eyes bore into mine when he adds, “I’m not doing anything I don’twantto.”

“But…” I trail off when he reaches up, stroking my cheek with his thumb.

“You know what I was thinking just now?”

“What?”

“I was thinking about how brave you are. How after everything you’ve been through, you’re still here, and somehow, you still see so much good in the world. IwishI was as brave asyou are, especially when we were younger. Maybe I would have had the courage to speak to you, and maybe we could’ve been friends. All of us. Me and Linc. You and Wyatt. And maybe you two would have trusted us enough to tell us what was happening. Maybe we could’ve helped, you know?”

I look back on us as kids. We weresoclose to being what he now wishes. We spent almost every day together. We were in the same classroom, played on the same playgrounds, joined the same teams, but… our realities were so far removed from each other’s, it would’ve been hard to find that connection. And even if we did, it would’ve been almost impossible to keep it. In the end, we were?—

“We were just kids,” he says, echoing my thoughts. “All of us.” He pauses a beat, and I watch his gaze shift, his mind working. “I know I’ve told you this before, but you know that spending time with you this summer has changed me, right?”

I nod, fighting hard to keep the tears at bay. “You’ve changed me, too.” When Roman first asked me if I wantedhimto tell Liam about my past—about the photographs—my immediate response wasyes.I wanted Liam to know, but I knew I couldn’t be the one to tell him. I was scared—so afraid he’d look at me differently after knowing the truth, but… Liam’s seen all sides of me now, both “versions” of me, and he still looks at me the same, regardless of who or what is in front of him. And because of that, he’s made me feelsafe. Safe enough to be vulnerable andsoft, even if it meant cracking my armor.

“I can’t go back in time and change who I was as a kid, but I can be that man for you now, Addie.” He presses his lips to my forehead, kisses me once. He doesn’t pull back all the way, just lowers his mouth until it’s an inch from mine. “I may not understand your pain, but I know that I’m brave enough to carry some of it.”

My heart stutters a beat, pushing air from my lungs. In all the days we’ve lain under these covers, his arms wrapped tightly around me, protecting me… I’ve never felt as safe or as close to him as I do right this moment. “Liam?” I whisper.

“Addie?” he whispers back.

I search his eyes, pray I’m reading him right. “Are you brave enough to kiss me?”

He pulls back slightly. “I don’t know…” He smiles to one side. “Are you brave enough to hear what I have to say next?”

My eyebrows dip. “Depends on what it is.”

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