Jessica Grayson has struggled with body dysmorphia and bullying for most of her life. And when she believes she has finally turned things around for herself, she is betrayed and made fun of by her boyfriend and close friends, which sends her into a...
This chapter is dedicated to SpectralWolf776. Thank you for all the love and support. Love you!
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
I wake up because I am too hot. For a split second, I feel disoriented because I don't know where I am, but then I remember. I feel his soft breath tickling the back of my neck, and every part of me is tangled with every part of him. A soft ray of sunlight is coming through the window, casting a shadow on the carpet indicating that morning has arrived.
I slowly turn around and face Liam. He looks peaceful in his sleep. He looks young and untroubled like the little boy I saw on the Polaroid I found yesterday. I was looking for a smaller towel to dry my hair in one of his drawers, and I found the photo tucked in there. Liam must have been six or seven in the picture. He was sitting under a Christmas tree in the arms of a beautiful woman that I recognized as his mother. She was smiling at the camera, and he was smiling at her with such open love that it made my chest hurt.
Liam never talks about his mother. The only thing I know about her is that she passed away. I remember everyone at school speculating about it at the time. The rumor was that it was a sudden death, and the family was so devastated they had to get away for a while to grieve. They went to Armenia to be with her family and held a funeral for her there. No one knows if that is what actually happened because Liam never told anyone anything. And no one ever asked him right out. He kind of let people believe whatever they wanted to believe, I guess. I asked Elliot about it once, but all I got was a frown and a shrug.
As I stare at him now, I can't help but mentally laugh at myself. I used to think Elliot was the peak of male perfection. I honestly believed that he was the most attractive guy I'll ever meet. But there was no depth to his appeal. Liam is the kind of beautiful that allures you the more you look at him, different from every angle like an optical illusion.
I bring my hand up to trace his face. I slowly run my fingers from his eyebrows all the way to his jaw. And because I can't resist him and I know that I'm allowed, I softly press my lips onto his. He sighs but shows no sign of waking up. I hesitantly pull away and drag myself out of bed. As much as I want to stay here cuddled with him, I have to get going. It's too early for me to wake him up, but I have to get back to my house to change and grab my things before school. So, I make sure to not make too much noise as I get dressed and leave.
Liam
I felt her kiss like I felt every single touch before it. But I couldn't bring myself to open my eyes and face her. I have done something I promised myself I would never ever do again. Something even worse than all the lies. I gave her hope. The hope of there being a chance for us. I felt it in her touch, tasted it in her kiss. But there'll never be hope for us because I made sure if it. I destroyed any hope before there was even one to begin with. And I was okay with that. She was supposed to come into my life like a gentle breeze so that when she left, like everyone and everything, I wouldn't even feel it. But she came in like a thunderstorm full of twisting hurricanes and wrecked everything.
