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I nodded reluctantly.
When Liam up and moved all the way to the west coast he didn’t just abandon me, he left all of us. Mascen, having grown up with two sisters, always looked up to Liam as a big brother much the way I had. Not to mention our friends and the kids of our dads other band members had always been our extended family.
But when Liam left it was like he wanted to pretend none of us existed and I couldn’t understand it.
Liam covered his face with his hands and let out a loud groan.
When his hands fell into his lap, he asked me, “So, what are you going to do if you drop out?”
I winced.
The words drop out sounded so harsh.
“I don’t know,” I answered honestly, drawing my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them. I rested my chin on my knees and frowned.
Beside me, Dean rubbed soothing circles on my back. He knew I was upset and how hard it was for me to admit I couldn’t do this.
I’d always been a go-getter. Once I set my mind to something, whatever it was, I always followed through. This was, essentially, the first time I’d ever given up on something and it was a hard pill for me to swallow.
“You’ve gotta figure it out,” Liam said with a sad smile.
“I know.” The words came out harsher than I intended, but it wasn’t like he was telling me something I didn’t already know.
Liam’s smile dipped further and he stared down at his sandwich like it held all the answers in the world.
“It’ll be okay, Will.” He reached over and bumped his hand against my knee. I wasn’t sure if the gesture was supposed to be comforting or what, but it did nothing to alleviate the tightening in my chest.
Dean’s lips pressed against the side of my forehead. “I’m here for you,” he whispered so low there was no chance anyone else on the boat heard.
I inhaled those words like they were my last breath.
Dean was my rock, and right now I needed him more than I ever had before.
Dean
It was after one in the afternoon when we arrived back at Liam’s house. He promptly left, muttering that he needed to get groceries and run a few errands. I was glad for the reprieve from his presence. I liked Liam, I did, but he was difficult to be around for long periods of time.
He hadn’t been gone thirty minutes when it started to rain.
Willow stood in front of the glass backdoor, watching the water slide against it. Her hair was wet from her shower and she was dressed in a pair of pale blue cotton shorts and a John Handley High School sweatshirt she’d borrowed from Liam since neither of us had packed anything warm. She wore a pair of thin ankle socks on her feet and stood there forlornly. I was suddenly reminded of how young she truly was.
Willow was a force to be reckoned with, which made it all the easier to forget that she was still just a kid in many ways.
She didn’t hear me approach and jumped when my arms wound around her.
When she realized it was me she relaxed into my touch. She leaned her head back against my chest so she could look up at me.
“What am I going to do?” She croaked.
I could see the overwhelming fear in her eyes, which in turn scared me.
I’d never seen Willow afraid.
Ever.
It wasn’t an emotion I wanted to see on her.
“Talk to me,” I whispered, rubbing my hands over her covered arms.
