He opened my door and helped me out of the car. I was still half asleep, but Liam slipped his arm around me and let me lean on him as we headed toward the building.
“I’m sorry if I made things worse.”
Shaking my head, I whispered, “You only make things better, Liam. I’m really okay. Just tired.”
Accepting this, he walked silently until we were almost at the building. For some reason, we hadn’t really hung out at school much. It seemed odd, but we had no classes together and I never saw him at lunch. He was so new to school too. I wondered if he had any other friends there.
“Can I take you home today? I know you have to work, but it would at least save you from the bus.”
I looked at him suspiciously. We had been friends for almost two months now and he never offered to drive me to school. It would be nice not to have to take the bus, though. However, he didn’t give me a choice when he leaned in and whispered, “I am your fake boyfriend, you know. What kind of guy would I be if I made you take the bus? I really should have been driving you this whole time.”
“I would honestly love it. Would it be okay if Gio and Francesca joined us again, though? I’d feel bad.”
Liam pressed a kiss against my forehead.
“Of course, silly. Your family is my family now, Bella.”
I stared at him for a moment and sighed. He really was perfect. I had to get Marco out of my system to see if that really was holding back our spark.
“I really do appreciate it, Liam.”
He beamed at me.
“Well, I would do anything for you, Bella.”
I frowned.
“Hey, would you want to meet me for lunch at the bleachers today? The ones by the football field?”
Liam looked at me, surprised. I rushed on.
“Step two, right? It’s about taking things that used to be Marco’s and changing them. Making me see that I can still have good memories there that aren’t just about him, right?”
“Sort of, yes.”
I was annoyed that it wasn’t the full reason, but I would figure it out eventually. Still, if I needed to get through the list to get me closer to being able to give my heart to someone else, I wanted to get it done as quickly as possible.
“Let’s knock something else off of it then. I mean, if you’re free. If you have plans, we can do it another day.”
Liam squeezed my hand.
“I am always free for you.”
The bell was about to ring, so I gave him a quick hug, thanked him, and rushed off to my locker. I was determined to put Marco behind me. Finally.
Liam
I was on my way to the football field when I spotted Faith. Running toward her, I shouted her name. Her face brightened.
“Hey, did you enjoy your post-Homecoming activities?”
Faith’s whole face turned red, and I smiled.
“Never mind, I really don’t want to know. But… remember when you said you would owe me? I… I’m so sorry, but I think I want to cash in.”
When she asked if she could spend the night on the boat with her Homecoming date, I really hadn’t planned on ever cashing in on the favor, but I had a brilliant idea. Looking at my watch, I sighed.
“Would you mind walking with me? I don’t want Isabella to think I’m standing her up.”
