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He held out a hand to me then. “So, friend, are you coming to the pier with us? Don’t make me break my mom’s heart.”
“I’ll go with you guys.” I put my hand in his, and he helped me back over the side of the wall. Once I was back on solid ground, he let go of my hand immediately, and I followed him inside.
His parents were lingering in the kitchen, and the way his mom was smiling at us I knew I’d been right to think she was watching us from the door.
“Are you joining us at the pier?” she asked me with a large smile. Her husband was busy snacking on a bag of chips and seemed completely oblivious to everything. I said seemed because I got the impression he was one of those people that actually noticed everything while appearing not to care. Exactly like Liam.
“Yeah. I’ve never been. It should be fun.” Pointing in the direction of the stairs, I said, “I’ll go change.”
I ran out of the kitchen like my ass was on fire. I couldn’t take Remy grinning at Liam and me like we were the cutest thing she’d ever seen. She was nice, and I didn’t want to break her heart by informing her that I’d never like her son in that way.
Lie.
Once in the safety of my room, I closed and locked the door.
I rummaged through my drawers, searching for something to wear. I had plenty of options to choose from thanks to Liam. I’d been livid that he’d bought me any clothes, especially so many and such nice ones because he’d acted like such a jerk, and I didn’t want to be indebted to him in any way more than I already was. I realized then, though, that what you saw on the outside of Liam wasn’t the truth. He had a heart; a kind one that he liked to hide. But at certain times, that kindness shone brighter than the sun, like with the clothes, or the fact that he agreed to let me—a stranger—stay with him because I was homeless.
I chose a pair of high-waisted light-wash jeans and a lacy, white crop-top with thin spaghetti straps. Since the shorts came up higher there was only a small sliver of my stomach exposed, so it wasn’t overly revealing. For my feet, I slipped on a pair of strappy gray sandals.
I’d accumulated a small amount of makeup thanks to Rebecca. She’d been horrified when I told her I didn’t have any. The next day before work she’d given me a small bag with a shrug. “It’s not much,” she had said, “but it’s something.”
The bag had contained three different glosses—pink, clear, and coral—a nude-colored lipstick, mascara, a shimmery gold eye shadow, and a tube of black eyeliner. I’d laughed at all the lip stuff, and she told me that to her lip gloss and lipstick were the most important makeup staples. Her exact words were, “When I put on lipstick I automatically feel like I can conquer the world.”
I didn’t think I’d be conquering the world that day, but putting on a little makeup did make me feel better. I brushed some of the eyeshadow onto my lids, blending it in before lining the top and bottom carefully with liner. I added a heavy coating of mascara to make my lashes appear even thicker and darker.
“Dammit,” I cursed, when the mascara wand touched my lid and left behind a black streak.
I wiped it away with a wet cloth, but that seemed to only make it worse.
“Oh, come on,” I complained at my reflection.
I finally removed the black smear and breathed a sigh of relief.
I fumbled around for a gloss to put on my lips and ended up with a pink one. It was one of those plumping glosses, and my lips began to tingle when I swiped it over them.
I nodded at my reflection, pleased with how the look had turned out—considering I was new at the whole makeup thing.
I fluffed my curled hair before pinning a few pieces back away from my face. I played with the ends for a few seconds, still not accustomed to seeing my normal dark hair.
I’d been Scarlett for so long that Ariella had begun to fade from my memory.
That’s when I’d known it was time to try to make my escape. I’d been patient and waited for the perfect moment. It hadn’t taken long. Blaise trusted me. He believed me to be completely brain-washed into his submissive drone, but I was stronger than that. My mind refused to break, even when he pushed it to the brink.
Inhaling a deep breath, I turned away from the mirror.
I grabbed my small crossbody purse from the top of the dresser and hurried downstairs to where Liam and his parents were waiting in the family room.
When they saw me, they all stood from the couch.
“Ready?” Liam asked when no one else spoke.
“Mhm.” I nodded, clutching my hands around the strap of my bag.
Liam awkwardly shuffled his feet before muttering, “M’kay, well then.” He hurried by me and down the hallway to the garage.
His parents exchanged amused looks before their gazes landed on me. I made a squeaking noise in the back of my throat, and my cheeks flushed.
I turned quickly and speed-walked down the wall. I heard his parents speaking in hushed tones behind me, and I prayed to God that they weren’t talking about Liam and me, but I knew chances were pretty high that they were.
