“Can we go back home, please?” she mumbles, and as much as it pains me, I understand her stance. Putting the car in drive, we make our way back to her house. A suffocating silence is present in the car, and neither one of us breaks it. Reluctantly, I turn onto her street, pulling to a stop in front of her house. I turn toward her as tears fall down her face.
“Thanks for the lesson today, Liam,” she says with finality in her tone, getting out of the car, closing the door behind her. Her figure gets farther and farther away, and I want to run out and beg her to talk to me.For us to talk.
We talked about what happened all those years ago in the shelter, but not how we move forward now.
Or if she even wants to.
Leaving her street, I pull into my driveway. Bursting through the bedroom door, I plop down onto my bed, Bianca’s words running through my head until I get sick of them.
They never stop circling, breaking my heart over and over again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
BIANCA
“Girls!”
I hear Mom before I see her. Jamie and I look in the direction of the door before she saunters in with Olivia. A smile on both of their faces causes apprehensive ones to start on ours. Mom has her beach hat on and Olivia wears a light sundress, and trailing behind them is Ana holding a boom box, with said boom box being way too big for her shoulder.
“Beach trip!” she says, and I sprint off the bed, hugging her as she puts it down to hug me better. I pull back to see Jamie behind me, and I turn around, ready to introduce them.
“Jamie, this is—”
She points at her. “Ana, Liam’s mom?”
Ana looks at me with that smirk that I see all the time from her son. “Talking about me? I’m flattered.” We laugh, and Olivia looks at me with an annoyed glance. As she leaves, Mom looks over sadly at the closed door. Jamie hugs Ana, and it fills my heart with warmth.
“I love you already, Jamie.” A huge grin grows on Jamie’s face and she looks at me happily. She always loves it when parents likeher. Ana chuckles, giving her another side hug. “Okay, now come on. Everyone’s waiting for us outside.” She looks at us, frowning at our pajamas, and we chuckle sheepishly.
“I’ll give you guys five minutes. Come on, Kate, let’s hurry along that fiancé of yours.” Ana drags Mom by the arm as they both laugh, causing smiles all around.
They close the door and I look over at Jamie. “Brought a swimsuit?” She chuckles and walks over, throwing open my closet as I raise a questioning eyebrow.
“I did, and I know just the one for you to wear.”
A blush comes on my face, but then I think about the past couple of days. This is going to be awkward.
“Okay, you need to talk to him.” I sneak a glance at Liam, only to find him still looking in my direction as Jamie and I lie on our towels. Thank goodness he drove in his own car because it would not have been fun. I mean, I get it, we’re kind of in a weird place. But he’s looking at me as if he’s lost, and I’ve got to be overthinking that. I slide my sunglasses down from my head.
I shrug. “I messed it up, Jamie. Besides, if he wants to talk, he’ll come over.” Jamie sighs, going back to her magazine, a small mumble of annoyance leaving her that I pretend to ignore. I never realized I missed the beach until Ana and William invited us. The sun is shining and the clear water is practically begging for me to take a dive in.
I move my head from side to side, making it seem as if I’m cracking my neck. I catch a glimpse of Liam once again. He’s wearing a light beige linen shirt, all buttoned, which makes the tattoos on his arms and neck look delectable as always. Though, I do my best to seem nonchalant. He has dark blue swim shorts on, the tattoos continuing their descent down his legs.
Gosh. He’s really handsome.
Some girls whisper behind him, and I roll my eyes as I don’t seem to be the only one who’s noticed him. I huff, pissed at myself as all get-out, when a volleyball rolls toward me. Confused, given I didn’t notice anyone at those courts a bit ago, I pick it up as a guy jogs over.
“Sorry, miss, we—” I freeze as he raises his head and tilts it as he looks at me with familiar blue eyes. “Harrison?”
“Chase?” He lets out a hearty laugh and hugs me. Squinting, I spot more familiar faces behind him. He pulls back, a smile mixed with shock on his face.
“I didn’t know you’d be here,” he says, playfully knocking me against the arm as he turns back, waving over the group of people. He shakes his blond hair out of his face.
I let out a laugh of disbelief. “Me? You live like five hours away.” Goose bumps form all over my body as a warm presence comes up behind me, and I don’t have to look to know who it is.
“Chase? What are you doing here, man?” He smirks, his eyes darting between us, and my smile drops when I notice a familiar girl jogging over and shrieking. Vanessa crashes into me and my eyes widen.
“Bianca! Oh-em-gee! So good to see you again, girl!” She shakes me back and forth in her embrace as I see Liam upturning his head at the bunch of guys; I’m hearing slivers of their conversation.
