Page 90 of Stuck with my Guarded MVP
“It’s… it’s not like that,” she started, her voice shaky. “The boxes are just… just me being ready. For when I find the right place.”
“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you I was looking. It’s just…”
She stopped. She drew a breath to speak, then released it in a soft sigh.
“Liam, you’ve been so generous. Letting me stay here. And you were so thoughtful. You bought four kinds of milk because you didn’t know which one I used.
You share your space with me, you never complain. You let me use your balcony, even though I know it’s your private spot.
You’ve put up with me microwaving my sad dinners right next to your… your beautiful risottos.
You’ve just been…
so good to me. Thank you. For all of it.”
She was saying thank you. All I heard was goodbye.
Six Fifteen
Liam
Icouldn’t listen anymore.
“I don’t make you coffee to be generous, Claire.”
The words stopped her. She finally looked up from her hands, her eyes wide and confused.
“I grind those beans every morning because I know the sound will pull you out of your room.” I leaned forward, elbow on my knees.
“I do it because I get to see you. You’re always half-asleep, your hair is a mess, and you’re wrapped in that giant hoodie with the glitter glue on the sleeve. You’ve got no makeup on and you’re squinting against the light.”
I held her gaze, letting her see the truth of it in my eyes. “I love that I get to be the person who sees you first, every day.”
I dragged a hand through my hair, the frustration at myself a hot knot in my chest.
“And I didn’t say any of this to you.
I wanted to. I hesitated. Because I thought… if you left now, it would hurt. But if we started something and then you left?”
Imagining it made my stomach twist.
“I don’t know that I could go through that again.”
I saw the confusion on her face, the struggle to process it all. I couldn’t let her pull away. Not now.
I reached out and grabbed her hands. They were cold. Mine were shaking.
“Every time I let someone in, they leave,” I whispered.
There was no pulling it back now. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.
“Remember that picture? The one in the hall you asked about? The woman you thought looked like a younger you?”
She gave a small, hesitant nod.
“Her name was Nora.
College sweetheart.
