Only You. (LIAM STEWART x OC)

Chapter 3

We hit the road at the first hint of sunlight. I was still super tired so I got the back seat. When I woke again it was the middle of the day.

Because of my gun wound, ive been sleeping a lot. I feel bad because I'm really the only one who does, but they don't seem to mind. Only chubs does, but he has always been rude.

"Morning darlin" I heard Liam say.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to sleep so long, need me to drive?" He taught me over the last week we've been on the road how to drive.

It was honestly terrible. I sucked at it and it was hard, when is really shouldn't be. "Nah, I think we both would rather have me drive!" He said. We both started dying of laugher.

He patted the seat next to him. I climbed over zu and chubs, and got into the passenger seat. "We will stop at a hotel tonight and probably stay there the next few days. I can tell we all need a break from each other." I looked at him.

I blushed when I said this. "I haven't had a problem with anybody's company." And I saw him blush too. He went to reach for my hand but he pulled it back when he saw me flinch.

He lowered his voice so that only I could hear him. "Why are you so scared of us touching you? Who hurt you?"

I did. I hurt myself. I erased my best and only friends memory of me and I did my parents too.

I had to make up a lie. "The camp guards. Me and my friend were talking at our lunch in our first year, and they saw us playing patty cake, as 10 year old do, and they punished us. They hit us, and I guess over the years I just don't trust anyone." I said. I felt bad as a look of horror came over him.

It was a truth to a lie, It did happen. But only once. And after that we never touched, nor tried to be normal kids.

He was fuming. "Why though? That's awful you were just kids! You are a kid. You know I would never hurt you right? None of us will!" I nodded. Tears coming to my eyes.

I couldn't tell them that it wasn't them, it was me. I wanted to tell him so bad that it wasn't his doing, but I couldn't. I didn't want to hurt them. I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if I hurt one of them.

"I know Liam, I know." We sat in silence until zu and chubs woke up and started on her math. I was looking through the glove box for things until I came across this pile of letters.

It reminded me of the night of the escape. I saw chubs grab one from a boy. I started to open one with jack fields on the top when Liam ripped it from my hands.

He yelled at me. "What do you think your doing?! Huh!" I was startled. He never yelled.

"I was just-"

He was yelling again. "Just what? Huh? This is none of your business you shouldn't have tried to open it!" He was really angry.

"Liam she didn't know any better...." I heard chubs say.

"No, don't Liam me! We DONT read each other's letters! That's the end of it." He looked like he was going to cry.

"What if it had a clue for you guys in it?." I asked.

"No! We don't read each others letters!" He said and his hands were shaking on the wheel.

Liam pulled into a abandoned rest stop and got out of the car. Slamming his door. I looked back at chubs. "What did I do wrong? And who is jack?" I asked.

"We all wrote letters just in case one of us didn't make it out, or decided they weren't going to follow through with the plan. We wrote them for our parents. Jack took a bullet for me, literally. That's why we are trying to find the slip kid. We want to get jacks letter to his dad. I want to get it to his dad. I owe it to him. And we all just want to go home, it's not your fault, I guess we just never mentioned him. He was liams best friend in our cabin, so that's why he was so upset. So go talk to him."

"I don't think he wants me too." I said.

"Trust me....I see the way he looks at you, and your the only one who can fix this." He said in return.

I stepped out of the car and followed where I saw Liam disappear to. "Liam? It's me." I said.

"I'm fine, just go back to the car!" His voice was strained. He was trying to act fine when he wasn't.

I was starting to get close to him when a voice popped in my head. You touched him before and nothing happened. That forced me to move over to a wall and sit down.

"You know. I don't just want to find the slip kid for jack, I don't even want to use him to find my parents. I know where they are.....but I can't go home." He said.

"Why I'm sure they miss you!" I wish I could say the same. I really wish I could.

" harry-my stepdad- he knew from the start that the children's league was bad news. said that they would use us worse than gray ever would and wouldn't shed one tear if we died helping them. Even after....even after Claire— Claire is, was, my little sister." He said. Clearing his throat.

" even after she was gone, he used to remind me that no amount of fighting was ever going to bring her back. Cole had already joined up with them, and he came back to get me to go with him. To fight." Another victim to the disease.

He lost his sister to IAAN. I felt so bad. I wanted a sister so bad when I was a kid, my mom said she was pregnant with another kid when I was around 2,but she apparently miscarried. I felt bad.

" I bought into it. I was so angry, and I hated everyone and everything, but there wasn't anyone to do it right direct it at. I was there with them for weeks, training, letting them turn me into this weapon. Into the kind of person that would take an innocent person's life just because it serve their needs and what they want it. My brother was like a stranger he even kept this....this thing he called a kill chart in our room. And he added to it, every time he killed someone important. Every time you completed a mission. And I would come in after training all day, and I look at it and think, how many of those people have families? And how many of those people have people who needed them like we need Claire? And just like that, they all did, Genevieve, I'm sure of it. People don't live lives like islands."

"So you got out." I said. Hurting for him. He'd been through so much and he was so young. Somewhere behind me I heard the van door open. They were probably waiting for us.

" I can't go back to them yet, not until I earn it. Not until I make it right." What was he saying?

" when I figured out a way to break out of Caledonia it was horrible....horrible. I totally failed all those kids that didn't make it out, it makes me feel sick I can't shake it I can't those kids they were trying to live a normal life! do you think they regret following me?" He asked me.

"Not at all. You gave them a choice they had taken away from them as soon as they entered that camp. They believed in you, when you said that we would all get home Someday." I reassured him.

"But most of them didn't." He said added quietly. "What are you still doing here." He said after some time of silence.

"Watching your back!" I said.

He smiled and offered to help me up. I didn't take his hand. I couldn't. He slowly put it back down when I got up by myself. As I was getting up I slipped on a rock and I was ready for the worst but someone caught me.

When I opened my eyes Liam was holding me by the waist, almost like he was dipping me. I looked into his.....his pretty blue eyes, and they looked wild. I felt him lift me up but he didn't let go of my waist.

I felt him leaning in, and I was too. No no you can't kiss him it's to dangerous! DANGEROUS!! Was all I heard in my head! He was still leaning in and I didn't know what to do. I pulled back and out of his grasp.

"Uhh sorry...I didn't meant too uhh." Was all he could say.

"No I'm sorry. I didn't mean to..." me and him were both embarrassed.

He smiled at me. "We should head back"

"Yeah. We should....hey lee! This....this is a place where we don't have to lie." I mentioned to him and He smiled at me.

"Yeah. We don't have to lie." And with that we rounded the corner.