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He’d woken up with three drunk girls, whose names he had no recollection of, in a random bed after a night that was filled with enough liquor to last a lifetime. He’d probably just been driving drunk hours after he’d stopped drinking too. Add to that disappointing the woman he wanted with a fierceness that scared even him, and Liam knew he’d hit rock bottom.
Addy held her hand out, curling her fingers over in a “come here” motion. “Pass ’em over.” He closed his eyes, wishing she meant something entirely different. But there was no arguing with her. She was absolutely right to demand his keys. It just rankled that she’d jumped straight to the correct conclusion.
“You don’t know what happened.” His voice was a mumble like that of a scolded child.
Her eyes flashed with something. But the emotion was gone in the blink of an eye, well before he could figure out what it was. She pursed her lips, disapproval radiating off her in the stiffening of her spine, and she looked him up and down, taking in the rumpled clothes. “Let me guess. You went out last night and got smashed, then hooked up with a vampire if the hickeys on your neck are anything to go by. And now, you’re sitting on the side of the road with your car locked up, instead of driving home. How far over the limit were you when you got pulled over?”
“I didn’t get picked up. But I think I’m way over,” he mumbled, dropping the keys into her palm. “Thank you for coming.”
She slid his keys into the cup holder and looked over her shoulder, checking her blind spot as she pulled out into traffic. “It’s fine, but we’re gonna talk about whatever the hell has happened to you. Your mood has been all over the shop these last few months, but this week has been on a whole other level.” She sighed and carded her fingers through her hair, pushing it off her face. “I don’t want to lecture you. I’m not your parents, but I do care about you. We all do. Let’s just… get some lunch—your shout—then we’ll head home.”
“I don’t really want to be seen like this in public.”
“We won’t be stopping. I’ll take us through the drive-through.” She paused and Liam could see the wheels turning in her brain. She wanted to say something else, but whatever it was, it went unsaid. Addy shook it off and concentrated on the road.
They were home in thirty minutes. Addy gave him his keys and motioned to his house. “Go home and eat, then have a shower. I’ll give Eli his lunch and then, once I’ve eaten, I’ll come over.” Her tone was no nonsense, clipped and short. She was treating him like a child—clearly what he deserved—but something in him sat up and took notice. He wanted to please her again. He wanted to hear her eye-roll-laugh after he called out, “honey, I’m home,” when he arrived to see her already studying. He wanted to see her get grumpy at him when he ruffled her hair, followed by the tiny secretive smile that tilted her lips up when she didn’t think he was watching. He wanted her praise. Stupid considering who she was. Dangerous to his heart too. He hadn’t been able to stop fantasizing about her, or her silver daddy in the making, and fucking her out of his system with other women wasn’t working either.
It shouldn’t surprise him. Addy had presence. She had a zest for life that was inspiring, and she lived every moment in the present. When she was with a person, she gave all her time to them, and Liam had grown to crave their moments together.
He knew when they were younger that Addy had held him up on a pedestal. Starting school and finding out that the kid who’d been nice to you was getting picked on wasn’t something he could stand by silently and watch. He’d done the decent thing and stepped in to stop the fight. He’d never imagined it would change the direction of Lij’s high school experience so dramatically. Nor did he think it would cement a friendship that Liam credited with saving him too. He’d gotten more out of their friendship than he could ever give back to Lij.
Liam’s family had moved into their new house soon after. He’d had no idea he was going to be living next door to Lij and his family. But thank God they did. They’d opened their arms to him and shown him what being loved really was. He’d lost track of how many times he’d slept the night when home hadn’t been inviting, or gotten help with his homework when his parents were too busy with his sister.
Lij’s family actually made him feel wanted. He wasn’t an obligation there.
But they’d gotten it wrong. He was a disgrace.
The side gate rattled and a few moments later, he heard the sliding back door shut. Addy called out, “I’m here.”
“Coming,” he yelled, towelling off his wet hair. He’d scrubbed away the disgusting mix of bodily fluids and lipstick all over his skin in the shower, but the underlying shame stayed firmly in place.
He slid on a pair of gym shorts and padded downstairs, the towel still around his shoulders hiding the worst of the hickeys along his throat and collarbone. “Coffee?” he asked as he passed her sitting in her usual spot at the kitchen table. He liked having her in his space. She was calming. Ironic considering the flaming pink of her hair this week. He wished he could reach out and finger the silken strands, but the closest thing he could ever come to it was ruffling her hair, and with his performance of late, there was no way she would tolerate it.
“Tea, thanks.” He made their drinks, the silence between them brittle. “So, wanna tell me what happened?” Addy asked when he’d passed her the mug and sat opposite in his chair.
“Aside for not getting picked up for DUI, you guessed pretty accurately before.”
“So why get drunk a few days in a row? It’s not like you.” She fiddled with the coaster that sat on the table, a habit she’d picked up from her mum.
“Yeah.” He nodded and looked down to his mug, trying to figure out how to tell her without spilling his guts on just how completely fucked up his life had become. “I’ve had a few issues at uni.”
“I can’t help unless you tell me what they are.”
Liam opened his mouth to protest. To tell her that she didn’t need to solve his problems. He was an adult. He should be able to do this for himself. But apparently he was just as much of a fuck-up as his parents had thought.
She held up her hand and he snapped his mouth closed, desperately wanting her to be happy with him. “I know you and Eli are closer and I’m just the little sister who hangs around, but if I can help, I will.”
He wanted to shout. To protest at how wrong she was. She was the woman who, with everything going to hell, had been there for him. He’d finally seen her, and it hadn’t taken long for his heart to scurry across the table, putting itself in her hands for safekeeping. She was more than Eli’s sister now. She had been for a while. She was Addy—bright, bubbly, dedicated Addy who went after what she wanted with a passion that left him wishing he was on the receiving end of the kind of love she shared with her boyfriend. It was completely fucked up that he wanted her boyfriend to want him too.
He sighed, his shoulders slumping, the weight of his dream future crushing him. “I failed statistics. For the second time. I worked really hard on it too. I thought I understood at least some of it, but I failed spectacularly.”
Addy frowned, sympathy radiating from her as she tilted her head to the side and whispered, “Oh, hon.” She tucked her hair behind her ear like she did when she was thinking, but her bright blue eyes never left his. “Can you do something that will give you extra credit to push you over the line?”
“I’m not even close to passing. When I asked them the first time, they told me it was only possible if I was borderline. I went even worse this time.”
“Okay, so what are your options? Can you do another subject instead of statistics?”
“It’s compulsory.”
