induratize || ljp

Prologue

"Mom, would you quit worrying? I'm gonna be fine." I tell my mother this statement, for what feels like the thousandth time.

She holds a pack of tissues in one hand, the other holding a wet, crumpled up one to wipe the tears from her eyes. Her cheeks are pink as she has a sad smile on her lips. She shakes her head at me.

"I know Liam, I know you will be. I'm just going to miss you so much." She pauses, wrapping her arms around me. "Do you really have to go away for school? I mean, you can stay here, rent free and work with your father!" She looks at me with hopeful eyes. I chuckle and shake my head, prying her arms off of my torso. I look at my dad as he stands there, with an amused look on his face.

"As delightful as that sounds, I have to say no thanks. You know I don't want to go into the family business mom." She shakes her head, knowing I am right.

"I know. You want to be Mr. English major. You've always had a thing for writing." She smiles a sweet, loving smile. I sigh and hug her once more, knowing if I don't before I leave, I'll get an earful from dad later. I then give my dad a tight hug, adding a pat to his back as he does the same to mine, before pulling away and stand in front of both of them.

"Alright Mom, I really have to go now if I want to make check in." I say, grabbing my last bag, tossing it into the trunk of my car.

"Oh, you're such a horrible liar Liam. You just want to see Aubrey before you leave." She smirks at my blushing cheeks, knowing she caught onto my little white lie. My dad chuckles.

"Leave the poor boy alone, Karen. He's going to miss her." My mom looks at my dad with a slight glare. "Not as much as he'll miss his mother of course." He stumbles over his words to save himself. Nice going, Dad.

"Okay fine yes I would like to see my girlfriend before I leave, you caught me." I put my hands up in defense, which gets a slight chuckle from her. I sigh and do a last check through the house, making sure I packed everything I'll need for the next ten months or so. I go into my room one last time and sigh.

Everything is bare. My desk has nothing on its surface, my bed is just a mattress with no sheets on top and the walls are empty, the only thing left on it is the nails that once held up pictures. It's like I was never here. I shake my head, grabbing onto the door knob and pulling the door shut behind me. I walk outside to join the rest of my family. I look at my younger sister and smile.

"Oh c'mon Cass. You know you're not gonna miss me." I say, pulling her into a hug. She wraps her arms around my torso, her head leaning against my shoulder.

"Of course I'm gonna miss you. I'm gonna miss annoying you and bringing your friends around." I roll my eyes and jokingly push her off me. She's always had a thing for Niall, but she's 16 for God's sake.

"Cassie, we've talked about this. You're too young for him." My dad says with a disapproving look on his face. Cass shrugs her shoulders.

"I better get going. I'll call you when I get in. Love you all." I say, hugging the three of them once more before getting into the driver's seat of my car. I put the key in the engine and put the car in reverse out of the driveway, giving them one last wave and head to Aubrey's house.

I hum along to the melody to whatever song is playing on the radio. My heart racing, excited to see her but sad at the same time to be saying goodbye to Aubrey.

We met junior year of high school and became friends very quickly. She was smart and just beautiful beyond words. It wasn't too long after we met I developed a crush on her. I never made a move, worried of rejection and fear of our friendship being ruined. The boys always joked with me, saying what did I have to lose. A good friend, that's what. But it all changed because of one fateful day.