Page 66 of Georgia: Britain's Story: Part 1
“Well, um,” not sure what to say, Liam is sitting right next to me. “When I get back to Virginia, I’ll tell you all about it.”
“Sounds steamy,” Jess says, making me laugh. I’m so stupid happy, I’ve nearly forgotten about Georgia’s notebooks.
“So, not to be a killjoy, but I finally found out what happened between Georgia and Ray. It was in a notebook I read yesterday.” Liam reaches over, squeezing my knee for support. It’s hard to believe we were nearly strangers six weeks ago when he took me to dinner, putting his hand on my knee in the car.
“Yeah, and???”
“Ray nearly beat Georgia to death, then raped her when he found out she was leaving him for her boss, Constantine. So yeah, that’s how I was conceived.”
“Oh, babe, I’m so sorry.”
“That’s the first time I said that out loud. Feels weird. Zero stars, do not recommend.” I’m trying to laugh so I don’t cry, and I’ve got that queasy feeling again.
“Okay, say no more. I do just need to know, big wedding or elopement? My scheming starts today!” I look over at Liam. He can hear every word she says. We both silently mouth “elope,” and start laughing.
“It’s unanimous, elope.”
“Okay, eloping, but like also inviting a couple friends and your children. Sounds perfect.” Liam and I both laugh at Jess’ comment. “Guess I’ll let you two lovebirds get back to making babies or whatever it is you do. Eden’s screaming. Tommy doesn’t feed her right, ugh. Love you, babe.”
“Love you too, bye,” and she ends the call.
“I love that you have such a great best friend,” Liam says to me.
“Me, too.” I’m curious, “Who would you call your best friend?” He stiffens a little, dropping the smile.
“I would say Matt, but he’s, uh, not happy with me at the moment.”What?
“What? Why?”
“I really don’t want to ruin this morning, baby. Can we talk about it later?”
“Umm, no.”
“Okay,” he adjusts his posture, bracing himself. “I told him I was going to propose to you, and he told me not to call him again because he can’t think of me without wanting to slam his fist into my face.”What the fuck?
“I thought everything was fine when I asked you if he knew about me.”
“He knew that I was seeingsomeone, that I was in love, and it was serious. So, Matt did knowaboutyou, he just didn’t know it wasyou.”
“Liam, what the fuck?” I feel like I might be sick.
“Babe, I’m not going to lie to you, okay? I promised I’d tell you the truth, and I’m going to tell you the truth no matter what you ask.” He pauses. “I’m sorry I wasn’t more forthcoming about Matt, but I need you to understand that when it comes to you, there is nothing and no one more important. I’ve known how I feel about you for a while now, and I didn’t want to risk him or anyone interfering with what we have, okay?”
“Uh, okay. I feel a bit misled. You definitely skirted the truth.”
“I did and I regret it, but I did tell him about you. He knows now, hence why he probably wouldn’t call me his best friend anymore.”
“Is that why he texted me yesterday?”
“Yes. Probably. I haven’t talked to him since our last conversation.” Liam’s disposition has totally changed. He was right, this did ruin the morning.
“I need you to be super honest with me right now. Why didn’t you tell him about me?”
“I told you why.”
“No, please don’t feed me some bullshit line. Be honest.” My voice is shaking, I need him to be really fucking honest with me right now.
“Fine, I didn’t tell him because I didn’t want to risk you wanting him more than me, you choosing him over me. I’m not going to play fair or fight fair for you. That’s the honest truth. I wanted you, still want you, all to myself. He let you go, but I won’t make that same mistake.” He lets out a long breath, “Is that what you wanted, Britain?”
