"Wow, Sam," Leah says, taking a small sip from her water bottle. "You're fat."
"Thank you," Samantha says in a sarcastic tone. "I hadn't noticed. This baby's growing fast."
"Let's hope it doesn't grow too fast," James comments, placing a hand on Samantha's bump of a stomach. "We won't want another Jack movie."
Leah could cringe if she wasn't trying to remain friendly, as if this is all completely normal. She's really been trying to be okay with this for the past few weeks. Chris did well to convince her that constantly bitching about it isn't going to change anything. Samantha is as stubborn as Leah is, so it would take quite a lot of effort to influence her. So, as they say: if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. And it's geting easier for Leah, especially now that she hates James' guts somewhat less than when they first met. But there's still the tiniest bit of her that isn't okay with any of it. But she buries that bit of her deep down until the end of the day, when she can rant about it to herself or to Chris.
Riley and Samantha engage in a conversation of their own, a discussion about possible baby names. Leah chooses to exclude herself from this conversation. She wants to keep talking to Dalton--he's such an intelligent man--but he disappeared to the front of the boat to answer a business call. So she jumps to the next idea and goes to Chris, who retreated into the cabin with his brother not too long after they boarded the yacht. She walks around the chatting few and enters through the half-open sliding door. She passes through the sitting area to the bedroom, the door ajar with sounds of a conversation coming through. She approaches slowly, cautious not to make noise. She hold her ear close to the opening and listens intently to what's being said. Or argued about, now that she hears every word being spat at the other person.
"You have no right to be here. You need to take your ass back home and let me live in peace."
"Mum and Dad sent me," Liam responds defensively. "They wanted to see you. When I went to the prison you were being held in, they told me you were no longer their responsibility...so to speak. I got your information from the system, and now I'm here to take you home."
"You can't take me home, you idiot. I'm still part of their program."
"Yeah, 'For The Better'. What's that about?"
"Don't worry about it. All you need to know is that I'm still part of it. And they put a tracker in my arm in case I get out of range. In case you haven't noticed, Australia is out of fucking range. So you're shit out of luck. Now, after we leave this boat, grab your shit and leave, or so help me I will pound you into the ground."
"And get your ass back in jail. Right. You've gotten so much smarter these past few years, you know that?"
There's a short pause in the conversation, then Liam continues it. "At least call them. Let them know you're alive or something. It doesn't matter what you say. They just want to hear your voice."
He grunts, annoyed. "Hell no. There is a reason I cut you all out of my life. That reason is for me to know, and for you to not worry about. I avoided contact with you, with Luke, with our parents, with my friends. I wish you all would just take that as a big 'screw you' and forget all about me."
"Please. Mum forget you? She couldn't do that if she had Alzheimer's. As long as she's around, we won't even be able to forget your shoe size."
"And the woman doesn't die, either," Chris jokes. The humor quickly disappears like steam into the air, picking up a more serious and professional tone. "You need to go home, Liam. You can't be here. None of you can. Just...let me have this life. That apartment, these people, Leah, are the makings of a new me. That new me can't have my family trailing behind."
