Under the Bridge

chapter forty-"yes ma'am"

LITTLE PEACEFUL MOMENTS outweigh those big frantic memories significantly. They calm me down, make me feel grounded, and give me this sort of self-actualization that Maslow would be proud of. Frankly, I love it. 

Ones like this one, where Liam and I are both reading books in my library, make me feel stupendous. I'm sitting on the couch, leaning into the armrest and a puffy pillow we got in Wales. He's laying down, head in my lap, And I'm flickering through my copy of Unwind. 

He's almost done with the book, there's only a bit left, and I can see the distaste in his expression as he turns the pages. I love that I know what happened and he doesn't. I can imagine the scenes in my head. 

In a second, he's closed the book, and he's looking up at me. If I'm correct, his eyes look a little watery. I'm yet to have seen Liam Walker cry, and it feels like an achievement. Especially over something like Eleanor and Park. 

"What. The. Fuck." Liam says, shocked. "That's not an okay ending." 

I laugh and run my fingers through the roots of his hair. "It's better than nothing." 

He looks shocked. "The ending wasn't enough!" He protests. 

I laugh. "Sometimes endings don't need to be good for them to be right." I answer, and he sits up a little moving beside me so his arm is wrapped around my waist. I move my legs over his and set my head on his chest. 

Liam bites his lip. "I guess you're right." He mutters. 

I look around the room, then up at him. "I hope we have a good ending." I say, truthfully. 

He shakes his head, and I feel the rise and fall of his chest. "I hope we don't have an ending at all." 

* * * 

There's a knock on my window. 

It's about nine at night, and I still have a few hours of homework. I walk over to the balcony and see Liam, casual smile and all. I open it and curl my lips up a little, shoving my hands into the pockets of my sweatpants. 

"What are you doing here?" I ask, opening the door so a gush of cold enters the room. 

Liam bites his lip. "I sent you like, 500 texts, but uh, Brian and I got into a fight again, and I was wondering if I could crash with you. It's fine if you're doing something, or whatever, but--"

"Come inside, you must be freezing." I insist, pulling his icy fingers in between mine as he slides the door back closed. "Are you okay?"

He sighs. "I'm used to it." He tells me. "And I'm better now that you're here." 

I laugh, quietly, feeling my cheeks heat up. "I'm just doing homework." 

"Did we have something due for AP World?" Liam asks.

I widen my eyes and nod. "Like ten pages! Were you even paying attention?" I ask, swatting his shoulder. 

A hearty chuckle escapes his lips. "I'll be fine." 

"No, you won't. I have my book and some notebook paper. It's all the questions and vocab on pages 50-66." I instruct, walking over to my desk and handing him the supplies. I set my hand on his chest. "AP World is a hard class, and I don't want to see you complaining about failing. My room, my rules."

Liam rolls his eyes. "You know, you're kind of hot when you're bossy." 

"You know, you're kind of cute when you're distracting me." I respond, mirroring his words and taking a seat at the desk in my rolling chair. I spin around like I'm someone cool and meet his gaze, narrowing my eyes slightly. "But as much as I love your company, I physically cannot sleep if I don't do this, so get to work."