This chapter is dedicated to anto1936 for never failing to leave a vote on a chapter. Thank you so much for the support.

We get out of Dairy Queen and head to the car with the kids. Ellie came over for a sleepover yesterday, and we all spent the night at Liam's house. We got a bunch of snacks and spent the night playing games and watching movies till we fell asleep in the living room way past midnight. Even Mrs. Grover allowed Becky to spend the night, granted she had to leave early in the morning for church. I didn't think mom would be too keen on the idea of all of us spending a night out, but it turns out she was looking forwards to a night "alone" But I am sure it had something to do with Eric.

"Catch a falling star an' put it in your pocket,

Never let it fade away!

Catch a falling star an' put it in your pocket,

Save it for a rainy day..."

The kids sing in the backseat as we make our way to our house. We need to drop the twins off so Liam can drive Ellie back to Foxwood. I glance up at the cloudless sky with a small smile.

"It doesn't look like it's gonna rain today," I tell Liam before eating a spoon full of Mocha Fudge Blizzard.

Spring is truly here, and you can feel it in the air. We have finally made it through the dull days of the lingering winter, and I've been enjoying going over to the lake with Liam.

"Yeah, it looks like it." He says. "I wish you'd come with me."

Apparently, Sophia asked him to have lunch when he went to pick up Eloise yesterday, and he doesn't want to face it alone. I feel bad that he is dreading it so much, but I am secretly happy because I think this will do them some good.

"I wish I could, babe. But I promised Steff I would come over. It's been so long since we had a girl's night."

Liam sighs, but he doesn't say anything.

"Liam, when can I spend the night again?" Ellie asks.

"If you continue to be a good girl, Sophia will let you come over again soon," Liam tells her.

"How come you don't call her mom?" Ellie asks innocently, but I see the change in Liam's demeanor.

"Because we are not very close." He tells her.

"Why?"

Liam looks over at me for help.

"Hey, Ellie, how about the next time you come over we build a bonfire in the backyard?"

This diverts her attention, and she squeals.

"Yeah, that would be awesome."

Liam flashes me a grateful smile, and I beam at him.

After dropping the twins off, Liam drives me to Steff's house. I hug Ellie goodbye, and Liam steps out with me.

"Call me when you get there?" I look up at him.

He nods before pulling me in for a hug.

"Are you sure you can't come with me?" He asks.

"It'll be fine, Liam. Give her a chance." I tell him once we pull apart.

"I already miss you." He says, his expression sullen.

"I'll miss you too."

He sighs heavily before holding my face between his hands and pressing a lingering kiss on my lips. And I stand there watching him drive away until they disappear down the road, and I head back inside.

***

It feels like I have gone back in time as Steff and I bake an extra-large chocolate cake with sprinkles and stuff ourselves with it until we are a heaving and rolling mess on her bedroom carpet. Our stomach is fuller than south fork dam before it flooded Johnstown, and it's a miracle we are not having a stroke with the amount of sweet we've consumed.

After that, we put our black face masks on and get to catching up on the latest gossip. We do a weekly celeb quiz from one of Steff's magazines, and we do each other's nails following the instruction on an article titled, Ten Fun nail art ideas for spring.

"Leaf Prints and tie-dye are so in," Steff comments, looking through the latest issue of Harper's Bazaar as we lay sprawled on her bedroom carpet.

"I hate tie-dye." I purse my lips. "It doesn't appeal to my eyes."

"Good thing you are not the Fashion major." Steff eyes me over the edge of the magazine.

I shrug, going back to the Cosmopolitan article I was reading, The Shady Student Loan Practices to Watch Out For.

Steff's phone starts ringing, and she glances at it before rolling her eyes and ignoring it.

"Who was that?" I ask once it stops ringing.

"Ryan." She says monotonously.

I sit up straight, and I stare at her.

"You guys are still on the outs?" I ask.

She shrugs.

"I just don't see the point of us if there is even an "us"" She shakes her head. "I mean, you saw what he did that night."

Ryan threw me a surprise birthday party two weeks ago, and it was mostly fun, but it ended with him and Steff fighting on the driveway because she found him kissing Madison Green. Apparently, it was because of a "dare", but you can imagine how that went.

"Yeah." I sigh.

"His excuse is, "but it was a dare." "But I thought you wouldn't care." "But we have never defined our relationship." as if we didn't spend the last few months being exclusive." She snorts. "I blame myself, not him! I knew he would never commit!"

"I thought you were okay with that, Steff."

"I thought I was too." She groans. "But why did it have to be Madison? He knows how much I despise her!"

I bite my lips to stifle a smile.

"So your issues are with her."

"Or maybe I'm tired of fucking around." She lets out a heavy sigh. "I see what you and Liam have, and I want something like that. Something real."

I scoot closer, and I lay down beside her.

"If that's what you truly want, you will find it." I tell her. "Finding something begins with knowing what you want."

"I hate it when you get all Doctor Phil on me." She says, and I smile.

"And you shouldn't ignore his calls."

"I know. But I randomly get flashbacks of the grin on Madison's face, and I want to strangle him all over again." She says, making me laugh.

Liam

I feel beyond uncomfortable sitting around the dining table, pushing the food around the plate. I wish Ellie was here, but she had a lunch date with a friend, and the mother picked her up as soon as we got here.

The silence stretches awkwardly as we both stare down at our plates like it's the most interesting thing we have ever seen.

I have no idea why fuck I agreed to this.

"So, Liam, have you chosen where you are going to college?" Sophia asks, and even though I don't feel like discussing my future with her, I'm grateful for the conversation.

"Yeah, I'm going to Culinary School."

Her eyes light up.

"Really? Where?"

"New York."

She beams at me.

"Your grandmother would have been so proud. She's always said you had a talent, and that is saying a lot coming from her. She was a tough critic. She was never pleased when it came to her kitchen."

I smile back.

"Yeah, I guess she passed on her passion to me," I say before taking a bite.

"Did you always want to be a Chef?" She asks.

I think about this for a second.

"Well, no. I always thought I would major in English Lit. But then I realized that it isn't what I want to pursue in life."

She nods in understanding.

"What about Jessica?"

My face breaks into an involuntary grin at the mention of Jess.

"She got into Rochester. Photography."

"That's a special girl you got there, Liam." She says, and I see the gratitude in her eyes.

There is no way we would be here, dining together if it wasn't for Jess, and we both know it. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would sit at the same table with my mother again.

"I know." I nod.

"Liam, it means the world to me that you're here, I hope you know that." Her eyes water and I look away, feeling uncomfortable. "I want you to know I'm here if you ever need advice or anything. You can always come to me."

Having an awkward lunch is one thing, but I don't see myself coming to her for advice anytime soon. But I nod anyway, dabbing the corners of my mouth with the napkin.

"Thanks for lunch, but I should get going."

"Oh," Her face falls, but she quickly recovers. "Of course." She smiles, standing up.

"I can help you with the dishes." I offer, feeling somewhat bad about wanting to leave so quickly.

Sophia shakes her head.

"It's alright, no need."

She insists on sending me back with leftovers, and I take it, not wanting to argue.

"You can come back whenever you like. How about you and Jessica come over for lunch some time?" She asks as she walks me out. "I know Ellie would be ecstatic."

I nod. Today didn't go half as bad as I feared, so we just might.

"We'll try," I tell her. "Give Ellie a kiss for me."

"I will. Drive safe, Liam."

I nod, not knowing whether to shake her hands or just leave. I decide on the later.

"Well, goodbye."

"For now." She adds, and I see the lingering sadness in her eyes as she watches me step inside the car.

I marvel, once again, at the woman waving me goodbye. And I can't help but wonder how I might have turned out had she always been this way.

Jessica

Our circle has gotten exceptionally larger as we sit at lunch. Even Jeremy and Ryan are managing small talk. Steff is noticeably nicer towards Ryan than she has been in days, and you can hear the buzzing as almost every table excitedly discusses Spring Break.

"I say we go out to Florida. That's where most college kids go this time of year. We can chill on a beach, and there'll be a lot of parties." Ryan suggests.

"Florida isn't exactly close by, Ry." Red rolls her eyes. "Besides, Jayden and I are thinking about flying out to Boston. He wants to see the Campus, and I wanna go with him."

Jayden, not so surprisingly, got accepted into Harvard, and it's been bittersweet knowing he is moving away. Especially for Red since she is going to NYU.

"You guys suck." Ryan groans. "Who wants to go to Campus on Spring Break? You have all summer for that."

Jayden shrugs.

"I have other plans for summer." He says, and Red looks at him with a sly smirk.

"That's actually a great idea," Steff says, lively. "Why don't we go to New York? We can see the Campus, look at the neighborhoods. I've only been there ones before."

"I've actually never been there," I say, and lots of wide eyes turn to me.

"So how do you know you wanna live there? What if you hate it?" Red asks.

I've actually never thought of going to school in New York before I started applying. But I know where ever my best friend and Liam are is a place I can't possibly hate.

"Jayden has never been to Boston either," Liam points, and Red nods.

"Touche!"

I hold Liam's hand under the table, and he smiles at me.

"So, it's settled then. New York?" Steff asks. "Jer, you can come with us if you'd like. You said you were considering Colombia."

Jeremy shakes his head.

"I'm considering Oxford too, but I'm not flying out to London."

I bite the inside of my cheeks to stifle a laugh. Steff should have known better than to ask him to be a third wheel.

"What will you do?" Red asks Jeremy.

"Penelope invited me to stay with her family for a few days at their lake house."

Steff scrunches her face.

"What are you two now, engaged? Why would you stay with her family? And with Sanchez there too?"

"He won't be there," Jeremy tells her, and silence falls as Steff glares at him. Red and I eye each other, and she quickly looks away, trying to hide a smile. I think she gets what's going on.

Ryan shrugs, oblivious.

"New York sounds cool. I mean, it isn't exactly somewhere new, but we have a lot of friends there, so it'll be fun."

"Great! We can make it a road trip, how about that?" Steff tears her eyes away from Jeremy and looks over at Liam and me.

"Do you want to?" Liam asks me.

"Do you?"

He is the one with a past there, not me.

"I am okay with wherever you want to do." He says, and I smile.

"New York then."

"Great!" Steff claps her hands. "I need to make a list of what I am going to pack." She says excitedly.

I need to tell my mom the idea before I get too excited, but I can't help but smile at Steff as she takes out her phone and starts making a list in her notes.

***

Hey, loves! How is everyone doing? I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. If you did don't forget to vote and leave a comment. Next chapter is going to be Spring Break. :)

Much love,
Becca