Can't Let You Go

Chapter 10

***HONEY/TALLY***

The workday has already begun by the time we leave the police station, so the taxi takes us to Liam's office and I walk home from there. Once back, I change clothes and start cleaning. Though there weren't any definitive answers, I'm feeling hopeful that the charges will be dropped before the ten days are up so I want to make sure I give the whole house a thorough cleaning prior to that. I dust the ceiling and light fixtures first before moving on to the cabinets and now the shelves.

There's only the built-in one that serves as a divider between the living room and the empty space which I think is a dining area. Liam does have a few items on the shelves, but I start with the top ones which are empty. On the first occupied shelf, sits one curious item. It's a small acrylic bell jar mounted on a resin base that's painted to look like wood. 

Inside the jar is a delicate stand with a small pillow on it and a crystal shoe - like Cinderella is often portrayed as having. The door chimes indicate Liam's return home for lunch. I turn my head to watch for him, prepared to satisfy my curiosity, but before I can utter a sound, he bellows at me.

"What are you doing? Put that back!" He doesn't even take off his shoes as he stomps over towards me.

"Sorry, I was just dusting. What is it?"

"None of your business." He grabs the figurine from my hands.

"It must be important for you to get so flustered."

He puts it on the highest shelf. "Don't touch it again."

"Is it from an ex-girlfriend?"

He glares at me.

With a gentle tone, I keep prying. "I'm right, aren't I?"

"Mind your own business!"

His temper is unwarranted and uses up my patience. "I was only cleaning. Geez, I think you should have had the rose from Beauty and the Beast instead."

"What?!" he growls at me.

"Nothing."

Liam storms back out through the door without another word.

***LIAM***

"Dammit!" I stop and curse myself about a block from the apartment. I hadn't even looked at that thing in months. Maybe a year. Why did I blow up like that? Of course it's from an ex. Why else would I have a princess figurine in my nearly empty house? She picked it out and said it was because she was my Cinderella. She was the poor girl who worked and I was the handsome prince who saved her.

I might have recovered and apologized to Tally for my outburst if she hadn't made that last comment. My ex gave me the Cinderella shoe to represent her, but she gave herself the rose to represent me, the ill-tempered beast prince. I thought I had changed. Matured. In fact I kept that stupid thing just so I would see it and grow. I didn't keep it to remind me of her; I kept it to warn me against girls like her. Yet, I am doing the same thing over again.

I was a little smarter this time. I didn't take up with someone who had directly stolen from me and I wrote that contract, but still. I find a beautiful young woman in need and here I am swooping in to save her. I'm exactly the same person I was two years ago. I dial the phone.

"Yeah?" She sounds pissed, but at least she answers.

"I'm sorry I yelled at you, Tally."

"Yeah?"

"You didn't do anything wrong."

"Yeah?"

It seems that she's more genuinely angry with me than I was with her. I guess I deserve that.