Expelled and needing to transfer for his final year, Liam had known immediately where to go. It was the place that'd taken everything from him; that'd ruined him so absolutely it'd twisted his personality beyond recognition.
The place where he'd met...
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It wasn't long after Liam's chat with Finley when Charlie finally reached out. The simple text stared up at him.
ㅤ'I will talk to you soon.'
ㅤLiam was rightfully dissatisfied with this. After having scrambled to catch every single message he'd received in the last few days with a jumpy, anxious heart, the one he'd actually waited for befell him like a cold water heap. His mood dampened into disappointment with a flirt of frustration.
ㅤWhen the hell was 'soon'?
ㅤAs relieving as it was that Charlie hadn't gone ghost, the curtness was concerning. He'd no idea what to expect. Charlie was utterly heartbroken the day he'd walked out, and Liam didn't know if this was the end of the line—if he'd hurt Charlie beyond repair.
ㅤReally, he'd got the revenge he'd given up on, and was merely lying in the bed he'd made.
ㅤHe shook his head. If Charlie wanted to cut him out, it would've been simpler to never contact him again. Liam could be patient if it meant an opportunity to explain himself. Lies of omission were still lies, and he was about to discover if Charlie forgave easily.
ㅤ'Let me know'
ㅤ...was what he replied.
ㅤBut the days scraped by without progress, and Charlie lived on without approaching Liam at all, absent to all his classes and not setting foot near school. As patient as Liam tried to be, the anxiety was eating away at him.
ㅤHis relationship with his foster family and Olivia hadn't mended since then either. A few times, Ella had knocked on his locked door to ask if he wanted to eat dinner with them downstairs. But after Liam's silence would ring out, Ella would quietly leave the plate by his door.
ㅤAt first, he hadn't touched his meals out of spite; but even ice eventually melted. With guilt scolding him, he picked at his food in his room and left the dirty plate out for her to see. It was going to take a long time for him to forgive them. He was sore, but he didn't plan to stay upset forever.
ㅤInstead, he was forced to spend his time chewing over the secrets kept from him: his apparent right to his parents' company.
ㅤAs much as Liam loved fooling himself that he was a grown, capable man, he hadn't a fucking clue about anything. It was all a fake pretense that he hid under. Whether it was real or simply put on like a coat, people were rarely the wiser. But he couldn't fake business. Liam had no idea how to handle a massive corporation. He didn't even know what it did.
ㅤThat was the main thing that confused him. His parents had always kept him away from all of that, so it seemed odd that they'd suddenly put it in their will for him. He'd always assumed the company was passed to Aunt Margaret, who'd already worked at the organisation beforehand. She was, indeed, one of the main individuals running it now, as far as he knew.
