All Over You

Fall From Grace

Midweek arrives and I smile to myself while walking out of the office. Turning the lights out and strolling down a dark corridor has so much more magic to it when I am going home to him. I never planned our lives this way when I first set eyes on him but the journey we've been on makes it so much better. It feels we have been growing so much closer and I wouldn't have it any other way. Our chaotic story is one of a kind and one I cherish. I thought that Liam losing his job would be catastrophic to us, but it's done the complete oposite. I return home every day and enter our safe bubble of love, sex and laughter. There is no one I'd rather share this with. 

I stop into the cafeteria on the way out, grabbing a bottle of water. I wander in, smiling distantly at a group of sound technicians who are congregating by the cold drinks. I am so zoned out that I barely notice myself tuning into a nearby conversation. The words subconsciously seep into my brain. 

"He deserves it though, I'm sorry but he does!" I hear one of them say.

"I never understood how he got so many women. He's a prick." Another responded.

Shivers run down my spine as the suspicion of who they were talking about grows. I halt in my tracks to listen surreptitiously. I fight mentally to deny who their conversation is about, but the pit in my stomach warns me that it's probably Liam. I've only heard two sentences but the description seems to fit too well. 

"I'm actually surprised he got fired, thought he would've found a way to charm Lesley."

"He can't knock Scott square and get away with it. Scott is always so friendly!"

Their laughter echoes around the room and my heart sinks. I get it now. No wonder Liam is so unhappy out of work. When he was here, no one dared say a word about him. Men wanted to be his best friend and women wanted to be his girlfriend. Everyone fell to their knees to worship him but since leaving it's as if his name is a dirty word. Now he's not here to defend their name people are taking their chances to trash his personality. It is horrible to watch him quite literally fall from grace. Part of me is so relieved he isn't here to see this, It would kill him and selfishly, we would be back to square one. 

I am so caught up in my own thoughts that I don't notice the laughter stopping. I quickly become aware of many pairs of eyes falling to me. I should've run away as soon as I heard their conversation, but my feet seem to be rooted to the spot. 

"I'm sorry, he's your... boyfriend I think." One of them says, turning to me. She has pretty blue eyes, just like Liam. Except the false pity in them makes me sick to my stomach. 

"Don't be." I whisper, turning on my heels and heading to the car park without the bottle of water I intended to pick up.

I feel a wave of guilt wash over me. I wanted to defend him so desperately, but I couldn't. There wasn't anything to defend. He has messed up and now he has a ban from the Studios. What else was there to say? I can't undo any of that and people haven't seem to have met the Liam that I know. They don't know his soft side. He's just the next topic of conversation in this brutal cycle. I am sure this will all fade away eventually. 

I drive my guilty conscience home, cheering myself up with the idea of Liam at home on the sofa, grinning at me as I walk through the door. Unfortunately, when I arrive home, he isn't grinning like he has been the last few nights. There's no Chinese or wine and certainly no music bouncing off the walls. The atmosphere is almost as cold as the outside chill and I can tell we are in for another mood swing. Liam is buried in the laptop, his brows furrowed. I slide onto the sofa next to him and lean onto his shoulder. He allows it, but stiffens up slightly. I only figure out why when I glance at the computer screen.

Houses. He is looking at houses.

I sit up abruptly.

"What are you looking at?" I ask, trying my hardest to sound calm but my voice is shaking a little.