The Castle of Gold [Bk 2]

ch.39 Heart of gold

We were dressed in black- me and Danny, Becky, Liam’s parents and family. Harry wanted to come to pay his respects, but that might dig a deeper hole than need be. So he went to work.

Becky sat next to Liam’s mother. Both of their faces here moist from constant tears. I want to go comfort Becky, but I decided to give her some distance. I had done enough damage.

Liam’s father gave a speech about Liam from the day he was born and I squeezed Danny’s hand as the guilt burned deeper than the bullet wound.

Nick was the last to speak. He looked much older than the man I had seen holding the revolver at Harry. He looked like he had aged about five years in the last five days.

“I remember when I was taking Liam to his first lacrosse game when he was 9. He pointed at a little girl in the stands. She had tiny golden pig tails and was looking down at her spilled box of popcorn” Nick began and he looked at me briefly.

“Liam picked up on this immediately and tugged at my arm and pointed at the girl. He said: “Nicky, we have to help her. Nicky, I want to give her the prize in my box of Cracker Jacks” he told me.So me being the lady’s man that I am wanted to help my little brother talk to this girl, since he was too shy to go himself” Nick explained casually.

A few people laughed lightly.

He was trying to downplay the situation as if he was telling a regular joke. He wanted people to remember Liam’s laugh, not his bruises. He wanted them to remember his highest points, not the earth that he was about to be stuck deep into.

I just wished I could do the same.

“So I walked with him to this girl. Liam held his prize in his slightly sweaty palm. And the prize happened to be a ring” Nick continued.

There were murmurs and gasps in the crowd.

“So I thought I would have some fun with Lee-Lee and I told him what to do and say” Nick smiled at the warm memory and the teasing little tricks he used to play on Liam.

“And Liam got down on one knee and so gullibly repeated the words I told him. He said: You are the most beautiful girl in the world, will you marry me?” And the little girl stared at him with these terrified doe-brown eyes” Nick explained carefully and he glanced at me.

I looked down uncomfortably.

“Then she shook her head so fast that her little curls bounced and she ran to her brother” Nick laughed lightly.

I held my breath. The story sounded so familiar, but I couldn’t tell where it was from.

The crowd laughed warmly, not teasingly at Liam’s embarrassing, but sweet gesture.

“Then Liam looked up at me with the most hurt and hopeless expression I had ever seen in my life- to this day. And I almost wanted to find that girl and make her take Liam’s ring. But I didn’t. Eleven years later, she still didn’t take the ring, but little did she know; Liam had already given her his biggest prize: his heart of gold” Nick declared.  His eyes scanned the crowd again, then they held my gaze.

My hands shook slightly as I realized the story Nick was telling was about me. I had gone to a lot different football and baseball and lacrosse games when I was younger because of Danny and dad, but I hardly remembered that specific day.

“Liam’s heart was too big for his body. It was too big to be human, so it took over him sometimes. It made him love too much and care too much for people that did nothing but wave and walk away or openly avoid him” Nick explained softly.