The Challenge | BOOK 2

26 - Hideaway

I know last chapter was really sad and I'm not really sorry about it. I hope you guys felt that just as much as I did...

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When I woke the next morning, Liam wasn't in bed. The room was empty and dull. There was no sunshine. It was pouring with rain, the thunder and lightning not being the only thing to keep me up during the night.

I gulped as I pushed back the blankets and got out of bed. I prayed that Liam hadn't left the house. I had no idea what he would do if he went out there and saw someone like Henry or Melissa.

I didn't know when Henry was returning from his trip, but I didn't know how Liam would handle seeing him.

"Liam?" I called to him as I raced down the stairs. I heard noises in the kitchen and crossed my fingers in hopes that it was him.

I raced into the kitchen and relaxed instantly when I saw Liam at the stove. He was stiff, tense. But he was drinking coffee and making pancakes.

At least he was in the house.

"What are you doing?" I asked him. He looked up at me from the stove and offered me a mug of coffee. I hesitantly took it.

"I thought I could take my mind off things by doing something other than sitting around feeling sorry for myself," Liam said. He sighed afterwards and flipped a pancake perfectly.

I sipped on the coffee and then placed it on the counter.

"You're allowed to be upset, you know," I told him softly. He nodded at me stiffly and placed the pancake on a plate. There was a giant stack of them, most looked cold by this point.

He'd been making pancakes for a long time.

He poured more batter into the pan. It sizzled. Liam stared at if, as if waiting for some miraculous to happen.

"Liam," I said. He abruptly turned to me, his eyes glossed over.

"I don't want to think about them anymore. I can't think about them anymore. Because every time I do, I think about how I couldn't help them," he said, his chin wobbling as he spoke. I stared at him intensely, feeling the lump form in my throat.

Liam blinked hard and shook his head as he stared at me.

"There wasn't anything you could do, Liam. You were a kid. It was way out of your hands," I said softly. Liam shook his head as he choked back a sob.

"I could've done something!" He hissed out bitterly. He was angry at himself now. Exactly what I didn't want.

"No. Liam. You couldn't have. Henry made sure of it," I assured him.

Liam began to sob again.

I went to him and pulled him into my embrace as he cried. His mind was a mess, different questions and a million different thoughts. His beast was on edge, about to snap. I knew he was close to going outside and chasing down everyone who had hurt his family.

"Why did he have to kill them?" He sobbed into my hair. My heart wrenched and my stomach knotted painfully. I sucked in a deep breath as I ran my hand through his hair.

"Jealousy and greed can make a man go mad," I whispered to him as he cried.

Liam sobbed for a while before he pulled away and wiped the tears with the back of his hand. I stared up at him. My chest was tight and my stomach was pained as I watched him blink back his tears.

"We need to focus on how we can get rid of Henry, for good," Liam said. I nodded slowly. I could tell he was going to try and talk about something else rather than his parents' death.