33. Olivia
33
OLIVIA
I stared up at the apartment complex that Alex said he owned. It was upscale and secure, and it made me feel better to know that Liam was safe at least. My heart pounded as I stepped out of the car and nodded to my driver. I was so wracked with nerves that I couldn’t drive myself here.
The impending confrontation with my brother weighed down on me. I hadn’t seen him in months because he refused my visits, and the thought of facing his resentment and anger made my stomach churn. However, I had to find out why my brother resented me once and for all. There was going to be a new addition to the family. My brother would be a part of his or her life. The Brentwoods would stick together and be happy even if I had to hold us together with freaking paperclips and duct tape.
Squaring my shoulders with determination, I marched up the steps and made my way to the second floor. Outside the apartment, I paced as I mentally pumped myself up to face my stressor before I knocked .
The door opened, and I was face to face with Liam. My eyes moved over his face, taking in his hazel eyes that were so much like mine and his high cheekbones—“the Brentwoods coveted feature” as Mom called it. His hair had grown out significantly since I last saw him with the strands brushing his shoulders. He towered over me by quite a few inches, so my neck got tired after a while of standing there just staring up at him.
Liam snorted. “Are we just going to gawk at each other?”
Blinking out of my stupor, I said, “You don’t look surprised to see me.”
With a sigh, he stepped aside and gestured for me to come inside. “Alex gave me a heads-up.”
I stepped in and took in the room. It was spacious with a high ceiling and large windows. The furniture was all modern and sleek.
“So you two are besties again?” I instantly regretted the irritation in my tone. It was just so frustrating to know that I’d been the one bending over backward to help him, and he resented me for it.
Yet Alex was back in his life for a few minutes and he was able to get through to Liam so easily. Was I that awful of a person that my ex-boyfriend and my brother despised me? My lower lip wobbled at the thought, but I snagged it between my teeth and prayed that I didn’t start crying. Pregnancy hormones were a real pain in the ass.
Liam shrugged. “Alex and I have just always clicked. When I saw him again, it didn’t even feel like a decade had passed.”
I continued to gawk at my brother because he looked damn good. He’d even put on weight. His eyes weren’t glassy and unfocused as they’d been since he was a teenager because he wasn’t as high as a kite. His clothes were clean, and he sounded… sober .
“You… You look great, Liam. I bet Mom would love to see you.”
His shoulders hiked up. “I’m not ready for a family reunion. I talk to her on the phone, but I’m not?—”
“Okay, that’s fine,” I said quickly because he seemed to be getting agitated, and I wasn’t sure why.
There was a long, awkward pause and I stewed in the weird silence. I didn’t know how to talk to my brother and that was sad.
“So, why are you here, Livy?” he finally asked. “To scold me for fleeing rehab again? Or maybe you want to tell me what a disappointment I am to the family. Wait, I bet you’re here to give me shit for getting involved with gangsters that one time.”
Fury bubbled in my gut at the reminder that he’d put me and Mom in danger by being so reckless. However, I swallowed that anger. I’d seek answers for that debacle when we were on better terms.
“I didn’t come here to scold or argue, Liam. I just wanted to see for myself that you’re alright.” I threw my arms up. “Why would you think I came here for any of that?”
His face twisted into a dark mask and he snarled. “Because that’s all I ever get from you people!”
I scoffed. “You people? Liam, we’re your family.”
“You haven’t been for a long time,” he spat.
My jaw hung on its hinges. I was about to respond with anger, but then I saw the hurt in his eyes and my heart broke. Taking a deep breath, I nodded. “Okay… maybe I’ve been going about this all wrong for years.”
I was talking to myself, but Liam rolled his eyes and replied, “Yeah, you’re a great listener.”
I glowered at him for his note of sarcasm. “You know, in order for me to listen, you have to actually say something, which you haven’t been doing. Talk to me, Liam.”
He glared at me, matching my ferocity, and I was relieved to see it. I was glad that the life in him hadn’t been completely demolished by his years of substance abuse. With a loud sigh, he turned and walked away. After an eye roll, I followed him and we ended up in the kitchen.
I watched him open the refrigerator to take out a box. He held it up to me. “I can only offer you juice, milk, or water. No alcohol is allowed in here. Alex’s rule.”
“Oh, so he’s the only one you can listen to?”
“Yes, because he’s the only one who stops judging to listen and gets to the root of my problems.”
That threw me for a loop and humbled me very fast. My gaze slid away from Liam as guilt pricked me in the heart. “You think I’ve been judging you?”
He gave me an are-you-seriously-asking-me-that look and my cheeks heated up.
“Oh… well… I’m sorry.”
Those two words were magical because Liam’s expression softened. I gawked because at that moment he looked like the little boy who I used to be so close to when we were kids. “You know, Livy, that’s all I’ve ever wanted to hear from you.” He shook his head and smiled. “But I guess I never gave you the chance to say it, did I?”
My mouth opened and closed but my brain was too busy processing shock for it to formulate words. When I could speak again, all I managed was, “I’ll… I’ll take water.”
Minutes later, Liam and I sat opposite each other in the living room. I fiddled with my glass of water as I studied him. “How come you’re so willing to talk to me all of a sudden?”
A ghost of a smile appeared on his face. “It’s a condition of getting to stay here.” He waved a hand to encompass the living room. “Plus, Alex threatened me. I believe his exact words were: Talk to your sister like a civilized human or I’ll kick your ass all the way back into sobriety.”
After a beat of silence, I laughed. That definitely sounded like Alex. “When did he tell you that?”
“Yesterday, when he told me that he was going to tell you where I was.”
Shock rendered me mute for a while. I didn’t think he’d care about my relationship with my brother. Maybe he was right about having that face-to-face chat because his actions weren’t adding up to the rivalry and resentment that was supposed to between us. “I see. So, are you ready to tell me what I did to make you hate me?”
He shoved a hand through his dark brown hair. “I don’t hate you. I never have.”
“You’ve said multiple times that you do.”
He rolled his eyes. “I was high as shit, Livy.”
My lips twisted into a wry smile. “Oh… right…” And just like that, I completely relaxed. “I want us to be the way we were when we were kids, Liam.”
“Is that even possible?”
“It is . We can be close again. I want that so badly. I just need you to tell me what the problem is and when exactly it became a problem.” I pressed a hand to my chest. “I honestly don't know what I did. If you tell me, I can fix it.”
He watched me intently as if searching for sincerity, and he had to see it because I wanted my brother back with all my heart.
“You became like Dad,” he said.
The words hit me like a punch to the gut. “What…?”
Liam sighed, his expression softening as he saw the hurt in my eyes. “I could talk to you, relate to you, before Dad started grooming you to become… him . You know how we always confided in each other about how hard it was to be perfect because as Brentwoods we lived under a microscope?”
I nodded. I hated it as much as he did, but I suppose I managed the stress a little better.
“You used to be the one to help me through all of that until you started ignoring me like Dad did, as if I was a secondary character in the Brentwood show.”
I swallowed. “I’ve never ignored you…” Did I? “Okay, maybe toward the end of high school I did become super focused on being who Dad wanted me to be, but I was there for you…”
“No, you weren’t. It wasn’t just you. Mom sort of pushed me to the side too. It became all about preparing you to lead the clan. Even Mom, as much as I adore her, ignored me to make sure you were ready. She started spending more time helping you to become a media darling and the perfect hostess, so you could be the perfect mixture of her and Dad. You were their perfect little princess, and I was a failure.”
All I could do was stare at him because maybe he was right, and I owed it to him to listen.
Liam blew out a breath. “I guess I can’t blame you for stepping up because Lord knew I couldn’t. I know I’ve never had it in me to be Dad's successor. I’ve never had your intelligence and tenacity.”
“That’s not true, Liam. I took over from Dad because I’m the oldest, and I was ready at the time he died.”
He smiled slightly. “Thanks for trying to make me feel better, but you know damn well I could never run BioTech or hold everything together the way you have. Admittedly, I was more wrapped up in my depression and drugs.” He shrugged. “I’ve learned to take accountability. ”
I’d never felt prouder of my brother. This was what I had hoped for—that he’d take his life back into his hands.
“I’m learning to be honest too.” He looked me in the eyes. “I’ve always accused you of being Dad’s perfect little soldier because I was jealous that he didn’t see in me what he saw in you.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
“That was never your fault. I can see that now. But after Dad died, you threw yourself into the business, just like he did. You became obsessed with keeping that company and making sure everything was perfect. It was like you forgot about everything else, including me. You even hid me like they did.”
“What do you mean, Liam?”
“Mom and Dad went to great lengths to shove me under the carpet. Instead of taking the time out to listen to me, they used PR tactics to keep my actions buried. Each time they did, I did something crazier. It was a cry for help, but…” He hung his head. “There I go, blaming others for my actions. My new therapist is helping me with that.”
“You’re seeing a therapist?” I asked with disbelief. I’d been trying to get him to see one for years to no avail.
He nodded.
“That’s great,” I said.
“She said to be honest with you about all the reasons why I’m angry. When you took over, you continued to hide me as if I was the Brentwoods’ dirty little secret just as our parents did.”
“Liam, that was never my intention, I swear. I just wanted to keep our family business private…”
“I know,” he said quietly. “But you pushed me away. I felt like I didn’t matter, like the only thing that mattered to you was the company. I needed my sister, not another parent. ”
I stared at the floor as shame and regret coursed through me.
“And…”
My eyes flickered back to him. “God, there’s more ?”
He laughed, and the sound of it after so long made me smile. The last time I heard a genuine laugh from my brother was… I couldn’t even remember.
He shrugged. “The therapist said to get it all out.”
I sighed heavily because I really didn’t want to hear more about how I failed my brother. “Have at it then.”
“I was disappointed in you for a long time for something else you did.”
My eyebrows furrowed. “What was that?”
“What you did to Alex…” He frowned. “I heard everything that night, Livy. The argument between you and Dad… his threats and your anger.”
I could practically feel all the blood drain from my head as I stared at him. The thought of having a witness to my cowardice was humiliating. “How…?”
“I guess by that time, I’d become invisible.” He shook his head. “You guys didn’t see me sitting under the stairs. I thought Alex was the one person who could finally make you stand up to Dad but then you gave in to the old man. I always thought you were weak for that.”
I went from being relieved that my brother was talking to me to being utterly disgusted with myself. He was right. I was weak. I let the one person down who would have died before he let me down because I was afraid of my father. A tear slid down my cheek and then another.
Liam’s expression twisted into agony. “God, Livy, I didn't mean to make you cry. I’m just trying to put everything out there so we can fix things…” He gawked. “I’ve never seen you cry before.”
I let out a sob. “So everyone keeps saying. I’m so damn hormonal!”
His brow crinkled. “Okay…”
“I was only trying to protect Alex,” I whined. “Am I so horrible for wanting to protect the man I love?”
He gazed at me with sympathy, which was new. “Of course not. I just wish you hadn’t hurt the one real friend I had just to please Dad. Maybe you should have had more faith in your boyfriend and what you two shared. Alex never would have hurt or let you go without a fight had the situation been reversed.”
My shoulders drooped. I tortured myself with regret about that every goddamn day.
Liam’s gaze narrowed on me. “So you love Alex? Present tense?”
I embraced the heat scalding my face. “Well… yeah… we sort of…”
“I knew it.” My brother smirked. “Alex skirts around the question every time I ask if you two are messing around again.”
I glowered at him. “We’re not messing around.” Anymore …
“Right,” Liam drawled.
I gave him the look an older sister would give an annoying little brother. When he smirked harder, I felt like we’d be okay. We would reconnect and regain that sibling relationship I missed.
Finally, something was going well for me. However, misery swept right back in to hamper my relief as thoughts about everything else that wasn’t going well surfaced. I wouldn’t even tell Liam about the dire state of BioTech right now or that it was his beloved friend who was out to take us… I mean, me down.