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“Seriously?” Liam’s harsh scoff had me leaning back into the couch cushions, as if I could retreat from him. “You refused to talk to me for two days, but suddenly you want to check in on him?”
“I know…” I rubbed at my forehead. “I don’t know what else to say besides I’m sorry. I’m worried about him.”
“Finn’s not your concern anymore.” Liam’s normally smooth and warm voice was icy, his Boston accent full and harsh. “Youquit onus, remember?”
My eyes went blurry with tears. “I know, and I never should have left like that, but I want to fix it.” I bit my lip, waiting for him to say something, but his silence spoke volumes. “Can we meet? I would really like to talk in person and explain.”
“I don’t know what you could explain. You keep apologizing, but your sorrys mean nothing to me.”
I covered my mouth with my hand in an attempt to hide my gasp.
“We’re all dealing with shit in our lives and trying to do our best, so I don’t know why you think you can continually walk away from something whenever you feel like it. Life is hard, Kennedy. You can’t keep quitting because you don’t like it or it doesn’t feel good.”
“I know, Liam. I’m going to do better.”
“Better than what? Walking out on me and Finn without a goddamn word and then acting as if a couple of texts are enough of an explanation? It was incredibly immature, and I thought you were better than that.” His words hit me in the soft spot under my ribs when he said, “And how am I supposed to trust you after this?”
This was what I’d expected. Why I felt so awful. Because he’d trusted me to take care of his only child, and I’d failed. “You don’t trust me with Finn anymore?”
“I don’t trust you withmeanymore,” he corrected. The fight drained from his voice, and the pain was worse than the anger. So, so much worse. “Goddamn it, Kennedy. I thought I loved you, but I don’t know how I could’ve fallen for someone who could be so careless. Who didn’t consider the repercussions. You were everything I wanted, everything Finn and I needed, but I guess I was wrong if you can do a one-eighty and bail at the tiniest sign of trouble.”
I openly wept now, not bothering to cover it up. All the things I’d been insecure about were true, but becauseI’dmade them true.
Even though Liam loved me and thought I was perfect for him, I didn’t believe it. I was the one who walked out and didn’t want to listen because I was afraid to confirm everything I already thought was true, but I should have known better.
I should have trusted Liam to love me like I loved him.
But it was too late, and this time, it was he who apologized. “I’m sorry. I can’t do this anymore. I gotta go.”
The line went dead, and I stared at my phone for a while until Taylor took it out of my hand. With one look at her, I fell into her open arms.
“He said he loved me,” I got out between sobs. “but he’s done with me.”
She stroked my head and hair, letting me soak her sweatshirt, and then I heard Dean’s voice behind me. “Who do I need to kill?”
“You know, I don’t understand where all this big-guy bluster comes from,” Taylor told him. “You’re only 5’11”, your cardio is shit, and last I checked, you gave up on 75 Hard.”
“First of all, there is noonly5’11” because it’s a perfectly respectable height. My cardio is shit compared to yours, but you’re a fucking machine. And yeah, I gave up 75 Hard because it was fucking hard. No one can drink that much water in one day.”
“Poor baby.” There was not one ounce of sympathy in her words.
“I hate you so much,” he said, but I was uncomfortable with the amount of lust embedded in that sentence.
I moved out of my sister’s arms so I didn’t get caught in their verbal foreplay. “I’m going upstairs.”
“Sit down.” Dean pushed on my shoulder when I started to stand. He squished in next to me. “What happened?”
I relayed as much of the conversation as I could while Dean and Taylor both listened intently.
“You hurt him,” Dean said when I finished. “That’s why he said what he said.”
Taylor agreed. “Yeah, I don’t think he meant any of that.”
“I broke him. I broke us. How can I come back from that?”
Dean folded his arms over his chest, nudging me with his elbow so I’d meet his gaze. “The thing you need to realize about life is none of us knows what we’re doing. I thinkyou thinkeveryone else except you has their shit together, which is completely false.”
“I have my shit together,” Taylor muttered under her breath, and Dean sent her a dry look before smiling at me.
