Page 3 of Because of Liam

Shut up! I mutter under my breath, nod at Logan in lieu of a goodbye, and go to class.

* * *

I finally makeit home after four classes and a study group today. I have classes every Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, and an internship at a behavioral health clinic the rest of the week. Skye and I are going different ways after graduation in May. She’ll work at a local newspaper. Skye’s pretty excited about landing this job as we can still share the apartment and she can be near Logan. She’s taking a combination of on campus and online classes for her master’s in English. I decided to go on full-time, getting a master’s in psychology with two different tracks. My original track was for guidance counseling and I’m still pursuing it. Can you picture me counseling high school kids? The second track was a last-minute addition after—I shake my head to get rid of the path it’s going down.

I’m still thinking about the events of this morning. In hindsight dumping my raspberry lemonade on someone’s back may not have been the best idea I’ve ever had. But I honestly thought it was Logan and he wouldn’t have gotten mad at me.

I can’t wait for Skye to get home so I can ask her about Liam. Right on cue, the door opens.

She kicks off her shoes and drops her bag on the kitchen island before turning my way.

“Hey, what’s up, Sis? Just got home too?”

“Yeah, a few minutes ago.”

She looks at me intently. Skye can always tell when something is bugging me—she waits. I say nothing and she comes to the living room and sits on the other end of the sofa, legs crossed under her.

Our apartment is small, just four rooms. Our two bedrooms, the one bathroom we share and the small kitchen and living room are one open area, with the island where we have most of our meals working as a divider between the two spaces. We do have a small dining table that seats four, but we prefer to sit and eat at the kitchen island on most days. Skye could just as easily have talked to me from the kitchen, but she made the effort to come and wait for me to talk. I haven’t opened up to Skye in months now. It’s a habit that’s hard to break after locking myself up for so long.

“Did you know Logan has a brother?”

“Yeah, he mentioned him a few times. Liam is his name, I think.”

“It is. I met him today.”

“Really?”

“I saw Logan too. He said his brother showed up late last night.”

“Logan didn’t say he was coming to visit.”

“I got the impression Logan wasn’t expecting him. Apparently, he came straight from Afghanistan. He’s a marine.”

“Yeah, I think I remember Logan saying something about him being in the military. What’s he like?”

“He looks like Logan, same height but more muscular and his eyes are gray, not blue, but unlike Logan, he’s an asshole.”

That makes Skye frown at me. “Why would you say that?”

I rehash what happened while Skye looks at me and shakes her head.

“Can you blame him for being upset?”

“It was a little more than upset. He was angry. Angrier than my stupid prank warranted.”

“Well, next time you see him, apologize again and it will be fine, I’m sure.”

“I don’t know, Skye, maybe he’s just a real asshole. They do exist, you know.”

She gets up and walks to her room. “I find it hard to believe Logan’s little brother is as bad as you say. Give the kid a break.”

“He’s not little, and he’s not a kid either,” I call after her.

My annoyance has left me and I feel bad for calling him an asshole. The more I think about it, the more certain I am that I’m the asshole in this scenario. I fucking hate that.

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