Mercy

Chapter 15

It was officially Sunday and I hadn't heard from Liam since he dropped me off on Friday. I did my best to talk myself down a little, "Come on Sam, it was just one date...he doesn't owe you anything." I said out loud as if hearing those words would make them sink in better. There was still a part of me that felt a little crushed. Not even a text. To make it worse Lacy had been at Alex's all weekend which meant I was left alone to battle with myself nonstop. Yesterday I ended up cleaning the whole apartment trying to keep my mind off of him. It hadn't worked though; the whole time I cleaned he just kept popping into my head.

The rest of my day went pretty quickly. I had settled in on the couch watching a marathon of Bates Motel on Netflix. Before I knew it I had finished a whole season and it was getting dark outside. I cleaned up my mess, took a shower and climbed into my bed. There was still a deep burning of disappointment in my belly but I couldn't say I hadn't seen this coming. That night my dreams weren't pleasant and filled with Liam's perfect face; instead they went back to my normal nightmare leaving me less than rested when I woke up.

Monday and Tuesday flew by; classes were now in full swing which meant the coffee shop was a lot busier. I still hadn't heard from Liam so the distraction was helpful. Today was Wednesday and I was so excited to be headed back to my dance class. Dance had always been a great way for me to clear my mind and release my frustrations. Today was no exception. There was finally something that kept my mind away from Liam. The class was perfect and as I headed out for my next class I couldn't help but have a sense calmness wash over me. That feeling came crashing down when I stepped into my Psych class and saw Liam seated with several of his friends. Shit! How could I forget he was in this class with me? All I could do was pray he hadn't seen me as I rushed towards the back of the class and took a seat. My heart was pounding in my chest I was so sure everyone else could hear it. "Why didn't you sit with me?" A deep voice whispered in my ear causing me to jump. I didn't have to turn to look; I knew exactly who it was. Liam stepped around me and took the seat beside me. My eyes darted to the group of guys he had been sitting with; they all had confused looks on their faces and watched as if something was about to happen. I swallowed hard glancing over at him for just a second before looking back down at my notebook. "You looked busy..." My voice was barely able to be heard over all the noise around us. He didn't say anything else, instead he reached down and picked up my bag and notebook and headed back to where he had been seated before. I didn't move, I didn't speak – I just sat there with a dumbfounded expression on my face. After a moment he must have realized I wasn't moving and he got back up; tugging me by my wrist. "Come." His tone was slightly agitated but I didn't pay any mind.

He stood in front of the seat beside where he had been sitting; eyeing the guy sitting there. "Move." He demanded and the guy quickly jumped out of the seat. Liam gently guided me to the seat before sitting down himself. He didn't say anything after that; everyone just sat there in silence. What had just happened? By the looks on all the guys' faces, they were just as confused as I was. None of us spoke during class; Liam glanced over at me from time to time but never said a peep.

Class was dismissed and I was actually happy to escape this awkward situation. As I stood up I felt Liam's arm draped over my shoulder, keeping me close as we all exited the class. "You finally find you some new tail?" One of the guys blurted out as we walked down the hallway. My jaw dropped slightly almost afraid to hear what Liam would say. He stopped dead in is tracks and looked down at the guy. The guy was a good couple of inches shorter than Liam and not nearly as muscular. Liam leaned in and said something quietly to the guy before shoving him hard against the wall. "What the hell?!" I yelled out as the guy grunted loudly; the air being knocked out of him. Liam didn't speak; instead he turned, placed his arm back around me and continued down the hall. Once we were out of sight of his friends I stopped and pulled away from him. "What the fuck, Liam?" I said in a hushed tone. He stared at me with a blank look on his face. "What?" He asked, obviously he saw nothing wrong with anything that had happened. I tried several times to say something but my head felt like it was going one hundred miles an hour and I couldn't get the words to come out. He just laughed, placed his arm back on my shoulder and we headed out the door.

My brain was still trying to process what was going on but my eyes were glued to him. He slid his sunglasses on as we stepped outside into the bright sun. I squinted so that I could see him better. He really was gorgeous. No! Sam, snap out of it! I stopped dead in my tracks and just stared at him. "What are you doing?" I asked as I crossed my arms over my chest. He let out a sign a turned to face me again. "Doll face, you are going to need to be more specific if you want me to answer..." The tone he was using with me was not the Liam I had spent so much time with. This Liam was harsh toned and didn't carry the sweetness it had a couple nights before. My heart sank a little, I knew this was something that could happen but I wanted to believe the night we had was real. "Just forget it." I scoffed as I pushed past him. I had no clue where I was walking, everywhere that I could go was in the other direction but I wasn't about to look stupid and have to turn around. I had only managed to get a few feet away before I felt a strong grip on my wrist. "Let go of me!" I shouted in a panic. When anyone would grab me like that I would send me into a round of flash backs and it would feel like I was drowning. He quickly let go of my wrist but stayed close with a worried expression on his face. "Doll face, I wasn't going to hurt you." His voice was warm and calm causing my heart race to slow.  I swallowed hard as my mind registered who had grabbed me. "I-I'm sorry..." My voice trembling slightly as I spoke. The look of concern filled his eyes as he slowly wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into a tight embrace. "Oh Doll face, I didn't mean to scare you. I would never put my hands on you like that."