I really need to teach the people in my life there are other reactions to have. Ones that don’t involve potentially ruining my hearing. The moment I pick up the video call, Jamie takes one good look at me andknows, and I have to cover my ears. How do I know she knows? No idea. Butshe does.
“I’m getting a soda, and then I wanna hear absolutely everything with the most insignificant details attached, please and thank you.” I open my mouth, but she’s gone from the screen before I can say anything. Using the camera, I put my hair in a messy bun as my best friend plops herself in her desk chair. “Okay, hit it.” She mimics pressing play on an imaginary remote and I give her my best exasperated look. She smiles and motions me to start, and I sigh, because where do I even begin?
“I had orientation a couple of days ago, and lemme tell you:Everythinghit the fan. It was amazing, but awful at the same time.”
She looks confused, but after a bit, her eyes widen. “You saw him, didn’t you?” I nod, and her spinning in her chair is enough for me to know how excited she is at the news, but she stops abruptly. “Why don’t you look over the moon?”
A headache is forming, and so many things want to come out all at once. “He’s different.We’redifferent. It’s better we stay away from each other.”
Oh, by the way, I’m pretty sure the only girl friend I made has been with Liam in some way.
His roommate hit a little too close to home with some of his comments.
He’s completely tatted up.
But yes, in a nutshell,he’s different.
She contemplates my answer as she goes for another sip of her drink. “Is he hot?” I facepalm as I realize Jamie—and only Jamie—would ask that type of question.
“Well—”
“Be honest, B,” she warns, and I chuckle before answering honestly.
“Yes, excruciatingly. He looks like he came out of a magazine.” She kicks her legs up and giggles like a little schoolgirl, and some spills out of me too. She grabs the phone from where it was propped up, and insists on looking him up. With an eyeroll, I give her his social media handle—that I may or may not have memorized, but she doesn’t need to know that. Every emotion fleeting across her face from awe to surprise to plain hunger is obvious.
“Done drooling yet?” Her hand shoots up to the corner of her mouth as if to check, and I chuckle.
“I’m sorry—but he’sgorgeous. This is Liam, that scrawny kid who you used to talk to back in the day?” I nod, and shock simmers on her face.
I lean against my fist. “Pretty wild, right?”
“Uh, yeah. He does tattoos, and oh my gosh, wait, he designs them too? This is impossible, I’m starting over.” Her finger scrolls back up. I let Jamie gawk as I think about everything that went down these past few days. Being accepted into the school Dad wished for me makes the acceptance letter that much more special. Then, being accepted to their accelerated program is that much more of an honor. But while education-wise, this is the route to take, emotionally, I’m a wreck. Seeing Liam after so long, then Vanessa talking to me about him, not knowing he’s someone I fell in love with way back when ...
Then, the moment he came looking for me. His hair was disheveled, almost as if he ran his fingers through it multiple times. He was out of breath as if he had run across campus to look for me. And the look he had reminded me of when we were younger. It was the look from when he was unsure about everything in his life,everythingexcept me. He would look at me like that, as if I were the only thing in that moment he was sure of, and I missed that look more than ever.
CHAPTER TWELVE
BIANCA
“He’s what?”
My heart beats rapidly as I pace the room. Mom gives me a concerned expression, yet I can’t concentrate on her that much. She hasn’t told me everything, but what I do know is enough to blow up my world. Liam coming down from college and staying for all of summer break?
“Well, hon, she said that it wasn’t a definite thing until he confirmed it a little bit ago,” Mom says while I nod absentmindedly, but my mind still can’t wrap around the fact that I’m going to see him.
Since orientation a couple weeks ago, my mind has been engaged in a perpetual downward spiral. Every day I wake up with his face on my mind, at how everything came together, at how he looks after so long. He’s not that kid who picked daisies for me when coming over, yet when we locked eyes, the entire spectrum of green shining back, I could still see the old him under all that he is now.
I’m okay now. I got over everything ... again.
“There’s also one more thing.” She nervously tugs at the loose thread on her cardigan, and I prepare for whatever the news is.
“I invited Ana and William to the event tonight, and she also asked if she could invite Liam since there’s a possibility he’s starting his break early ...”
“Does Josh know?” I ask. He’s currently on a business trip and will be coming home later this afternoon with Olivia for the big opening day of the new firm. Of course, there have been a couple more of his outbursts, and Ana’s been the sole reason for Josh’s reactions. Every time she’s mentioned, thislookcomes over his face. To me, it’s no secret that he doesn’t like her; she’s been coming over a lot and taking up Mom’s time, so maybe that’s why. And now, Ana has been added to the list for an event ofhis.
Mom shakes her head, answering my question.This’ll be fun.Naively, I thought maybe I could get Ana back in my life, and even William ... Unfortunately, the Parkers are, well, the Parkers; they’re a package deal. There’s always the possibility Liam might not come. I mean, he’s hours away, and I know I’ll have to face him eventually. At college, I could somewhat evade him, but here, I sincerely doubt it.
“Mom, what am I gonna do?” I ask, crestfallen, my mind and heart battling against each other.
