The Sound of Waves (Book #3 - Liam Payne Trilogy)

Chapter 9

CHAPTER 9

"Brooklyn?" Josh knocked on my door at 8:30 the next morning. I groaned and rolled over in my bed, stuffing my face in the pillow. "It's time to get up, come on?" "Why do I have to get up?" I shouted, my voice partially muffled by the pillow. I heard the door creak open and Josh's footsteps entered the room, "You have an appointment with the bank in two hours and I know how long it takes you to get ready." I moaned and grabbed the other pillow, chucking it at my brother, "I don't take THAT long!" I protested. "Yeah, but by the time you get out of bed, we might be late." Josh grabbed the blankets and tore them off of me in seconds. "Hey!" I yelled, rolling onto my back. "Get up," he said, flipping on my light as he left my room. Some things never do change about that man. I took a deep breath and swung my feet over the edge of the bed. I ran a hand through my hair and finally got to my feet. It felt like the walk to the kitchen took all too long, and once I stumbled in, I was dazed when I found Liam already dressed and with his jacket on. "I have an interview to do today, but I should be back later," he said, jingling his keys. I nodded my head. "I'll try and be back in time for dinner," he said, looking between Josh and I. "Brooklyn, can I talk to you for a moment?" Liam asked with a hesitant glance towards Josh. He did a slight nod of his head and soon Liam and I were alone in the entrance way. "Why did you leave so quickly last night?" He asked. I merely looked at him, unable to formulate an eligible answer. "Brooklyn, you're worrying me." "Don't worry about me," I whispered, unable to meet his gaze. "I can't do anything but that," he said, taking my arms. "Please, tell me if I did something wrong! Tell me if I was being selfish or I took too much initiative." I shook my head gently, backing up so that he couldn't reach me, "I don't know," I said. Right then there was a knock at the door. Liam waited a moment with his eyes on me. He opened the door to reveal Niall, "Come on, Mate," he said, "We're going to be late!" Niall was already dragging Liam out into the hallway. He stumbled but still kept his worried and concerned eyes on me, right up until the moment the door finally closed and there was everything between us.

"So," Josh said as I walked back into the kitchen. "How was your night?" He asked. I waited a moment before croaking out, "Good," with a forced smile for reassurance. "Well that's good," Josh said, smiling, "Would you like to hear about my night with Mitchell?" I walked over to a cupboard and pulled out a bowl for my cereal. "Sure," I said, taking my seat again. "Well let me start off in saying it was GREAT to see him again," Josh said, joining me at the table. "How long has it been?" I asked. He shrugged his shoulders, "Too long." "Almost 18 years now, eh?" I asked. Josh seemed saddened, "Yeah," he mumbled. "Do you think he will come down to his beach house this summer, I mean, now that you two met up again?" I asked, trying to lighten the mood. "Brook," Josh said slowly, "Mitchell doesn't own that beach house anymore..." "What?!" I exclaimed, my mouth gapping wide. "He sold it? Why? Who owns it now?!" I was ready to fire more questions at him but the look in his eyes made me feel like my words were slowly killing him. "...Josh?" I ask. He shook his head, looking down at the table, "It's just hard to believe you don't remember anymore. Brooklyn," he said, "Liam owns the Keller house now." His words were slow and even but I felt my heart beat quicken, "Since when?" I asked. "Well the day you and Liam met," Josh said. I blinked once, then twice and never made it to the third blink. "He has a younger brother you know!" Josh changed the subject. "Yeah a 18 or 19 year old, he's the youngest of the three," Josh said. "Interesting," I said. "Yeah, his dad remarried after his mom passed," Josh explained. "Oh," I said, "I see..." "So he really wanted to meet you properly for the first time, seeing as he only saw you when you were a newborn," Josh said. I slowly nodded my head, "It will be nice to meet him," I said with a half smile. Josh furrowed his eye brows at me and I could tell he was catching on to my mood. But I forced that full smile and he leaned away, but still with his arms crossed, studying me. "Are you okay, Brooklyn?" he asked me. "Yeah!" I said, getting up from the table, I put all my things away and started walking away. "Where are you going?" Josh called after me. "I'm going to get ready! You don't want to be late do you?!" I had a feeling he was pressing his lips together in a flat line and shaking his head.