Don't forget to vote, comment and add this book to your library for frequent updates 💜

***

Liam's strong hand held the dark oak door behind me, allowing the scent of tobacco mixed with the scent of a home cooked meal to wrap round me. Liam's family was far from normal, the only person who now lived with him was his father. Just under a year ago his mother decided to leave, moving four hours away with Liam's younger brother, leaving both Liam and his Dad devastated.

"Liam, is that you?" Mr Coles yelled, from what seemed like another room in the house.

I'd only ever been round Liam's with Hunter, which is why I began I to feel incredibly awkward being here without him.

Liam sighed before yelling, "Yes Dad, it's me!"

He slumped the backpacks containing my belongings by the front door, continuing over to the fridge and pouring out two glasses of cola.

"After the night we've had, we deserve to have something a bit stronger!" Liam chuckled, grabbing a bottle of liquor and pouring a small amount into each of the glasses.

Oh yes. This was why I was friends with Liam. We always thought the same thing.

Drinking alcohol in large amounts had always been something I'd failed to understand; I grew up my first few years around my alcoholic father, and I despised him drinking and coming home drunk out of his mind each night. It traumatised me, but somehow alcohol now seemed to fix it all for me. It made me forget, the world seemed to fuzz away into nothing and numbness would over take me. Drinking was my escape; for a short time I'd be a normal human being. I guess I've always been more like my father than I ever thought.

"What have I told you about drinking my whiskey-" Mr Cole scolded, his words fading away as he noticed me sitting on the stool against the marble island in the midst of the kitchen.

"Grace, how are you?" Mr Cole asked, his short shaven head was the identical colour to Liam's but with a few dots of grey. He used to look so young and full of life, but since Liam's mother left; his appearance had deteriorated.

"I'm fine Mr Cole, thank you."

"Grace needs a place to stay for a while, I told her she could stay here. That's okay with you, right Dad?" Liam asked hopefully, his eyes widening for added effected.

I couldn't believe he'd brought me here, with all my belongings without asking his Dad first.

Mr Cole nodded, "If you two are staying in the same room, please just be sensible. I don't want any grandchildren yet!"

The drink I had began to gulp concocted in my throat, leading me to splutter and cough it back up. Did he really just say that?

"Mr Cole, there will definitely be no funny business!" I stated, shaking my head.

He began to chuckle, along with Liam. "Please, just call me Peter."

Liam gave his Dad a hug, thanking him and whispering he would explain everything later. It was no surprise that Liam's whispering skills had not improved over the years, they'd been that way since the first year of high school; he'd try and distract Hunter subtlety but his voice would burst out too loud and the teacher would tell them off before he'd even done anything wrong.

"Good night Grace, sleep well." Peter smiled, tapping me gently on the back as he passed.

"Good night, and thank you so much for letting me stay."

***

Hours had passed, it was now the early hours of the morning. Birds were beginning to chirp outside the patio doors, and the sun was beginning to beautifully rise amongst the old willow trees. Liam and I had stayed up late drinking whiskey and cola, taking in turns to pick movies. Of course I'd always picked the romance ones, but Liam had insisted on watching horrors. And I hated horror films.

We sat engrossed in the screen, not taking notice of where the popcorn landed when I'd flung it across the room due to jumping out of my skin each time something frightening appeared on the TV. Liam had not once moved, his eyes never leaving the gory scenes unfolding. I've said it before, and I'll say it again; Liam is fearless.

The screen suddenly turned black; after a matter of seconds a zombie with gauged empty eye sockets covered in splatters of blood entered, making me fling for Liam's chest. My face buried itself amongst the cotton fabric of his t shirt, not wanting to see what happened next. His chest began to vibrate, slow muffled chuckles escaping from his lips.

"You really do not like horror films, do you?" Liam whispered, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

My body relaxed into them, my mind reminding me of how willing Liam had always been to protect me. Zombies were the least of my worries right now, Luke was top of the list.

The movie credits began to roll up the screen, the white text standing out from the dark background. Liam began to pour more whiskey into our glasses, his other hand delicately placed on my knee.

Liam grabbed my glass, handing it towards me. "This may sound crazy, but have you ever had any sort of thought about us?"

"What about us?" I asked, gulping the liquor all in one go; I had a feeling I was going to need it.

"I've always thought you were amazing, crazy hot and just perfect. I just wondered if you'd ever thought about me in more than a friend way?" Liam's hand drifted up my thigh, leaving the skin beneath it to tingle.

"Liam-" I gasped, suddenly finding it hard to breathe.

First Hunter, and now Liam. 

What is going on?

Liam's face crumpled, quickly he pulled away creating a space between us on the sofa. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't of said anything."

"Honestly, I have thought about it. Have you seen yourself Liam? Every girl in the school wants a piece of you." I smiled slightly, nudging his shoulder with my palm in a joking manner.

Liam smirked, "I've always felt like me and you had this connection, I guess that's why I always avoided getting close to you. But I wish I had of because maybe I could've stopped Luke hurting you." 

Gently I placed my palm on his stubbly cheek, Liam was such a beautiful person, he hid his sensitive and caring side; few people knew that Liam existed. On the outside he lead people to believe he was the bad boy, the schools rebel and well known heart breaker. Girls drawled over him at school, and any girl who said they'd never looked at Liam lustfully - well they'd be lying their pants off. 

All Liam has ever wanted is to be loved, someone to look after him and to make him happy. But most girls at our school just see him as a piece of meat, only taking notice of his appearance; none of them ever taking the time to learn the true depths of Liam and all his glory. If they did they'd know he isn't who they believe him to be, they'd learn how much of a trustworthy man Liam truthfully is. 

 I couldn't help but think I was confused, maybe Hunter wasn't the person I needed right now - but could that person be Liam? My mind was a juggled mess of jigsaw pieces, awaiting somebody to put them back together again. Was it possible that somebody else could fix them? Or would I have to face the fact that I needed to put them back together myself?

My thumbs brushed against Liam's beautifully soft skin, leading him to tug me closer towards him. My eyelids fluttered shut, the only sounds audible were Liam's short, panted breaths as he pressed his lips against the skin on my neck sending shivers up and down my spine. Gently he laid me down onto the cold leather, my legs still wrapped round his toned torso. Liam knew exactly what to do, what I needed and had been missing.

His body pressed against mine was more than enough, it reminded me of the lack of passion Luke and I had during the entirety of our relationship. This was passion, this was lust. Liam did not love me, I knew that; nor did I love him. This was nothing more than a release on both our behalves, sex was never nothing more than that with him, and so did everybody else. Liam never wanted to get hurt, nor did he ever allow himself too. But one day I knew he'd find his Mrs Right, his one true soul mate to be with for the rest of his life. Then his days of sleeping about, would be over.

And then, I remembered Olivia.

Liam's eyes squinted into mine as I pushed him away, a look of confusion covering his flustered face. "What's wrong? Do you want to stop?"

"Olivia-"

Liam sighed, "What about her?"

"I can't do this to her, she loves you and what about Hunter?" I asked, remembering how Hunter had confessed his love to me only a few weeks ago. And here I was, minutes away from sleeping with his best friend.

What is wrong with me?

"Olivia doesn't love me, she chose her new friends over us Grace. Olivia means nothing to me, I promise." Liam whispered, tucking a single strand of hair behind my ear. His finger continuing to trail down the back of my neck, enchanting me in ways I never thought were possible.

I shook his hand away, shaking my head. "And Hunter, does he mean something to you?"

"Of course he does!"

"Then what the hell are we doing, Liam? This is wrong, we both know it."

Liam exhaled slowly, closing his shimmering eyes, "You have no idea how much I want this to happen, but you're right."

I nodded, "I've always wanted this to happen too, but it isn't right. It's not fair on Hunter or Olivia." 

Liam straightened his clothes, announcing he was now going to bed. His eyes were full of sadness, despite the fact we did not sleep together; he felt guilty. The feeling was mutual, even though nothing happened we'd still betrayed Hunter. 

This wasn't me, jumping between guys and not thinking things through properly. I needed to sort myself out before I got involved with another guy, I needed to become me again. 

I tucked myself up into the bed in the guest room, the covers finishing under my chin. I began to drift off to sleep, feeling determined to get Luke locked away so I could live my life carefree and happily. I deserved happiness, I deserved a better life than this.

Luke's going down.

***

A/N:
So this was an intense chapter! Liam and Grace, shocker right?!
- How do you feel about Liam and Grace's intense moment together?
- Do you think Grace made the right decision by not going through with it?

If you are going through a situation similar to what Grace went through with Luke, please speak to somebody you can trust. You're not alone.