Page 5 of Ashes of Us
"How long, Liam?"
"Can we… can we not do this through the door? Please. Just let me come inside and we can sit down and talk like?—"
"How long?"
He closed his eyes. "Piper?—"
"Answer the question or leave."
There was a long silence. I could hear him breathing. Could hear someone walking down the hallway outside, keys jingling. A door opened and closed somewhere. The building settling around us, as if even it was bracing for what came next.
"Since March," he said finally.
March.
The word hung in the air between us, heavy and sharp.
March.
That’s when I’d started testing cake flavors. Vanilla bean and lemon and champagne-raspberry. I'd made him try all of them, watched him deliberate like it actually mattered which one we chose. He'd pulled me into his lap and kissed buttercream off my lips and said he didn't care about the cake, he just wanted to marry me.
That was March.
"Say something," Liam said. "Please."
"We picked out invitations in March."
"I know?—"
"I ordered your wedding band. We had your parents over for dinner. Your mom showed me her dress."
"Piper—"
"You texted me during parent-teacher conferences." My voice was steady. "You sent me a photo of a Sacramento sunset, then said you wished I was there to see it."
He didn't say anything.
"Was she there?" I asked. "When you took that photo?"
Silence.
"Was she there, Liam?"
"Yes." His voice was barely a whisper.
Something cracked inside my chest. Not my heart… no, that had already broken. It was something else. Something that had been holding me together.
I unlocked the deadbolt.
The door swung open and Liam stumbled forward, catching himself on the doorframe. "Thank you," he breathed. "Thank you, I just need to explain?—"
"Get out."
He froze. "What?"
"Get your shit," I said, "and get out."
"Piper, no, just listen to me for one second?—"
