Chapter 12 Jenny
Jenny
The first thing I noticed when I woke was the silence.
No cars outside. No footsteps from the room next door. Just the steady thump of my own heartbeat as sunlight crept through the thin motel curtains.
The second thing I noticed was that I wasn’t alone.
Liam sat in the chair by the window again, same as before, boots on now, his shirt stretched tight across his shoulders. His eyes were on the parking lot like he hadn’t closed them all night.
I sat up slowly, clutching the blanket around me. Everything about last night flooded back at once—the way he held me as if I were fragile, the way his mouth said my name like it was more than just a word.
The way he never rushed. Like he wasn’t going anywhere.
And now… now I didn’t know what to do with any of it.
He turned then, eyes locking on mine. Something flickered there—soft, steady, complicated.
“Morning,” he said quietly.
I swallowed. “Did you sleep at all?”
“Not really.” His voice was rough. “Didn’t want to miss anything.”
I didn’t ask if “anything” meant my brother finding us or me walking out the door before Liam figured out what last night meant to me—if it meant anything at all.
Because I didn’t know the answer myself.