Chapter 15
Fifteen
Bristol
Liam makes me a huge breakfast of bacon, sausage, and pancakes with a delicious lemon blueberry topping, which is to die for.
I’d steal the recipe if I knew how to cook. “If you keep cooking like this, I’m never going to want to leave,” I say, taking another bite of the pancakes. The compote is sweet, but the lemon keeps it from being too overpowering.
He chuckles and pops another slice of bacon into his mouth. “You don’t have to leave. I mean, you could transfer here.” He gives me that sideways grin and my heart flutters a little too fast.
I’ve already been stalking our class message boards. The rest of the semester is being offered online. I’m not sure about finals. I suspect I’ll have to come into the classroom to take my final exam, but it’s definitely crossed my mind.
While I know what happened at Great Falls could happen anywhere, it still doesn’t make me want to return to campus.
Safety is an illusion, and mine has been shattered.
And I was lucky I wasn’t at the student center, unlike Sophia, who could have been shot or worse…
“What’s on your mind?” Liam asks, realizing I’m lost in my thoughts.
Sophia grabs a seat at the kitchen table with us, helping herself to breakfast. She quietly eats, not saying a word, just listening to the conversation that we’re having next to her.
“I could transfer here next semester,” I say and then glance at him with a sheepish smile. My college credits should all transfer since I haven’t even started classes for my major yet. I’m still technically undeclared.
The smile vanishes from his face. “Are you fucking with me?”
I shake my head, unsure if he’s upset or just worried I’m toying with him. “No. Evergreen is such a big campus; I kind of like it here.”
Sophia grabs a sip of orange juice, and after she washes her pancakes down, she says, “I’m thinking of dropping out.”
“What?” Liam’s eyes widen. “Are you serious?”
I’m surprised too. Sophia has always done well in school, at least I remember her being super smart in high school. I doubt that’s changed.
“Don’t judge me,” she says, glancing up at Liam. “I’m going to have to drop the news on Mom and Dad this afternoon.”
I keep my mouth shut. My father would throw a fit if I so much as threatened to drop out of college. I’m not sure how he’ll react to me wanting to transfer schools, especially since they just moved closer to Great Falls.
But it’s not like I’m that far away. They’re still within driving distance. It’s just a little farther.
My phone buzzes, and I glance down as my dad’s name pops up on the screen. “I should take this,” I say, heading toward Liam’s bedroom for privacy. “Hey, Dad.”
“How are you doing? Why didn’t you tell me there was a shooting on your campus? I had to hear about it from your mom.”
I don’t point out that it was all over the news, but he’s been busy with the hockey season and he’s probably back in New York, and it may not have made national news.
“It’s fine. I’m fine,” I say, forcing myself to try to calm down. My hands are visibly shaking, as I close the door to Liam’s room and take a seat on the bed.
“Where have you been staying? Mom said you weren’t on campus, but you didn’t want to come home.”
I don’t point out that their new home isn’t my home. “I’m staying with my boyfriend.”
Dad clears his throat. “Liam Moretti.”
“Yes, I know you don’t like him, but he’s important to me. He also came to get me the night of the shooting, not that it means much to you.”
“That’s not fair, Bristol.” Dad sighs, and I’m sure he’s frustrated with me. “I’d have gotten on the jet if I knew what happened. Mom would have driven out to pick you up. I wish you’d have talked to us.”
“I don’t need you to come to my aid. I don’t need rescuing, Dad.” I stand, pacing the length of Liam’s bedroom; it’s small, but I can’t sit still. “I want to transfer to Evergreen next semester. Assuming I can get in.”
“Is this because of the boyfriend, or the shooting?” Dad asks.
“There are more opportunities at Evergreen for me. This isn’t about Liam.”
There’s a soft knock on the door, and Liam pokes his head in, gesturing if I want him to come in or stay out of the room. I wave him inside. It’s not that I needed privacy from Liam for the call, I just didn’t want to become the gossip around here.
“There’s a lot you don’t know about that boy,” Dad says. It’s so condescending that I bite down on my bottom lip and wince.
Liam takes my hand and guides me to sit with him on the bed.
“There’s a lot you don’t know as well,” I say, avoiding Liam’s stare. He pulls me into his embrace, leaning against the wall, letting me sit between his legs, his arms strong around me.
“He’s not a good guy. Do you have any idea what his father does for a living?”
I laugh under my breath. “Do I know that Antonio Moretti is mafia? Yes, I already know that, Dad. Liam isn’t following in his father’s footsteps. He’s going to med school. Well, he’s planning on it after he graduates.”
Liam runs his hands slowly up and down my arms in a soothing gesture. He’s trying to calm me down, but I’m feeling like a shaken-up carbonated bottle ready to explode.
“And what are your plans?” Dad asks. “You’re a year and a half into college and undeclared. You’re going to have to pick a major if you change schools.”
“I know that. I really want to major in Library Science, with a minor in Children’s and Adolescent literature.”
Silence follows, and I glance over my shoulder at Liam, who is smiling at me. He pulls me tighter, planting a kiss to the top of my head. “I love you,” Liam whispers.
“Dad?” I ask, finding the silence overwhelming.
“I’m just surprised, that’s all. I always thought you’d end up majoring in Occult Science or Anthropology, with a focus in something like Folklore and Mythology.”
I laugh under my breath. “Are you disappointed in my choices?” I can’t quite read him and not being on a video call isn’t exactly helping. But I don’t need him to see that I’m in Liam’s bedroom, cuddling with him as we talk on the phone.
“Of course not. I just want my daughter to be happy. If you decide Evergreen is the school you want to attend, then I suppose I’ll have to start buying Narwhals gear and will have to support that godawful team that your boyfriend is on.”
“They won the last two games,” I say, defending Liam. “He’s actually a decent player.”
The Narwhals aren’t a bad team. They’re just relatively new to the university, and they don’t have a lot of older talent because of it, that includes coaching staff.
“I’m sure he loves the game,” Dad says, steering clear of complimenting Liam.
“Anything else?” I ask, getting a bit perturbed that he doesn’t like Liam. I don’t need my dad to love my boyfriend; I just want him to like him.
“Just, call me if you need anything. All right?”
“I know I can call you, Dad. Everything is fine. Just chill out. Okay? Stop helicoptering.”
He chuckles. “Fine. Fine. I’ll leave you to it.”
I hang up and glance back at Liam. “That went better than I expected.”
“What were you expecting?” He pulls me tighter against him, resting his chin on the top of my head. It feels possessive, and I like being in his embrace.
“I’m not really sure.”
We spend the next couple of hours cuddling, joking, just lounging around in Liam’s room. I feel more at home with him, just hanging out in his bedroom, than I do my own dorm.
I try not to overthink it, but I don’t want to go home, and Liam doesn’t make me. He lets me spend all of Sunday with him.
“Can we talk, seriously, about something?” Tension curls through me like wisps of smoke, and I nod, turning to face him, giving Liam my undivided attention.
His expression is grave, and it makes me nervous.
“Of course.” I reach for his hand, hoping to ease whatever concerns him.
“Yesterday—”
I inhale sharply, and already, I don’t like where this conversation may be heading. A lot happened yesterday. Too much that I don’t want to talk about, but I let him continue speaking.
“I don’t like us fighting.” He squeezes my hand, his fingers intertwined with mine. “You can always call me, text me, anytime of day or night.”
“Even when your phone is on ‘do not disturb’?” A faint smile plays at the corner of my mouth, teasing him.
“Yes, any time, Bristol. If you need me, you reach out to me.”
I sigh and nod. “Okay. Yeah, I know that.” I mean, I should know that, we’re dating, but I can feel the weight of his words between us.
Worse is the way his eyes are trained on me, and I feel guilty for being mean to him last night.
“Do you? Because you made some snide remark about calling me before nine and then threatened to break up with me if I showed up—when I was concerned for you.”
The air expels from my lungs, and I loosen my grip on his hand to untangle, feeling the ever-present need to back away, but he holds my hand tighter and finally pulls me into his lap. He doesn’t let me go, and my breathing quickens.
I need space.
Air.
It’s like I’m drowning and he’s holding me under water.
“Breathe,” Liam whispers against my cheek and his mouth is kissing my skin. It’s soft. Sweet. It’s not meant to arouse me, only calm me.
I don’t shout at him that I am trying to breathe. Mentally, I am, but the energy it takes to physically do that is too much. I stare at the bedsheets, my head bent down and Liam’s arms around my waist tightens, laying me down with him on the mattress.
My legs untangle and stretch out, the blood flow reaching all of my organs, making my heart rate slowly calm as I bury my face in his chest.
I hate him seeing me like this: weak.
“I’m sorry.” The apology is genuine and forthright, but it’s also mumbled into his chest. I’m not sure whether it’s intelligible or that he hears it.
Liam exhales and his hands rub soothing circles over my back.
His lips kiss my forehead, and I swear I melt further into his embrace.
I pull back only slightly, wanting him to know that I am truly sorry for last night.
“I never meant to hurt you.” It takes all of my strength to glance up and meet his icy blue gaze.
The corners of his eyes soften with my apology as he pulls me tighter in his embrace.
“I don’t ever want you to hear you threaten to break up with me.
I don’t take well to threats, Bristol.” His voice holds a fiery heat, a darkness that I’m not used to with Liam.
He’s usually got such warm energy that his words send a shiver down my spine.
“If you want to end things, then you break up with me.”
My lips part, but no words come, because I don’t want to break up with Liam. That’s the farthest thought from my mind.
“Bristol?”
My voice cracks as I speak. “I understand.”
His gaze flickers with uncertainty, his brow pinches and he pulls me to lie above him. “You understand?”
Apparently, that wasn’t the right thing to say. I’m not sure if I’ve annoyed him or upset him. A soft breath flutters out as I quickly gather my thoughts. “I won’t threaten you again. I’m sorry.”
There’s a rap at the bedroom door. “Come in!” Liam shouts to whoever is knocking. “It’s open.”
We’re both still fully clothed and I roll off of Liam, moving to sit beside him as the bedroom door creaks open.
Sophia steps inside, her eyes glossy. She’s not crying, but she doesn’t seem her usually sassy self, either.
She shows us her phone, handing it to Liam.
“Dad wants to talk to you.” She’s holding back her tears, and I glance at Liam as he sits and takes the phone, his jaw tightens and his shoulders stiffen.