Ashes - (Sequel to Dark Flame)

Ch.11

The next few days were rough...I mean, really rough. I knew I had to say goodbye to Leo and pray it wasn't the last time. I could just stay here and let Liam leave, since he does not want me to go. At all.

I began to think of better days; the days when I was still taking classes in London, and working at the diner...only seeing Liam for 45 minutes everyday without him ever saying a word to me...

Were those days really better at all?

Think, Juliet, think. Get back to packing.

A few minutes later, Liam comes in the room on all fours with Leo on his back. Leo screams with laughter as Liam pretends to be a horse.

Liam Payne, ex-number one gang member in London, pretending to be a horse. I smile as Liam picks Leo up and carries him downstairs to get lunch. I began to panic. I couldn't go through with this after all. Is there any reason for me to go? I decide it would be best to go downstairs and talk to Liam about how I am feeling.

"Liam? Can I talk to you upstairs for a minute?" I ask, peeking around the corner at Liam cutting up a hotdog for Leo. He doesn't say anything. It feels like he knows what I want to say, he just nods and pinches Leo's cheek, leaving my mother to feed Leo his lunch.

As soon as we reach my room, I close the door behind us and go over what I am about to say in my head. "Liam..." I begin, and he raises a hand to pause me.

"Getting cold feet, sweetie?" He asks, looking down at me with his eyes I still find myself catching my breath over. I sigh, and move to sit on my bed, shaking my head.

"No, no...well, kind of. Liam, you just came back into my life, and I don't want to lose you again. I don't want to go. I don't want us to go. I want to stay here and live with Leo and be safe." There were tears forming in my eyes, and I just looked down, ashamed of how I could be so selfish.

"Juliet," he said, sitting down next to me, "I have to go. You, on the other hand, don't have to do anything you don't want to do. Stay here, please. I know you will be safe here." I felt his thumb wipe a tear away from my cheek; he was holding my head with both hands, so that I would look at him. His eyes met mine, his were glossing over. "I just wish that I could have a normal fucking life. I hate this, Jules, I really do. It's so unfair to you and Leo. You both deserve so much better than me." There was no mistaking it now; he was sobbing uncontrollably.

"Liam, look at me, sweetie," I said, lifting his head up. "I love you, and I know you will do anything to make Leo and I safe. I understand you don't have a normal life, but why do you think I fell in love with you? I didn't fall in love with 'Liam the Badboy' or 'Liam the Gang Leader,' I fell in love with Liam. Just Liam. To me, you're everything. You're that strange man I met in the diner. You ordered two eggs and pancakes on the day I realized I was in love with you." I paused. Did I really just tell him the truth?

"Wait, what?" he asked, slowly lifting his head up.

"I loved you before everything happened," I say. "Before Gregory...died. I wasn't afraid of you. Not then, not ever."

"Then why did you run away after I smacked you?"

"Liam, the way Gregory treated me was so much different than how you treated me. You were always so gentle and sweet. I guess I wasn't afraid of you, I was just afraid of you being like him. He was the worst part of my life."

"Wait, even the Enrique stuff? That wasn't as bad?"

"No...not even close. I don't want to talk about it though, if that's okay."

"It's fine, baby. I swear to God I will never let anyone ever lay a finger on you again, including me," he said with a sly smile. Somehow this conversation went from awful confessions to Liam being the sweetest man on this Earth, as usual.

"I love you so much," I say, giving him a kiss on his jaw, his favorite place to be kissed. He returns the favor by kissing my neck, which is my favorite place.

- - - -

After about an hour of silently trading soft kisses between packing, Leo is returned to us by my father, who is honestly just excited that he is going to have a kid in the house again, he says it will "keep him young." I am so grateful that my parents are so helpful and supportive of everything, including me going with Liam back to a town filled with violence, drugs, and murder. My mother will lose sleep, while my father will pretend he isn't.

"Are you ready, Liam? I mean, I know it's not until tomorrow, but still." I ask him while folding some of his boxer briefs into a nice little pile.

"I don't know. I'm kind of rusty, to be honest. I mean, I can fire a gun into bulls-eye with my eyes closed, but now that I have a kid, it's going to be hard to kill someone else's."

"Good point," and then we continued to pack.

- - - - -

"Which gate?" I ask Liam frantically. We were late, of course. My mother thought it would be the best idea for Liam to eat at a Waffle House before we leave. It took 45 minutes for our waffles, and the waitress was a bitch. Enough said there.

"Gate A," he says, holding my hand tighter as we ran to Gate A. We were about to go into the terminal when Liam turns to me. "Babe, I left your passport and ticket at home. You're not going."

"When did you decide this?" I asked, sort of hurt that he would make this decision without me.

"Last night, when I saw you sleeping. I realized I didn't want you to get hurt. I'm so sorry, I love you so much," he leaned in and gave me a quick kiss, then ran to the terminal.

"Liam, you jackass," I whisper to myself.

Well, looks like I won't be making a trip to the good old city of London after all.

I should probably call a cab.