Collide (Impact Book 2) | h.s. | complete

22. Movement

~Tori~

"Have you nearly finished?" Liam asked Tanner, who was unpacking boxes of dishes.

"Yes, I didn't start that long ago." He retorted, closing the cupboards.

"Liam, this house is incredible..." I breathed, bouncing Cici on my hip.

"I loved it from the moment I saw it." Liam beamed. "And there enough room for me to have a room as well, for when I'm here."

"Of course, I'm sorry you had to take the couch at the old house..."

"Comes with the territory of harboring fugitives." He laughed, and I smacked his arm.

"Are you nearly finished?" Tanner asked, mocking Liam.

"Yes, I'm finished, I think the movers could use some direction upstairs. There's only a few boxes left." Tanner pushed past us and Liam shook his head. "He has to go."

"Liam, he isn't that bad."

"You're right," Liam said, pulling Cici and I into his arms. "He's worse." I laughed and looked up at him nuzzling into his chest.

"What would I do without him when you're not around?" I challenged and he nodded.

"Well I've hired a nanny and she's signed a non-disclosure agreement that is air tight, and I have people coming in to do the cooking and cleaning five days a week, but I figured you'd want weekend privacy." Liam said and I leaned away from him. He lifted Ciella from my arms and I crossed them.

"You did that? Liam, that's too much."

"Tori, you are going to die from this stress, think about how you handled Cici being sick..." he started and I frowned at the ground.

"I know...thank you, you have no idea what this all means to me."

"We...need to talk about what you heard in the car, Tor," He said and I nodded.

"It's fine, what do you need? Verbal agreement that you can have the music?"

"No, I need you to sign something I had drawn up...just in case it ever came out that it wasn't our writing..."

"But, no one knows I'm even..."

"I know, I'm going to file it by myself at Impact when I get home." He said, pulling a stack of papers out of the leather backpack he had placed on the counter. "Read it over and sign it if you agree to the terms."

"What are the terms?" I asked, flipping through it slowly.

"Essentially that you won't try to sue us for rights to the lyrics, if you were to choose to come back and record them on your own."

"Never," I interrupted.

"Never come back, or never record solo?" Liam chanced, eyeing me carefully as Cici reached up to his face, tugging on his short beard.

"Liam, I want to come back, but you know that would do nothing good for anyone."

"What do you mean? You could be with your family and have real help with Ciella..."

"There are so many reasons that I can't do that. Hope is still out there and bringing a child into the mess isn't right. Besides, if it got out, which it inevitably would, that Harry is Ciella's father, the media would go crazy."

"You're right..."

"But I'm not saying, by any means, that I will never come back. Enough time has to pass and things have to settle a little before I can consider it." Liam nodded and winced as Cici pulled his beard harder, which made her release a bubble of laughter.

"Her hair's growing so much," Liam observed, brushing a hand over the tufts of brown curls.

"Like a weed." I said, kissing her forehead. "Li, if you want us home so bad, why are you protecting us, you could so easily rat me out and have us on the next flight home."

"I believe in you Tori and I always have. If you believe this is what's best for you and Ciella, this is what is best right now. I know you can do this Tori, you're strong and you're incredible."

"You know," I said, watching as Cici's eyes drifted closed as she lay in his arms. "Mother Teresa once said, 'God would never give me anything I could not handle, I just wish he didn't trust me so much.'" Liam chuckled softly.

"I'm going to bring her upstairs, if that's okay." He said and I waved him off, nodding.

"I'll finish up down here then maybe we can go grab something to make for dinner." I watched Liam walk away and felt a swell of happiness and a bubble of admiration for Liam and his strength. As I pulled the silverware out of a box and began to sort it into drawers, I though about what Harry might be doing, smiling to myself thinking about the day that I would finally see him again.