I mean, she’s not wrong . . . maybe? But there’s no way I could do that. That would definitely be crossing a line. Plus, he doesn’t even like me, so I doubt he’d want any kind of help from me.
I get back home, just in time to feed Gigi supper after spending the rest of the afternoon finishing my research for a paper I have due in two weeks—before the exam rush begins. That is, when I wasn’t thinking of what Jade suggested I do.
There’s no way I can just get in bed with Liam, can I? He’d kill me. He’s already not happy about living with me as it is; I want to avoid doing anything to get even deeper into his bad side. Not that he has any issue getting on my nerves and pushing all of my buttons.
If this was seven years ago, I wouldn’t even question it. I wouldn’t even have needed Jade to plant the idea, I would have thought of it myself. But now? In our current reality, there’s no way my mind would have gotten there on its own. He doesn’t even want me in his space; I highly doubt he would want me in his bed.
Like clockwork, Liam has woken up screaming at midnight the last five nights. Tonight is when my patiencesnaps. A girl in STEM needs her brain-sleep. I can’t keep putting in endless hours of research and teaching without steady sleep.
Before the clock even hits midnight, I take Jade’s suggestion and run with it. Literally. At eleven fifty-five, I tiptoe-run to Liam’s bedroom door with Gigi in my arms, knowing there’s no way she’s going to sleep without me. I slowly open his door to poke my head in, making sure he’s sleeping. With my luck, the one night I decide enough is enough he’ll still be awake and will blow a gasket. Before entering and making my way to his bed, I double-check my Apple watch. I confirm that I have a vibrating alarm set for five thirty in the morning, so I’m up and out of his bed with plenty of time to spare, since he usually wakes up around seven. I don’t need him raging at me before my first cup of coffee. That would be dangerous . . . for him.
Giving myself one last little shake, I carefully open his door just enough so I can sneak in and slowly close it behind me, all the while praying I don’t wake him up. Looking at the bed, I see Liam, or the shape of him, on the left side of the bed. Perfect. I won’t have to make my way around the foot of the bed, just seven steps to the side of the bed. Tiptoeing the short distance, I cautiously pull the bedding down and hold my breath, as if it’ll make me lighter. Then, I gently get into bed, making sure I stay as close to the edge as possible.
It doesn’t take me long to fall asleep—I was exhausted from my long days at the University and the sleepless nights at home. I fall asleep within seconds of my head hitting the pillow. When my alarm on my wrist rings,I awake with a startle, before falling right back to sleep within the comfortable warmth I feel surrounding me.
That’s when I remember where I am.
I guess, during the night, I moved closer to the middle of the bed and Liam found me. Because, right now, he’s clinging to me like a spider monkey. His face is buried in my hair, one arm serving as my pillow with his hand high on my chest, the other arm wrapped tightly around my waist, and his morning wood poking my lower back. Once that little bit of information registers in my brain, I quickly pull away and wince, hoping I didn’t just wake him up. Thankfully he just rolls over, facing the wall with a huff.
Letting out a small, quiet giggle, I carefully creep my way out of his bed and into my own to catch another hour of sleep. Unlike falling asleep in Liam’s bed, sleep doesn’t come. Instead, I toss and turn, making Gigi humph at me and leave the bed entirely. I finally give up on sleep around six.
It looks like it’s going to be a multiple-cups-of-coffee kind of day . . . Again.
Chapter 6
Damn, I slept like a fucken baby last night. Ever since the accident, I’ve been waking up at midnight every single night, like clockwork. I’d struggle to get back to sleep for hours, usually only getting a couple extra hours of sleep, but even then it was never a deep restful sleep. Not only will my mind not shut off, but every movement pulls at the tight scarring on the side of my torso. My leg is usually the worst though, just having the blanket sitting on it hurts. Last night, though, I slept like the dead. I can’t remember ever sleeping that hard, even before the accident. Stretching my arms over my head then reaching over to the other side of the bed to grab my phone on the small side table, I’m hit with the soft smell of peaches and caramel. Taking a deeper breath, I realize I’m smelling Sloane. Her smell gets everywhere—always has. For as long as I can remember, she’s always smelled like peaches and caramel, almost like peach cobbler on a summer night—my favorite dessert.
The last time I took a deep breath of that smell was forever ago. She had barely been eighteen and I was well into adulthood at twenty-eight. Her brother was outof town with Cassie, and Sloane had decided to go out to a party with some of her new friends that Ronan and I did not approve of and have too much to drink. At least after having had too much to drink she had the sense to call me to come pick her up. That was the last time she called me, or even talked to me really.
Taking another deep breath of peaches and caramel, I’m brought back to that night . . .
Seven years ago. . .
The ringing phone pulls me out of my sleep. Who’s calling me at—I look at the alarm clock sitting on my nightstand—one twenty-seven in the morning? Not looking at the caller ID, I just pick up the phone.
“What?”
“Liam?” I hear the soft, scared voice of my little Rosie on the other end, making me sit up in bed.
“Rosie? What’s wrong?”
“Can you come pick me up?” she asks. I can hear her shaking through the phone, as if she’s trying not to cry, making my stomach drop as I get up and throw on a T-shirt and sweater, jogging to my front door.
“Where are you?”
She rattles off an address as I get into my car. I have no idea where it is.
“Text it to me, Sloane,” I tell her in a hoarse voice. What the fuck did she get herself into? She’s not one to be out past 10p.m. The girl always has her nose in a book, and the only people she hangs out with are me, Ronan, and Cassie.
Fuck. She’d better be okay.
Fifteen minutes later, I’m pulling up to the address she gave me and I see her standing on the side of the road.
What the fuck is she wearing? The girl can’t even wear a bikini at the beach without blushing, but right now I’m seeing more skin reflecting in my high beams than I’ve ever seen from Sloane.
Involuntarily, my eyes wander down her mile-long legs. She’s always been a tall girl, meeting my six-one frame almost eye to eye. Slowly, my eyes wander back up her body. She’s definitely grown up over the years. She’s gorgeous, with long, almost-black hair that you just want to wrap around your fist as she chokes on and—No!I can’t believe I just pictured my best friend’s little sister on her knees for me. Never has a thought like that crossed my mind about Sloane, and now is not the time to figure out why the hell my thoughts are going there.
Shaking my head, I pull up to her and she quickly gets in without saying anything.
