Liam and I walk towards a wooden bench facing the water and sunset. We sit down and dig into our food with gusto.
I can feel Liam’s grin when I finish my chicken nuggets and fries in Guinness record speed and then grab my Oreo McFlurry.
“You’re an animal,” he says with amusement, eating his own treat with the mannerism of a prince.
I put a spoonful of ice cream into my mouth and moan. “Mm, I could eat this for the rest of my life.”
Liam’s watching my lips with the same hunger that’s usually reserved for a three-course meal at an expensive restaurant.
I smile devilishly around my spoon, licking it extra good for him. Just a little peep show—teaser really—for later, if he behaves. “Like what you see?”
“You have no idea.”
My heart does a little somersault in its cage.
We continue eating our ice creams while enjoying the scenery around us. I can see why Liam likes coming here. It’s calm, secluded, and resembles a sanctuary.
“Thank you for agreeing to talk,” Liam finally begins. “These last few days…”
“Have sucked,” I finish for him. “I didn’t like the distance between us. Hated it. Not being able to message you every day. It made me feel restless and…”
“Like you were missing a part of you?” he asks hopefully.
I nod, staring at my feet.
Liam shifts on the bench, sliding just a teeny bit closer. He takes our garbage and dumps it into the McDonald’s paper bag. I sense he needs a moment to collect his thoughts before speaking.
Eventually, he angles his face my way and I’m struck by the way his blue eyes glimmer in the late afternoon sky. “When I received your first letter in high school, you changed my life.”
My lips part on a sharp inhale.
“For as long as I can remember, I’ve liked to hide behind my walls.” He cracks his knuckles. “The world hasn’t always been kind to me, therefore shielding myself was the only way I knew to live. If I was out of sight, I was out of mind, and nobody could hurt me. But that’s not always the case, is it?”
I shake my head, needing him to elaborate. “Liam…”
“I was bullied growing up.” His jaw clenches. “Unfortunately, my size has made me the target of many mean jokes. I was taller…bigger…than everyone and quieter by nature, which meant I struggled to make friends. As a result, it made me an outcast. Either people were avoiding me or if they spoke to me, it was usually to poke fun at my appearance. I can’t begin to tell you how I survived high school. But if there’s one way to sum up my experience, it’s the wordshitty. The way people treated me only pushed me deeper into my solitude. I had one close friend, who’d also been dubbed a loser by the popular kids, so he and I stuck together. Eventually, he moved away and I was back to being alone.”
I’m holding my breath when Liam glances my way again. One part of me is content he’s opening up, but another part is in pain hearing this out loud.
It was obvious Liam had somewhat of a difficult past.
I just didn’t know he wasbullied.
Protectiveness surges in me like a tsunami. The need to go back in time and kick the asses of all the jerks who hurt Liam is so strong, I can barely articulate it.
“Are you okay?” Liam asks, staring at the white quality of my knuckles.
“No, I’m not.” I let out a humourless chuckle. “But I need you to continue with your story before I lose my shit and demand names and addresses. So I can do bodily harm, of course.”
Liam unwinds my closed fists and weaves our fingers together. He brings them to his mouth for a kiss. I’ve lost track of how many times he’s done that today. It grounds me, though. Maybe it grounds him too. “Be at ease, Bel. I’m fine now. That was the past and although it can’t be changed, I only want to move forward now.”
I can’t speak, so I only nod.
Liam continues talking, but he never lets my hands go. His thumb caresses my wrist, as though telling my pulse tosteady. “As I was saying, high school was a shitshow. I did everything in my power to be invisible so people would leave me alone. Then came the start of senior year and I met this girl. She actually found me one day in the school library, sitting in my corner reading a fantasy novel during lunchtime.” Liam squeezes my hands. “Turns out she wanted to read it too. We struck a camaraderie and eventually, she started coming to the library every day to…hang with me. She liked my company, but she didn’t want people to know we were friends. I guess it would put a target on her back, considering she was part of the popular crew. And as I mentioned before, I wasn’t.”
I hate where this is going. My stomach drops even before Liam says the next bit.
He takes a deep inhale and closes his eyes. “She was nice to me and naturally, I started liking her. I never dared to ask her out because I was scared of rejection. Plus, I wasn’t certain how she felt about me. Despite her friendliness, on most days, I just felt like her dirty secret.” Liam caresses my knuckles absentmindedly. “I didn’t know it at the time, but she had a boyfriend on the basketball team. He was one of the popular jocks. He found us one day and all hell broke loose. She told him we were just friends and the only reason she hung out with me was out of pity.” Liam puffs out a self-deprecation laugh. “Safe to say he got mad and then…him and his buddies beat me up after school.”
