The House

✨ Chapter Four | Chance

It took months before Liam stopped feeling like a complete loser over what happened with Jack, if that was even his real name.

Leaving the bar with him had been stupid.

The whole night had been a stupid decision.

What the hell had he been thinking?

And things with Morgan had been awkward ever since. The incident had made Liam feel closer to him than ever, Morgan was his hero that night, but afterward, everything was just...

Weird.

Their usual flirt-and-tease rhythm vanished. Morgan had been keeping his distance, and Liam couldn't blame him. But then, about a week ago, something changed.

They were all playing cards at the house one night, and out of nowhere, Morgan reached under the table and held his hand. Just... held it. No teasing. No joke. Just his hand in Liam's.

Liam thought his heart was going to explode.

Since then, Morgan had mostly gone back to normal.

At least, mostly.

Morgan had recently left for spring break with... what was his boyfriend's name? Allen? Alex? Liam couldn't remember. Didn't want to. Morgan had shown up at the cabin, then left almost immediately to spend the week with him.

Liam had stayed behind at the cabin with Ethan and Julian. He hadn't felt like partying this year, and a quiet spring break had sounded perfect at the time.

But now, with Morgan gone, it felt like he was intruding on Ethan and Julian's romantic getaway. And he definitely hadn't expected Morgan to bolt so fast.

He was thinking about that when the front door creaked open.

"What up, losers," Morgan's voice called casually.

He walked in with a duffel bag slung over his shoulder and let the door close behind him. He looked tired. Not dramatic. Not smug. Just... tired.

"Hey!" Ethan said, blinking. "You're back early?"

"Yeah. We broke up," Morgan replied, tossing his car keys onto the counter like it was nothing.

Ethan rolled his eyes. Julian laughed.

Morgan disappeared into the bedroom he always claimed when they stayed at the cabin, and Liam just sat there, finishing his cereal, pretending not to care.

A minute later, Morgan walked back out in swim trunks and a towel, already heading outside.

Liam figured he was going to the lake.

He put his bowl in the sink, then glanced over at Ethan and Julian on the couch. They were mid-conversation. Something private. He didn't want to interrupt.

So he grabbed his guitar and stepped outside.

The spring air was warm, the sun beginning to dip. He took a deep breath, let the door click shut behind him, and headed toward the grass near the lake.

Morgan was already in the water.

Liam sat down beside his towel and started strumming quietly.

Music was the one place he could lose himself. He'd said that before, but it was still true. His emotions slipped into the strings like smoke, like static, like they finally had somewhere to go.

Maybe Morgan had that with swimming.

It hit Liam all at once, watching him glide through the water like it was second nature, like that's where he kept his feelings. Quiet, invisible, beneath the surface of the water.