Chapter Seventy-two

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This chapter is dedicated to zgre_0112 Thank you for all the votes!!! I really appreciate your support.

Ellyn attempts to follow me as I rush past the hallway to the exit, but I don't stop to chat.

"Are you really gonna let her get to you like this?" She finally shouts as I march to my car.

"It's safe to say I already have," I say loud enough for her to hear.

She reaches me when I stop to unlock my car.

"Jess?" She calls pleadingly. "It's Brittany we are talking about here. Come on! Don't let her upset you."

"The people you call friends don't exactly have your back. They probably laugh behind your back about how gullible you are. What the hell does that mean? How am I gullible? And history is repeating itself?"

"She's trying to get to you. You know how she is. She hates seeing people happy, especially you."

She also said Liam has been depositing money into Elliot's account. Where would she get that idea?

"I need to go," I tell her. "I have a few questions for Liam."

Ellyn looks positively panicked. And I frown.

"If it is something she said, I wouldn't worry too much. She is out to get you. Don't let her come between you and Liam."

I take a calming breath and nod. I am going to have a conversation with Liam, but I don't want to explain myself to Red.

"Yeah, okay," I say. "You're probably right."

She relaxes a little, but keeps eyeing me warily.

"What was that about though?" She asks.

"I have no idea." I open the Car door. "I'm sorry I'm leaving like this. See you tomorrow?"

She nods.

"Yeah. Don't worry about it. Thanks for the help."

I give her a strained smile and step into my Car.

I watch in the rearview mirror as Red stands in the parking lot, watching until I disappear out of sight. I don't know why, but I find it unsettling.

After a few minutes on the road, my phone starts buzzing. I glance at it and watch Steff's face flashing on my screen. I let it go to Voicemail, figuring I could just call her back once I get there, but my phone starts buzzing again. And again.

I pick it up and put it on speaker.

"Jess?" She calls. And I immidiatly recognize the tone.

"What's wrong?" I ask.

"It's... well, Ryan and I just broke up."

"Oh! How did that happen?" I ask.

"We both knew it was coming. Hell, everyone knew. It was just a matter of who would pull the plug, and I did. The spark has fizzled, and now all we do is bicker. It's so exhausting. This is what I get for dating someone based purely on physical attraction."

"Are you okay?"

She sighs.

"I don't know."

"Do you want me to come over?" I ask.

I'm sure Liam will understand.

"Oh, no. It's nothing that needs consoling. Besides, Jer is coming over so we can work on the book review together for English."

"Does he know?"

"No, you're the first person I called. But I'll obviously tell him."

I nod even though she can't see me.

"Call me if you need to talk, okay?"

"Yeah."

I hang up the phone, my mind now occupied with fresh worries.

***

I use my key to unlock Liam's front door, and I walk inside. As soon as I step in, I hear music coming from the kitchen. My lips curve with a smile as I walk towards the noise. I spot a beautiful flower bouquet in a vase on the countertop, and I walk towards it with a grin.

I lean down to smell the freshly cut flowers before I pick up the card attached to it.

Your Royal Highness,

Wash your hands and come to our Castle as soon as you read this. The kingdom patiently awaits.

Yours sincerely,

The King

I grin from ear to ear. Only Liam would instruct a queen to wash her hands. I do as he says, and I walk to our Fort inside the living room. We almost took it down once. But we had grown so attached to it that we couldn't bring ourselves to do it. I started referring to it as our Castle, and Liam just went with it.

I drop my bag on the couch and crouch down to get inside the Fort and find the fairy lights brightly lit. There is a pizza box and a jar of my favorite strawberry lime mocktail set with two glasses.

My eyes meet Liam's, and he grins at me.

"This is so beautiful," I say, looking at the setup. "What's the occasion?"

Liam shrugs.

"You'll find out soon enough." He says, giving me a peck on the lips. "Care for a slice?"

"Of course!"

I reach over to open the Pizza Cartoon, and I see the mouth-watering Margherita Pizza with cheese basically melting off it, but what catches my eyes is the writing on the inside of the Cartoon.

This is a bit cheesy, but prom?

I look up at Liam with an enormous grin on my face, and he instantly blushes, which I find incredibly adorable. He looks painfully embarrassed as he waits for my reply. This is so out of character for him that I decide to enjoy it.

"Prom, huh?" I say. "And on a Pizza cartoon and all. Who would've thought!"

He scratches the back of his head, his cheeks now tinted a deep shade of pink.

"I know. This is so stupid. Google came up with it, not me. I didn't know how to ask you."

Unable to keep it up a second longer, I lunge at him and attack his lips. He's momentarily caught off guard, but he quickly recovers and kisses me back fervently.

I honestly wouldn't have cared if he asked me over our lunch break, or while we walked to class. All I care about is that he wants to go with me. But the fact that he went so far as to google ways touches my heart.

"I'd love to go to prom with you, Liam," I tell him, pulling away. "This isn't stupid. It's sweet. If you hadn't asked me today, I would have asked you myself."

He grins at me.

"There you go then, my Queen." He presents the ticket with a little bow. "We shall go to the grand-ball and waltz the night away under the twinkling chandeliers that glimmer like stars that paint the night sky. And the whole kingdom will be astounded by your sheer beauty and elegance. But only I get to call you mine."

I smile from ear to ear, taking the ticket from his hands.

"Mrs. Ronin was right," I tell him. "You should be an English major. Maybe you could write a play, who knows?"

***

We eat our Pizza and drink the mocktail in the Fort and clean up once we are finished. The entire events of the day seemed to have left my mind the moment I found Liam's note sitting on the counter. But when I step out of the Fort, reality settles all around me. And I find myself wishing we could stay in the fort wrapped up in eachother forever. In our own little bubble where the rest of the world doesn't exist. But that isn't practical. I need to learn how to have a conversation without feeling the need to make a scene or run.

I stare blankly at the book uselessly laying on my lap. Mrs. Ronin has assigned 'Twelfth Night' by Shakespeare for us to read and write a review on. But I can't seem to concentrate on a single word much less a whole paragraph.

I glance at Liam, wondering how to ask him about the money he is supposedly depositing to Elliot. It makes absolutely no sense to me.

"Ryan and Steff broke up. Did you know that?" I ask.

He looks up at me with surprise.

"I didn't." He says. "When did that happen?"

"Right after school, I guess. Steff called to tell me."

He shakes his head with bewilderment.

"I guess we all knew it was coming, but they stuck it out for so long I thought it just might work." He says. "I left my phone up here. Maybe he called."

He walks to the nightstand to grab his phone.

"What?" He frowns.

"What is it?" I ask, perking up.

"There are about a hundred missed calls from Elle." He says. "But she hasn't left a voicemail."

He brings the phone to his ears.

"Ellyn?" I say with surprise.

I glance at my phone and frown. She hasn't called me. She knew I was coming here, so why didn't she just call me when he didn't pick up?

"Elle, sorry I didn't have my phone on me. Is everything okay?" Liam asks.

It's almost instantaneous. I see his eyes darken, and his expression change. My heart thuds a little faster in my chest as I watch his face turn ashen.

Something is seriously wrong.

"How?" He asks, walking out of the room.

My frown deepens as his voice fades down the corridor. Why doesn't he want me to listen in?

For a second, I consider following him out. But I think better of it. I feel deeply unsettled as I wait for him to come back. Luckily, he doesn't take too long.

"What is it?" I ask as soon as he walks in.

"Tessa called to tell her she heard a rumor about my dad and some fraud claim. New York drama."

I frown for the tenth time tonight.

"I thought Red and Tessa hated each other."

He glances up, and our eyes meet. I catch a flicker of alarm, but it is gone in a blink.

He shakes his head.

"Did I say Tessa? I meant Kim."

"What does she mean a fraud claim?" I ask.

"It's probably just a rumor. My father cleans up after himself well."

I look at him with misgivings.

"You seemed upset," I point. "Really upset."

"Upset that Kimberly would concern herself."

"And Ellyn thought it was so important that you knew this?"

He shrugs.

"I guess so."

I look at him intently before sighing in resignation. Thanks to Brittany, my suspicions are rearing their ugly heads in once again, but I promised Liam that I would work on it, that I would trust him.

"There is something I wanted to ask you," I say, putting the book aside.

Liam eyes me warily.

"What is it?" He asks.

"I got into an altercation with Brittany. And she said something about you depositing money into Elliot's Bank Account."

I look at him closely to catch a glimpse of discomposure, something that gives him away. But there is none. His lips twitch with amusement, but his eyes remain impassive.

"Why would I deposit money to Elliot of all people?" He asks.

"That's a good question. Where would she get that idea?"

"How would I know, Jess. This is Brittany we are talking about. Who knows where she gets anything. What I want to know is how you got into an altercation with her in the first place."

I sigh. And it surprises me that I don't want to tell him about how I heard her crying in the bathroom stall.

"The same way it always happens, I guess," I say. "I slapped her. So, there is also that."

"Baby," Liam walks over and crouches in front of me, so we are level. "don't let her get to you. Don't let her nonsense bother you. I thought you were passed that." He says.

I look inside the Hazel eyes I love, and I nod.

"I know, I am. It's just... I don't know. She knows how to get under my skin. The things she said..." I trail off.

"I don't know what her agenda is. But this really pisses me off."

And I see it too, the rage behind his eyes. It terrifies me.

"I just want to know what's real and what's not. You know?"

"The fact that I love you," He says earnestly. "That's real."

It is. It is real. That's what I need to remember. Because that's all that matters.

I nod.

He brings his hands to my face as he leans in, connecting our lips.

***

Liam

I can honestly say I haven't felt as terrified as I do now in the longest time. When I heard what Elle had to say, I saw everything that matters to me crumbling before my eyes.

I thought there would be no way Jess would let what Brittany said go so easily. But she did, which makes this whole situation that much harder. She is actually holding her end of the bargain by trusting me fully. I am the one who keeps betraying her, lying to her face. Fuck! I hate how easily I was able to lie to her.

My father's voice suddenly echoes in my ears.

Let them come close. But never close enough to see the cracks. People won't hesitate to use your weakness against you, remember that.

The truth is whatever you say it is, as long as you believe in it. Everyone lies, Liam. Everyone lies.

Keep your composure even when you feel like you're rotting from the inside out. Life isn't for the weak, boy. Better you learn that now.

Ever since I could remember, always the tough love. Except it wasn't love. Not at all. And now I am capable of lying to the girl I love more than anything in the world without even blinking.

Today when I looked at myself in the mirror, I saw nothing more than a guy who still had darkness spilling out from every pore of his being. The same guy who left New York to hide from the past, but whose past had caught up to him. The same guy who caused havoc and left distraction in his wake wherever he went.

I grit my teeth and I don't think twice before barging inside the boys locker room. The guys eye me with surprise as I march towards the blond asshole who's standing chatting with Ryan and some other guy whose face I don't care to see.

As soon as I reach him, I grab him by the collar and throw his massive body against one of the lockers. He blinks with surprise as he straightens up.

I lurch forward again but Ryan grabs me.

"What the hell?" Elliot snaps.

"You and I have a lot to talk about, you little shit!" I bark. "And I suggest you tell your guys to give us some privacy unless you want them to find out about your extracurricular activities."

His eyes widen, and he looks around at the many pair of eyes watching us with with surprise.

"Liam, what is this about?" Ryan asks.

"Not now!" I snap at him.

Elliot calls for the team to leave the locker room and wait for him on the field, which they slowly but surely do.

"I'm not going anywhere," Ryan says when Elliot eyes him.

"I'm speaking to you as your Captain," Elliot says sternly. "Go and make sure they do some laps."

Ryan looks at Elliot contemptuously.

"Don't do anything stupid." He says to me before walking out.

"What is this about?" He asks after Ryan leaves the room.

"You know exactly what this is about." I eye him menacingly. "You told Brittany about the bet. She knows about the money."

"What?" He chuckles. "No I didn't."

I shove him against the locker once again.

"Don't lie to me, you asshole. She told Jess that I've been wiring you money. How else would she know if you didn't tell her?"

He frowns, looking truly lost now. Then his eyes slowly darken.

"I... I swear I didn't tell her anything. But..." He looks at me with guilt and fright.

"But?" I inquire.

"She came over last weekend and we got sort of buzzed. Well, I got buzzed. I don't remember much of what happened. I might have let it slip."

I shove my fingers through my hair, completely panicked now.

"Might have?" I chuckle madly. "What the fuck did I give you the money for then if you are going to go blabbering like that? And to Brittany of all people!"

"Look, Liam..."

I punch the locker behind him, denting it, and startling him into silence.

"If she finds out, Elliot, God help you!"

"Listen, I can wire you some of the money back." He says, utterly alarmed. "And when I get the rest..."

"This isn't about the fucking money!" I bellow. "This is about my life! I will not let you take her from me!"

"I don't..."

"Just," I hiss, interrupting him. "figure out a way to shut her up, Elliot. Or I promise you I'll make your life a living hell."

I walk away, my whole body trembling with rage. And I get a dull, hollow sense in the pit of my stomach that this is the beginning of the end.

Hello, lovely ones. Thank you for the get well comments on the last chapter. I am happy to report that I'm feeling much better this week. :)

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. What do we think about what just happened? 👀

Don't forget to vote. And let me know your thoughts.

Much love,
Becca

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