Chapter 38
The lock clicks.
My body goes rigid instantly.
For half a second, I don't understand what I'm hearing. I stare at the bathroom door like it's going to undo itself if I look hard enough.
Ava is crying hard now, face buried into my shoulder, tiny fists clenched in my hoodie like I'm the only solid thing left in the world.
The door opens.
And Liam slips inside.
I jolt backwards so fast my shoulder hits the wall.
"No"
"Hey," he says quickly, voice low and steady. "It's me. Liam. You're okay."
My breathing is all wrong. Too fast. Too shallow.
Outside the bathroom, something slams hard enough to shake the floor.
I flinch so violently, Ava cries louder.
Liam's eyes flick to her instantly, and something in his expression softens.
"Okay," he says gently, holding his hands up so I can see them. "Listen to me. I'm not here to hurt you."
I don't move.
I can't.
Another crash outside.
Mason's voice, furious, distant, but unmistakably there.
Ryan's shouting over him.
Everything inside me twists painfully.
"Mason," I whisper without thinking.
Liam hears it.
"Yeah," he says quietly. "He's out there."
Another bang.
I flinch again, instinctively backing toward the wall, trying to shield Ava like I can physically make the world smaller.
Liam watches me for a second, then slowly crouches so he's not towering over us.
"Hey," he says softly. "Look at me."
I don't want to.
But I do.
His expression is steady. Focused. Controlled in a way that doesn't feel like pressure.
Just... presence.
"You're safe in here," he says firmly. "I've got you. Mason's got the other side."
Ava lets out a tired, broken cry.
My arms are shaking so badly I can barely hold her properly anymore.
"I don't" My voice cracks. "I don't know what's happening out there."
Liam nods once like he's taking that seriously.
"You don't need to," he says. "Not right now."
Another crash outside.
I flinch again.
Liam moves closer, slow and deliberate, and for a second, my whole body tenses—pure instinct.
But he stops just short of me.
Waits.
"You're shaking," he says quietly.
"I'm fine," I whisper automatically.
He raises one eyebrow slightly.
That small, almost unimpressed look would normally make me defensive.
Instead, it just makes me realise I'm not fooling anyone.
Ava hiccups in my arms, exhausted now, her crying fading in waves.
Liam shifts closer again—but this time he lowers himself beside me properly, not invading my space, just... there.
"Can I take her?" he asks gently.
I hesitate.
Everything in me hesitates.
But my arms are burning. My body is burning. My fear is burning.
And Liam—
Liam hasn't once felt like a threat.
He's just steady.
Present.
Safe in a way I don't fully understand but somehow recognise.
I nod once, barely.
"Okay."
Carefully, I pass Ava into his arms.
The second he holds her, she stills slightly—not fully calm, but less frantic, like she recognises something solid.
Liam adjusts her carefully against his chest, one hand supporting her head, the other rubbing slow circles on her back.
"Hey," he murmurs to her. "You're alright. You're alright."
Ava's crying eases just a little.
Not gone.
But less sharp.
I stare at them for a second, something tight in my chest loosening in a way I didn't expect.
Outside, another crash.
I flinch again.
Liam notices immediately, shifting slightly so I can lean into him if I need to without even thinking about it.
"You don't have to look at it," he says quietly.
My throat tightens.
"I don't like this," I admit.
"I know."
Another bang.
Mason's voice again, closer now. Controlled but furious.
Liam doesn't react to it the way I am. He keeps his attention split between Ava and me like that's his job right now.
"Breathe for me," he says gently.
I try.
It's shaky.
But I try.
Ava settles a little more against him, her tiny fingers curling into his shirt.
And I realise something slowly.
I'm not afraid of him.
Not Liam.
Not Callahan.
He's holding my baby.
And I trust him.
That thought lands strangely heavy in my chest.
Because I don't trust many people anymore.
But right now, in the middle of chaos, I can hear shaking the walls—
I feel safe.
Not because everything is okay.
But because Liam is here.
And Mason is out there.
And somehow, for the first time in a long time, I believe both of them are exactly where they need to be.