Page 4 of Liam

“The baseball…” I shut the drawer with more rage and disappointment than I’d expected and turn to him. “My brother gave me his first baseball, and I kept it—” My words die in the air when Wyatt wraps me in his arms.

“It’s okay,” he soothes. “I’m sure it’s here somewhere. We’ll find it.”

“I always kept it there,” I cry, and I hate that I do. I hate showing any form of weakness, even to him.

He releases me, saying, “Then it has to be here. No one would come in and take a random baseball, right?” He starts opening drawers, closet doors, and lifting things that haven’t been touched for years.

I wipe the tears off my cheeks. “It’s gone, Wyatt.”

“You don’t know that,” he rushes out, moving out of the bedroom and into the bathroom. He does the same there, looking through every drawer, every cabinet.

“Wyatt…”

“We’ll find it, Addie.”

Wyatt may not know much about my life since I left, and he may not know how or where I grew up, but he sure knows the truest part of me is my love for my brother, Roman.

“We’ll come back during the day,” he says, standing in front of me now. “We’ll turn the place upside down if we have to.”

Noises from the rickety stairs just outside have us both freezing, looking toward the sound. A beam of light shines through the open door, followed by the words, “Police! If anyone’s in here, make yourself known!”

I look up at Wyatt, his eyes wide with fear when they meet mine. “Run!” he whispers, and so we do. But there’s nowhere to run besides through the lone police officer, who shines his flashlight directly at us. Wyatt charges ahead, pushing past the cop, and makes it outside. I attempt to do the same, but the cop catches my arm. “Don’t run,” he says. “You’ll just make things worse.”

I push forward, trying to get out of his hold, but he’s too damn strong. Wyatt’s standing in the doorway, waiting for me, and I yell, “Go! I’ll be okay!” But I don’t know if I will be. The last time I was in this situation, my life came crashing down. There’s no fucking way I’m about to let that happen again. I gather all my strength, push my free arm forward, then wind my elbow back and up, connecting with the cop’s face.

He’s quick to release me. “What the fuck?” Then he catches my backpack when I try to leave. I free my arms from the straps and sprint out of the trailer and toward Wyatt’s truck, where he’s already waiting for me with the passenger door wide open. I’ve barely closed the door when he speeds off, his tires screeching beneath us.

With my heart pounding in my chest, we drive through the familiar streets of our small town, constantly looking behind us until we feel we’re safe. Finally, Wyatt pulls up to the curb in front of a random house on the “good” side of town and kills the engine. Then he turns to me, releasing a breath he’d no doubt been holding. “Addie…”

“I’m sorry,” I tell him. “I didn’t expect a fucking cop to show up.”

For a long moment, we sit in silence. Me, stewing on my guilt, and him… just staring at me. Ignoring the blood rushing through my veins, I murmur, “How the hell did he know we were there?”

“They probably have cameras.”

“They? Who isthey?”

“The Prestons,” he deadpans, as if this is something I should’ve known. Clearly, it wasn’t, otherwise I wouldn’t have messed with the place.

Scratch that.

I probably would’ve scorched it to the ground instead.

I was familiar with the Prestons, having spent my younger years watching them from afar. Not that I had much of a choice. I was in the same class as the twins—Lincoln and Liam—so I’d see them every day. Plus, the rear fence of my house backed up against their sprawling property, which meant that I spent many, many days watching them live the life I always wanted but knew I’d never have.

It’s strange… how prevalent an emotion like jealousy is that it can sink its teeth into you before you’re even fully aware of your surroundings.

I hated the Prestons for no other reason than I wanted to be them.

And… maybe I’m being dramatic.

I didn’t hate the Prestons… as a whole.

I just hated one of them.

“They own that land now,” Wyatt adds at my silence. “That’s why it’s all gated up.”

I drag my thoughts back to the present and roll my eyes. Of course they own it now. I should’ve predicted it, considering they own half the damn town. “What are they going to do with it?”

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