Chapter 117 He opens the door and walks out into the rain.
"What are you doing here?" The words come out before I can stop them.
Katherine pops her head out of the car, looking way too excited. "Hey, you guys made it!"
Made it?
I shoot her a look that could burn holes through her skull. She knows exactly how things are between me and Liam. Okay, so maybe she does not know every detail, but she knows enough. She knows I do not want to be around him. As my friend, should not she have at least checked with me before inviting them along?
Maybe I am overreacting. But right now, it feels like she stabbed me in the back.
James leans against our car, grinning at all of us like this is totally normal. "Katherine told us about your beach plans. So I thought, why not crash it? Make it more of a party, you know?"
I snap at him, my voice sharper than I mean it to be. "Did not you and Liam have your own stuff planned this weekend?"
He does not even have the decency to look guilty. Just smiles wider. "Plans changed. Figured this would be more fun. Unless..." He tilts his head at me. "You are kicking us out, Sophie?"
Yes. Obviously I am.
"There might not be enough rooms for everyone." I say it flat, hoping he will take the hint.
"Well, actually..." Katherine starts, but I shut her up with another glare. The air gets uncomfortable, nobody saying anything.
Then Liam speaks from inside the car. His voice is calm, too calm. "Actually, my dad owns a place here too. It is just down the street. If there is not enough room, James and I can stay there."
How convenient. How perfectly, absolutely convenient.
I am done being polite. My whole weekend is wrecked anyway, so I let the anger come out. "Oh really? So if we decided to fly to England for the weekend, you just happen to have a house there too?"
Liam lifts one eyebrow slow, a smirk pulling at his mouth. "Actually, yeah. But you would not know that, would you? Since you are new to the family."
We stare at each other, neither of us backing down. If looks could actually kill, we would both be dead right now. Together.
Alex clears his throat, breaking the tension. "Okay. Let us just get inside. It is getting late and the rain is coming."
We were supposed to go out to eat. But honestly, nobody feels like it anymore. While the guys grab our bags, I just order pizza online.
The house itself is nice, I guess. Mediterranean style, arched windows, wood beams on the ceiling, dark floors. Pretty.
But I do not care about looking around. While everyone else is talking in the living room, I grab a beer from the fridge and slip out to the terrace.
The view should be nice, ocean stretching out forever. But with the storm rolling in and night almost here, it just looks dark and rough. Not pretty at all.
I pop open my beer and hear footsteps behind me. I turn around. Katherine.
"Hey." She comes up next to me, studying my face close. "Are you mad?"
Her asking straight out like that catches me off guard. I pause for a second, then answer flat. "What do you think?"
"I figured you would be. But James really wanted to come, and I could not say no to him—"
"Wait." I cut her off. "He told you he was coming? When?"
"Um... in the car? While we were driving here?" She gives me this nervous little smile. "I was going to tell you. I swear. But you were having such a good time with Alex, and I did not want to ruin it. I could not find the right moment. I am sorry, Soph. Really."
I do not know what to say. I was so pissed at her. But she is being honest with me, and holding onto anger feels stupid now. Plus, she does not know the whole story with me and Liam. She does not understand why him being here fucks everything up. So I can not blame her completely.
"Fine." I sigh, letting it go. "Just... tell me first next time, okay?"
"Of course!" She promises, then nudges me with her elbow. "Hey, you and Alex are doing great. So just try to forget about Liam for now. Focus on your thing."
"Yeah." I smile, but it does not reach anywhere real. "Let us go inside. Rain is starting."
\---
The pizza shows up about an hour later. We eat, and then James gets all hyped up, announcing we should play Beer Pong.
Katherine is into it immediately. Edie too. Alex glances at me first, then shakes his head slow. "I do not know..."
"Oh come on." James will not let it go. "It is raining like crazy, so swimming is out. You want to just sit here doing nothing until the storm passes? No. We are playing. I am not taking no for an answer."
He pretty much drags us to the table and starts setting up cups, pouring beer.
I am careful about these drinking games. Last time we played something like this, I ended up kissing Alex. So while they are all busy, I lean toward him and lower my voice. "Are you actually good at this?"
He grins at me. "I would not say I am a pro. But I am not bad. Relax. I have got you."
There are six of us, so we split into two teams. Me, Alex, and Edie against Liam, James, and Katherine.
"Okay!" James is way too excited about this. "First throw, Liam." He hands him the ball.
Liam takes it. His eyes find me immediately, this nasty smile creeping onto his face. "Taking shots is boring. The loser should have to do something else. A punishment."
Bad memories hit me hard. I speak up fast. "I am not doing dares."
"Fine." He shrugs like it does not matter. "Truths, then."
Before I can argue, he lifts his hand and throws. Does not even aim. The ball drops straight into the cup right in front of me.
"Whoa! Drink up, Sophie!" James claps like an idiot. "And one question from Liam."
That smile on Liam's face gets wider. "Okay, I will start easy. Soph... when was the last time you had sex?"
My nails dig into my palms, I am clenching my fists so hard. But I keep my face blank, looking him right in the eyes. "...A year ago."
"Oh really?" He raises his eyebrows, that mocking edge in his voice. "You know you have to tell the truth, right? It is called Truths for a rLiam."
I ignore him and down my beer.
My turn to throw. I aim careful, concentrate, and the ball drops right into Liam's cup.
"Okay." I stand up straighter, letting a smile show. "My turn. Liam. When was the last time you slept with someone and they never called you back?"
The easy look on his face vanishes. His eyes narrow at me, his nose flaring.
"No way." Katherine sounds like she actually finds this funny. "Who would do that to Liam?"
"Actually, someone just did that to me a few days ago." Liam picks up his cup and drinks it all down. "But she is a bitch anyway. So I do not really care."
I want to slap him so bad.
The game goes on for a while. Back and forth. We end up tied. Then Liam gets the ball again.
And of course, he throws it right to me.
"Okay, Soph." He looks up at me, his eyes holding mine. "Have you ever let someone fuck you in a bathroom?"
My heart stops.
Everyone around the table goes completely quiet. Shocked.
The question is so dirty, so mean, so obvious what he is really asking. What he is really saying without saying it. I hope nobody figures it out. I pray they do not connect the dots.
"Liam, why would you..." Katherine shifts uncomfortable in her seat. "That is not okay. She is your sister, you know."
"Please." Liam snorts loud. "She does not see me as her brother. Do you, Sophie?"
I throw my cup down. It hits the floor and I walk away. I can not look at him anymore. If I do, I will lose it completely. I will scream or cry or hit him, and I can not do any of that here.
I storm out of the living room and someone grabs my elbow from behind, turning me around. Alex.
"Hey, hey. Wait up. Are you okay?"
He looks genuinely worried about me. I take a deep breath and look at him, and suddenly my eyes are burning. Wet.
"I... I..." I can not get the words out. I want so bad to tell someone, to explain everything. But I can not. And it is killing me inside.
Alex's face changes when he sees my eyes getting glossy. He has never seen me like this before.
"Hey, hey. It is okay. Come here." He pulls me into his arms, his hand rubbing my back gentle. I press my face into his chest and just cry. I can not stop.
He strokes my hair, murmuring things to calm me down. He is about to ask me something when another person shows up behind him.
Liam.
The one who did this to me. The rLiam I am falling apart right now.
He glances at us both, no expression on his face, and walks toward the door.
Alex turns. "You are leaving?"
"Going for a swim." Liam shrugs and steps past us.
I can not believe what I just heard. There is a storm outside. A real storm.
"Are you out of your fucking mind?" My voice comes out high and cracked. "It is raining like hell out there!"
Liam stops at the door. He turns his head halfway, but he still does not look directly at me. Then his mouth curves into this cold, empty smile.
"Why do you care?" His voice drips with sarcasm. Then he opens the door and walks out into the rain.