“You’ll never guess what I heard.”From the sentence alone, I know what she’s about to say, and it makes everything that much more real.
“What?” My voice wobbles slightly. Her lack of an immediate response probably means she’s contemplating whether or not to actually tell me.
“There’s a slight possibility that Kate Harrison is back in LA.” I take a deep breath. “Now, I’m not one hundred percent sure, but Patty was telling me all about her new neighbors when I went to her house for book club. They moved in across from her, I think, based on how she described the woman at least. I tried to see her today, but she doesn’t seem to be home.”
My heart beats even faster. Orientation. She’s here for orientation with Bianca, that’s why she isn’t home.
“Liam?” The word is muffled, and I zone back in, blinking harshly. “Li—”
“I’m here, Mom.” Not only has she infiltrated my school, but now she lives in the subdivision next to mine?
We love the universe, don’t we?
“Now, I didn’t see Bi—well, Kate’s daughter, but I assume she’s there too. I mean, those two were attached at the hip.” My mind flashes back to a bit ago, and I want to tell her that I saw her. Yet, I keep quiet. “Liam, I was thinking ... and well, now with this. We should’ve talked about it a long time ago.” When I stay silent, she takes it as a sign to continue. “It’s been years, son. You’re both adults now. Maybe this is a sign. You could finally get the closure you always wanted.” I listen to her cautious yet hopeful tone and my heart recoils at the thought. She sighs once again, probably frustratedwith my silence and with the whole situation. “Look, Liam, you’re hours away, so you probably don’t care about what happens here—”
I cut her off instantly because that couldn’t be further from the truth. “Mom, don’t say that.”
“I know it’s a touchy subject for you.”
Scoffing at that, I lean my head back against the wall, groaning in frustration. “No, it isn’t.”
“I’m not stupid. I know she’s a touchy subject, and I don’t blame you. I wanted to tell you, so you wouldn’t be caught off guard.” She blows out a nervous breath. “Maybe, if I ever prove this, we can go over and say hi one day.”
Something bubbles up in my chest. The irony being so ridiculous, I burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” she asks, obviously confused.
The suggestion practically offends me. “Yeah, there’s no way that I’m doing that.Shestopped talking tome, remember?” My mind taunts that I didn’t seem to remember all this when she was in front of me, and I mentally hush the thoughts. The thumping against the walls gets worse and I sigh, knowing this party is just getting started and is already causing a headache to form. “Look, Mom, I appreciate you telling me, but that ship has sailed. Bianca and I—” My traitorous heart clenches at what I was going to say. “We grew apart. Simple as that.”
A quick flashback happens in my mind, and I get up to grab the picture of us. We’re little kids on Halloween wearing our favorite costumes—I’m a knight and she chose to be Cinderella for the third year in a row. Her smile lights up the whole photo, and there I am, looking at her as if she’s my whole world.
I mean, shewasat some point.
Aiming the picture down, tears of frustration well in my eyes at how crappy my night has gone. “Anyway, I’ve gotta go, Mom. I, uh, have a test to study for.”
“I love you, Liam,” she says, and I smile.
“I love you too. Say hi to Dad for me.”
“I will. Oh, and Liam?” I hum in reply, as I was about to hang up. “Not everything is always as it seems. I know you guys had a fight, and I know it hurt you. Just remember, it went both ways. Think about what I said. It really could give you that closure to truly move on.” She hangs up and my hand clenches the phone. Ihavemoved on, and to think I’m gonna reach out to her ... I tried that and I was met with her voicemail. Not a single message back from her, nothing.
I hadn’t been ready to give up on her, but she obviously was with me.
But ... what if Mom’s right? Maybe there’s a chance we could talk it out. Hope starts a little fire in my heart, but as quickly as it started, I put it out, not wanting to think about what once was the best thing that happened to me.
We grew apart, that’s it.
I know I screwed up and I tried to apologize. To this day, I hate that I made her feel less important than she actually was.
But if she truly thought our friendship was special ... and then her response was blocking me, and not even trying?
A knock brings me out of my thoughts. Chase comes in and I groan. Faux hurt crosses his face. His hand covers his heart and there are a couple of beer bottles in his grip. “Ouch, roomie.”
I take a couple Advil and lie down again. “Go away,” I mutter, and he shakes his head, taking his place on the bed opposite mine. He cracks open a bottle, offering me the other, but I shake my head and he shrugs as if to say “your loss.”
“So, I’m assuming Harrison is the reason I’ve never had to leave the room?”
I roll my eyes. “When did you get that close for the little nickname?”
