Into the Flames → Liam Dunbar [2]

Chapter One

It had been a short six months.

Brayden had graduated, Luke by his side. Addy was surprised that her brother and best friend actually made it to their graduation. It was a big day for him and the rest of the Ryder household. Addy had gotten all dressed up; she wore a beautiful black dress and her hair was curled with a wand.

Liam had gone with her. He had been all suited up, and had his hair combed down. It was a different look for him, but he still looked good. Addy found he always looked good though, so her opinion didn't really make a difference. Addy had cried during the ceremony, sad her brother was leaving.

He got accepted into USF, the same place Kira was thinking about going to. Addy didn't want him to leave for college. She didn't want her big brother to leave her. He played such a big role in her life, and she couldn't imagine what it was going to be like without him around. Even Luke, who was headed to a college near USF, wasn't going to be around.

She was going to miss the two boys in her everyday life.

She still had Liam and the rest of the pack. Since there were no life-threatening disasters, Addy and Liam had gone on several more little dates, each of them better than the last. Between them, their favourite so far was the first date they shared, simply because it was the first. Although, the time they had gone to the arcades and gotten pizza was a close second in Addy's book. 

They had a lot of fun on their dates. If they weren't with the pack, Brayden and Luke would be lingering over them. They rarely went over to Liam's house to hang out. Addy figured it was because he didn't want his parents to embarrass him.

Addy had a few suppers with the Dunbar family. She fit in quite well over there. Liam's parents would try and embarrass him as much as they could, which they usually succeeded in. Several of the stories that had been told often left Addy unable to breath from laughing so hard. She did, however, get the same treatment when Brayden had told the beta stories from when Addy was younger.

After dinner, they would head up to Liam's room and play video games. Yes, they were that cute couple where Addy sat between Liam's legs while they played. They had to eventually stop because someone would always end up with an elbow the face. Most of the time it was Liam holding his cheek in pain, and even though he insisted he was fine, Addy convinced him to let her move.

Liam had a few dinners at Addy's as well. The few nights that both Brayden and their mom didn't have to work, Mrs. Ryder would often get Addy to invite Liam over for food. Most days, it was a delicious home cooked meal, but they sometimes had ordered a pizza.

Liam loved hanging out in Addy's room; it smelt like her. He noticed there was a specific scent to her, like vanilla, tropical soap, and car oil. It was a weird combination, but he liked it none the less. There was often a strong scent of smoke, which didn't surprise Addy when he told her.

She hadn't told Brayden yet. She couldn't tell him. He was going off to college. He didn't need to worry about her. He needed to stay focused on school and getting good grades so that he could do well. The pack had told Addy and Liam that it was okay to tell their families, but neither of them could go through with it.

You couldn't exactly bring it up in a conversation; 'Oh, hey Mom. I forgot to tell you I can turn into a big ball of fire, but don't worry, I have a pack of supernatural creatures to protect me.'

She wanted to tell them. She really did. They had every right to know. The pack had given her the go ahead to tell them. But she couldn't bring herself to do it, nor did she know how to.

There had been more than one time that Liam and Addy had talked about how to tell their friend – Mason – and family. And it had been more than once that all the ideas they came up with were shot down. Addy had gotten frustrated multiple times to the point where the tips of her fingers had lit on fire.