“Come on,” Liam says, pulling me to his Jeep parked behind us. I get in the Jeep and press my head to the cool window. I don’t want to think about my dad. He is a traitor. He is an abandoner. My chest starts to hurt; I close my eyes and hold back the tears. This can’t be happening. He is my dad. Always.
“Are you okay?” Liam asks.
I shake my head. “It hurts,” I blurt out. “So, bad. He is just leaving like we’re nothing.”
I feel Liam’s hand on mine, I open my eyes. “I know it hurts, Katy. But, I swear, everything will turn out fine. Your dad loves you; he just isn’t in love with your mom anymore. That happens everyday. You know that.”
I squeeze Liam’s hand. I do know that. I loved Hayden, but one day he just didn’t love me. As simple as a light switch being turned off. This happened to my dad. He no longer loves my mom. He no longer cares to stay with us.
“Where are we going?” I ask, changing the subject.
“To relax, you look like you need it,” he says, giving me the once over. “Very badly. You look like you need some fun time.” He wiggles his eyebrow up and down. I pretend not to see him, I don’t want to know what he means.
I’m too tired to care; I just rest my head against the leather seat and let my eyes close. It feels great.
Liam is shaking my shoulders. I open my eyes. He is smiling. “We’re here, get ya ass up, little bear.”
“I’m not a bear,” I yawn, “stop calling me that.” I run both eyes with my fist, I blink twice. I look up and out the window. “We’re at the beach. Why?”
“To relax. It’s still hot, not enough to go swimming but to lie in the sun. Come on,” he says. I open the door and get out of his Jeep. He rummages around in the backseat while I watch the waves hit the sand. It is a nice day. The sky is blue, the water bluer. Relaxing sounds like a great idea.
“Follow me, little bear,” he says, throwing a blanket over his shoulder. I cock an eyebrow but he doesn’t see. Liam walks down the beach and stops in a random spot. There are a few people out, running, walking their dogs. No one is swimming.
Liam unfolds the blankets, tossing it up, spreading it out and laying it on the sand.
“Now,” he says, to himself. He sits down, leaning back on his hands. “You gonna sit down and make yourself at home, sweetheart.”
I smile to myself. I nod, sitting down beside him, lying back. A warm breeze blows past me. I close my eyes, taking in the ocean air.
“Someone is enjoying themselves already,” Liam says, lying back with me. “I come out here sometimes, it’s so relaxing.”
Does he come here to think about his mom? I want to ask but I’m afraid to bring up that memory. I can imagine how badly that hurts.
“Why don’t you normally have girlfriends,” I blurt out. It’s not what is really on my mind, but I am curious.
Liam sighs, shrugging his shoulder. “I’m a busy guy. Don’t have the time.”
I laugh. “Because, obviously, you’re so busy, soaking in the sun and relaxing.”
He smirks. “My relaxing time is very time consuming. It takes a lot out of me to do the things I do.”
“Why couldn’t she come with you? I’m here, am I bothering you?”
“No,” he whispers. There is a silence. “You’re…you,” he says. I’m not sure what to think about that. I don’t say anything. “Katy, why Hayden?”
“What?” I ask.
“Why Hayden? Why did you date him?”
I bite my lip. I try not to think about it. “He did used to be charming, Liam. He wasn’t always an ass.” I sigh. “I thought he was so…dreamy. I’d liked him for so long. Then he asked me out. I couldn’t wait to say yes. I’d been planning our wedding for years.” I laugh.
Liam smirks. “How many kids did you have planned out?”
I giggle. “After our New York wedding, we were on our feet, we would have four children. Two boys and two girls. Because, everyone can plan what gender their children are.” I laugh.
Liam whistles. “That is a lot of kids.” Another silence. “Did he live up to what you thought he would?”
I twist a piece of a dark brown curl on my shoulder. “At first, yes. It was perfect. He would walk me to class; bring an umbrella out to my car when it was raining. He took me to meet his parents. Then…” I trail off.
Liam rolls over on his side, facing me. His dark hair falling into his grey eyes. “Then what?”
“It happened.”
He shrugs his shoulders. “What’s it? The break up?”