16
The empty warehouse echoed with Josh’s muffled sobs.
He looked like he was about to cry from relief
“Lila, I knew it! I knew you cared about me!” he stammered, his voice trembling with fake gratitude.
“Your brother’s a complete psycho. Call the cops! Get him arrested!”
I kicked his chair over without hesitation, sending him crashing to the ground.
Who does he think he’s fooling?
Josh wouldn’t dare call the cops. He’s neck–deep in illegal stuff himself.
From behind me, I could hear him groaning and shouting, begging for me to untie him. I didn’t bother.
After a brief internal debate that lasted all of two seconds, I turned and ran out of the warehouse.
I wasn’t going to let Liam leave me.
My entire life, he’d been the one chasing after me, comforting me, never letting me go.
This time, it was my turn.
I didn’t know where he’d gone, so I decided to start by going home. But when I tried calling him, his phone was off.
The irony hit me hard–now I was the one frantically dialing his number, just like he had been calling me all night.
I sat in the back of the car, trying to compose a long text to him. I typed out paragraph
after paragraph, only to delete it all, one word at a time.
23.34 Mon, Apr /
<
I felt like I was losing my mind. Maybe Liam’s madness had rubbed off on me, because I couldn’t think about anything but him.
I finally found him.
Not at home, but at the convenience store near our house.
I stopped in my tracks, standing under the glow of the streetlamp outside the store.
The early morning air was quiet, and the shop was nearly empty.
Liam stood at the counter in a black jacket, his sharp features softened by the dim light. His pale skin seemed to glow under the fluorescent bulbs as he handed something to the cashier, his head slightly bowed.
The cashier, a young girl, kept sneaking shy glances at him.
And then Liam smiled at her.
Just a small, polite smile, but it was enough to make her blush.
Something inside me snapped.
Something inside me snapped.
It felt like a hand had reached into my chest and squeezed my heart until it hurt.
