All the Little Secrets

CHAPTER 19. SOMETHING LIKE THIS

Chapter 19. Something Like This

Multiple panic attacks rip through me until I finally fall into a deep sleep. I dream that I'm lying on the beach, Liam next to me, his smile bright again, his blue eyes sparkling. I dream of him kissing me, the two of us making indents in the sand... until his eyes widen and blood pours from his mouth. A faceless person stands over him, a gun in his hand, pointed at Liam's back. Liam... dying...

Sweat pours down my face as I sit up in my bed, the bright sun shining through the windows. I try to slow my breathing but I can't. Instead, I cry, allowing another moment of weakness to pass through. When my breath stabilizes, I decide to finally get out of bed.

As I make my way down the stairs, Cage walks by and exits the doors to the poolhouse.

What is he doing here?

Becca's in the foyer, watching Cage walk away from her. As I approach her, she turns to me, anger and sadness mixed on her face.

"I thought you were my friend!" she screams. It takes me a moment to comprehend what she's talking about, but the puffy eyes and redness on her skin confirm that Cage told her about 'us', and I have to keep the lie. This is what we planned for.

I swallow hard.

"I'm sorry," I whisper to her, but she shakes her head viciously.

"Don't do that! You're not sorry! Do you know how much this will kill my brother?" Not kill him, no. Save him. "You will break his heart, worse than you have broken mine," Becca finishes as she grabs her car keys and rushes out of the mansion. The doors slam behind her.

I want to shake off her words, but I can't. What if this plan doesn't work, and all that happens is I lose them both anyway? What if I really am the destruction of Liam Winters?

I run out the patio doors as Liam opens the door to the poolhouse to greet Cage. He's half-naked and looks as if he has just woken up. Bruises cover his torso, and it takes all I can muster to look away from him.

"Cage!" Cage and Liam stare at me as I stop behind them. "We can't do this."

"We have to," Cage says back, then adds, "He deserves to know."

"Know what?" Liam's voice sounds foreign, distant, like he's not completely there.

Cage turns to Liam, his chest puffing up. He doesn't hesitate as he says, "I thought that I should be the one to tell you that I asked Avery out, and she said yes. We're dating now."

Liam doesn't move, makes no expression, and says nothing. He continues to stare at me.

Cage glances at me, then back to Liam. "I thought you should know."

"And why would I care?" Liam chides. "She means nothing to me."

Ouch. That hurt. Deep down, I thought that Liam might actually love me the way I love him, but maybe I was wrong. Maybe it really is about the game for him...

Cage puts his arm around my waist as if he's done so many times before.

This catches Liam's eye.

"Alright, made this easy then," Cage responds as he turns me away from Liam. "We're heading out. Good talk, man."

As we walk away, Cage grabs my hand. We look at each other as he smirks.

Liam reacts; he comes up behind Cage and pushes him hard. Cage turns but not fast enough to dodge Liam slamming him to the ground. They begin to wrestle each other.