Chapter 29 #2
“That’s not true.” But my voice lacks conviction.
“Isn’t it?” he presses. “Where is he now?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Aaron. You know he’s at mandatory camp.”
“Exactly. He’s gone.”
The voice of doubt starts to creep in again, getting louder, and I’m trying to push it back, but I can’t block out what he’s saying. How it hits every wound I gained that night and let it fester over the last two years. I hate it. I hate that I’m giving him power like this.
“He calls every night.”
“And when the season starts, and he’s gone half the time? You think that won’t affect her?”
I have nothing to say about that because, again, he’s not wrong. Liam will be gone a lot, and Sera will miss him.
Aaron lowers his voice. “Look, I didn’t lie to hurt you.”
“You lied to control the outcome.”
He studies my face.
“Now,” I say slowly, “I’m confused because you’re telling me one thing, and he’s saying something different.”
My pulse is racing. My palms are damp, and I hate that I feel unsteady.
I hate that he knows exactly which wounds to press.
He didn’t create the doubt. He just knows how to weaponize it.
Something like victory flashes in his eyes. It’s small and subtle, but it’s there.
“I just don’t want you to get hurt,” he says gently. “Or her.”
He steps back toward the door, damage done.
“I’m not the enemy, Alie.”
Then he leaves, and the silence that follows nearly suffocates me.
Later that night, Liam FaceTimes us.
Sera talks to him first. She shows him a drawing she made today and tells him about snack time and playing on the field outside.
He listens like it’s the most important thing in the world.
After she falls asleep, we sit quietly, not saying much to each other.
“You okay?” he finally asks.
I hesitate, and he sees it.
“What happened?”
“I, uh …” I clear my throat. “I saw Aaron today.”
Silence.
“He showed up?” Liam’s voice sharpens. “While I’m gone?”
“Yes.”
“How convenient. And?”
I sit on the couch, doing everything I can to avoid his gaze.
As much as I want to fall into this fantasy of ours, I’m aware that in total I’ve known Liam for a matter of months, total.
All the time we have had has been in the bubble of some high-intensity moment.
Hell, the night we met, I took him on some grand tour of Manhattan as if I was this wild, spontaneous spirit, and I may have been in a way, but I’ll always be the woman with her guard.
The one who knows risks. With Liam, I wonder if he'll stick around when we’re no longer ripping each other’s clothes off and tangled in sheets.
Will he want Sera when the parenting gets hard and it’s more than walks in the park and pictures over FaceTime? When the bubble pops?
“He says you’re lying to me.”
A pause.
“I’m sorry, what?”
“He says you knew I was pregnant.”
“That’s insane. You know that, right?” he huffs.
“He says you’re good at saying what I want to hear.”
Liam exhales slowly. “Alie, he’s the one who’s trying to get in your head.”
“But he was there,” I whisper. “For everything.”
“Alie, that’s not fair.”
“I know, but it’s true.”
Silence stretches. I can see his jaw tic as he takes in my words.
“I can’t believe, after spending time with me this summer, you would think I would’ve walked away.”
“I just … I don’t know.” I cover my face with my hands.
“Alie,” he says gently, “look at me, baby.”
He’s hurt. I can hear it in his voice.
“You really think that’s the kind of man I am? How could I not want her? Fuck, the minute I knew she was mine, I wanted her. Sure, I was angry—not about her, but about being lied to. You can’t believe I wouldn’t want her.”
“I don’t know what to think. I feel really confused and overwhelmed right now.
He’s been my best friend for most of my life.
He was there for me when I was embarrassed and heartbroken.
He was there when Sera was born. But I see you with her and how much you love her.
And me,” I say, and it’s honest and terrible, all at once.
“I can’t even talk to you in person,” he says, frustration bleeding through. “I’m fucking stuck here.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
“He’s manipulating you.”
Another long silence. I don’t know what to say to that.
“Alie,” Liam says, voice steady now, “look at what we’ve built together this summer.”
“I am.”
“Does any of that feel fake to you? Do you think my feelings for you or Seraphina are fake?”
No. It doesn’t, but the doubt Aaron planted is there.
“I think I just need some time to process everything. The stories just don’t align, and it’s all jumbled in my head,” I whisper, tears pricking my eyes.
“Time to process?”
“Yes.”
He sniffs. “Okay.”
But he doesn’t sound okay.
“Just … please don’t shut me out,” he adds quietly.
“I won’t.” And I won’t keep him from talking to Sera either.
We hang up without saying goodbye. Without I love you.
And then I sit on the couch and cry quietly in the dark, Aaron’s words echoing in my mind. Liam’s frustration lingering. And the worst part is, I don’t know which voice is louder.