Meeting Liam Pierce

Chapter 4: The Light at the End of the Tunnel

We got back to my house to find ourselves exhausted from all the events of the day, but who we found at my house woke us up pretty quick. There were boxes of stuff by the door and suitcases that barely closed. My mom came walking out of our house. "Cassidy, what are you doing home, and who is this boy with you?" I hadn't seen her in four months and was caught off guard by her questions. "Um this is Liam Pierce he lives down the block. He needed a quiet place to study for our free period, so I didn't think there would be a problem with letting him study here." She nodded her head, but she didn't take her eyes off Liam. "Hi, I'm Liam. By the way, we really are only studying, but I can go somewhere else if you would rather." Mom smiled at him and opened the door wide enough for both of us to walk in.

"Mom, what are the boxes for?" I asked not really wanting to hear the whole story, but I knew I would. "Your father is moving out of the house and into our cabin in Colorado. We decided that would be best for the both of us considering all the stuff he has put me and you through." I sat down on the couch to take in everything that had happened, and Liam sat down next to me and put his arm around me. "Well that's good, I guess. You didn't have to do that; you guys were happy together." Mom sat down next to me too. "I haven't been a good mother, and this is how I want to start making things better. Now, I know you two are skipping school, so just go do whatever you guys were going to do."

Liam and I got up and went upstairs. He had never seen my room before, and I was nervous. I looked at him before I opened my door, and he gave me a nod that made all of my nerves seem to go away. I walked in slowly and sat at the edge of my bed while Liam walked around and admired it. "I like your room, Cas. The cream colored sheets and vanilla candles are not exactly what I think of when I think of you though." I smiled at him as he continued walking around. "Then I guess you don't know me that well." Liam grabbed my waist and pulled me just close enough to his lips for me to crave them touching mine. He put my hair behind my ear and whispered, "I'd like to get to know you then." I kissed him softly, and he kissed me in return. His kisses slowly moved toward my neck, and I could feel myself caving in.

A few hours later, I awoke to find Liam laying next to me with his arm wrapped around me tightly. I gently ran my fingers through his hair, and he slowly woke up. "Hey, Cassie." Liam said in an adorable sleepy voice. It took him a minute to realize what we had done, but he figured it out and instantly turned toward me. "I shouldn't have pressured you into doing anything." I looked at him and smiled lightly. "I wanted to." We layed there for a little while just waiting for the other to do something. I searched for my phone and realized it was almost dinner time. "Liam, it's like 6:00. Do you need to be home?" I rushed around putting on a hoodie and jeans not realizing the hoodie belonged to Liam. "Already stealing my hoodies?" He said with a smirk. I rolled my eyes at him as he got ready to leave. We walked down the stairs hoping my mom would be somewhere else, but she was in the kitchen making dinner. "Cassie, I made enough dinner for all three of us if your guest would like to stay for a bit longer." I mouthed the word no to him, but he completely ignored me. "I would love to stay for dinner. Thanks."

A few minutes later, we were all seated at the dinner table, and I was hoping my mom wouldn't embarrass me too much. "You two are cute together. Cassie, Liam is just so sweet; I hope you keep him around for awhile." "I plan on it." I said hoping Liam didn't find it weird considering I met him two days ago. "So Liam, what's your family like?" HIs face instantly turned pale as soon as the word family came out of her mouth, and I wasn't exactly sure why. "Um my parents aren't very good ones, but they are the only family I have so yeah." My mom nodded her head, and she insisted that he call his parents and make sure they know where he is. Liam pulled out his phone and stepped away from the table.

"Hey mom, I just wanted to let you know I'm at a friend's house." He said very quiet, but his mom was quite the opposite. "Liam Jackson Pierce, you don't have any friends. Don't lie to me; now, really where are you?" Mom and I could hear this from all the way at the table, and I felt like I needed to do something about it. Liam got even more quiet than he was before. "I really am at a friend's house. Do you want me to just come home since you don't believe me?" There was no sound at the other end of the line. "She must have hung up." Liam said as he walked back to the table. "Thank you guys for dinner. Um Cas, I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" Before I could say anything, he was gone.

Ten minutes later, I felt my buzz in the pocket of Liam's hoodie.

Liam: Cassie, meet me in ten minutes at the coffee shop. This is urgent.

Cassie: I'll be there.

I went fast to my mom's car realizing I had left mine at school and raced to get to the shop. My heart was pounding, but I remained calm on the outside. I pulled into the parking spot next to his beat up blue car and found the booth he was sitting at in the back. Liam was shaking as he picked up his coffee cup, but he still managed to smile at me. "What's wrong?" I asked afraid of the answer. He turned around toward a bag that was next to him and pulled out a laptop. Then, he took out earbuds and another coffee cup and handed it to me. I put in the earbuds and music started to play. I soon came to realize it was Liam singing, and the lyrics put me on edge making me wonder what would've happened if I hadn't meant him. He sang about how nothing had mattered before he meant me, and I wasn't sure how to react. "Liam, this is amazing. When did you write this?" He put his arm around my waist and smiled. " Earlier today when you were asleep. My favorite lyric is the one that goes like 'the path is dark no one to guide me until I see the light at the end of the tunnel' because Cassie, you are my light at the end of the tunnel. You are what I have been waiting for."