8pm and there was a knock on the apartment door. As soon as I opened the door I was pulled into an embrace. A hug that I really needed at that point. The tears again fell down my cheeks.
"Alex, I'm so sorry. Whatever I did, I'm truly sorry" he said
"No, no Liam. It's not your fault" I blubbed into his shoulder.
"Wait, are you crying?" he said pulling back slightly "What's the matter? We're going to be ok now. I promise"
"Oh god, Liam it's really not that simple. I have something I really need to tell you" I said taking his hand and walking into the apartment through to the lounge area.
As we walked, he spotted the boxes on the kitchen counter.
"Hey are you moving?" he said. As the words came out of his mouth it hit him what I was about to say.
I sat down on the sofa and just looked at him. There was such a painful expression on his face.
"No, no you...you can't be going home" he stuttered
"I'm sorry, this is what I've been trying to tell you all week. I only found out a few days ago"
"Why? What's happened". Tears were starting to form in the corner of his eyes. He pulled me close, I didn't want him to ever let go but we only had one more day together.
I explained to him what had happened and why I had to leave.
"I'm so sorry, If I'd have known I would have been here with you" he said
"No, I knew you had your work to do and I didn't want you to be distracted. To be honest, I was in denial for the first couple of days. I thought it was a bad dream"
The rest of the night passed too quickly as I knew it would. Liam refused to leave. He called Hoppo and arranged cover for his shifts on the beach so we could spend the last 2 days together. I fell asleep laid on his chest on the sofa with his arms wrapped around me. All the stress of the last couple of days had caught up to me I was exhausted. I woke up the next morning in bed alone. I worried for a second that he'd left me, then I heard noises from the kitchen.
I pulled on a sweatshirt and walked into the kitchen.
"Good Morning, gorgeous" he smiled. He was cooking "Breakfast and then we have to go. I have the whole day planned"
"Really? What are we doing?" I asked as he served up my favourite omelette
"I'm not telling you but I want to spend every second with you until you leave, and I want to make today the most special day of your life".
I couldn't help but smile. This is what I loved about this guy. Even in such times of sadness he chose to see the positives.
We ate breakfast on the balcony while watching the early morning surfers. I cleared the dishes away and was ordered to get dressed and be in the car downstairs in half an hour. As I waited in the lobby for Liam to pull the car round from the garage I wondered what he had planned. This was to be our last day together. I looked at the guy behind the reception desk and I didn't recognise him. He was new. A sudden thought hit me. I hadn't seen Justin all week. He didn't know I was leaving.
"Hey, Is Justin working today?" I asked the guy behind the desk
"No, sorry he isn't. He's off this week. Is there something I can help you with?" he smiled.
"Oh" I was visibly disappointed with his answer "It's just..I'm leaving. I have to go back to the UK tomorrow and I wanted a chance to say goodbye"
"Let me see if I can get a message to him for you" he replied with the same golden smile that all the Aussie beach boys had perfected.
I walked out of the front door. I threw my bag on the back seat.
"I told you that you didn't need to bring anything" he said. I laughed
"Do you know me at all? I never go anywhere without my bag and essentials"
We drove up the coast for about half an hour and Liam parked up. He ushered me out of the car and grabbed some bags from the boot. He led me on a small pathway through a small wooded area to a grassy area overlooking the ocean. To the right were some overhanging ledges and further over to the left was a little beach area. There were some kids playing about on the rocks, jumping into the water. It was a warm summers day and their laughter filled the air.
Liam started to open an amazing picnic he'd brought with all my favourite foods. He knew I was a picky eater and had obviously taken great care to select only the stuff I would actually eat.
"I was going to bring Champagne but I know you don't really drink it and I can't as I'm driving" he said
"Its fine" I replied "Everything is just perfect" and I kissed him. In that moment, I'd managed to block out the fact that in 24 hours I would be boarding a plane back to England.
