AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I blame exhaustion for the next words that come out of my mouth. “I liked it.”
His voice changes. Lowers. “Yeah?”
I nod, then remember he can’t see me. “Yeah.”
There’s a beat of silence. Then, “You knew.”
“If it makes any difference, I wanted to tell you. And when he first mentioned it, nothing had happened between us.” That’s more of an explanation than I was planning to offer Liam. But something about this moment—about hearing his voice, the hurt in those two words—makes it spill out.
“I got into this knowing where your loyalty is, Natalie,” Liam tells me. “I get why you didn’t say anything.” He’s silent for a minute, and I contemplate telling him the truth—that I was worried Wes transferring would affect me and him. That my loyalties aren’t as set as he thinks. “My dad knew too,” Liam adds, before I can speak. “That feels like more of a betrayal.”
“He probably didn’t want to say anything until he decided about the coaching job.”
There’s another pause.
“What coaching job?”
I realize my mistake immediately.
“Whatcoaching job, Natalie?”
“Wes told me Arlington wants your dad to return as head coach if he transfers. I don’t know—I didn’t know you didn’t know. Maybe it’s changed, or—”
“Or maybe my dad just doesn’t tell me shit.”
He’s silent. Quiet enough, I can hear the sound of surf in the background again.
“You’re at the beach?”
“Yeah. My grandparents’ place is right on the water.”
“That sounds nice.”
“Yeah, it is.” He hesitates. “I prefer the Cape, though.”
I smile, then yawn.
“Did I wake you up?”
“No, I was up.” I could leave it at that. But I add, “My mom drove into a telephone pole in the middle of the night. I just got home from the hospital.”
Liam’s sharp inhale echoes over the line.
“She’s fine. I think the car is probably totaled, though. I’ll have to start hiding my keys, I guess.”
“Jesus, Natalie.”
“Yeah. I know.” I laugh, not even trying to pretend like this is a normal conversation to be having.
“Your dad is gone?”
“Yeah. I called and laid into him about coming home. We’ll see if it works.”
Another lengthy pause stretches over the line.
“I wish I was there.”
Rather than sayThat would be a bad idea, I tell him, “Me too.”
