Sommerstall Academy

Chapter 43

Florence

I'm vibing by myself since Elija just left when someone bumps into me.

"Oh, shit! I'm so sorry," he says as I feel his drink soak through my hoodie. I turn to find out it's Liam. He looks genuinely sorry so I smile at him.

"Don't worry about it," I tell him. Who cares if it's my second clothing item in a short while that gets ruined?

"I'll help you soak it. It'll stain if you wait," he offers. "Come on." He takes my wrist gently and starts pulling me through the crowd. I look over my shoulder, hoping to see Elija somewhere already. I don't want him to think I ditched him but he has my phone since I don't have pockets.

"It's no big deal, really. I told Elija I'd wait here," I tell him over the music.

"He'll be fine, Florence. Besides, I kind of wanted to talk to you so will you please follow me?" he asks, stopping to look at me. I sigh and nod.

"Alright, this is Jamie's room. Take off your hoodie, I'll wash it in the sink of his bathroom," Liam says as soon as he closed the door behind us. I'm too busy taking in my friend's room to do anything else right now.

I figured his family might have money, most people at our school do, but I didn't know he was rich. I mean, a Tv the size of a cinema and speakers behind his bed kind of rich. Other than that, his room is rather basic. Everything is grey and the LEDs behind his Tv are set on yellow. A fluffy carpet takes up most of the floor. It's comfortable and clean.

"Flo?" Liam interrupts my marveling.

"Right, sorry," I say, quickly shrugging my hoodie off and throwing it at him.

"Woah, girl. A warning would have been nice," Liam says after catching it. I realize I'm in nothing but my black lace bra now which my intoxicated mind seems strangely okay with.

"Never seen a girl in a bra before?" I mock him, walking towards the bathroom. It's open to the rest of the room. Fancy.

Liam follows me, his cheeks slightly red and I have to stifle a laugh. He gets to work with the cleaning.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" I ask.

"Oh, right. I don't know where to start so I'll just say, I'm sorry. For more than the hoodie, though I'm not proud of that either," he starts. Then he looks at me expectantly while I have no idea what he's talking about. I must be wearing my thoughts on my face since he chuckles. "I've been rude to you when you didn't deserve it, Flo. That's what I'm apologizing for."

"Oh," I say. When the silence stretches on for too long, I ask, "Why'd you do it?"

"Well, I guess you could say I had a crush on you. Had, being the keyword since I'm over it now. You and Elija are good together and I won't repeat a past mistake and try to destroy that for him or you. I'm actually here with Sarah. She's the one that told me to apologize to you, she's waiting downstairs somewhere. I really like her and I guess I have you to thank for that," he adds with a sheepish smile.

"That's great! I'm really happy for you," I tell him honestly. Who would have thought that he'd be the one to apologize so sincerely for another girl.

Liam turns off the water and lays my wet hoodie over the edge of a sink before turning to me.

"Only needs to dry now," he says. I walk over to him and hug him.

"Thanks," I say. He hugs me back without breathing me in this time. It's an innocent touch and I simply enjoy the contact for a few seconds. When I pull back, I keep my arms around him for a beat and look up at him.