“Not that it’s any of your business, Liam, but I’m sure.”
“Then you’re not the guy I thought you were.”
“Yeah, well one thing I’ve learned recently is people aren’t always who you think they are. Are you going to give the bag to her or not?”
This was my life. Mine and Isla’s. I wish everyone else would just butt out and keep their opinions to themselves and let us get on with living it.
“Give it to me,” he replied, not bothering to hide his feelings about it.
“Thanks.”
I handed the bag over and buried my hands in my pockets.
“You’re an idiot, you know that.”
“So, I’ve been told.”
“Why can’t you just hear her out? What are you afraid of? Admitting you fucked up?”
“She fucked up. She wasn’t there. When I needed her, she wasn’t there!” I snapped, hating the fact I let him get to me. Scrubbing my hand down my face, I tried to pull myself together. “Look, I’ve gotta go. If you could get that to her, that’d be …”
“She’s miserable. She knows she fucked up by not telling you what was going on, but she did it for the right reasons. You loved her. You can’t tell me that just vanished.”
“What was going on? What reasons?”
“It’s not my story to tell.”
Asshole. He’d baited me and I’d bitten. “Liam …”
“Talk to her. If you want to walk away after you know, then that’s your call but at least hear her out.”
“I can’t,” I admitted. The last couple of weeks had been hard enough. A clean break was going to be the only way I was going to be able to keep going.
“Then you don’t deserve her.”
“Thanks for …” I pointed to the bag and started down the corridor toward the doors, leaving part of my heart hefted over Liam’s shoulder amongst Charlotte’s belongings.
I’d just stepped out the door into the sunshine when I was grabbed by the shoulder and spun around.
“What the …”
“I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing it for Charlotte and for Isla.”
“Isla?”
“Yeah, you know your daughter. The same daughter who kept asking where Charlotte was and when she was coming to see her.”
“And she didn’t. I wasn’t the only one hurt!” I defended myself.
“No, you weren’t. But while you were being the one with your feelings hurt, Charlotte was at home recovering from donating.”
“Donating?” What the hell was he talking about?
Liam took a deep breath and looked around, making sure no one would overhear what he was about to say. Keeping his voice low, Liam pinned me with a look that’d turn a man to stone. “Charlotte was Isla’s stem cell donor. She’s the one who saved Isla’s life.”
No.
No.
