"Thank you Liam." I smiled as I twirled my noodles around. Liam sat on his couch across from me.
"Of course. So do English-Chinese people make better food then American-Chinese people?" He said.
I chuckled, "I guess so. Hey can I ask you something?"
"I think you just did." He teased. "I'm kidding. Go ahead."
"Did you miss this?" I sat my carton down, "London, I mean"
He stopped shoving Mandarin chicken in his mouth, and paused before answering, "Kinda. But sometimes I regret coming here."
"I'm so-"
"No, no. I mean, its different around here. Ever since my dad died, England has been somewhat depressing." I swallowed as he sat his food down.
"So has Washington." I admitted.
"I am so sorry. I was being inconsiderate of your feelings." Oh no, the dreaded deceased parent topic.
"Liam, don't. If you need to talk, go ahead. I lost my parents, I'm okay with talking about it."
"I'm not really. I still can't believe he's gone." He looked away from me. I stood up and walked over to him. I plopped down next to him.
"Let it out."
He shook his head, "Scarlett I don't really think-" I put my hand on his knee, he tensed under my touch, "You can tell me anything. I won't judge. If you need to cry, cry." I smiled.
He sighed, "My dad died of a heart attack. The doctors said he was stressed out. More than they had ever seen. No one in my family knew how stressed he really was. Except for me." He paused, "I caused the stress. The heart attack."
"Liam you didn't-" "But I did. My whole family lived here. I lived with my cousin, Allison in Washington. I moved to the states because of my father." He wrinkled his face, "He kept pressuring me into the family business. He said I didn't need college because I had it. But I wanted to go to college, I want to make a name for myself. I didn't want the legacy my father made. I wanted to make my own. Start a new chapter in the Payne name."
He smiled, "I wanted to be a doctor, travel all around the world. I wanted to get married, have kids. I'd let them choose their own destiny."
I smiled, "That's really sweet."
He looked at me, "One night, I called my dad, drunk. I told him I never wanted to be involved with the business, that it was built on lies and false hope. That he could shove it." He paused, "I told him that he was an awful parent for trying to control his kids' life."
I stayed silent, "I told him to never call me again. That once I was eighteen I was going to change my name. Then two days later, my mum called. I got the news, that he had died in his office. He had been working late. He was writing me an apology letter." He shook his head, "He died telling me how sorry he was. That if I didn't want the business then I wouldn't need it, he said he'd pay for my college and he would-" Tears threatened his voice, "He would move out here just to be my patient, to see me succeed in life."
Liam stopped as tears fell from his eyes, hitting the floor. Tears threatened to spill from my own eyes.
"That's why I took over the business, because if my dad couldn't see me succeed as a doctor then I'd succeed in the business." He cried. I moved my hand and grabbed his shoulders. I held him close to my body.
His sobs grew louder and louder. His body trembled against mine. Tears slowly fell down my face. I rubbed his head as he cried.
"It's going to be okay. I promise, it always does." I cried.
