Time of Our Lives

Chapter 10: Pure Minds

*Dakota’s POV*

I wasn’t sure what to expect when the boys came back from their morning interview. Maybe for them to go straight back to bed and sleep, since they didn’t need to be up until before their signing at five. I was pretty close to the mark, since they all came tumbling in one by one, leading the way upstairs after saying a little hello to Kariann and me.

The bus was clean, thankfully. The longest portion of the clean was upstairs, trying to separate the clothes to what clothes were whose. Kariann was in the shower, desperately needing to shower after messing with cleaning products all day. I was fresh and clean, still flushed from my hot shower. I was sitting on the couch reading one of Rachelle Mead’s stories on my phone. The cushion of the couch bent some as Liam took a seat next to me.

I looked up, seeing how he was angled toward me with his hand hidden behind his back, obviously hiding something. I pulled the headphones out of my ears. “Hi?” I asked, wondering what he wanted.

A small smile was apparent on Liam’s lips. I didn’t know what it was, but he always seemed to muster the most beautiful smiles compared to the other guys. “I know what Kariann told you this morning upset you a little, so…” he brought his hidden arm into view.

Half a dozen of white lilies were being held in his hand. My eyes widened in shock, not sure what to say. “Liam… I…” I started.

“It’s more out of an apology than anything.” He explained as I took the flowers into my hands. “I knew you would have a hard time accepting the best solution for the issues management has been having. I shouldn’t have even told you two. It’s because of me that you’re troubled.”

Oh, my God. Just… what was I supposed to say? I was at a loss of words. I stared at the flowers. I felt the situation was ironic he got lilies, seeming how I was reading the Golden Lily by Rachelle Mead not five minutes ago. That wasn’t important anyhow, but still. “Why lilies?” I asked, curious.

“Kariann said that you liked white flowers. White meant that it was pure to you. I had to Google it, but I saw that lilies were supposed to mean purity too, so my best thought was white lilies for you.”

I looked up at him. His brown eyes were shining, something I haven’t seen before. I smiled. “That’s really thoughtful of you… thank you. Oh, and it’s not your fault about what happened. It’s just…” I sighed, resting the sweet, smelling flowers under my nose to hide my mouth. “I got frustrated with myself.”

I didn’t know what it was. With Liam here, I couldn’t seem to stop talking. “Ever since my mom and dad got divorced, everything changed. I expected that, but still, it was so hard. It didn’t help when she quickly started to date another man. That was fine, I mean, isn’t it normal for a parent to date another person when they’ve been single for a while? But in her case… it wasn’t two weeks after the official divorce happened and she remarried. I even told her that I didn’t want it. She didn’t listen. She never even cared. I…”

I felt the grip on the flowers tighten as I took a breath. “I guess my dad didn’t help much either. It slowly dawned on me that my mother wasn’t the mom I came to know. I questioned my dad, and he didn’t hold back on telling me everything. I can never forget what she’s done to him, to me, our family. Over and over again I was reminded. She remarried to a man that I couldn’t bring myself to like. He changed my mom, my life.

“They fought all the time, Liam. Over stupid stuff. Sometimes he was violent, though not toward my mother, but he would throw stuff. It was so hard. I had to leave, and I couldn’t leave until I was thirteen. Even when I told my mother I was going to move in with my dad, she absolutely refused. She and Dad never got along after they separated. It was just chaos. She threatened to call the cops. She never did though, and I finally was able to live with my dad.