Learning to Swim

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The next day all I can do is think about Liam. Now, I’m not one of those girls that obsesses over a guy or anything like that, but I can’t seem to stop myself. It’s like the more I try to focus on something else, the more I think of him. It is really annoying actually.

I think it has something to do with how routine my life is. Liam is something new and kind of exciting. It’s not like he is the first boy to ask me out, he is just the first to seem like he actually cares. I hardly even know him, but it is still nice knowing that someone cares. Even if I can’t figure out why he does.

Last night after we picked up Addie, Liam drove me to my house. I was kind of embarrassed to show him where I live. My house so obviously reflects how poor we are. It is super small, the paint is chipping, the tiles are coming off of the roof, and the porch railing is broken in half. Not exactly something to be proud of, but it is all that I’ve got at the moment.

Liam, on the other hand, is rich. At least from what I can tell. I happen to know that his car is one of those crazily expensive types that I could never afford in a million years. Maybe it isn’t right to just assume he has money, but it isn’t like I am judging him for it or anything. It just makes me super self-conscious about how crappy everything I own is. I was afraid that when he saw my house he would give me that look of pity that everyone seems to love giving me. I was surprised to find that his expression didn’t change at all. He just continued on with whatever stupid thing we were talking about, for which I am really grateful.

Then Liam got out of the car and walked around to the passenger side door. I had no idea what he was doing until he held the door open for me. I told him that I am perfectly capable of opening my own door and that he really didn’t need to do it for me. He just laughed and held his hand out to help me out of the car. It is times like these that I forget my reasons for not dating. Why does he have to be so perfect?

As I watched his car drive down the street, I was afraid that I might never see him again. That is when I realized I needed to snap out of it. I shouldn’t care whether I see him again or not. I don’t have time for relationships, even with amazingly sweet boys like Liam.

“Earth to Dakota,” Maggie says, while waving her hand in my face.

I blink a few times before realizing I must have zoned out once again. I have been really distracted all day. Mostly because of my thoughts about Liam, although there are some other things bothering me as well. Such as my foot, which seems to be swelling up. I don’t know what to do about that, so I mostly try to ignore the pain that shoots through my foot every time I put pressure on it.

“Sorry, Mags. I’m just out of it today,” I reply.

“Yeah, I noticed. What is up with you, anyway?” she demands.

“I’m just tired is all,” I tell her.

It technically isn’t a lie, but I still feel kind of guilty for not telling her about everything. If I told her that Liam asked me out she would be bombarding me with questions for the rest of the night and I’m really not in the mood.

“Are you sure it has nothing to do with a certain boy that was here to see you yesterday?” she asks with a mischievous smile on her face.

“How is it that you always know everything?” I exclaim in surprise. I’m able to answer my own question after a second of thinking about it. “Daniel told you, didn’t he?”

“He may have mentioned it. That’s not important, though. What I really want to know is who this mystery boy is and why are you keeping him a secret from me?” She tries acting like she is hurt I didn’t tell her, but she is too excited to hear more about Liam to pull it off.