Alive // bxb

Chapter 6

Liam's POV

"I can't believe it," Dad said tiredly for the third time that night, massaging his temple as he set his glasses on the wooden surface of the table. "I really can't."

I sat silently across our dining table from him, the familiar setting of our dining room seeming very out of place with the unfamiliar, slightly uncomfortable topic at hand. Sage was next to me, with Aunt Eva between him and Dad, and Mom on Dad's other side. Paisley wasn't there; Uncle Nolan had offered to take her home to 'let the grown-ups figure it out'. As tired as she was, she agreed. I knew she would force me to give her all the information I had tomorrow, though- one could never truly be free from the grasp of a younger sister's claws.

"There's not a problem, is there?" Mom asked worriedly, placing a hand on Dad's arm. He sighed.

"No, there shouldn't be. It's just that it might be a bit... different. I'm not sure how the pack will take it."

"Ah, who cares what they think," Aunt Eva said flippantly. "As long as Liam's happy and Milo's happy."

The table fell silent despite her inspiring words. I was tired, my mind didn't want to think about the situation I was in, and frankly, I wanted to forget about this and sleep. Or watch a movie with Sage. Either would work.

"Why don't we all get to bed," Mom said cheerfully. "We can regroup and discuss tomorrow, but we should sleep on it before making any decisions."

"Sleep on it," Sage echod under his breath as we stood up from around the table. "Isn't that what they all say."

"Is it okay if Sage sleeps over tonight?" I asked the room, not missing Sage's half-smile as I glanced among the faces, worn with tiredness.

Aunt Eva shrugged. "Fine by me."

"That's okay, Paisley's sleeping over there anyway and I get the feeling she'll be a bit more of a handful than you two will be," Mom smiled. "You can head up now if you like, but don't stay up too late- there will be a lot of conversations tomorrow."

Sage followed after me as we hurried up the stairs. "Didn't wanna sleep alone?" he teased, poking my arm as we entered my room.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Maaaaaaybe."

Sage laughed as he took a seat on the floor. "Are we actually gonna sleep, or spend the whole night playing games?"

"Probably the second."

"Liam, you irresponsable boy, disrespecting your mother's wishes so carelessly," Sage chided me in a fake-sounding voice before we both dissolved into laughter. "Seriously, though, what are we doing?"

"First of all, I don't think I want to spend another minute in this suit. You know where the pajamas are, right?" Sage nodded. "Great, pass me a shirt and some shorts?"

"I'm not your mate," he grumped, sounding offended yet still obliging as he opened the drawer and chucked the clothes at my face. I laughed at his expression as we changed, before falling onto the floor and laying still.

"Wanna listen to music?" I offered. "There are some board games in the closet."

"Okay." Sage picked up my phone and began scrolling through the songs I had downloaded. "What do you have?"

"Monopoly, three variations. A deck of cards. Uno?"

And that was how I spent the rest of my night, playing board games with my cousin and best friend until four in the morning, when we both passed out, exhausted.

-

Mom poked her head into my room at eight. I wasn't fully awake, but I wasn't exactly asleep either, laying on my back on the floor and staring unblinkingly up at the ceiling. My thoughts were muddled and my mind kept going in circles, unsurprising considering I had gotten three hours of sleep. She raised an eyebrow at me but didn't comment on the mess of board game pieces scattered throughout the room. "Breakfast's ready," she whispered, nodding to Sage, who was still asleep. "Wake him."