Chapter Twelve

“Are you sure you can handle a job and your studies? Mrs. Hall questions me as we eat breakfast before my classes start.

Mr. Hall, Oscar, Liam, and my dad all sit at the table eating breakfast with us. Everyone, except Liam, was staring at me quizzically, waiting for my response.

“You don’t need to have a job,” my dad chimes in. “We should be able to get back on our own feet soon. You should focus on your studies.”

“I can handle it! It’s fine!” I replied as politely as possible while keeping my gaze away from Liam.

“But why do you need a job?” Mrs. Hall persisted. Ever since she found out, from Liam, that I had a job, she has been trying to convince me that I should quit.

“If there’s something you want or need, I can get it for you,” my dad continued.

“We can even get whatever you need,” Mr. Hall announces. “We are more than happy to help you with anything.”

I smiled in return. “Thank you, but it’s nothing like that. I just wanted to have something to do other than stay in my room bored.”

All of the parents in the room stared at me skeptically.

I look down at my half-eaten food feeling guilty. It seems I have been lying to everyone since I’ve moved in, and I really don’t like it. I’m starting to hate the person I am becoming.

“If you are thinking that we are going to accept money from you for staying here, that is not going to happen!” Mrs. Hall states, thinking that she figured out what I was up to.

“Oh mom, it’s obvious!” Oscar blurts out, startling everyone in the room.

“What?” She questions confused, yet disappointed that she didn’t solve the mystery.

“Bree got a job to either impress or avoid someone in this room.”

Everyone looks at Liam. Mrs. Hall stares at him through narrowed eyes while wearing a flabbergasted expression. My dad glares at him with his jaw clenched as he readied himself for a fight, and Mr. Hall looks at his son with befuddled anger.

Liam smacked his brother on the back of the head. This must’ve been something that he did not do very often considering the shock on Oscar’s face as well as everyone else’s face at the table.

“Well… I should get going now…” I state, desperately wanting to leave this new and uncomfortable situation. “Don’t want to be late…”

“I should too,” My dad says, getting up from his chair.

I walk over to Mrs. Hall, hugging her, “I’ll see you later. And don’t worry so much. I love you.” Glancing over, to notice that Liam was watching us closely, his eyes following my every move.

“I love you, too,” Her voice replies sweetly. “And I am going to worry. I just want you to focus on your studies instead of your time being taken up with a job.”

“If it affects my grades, I’ll quit,” I reply, trying to make her feel a little better.

Mrs. Hall agreed, but she still wasn’t happy about it.

I walk over to Mr. Hall, hugging him around the neck, as he was still seated at the table, eating breakfast. “Bye, have a good day at work!”

“I’ll see you tonight!” He replied merrily.

As I start to leave the kitchen, I notice that Liam had disappeared. Thank God, maybe he already left so I don’t have to walk with him.

Outside, my dad stood by his truck, waiting on me to come.

“Did Liam say something to upset you again?” He stares at me intently.

“What? No! Why would you ask that?”

“You’re really going to ask me that?” He questions with his brows raised.

“It’s nothing to worry about…” I replied, sadly. “I promise, he didn’t say anything to me recently. Everything is fine, I promise,” I give a faux smile.

My dad stared at me for a moment, not buying my response. He stood there as if he was waiting for me to cave, tell him something so outrageous that he would instantly have us leave. But when it became apparent that I wasn’t going to share anything more, he says, “Alright…”

Hugging him, I start, “I’ll see you later. I love you.”

“Love you too, sweetie. I’ll see you this evening.”

I stayed behind for a minute, watching my father leave before setting off towards school alone. I wished Dawn could have walked with me, but her house is farther away. Hopefully, she would be there to meet me before our classes start.

As I continued walking, I suddenly felt like I was being followed by someone, causing me to become alarmed. The events from walking home alone that one night and at the lake replayed in my mind. Could I just be imagining things? My heart started to race as if it was about to beat out of my chest. Even if it was my imagination running wild, I was still left feeling spooked.

Turning at the corner, I walk into a shop, rushing to the window. Staring outside, my heartbeat felt like it was in my throat as I wait for a little bit. After a minute or two, there was no one. I let out a sigh of relief. So it was just my imagination…. Until Liam walked past.

I thought he left before me? What is he doing? I thought to myself, leaving the shop. Keeping an eye on Liam as I follow him on the route toward the college. Maybe he wanted to make sure I got to school? The thought made my heart leap. Ugh… Why am I like this? He probably has a reasonable excuse, and I am just getting my hopes up.

At a crosswalk, Liam appeared to be searching the crowd. He looked like he lost someone. I giggle to myself, seeing the lost puppy expression on his face was a little funny. Until I step next to him.

Noticing me, the crease in his forehead makes an appearance. “You even cause trouble when you are trying to avoid it,” His voice mumbles, not looking at me.

“Why were you following for me?” I question innocently, ignoring his snide remark.

“I wasn’t following you.”

“You left before I did,” I point out.

“If I was following you, which I wasn’t, then it’s only because you always manage to put yourself in danger. Someone has to keep an eye on you since you don’t watch out for yourself.”

I smile to myself a little. Whether he meant to or not, he just admitted that he was worried about my safety. Could that mean something? Even if I was reading into it too much, he still cared about that much.

As we approached the school together, we hear a female’s voice call, “Liam!”

We look in the direction the voice came. I was baffled, to say the least.

A tall, slender woman came running towards us wearing a denim mini-skirt and a pale pink crop top, showing cleavage. Her frame made it seem as though her chest was too heavy. While she ran, I was surprised she was confident that her top wasn’t going to fall. Her long, flowing black hair waved in the wind behind her until she reached us.

The girl looked like she could have been a model with her thin frame, long legs, and substantial chest. Her brown eyes sparkled as she stared at Liam.

“Ember?” Liam’s voice states in shock.

The girl, who I now know is named Ember, hugs him around the neck.

“What are you doing here?” He questions, still in shock.

“I transferred!” Ember replied stepping back. “Aren’t you happy to see me?” Her voice sounded hurt as she pouts, causing me to roll my eyes.

“Yeah,” Liam replies with a big smile. “I just didn’t expect to see you, is all.”

I stood quietly as the two of them spoke, being ignored. The interaction between the two of them made me feel jealous; envious that this random person could instantly make Liam happy. I have never seen him smile like that before. Which made me wonder, Could I ever make him happy?

As if I didn’t exist, Liam and Ember walk, leaving me behind as they speak excitedly to one another. Who is she? Maybe a former girlfriend? I suddenly started to feel insecure.

“So, how is your morning going?” Dawn questions, standing next to the invisible me.

“It was somewhat decent until I got here…”

“Whoa…” Dawn states as she caught sight of Ember. “Who is Liam talking to ?”

“I don’t know…”

Dawn and I talk for a while before setting off to our classes. My day only got worse as I find out that Liam and Ember are both in my first class of the day and the last class.

Why does the universe hate me? I can never share one class with my best friend, but I’m always stuck with Liam… And now HER!

***

After classes, Dawn and I met with Chad and Ellen at a restaurant a few blocks away from the college campus. The restaurant was crowded and noisy. And while it was a nice place, everything from the décor to the waiters and any surroundings was completely lost on me. At that instant I allowed my insecurities to get the better of me.

“Do you think I’m pretty?” I ask my friends innocently, interrupting their conversation and receiving questionable stares.

“You’re very pretty!” Dawn replies quickly.

“You’re beautiful!” Chad declares with his cheeks turning red.

“You’re so pretty,” Ellen continued.

I give a weak smile. I don’t know why I was asking them, they are my friends, of course, they are going to say that.

“Don’t tell me that this is about Liam and that girl…” Dawn states, becoming irritated.

“I thought you were going to forget about him!” Ellen interjects.

“I know,” I state regretfully. “But seeing her… And the way they were together… I just… I don’t know how to explain it… I just feel… stuck…”

“If you keep going like this, you are going to get hurt worse than you already have,” Dawn retorts bluntly.

“Bree, I’m telling you this because I care about you a lot,” Chad begins, his blue eyes showing pain and sadness. “All of us are tired of seeing him put you down and insult you. I mean, now you’re even questioning your beauty. He makes you question personal things about yourself that you have never even considered before. Maybe that girl is here to prove that you shouldn’t be wasting your time.”

Chad’s words hurt me deeply. While what he said is true and was a means to make me feel somewhat better or to help me move on, it had the opposite effect. I felt more ashamed of myself.

“Honestly, with how many times he has rejected you, and how he does it, none of us understand how you could even put up with him. Not to mention how you could still have any positive emotions towards him.”

“Ugh, I know… I’ve tried to make myself hate him, but when he kissed me—“

“He kissed you?!” all three of my friends question in shocked unison.

“When did he kiss you?” Dawn asks intrigued.

Chad clenches his jaw as he grew sullen and angry, while Dawn and Ellen continue to drill me for more details.

As my friends bombard me with questions, I kept shaking my head. “It didn’t mean anything… As far as I can tell, it was nothing more than just another cruel joke to him…”

At this, Chad shot up from his seat. The three of us stared at him inquisitively.

“What are you doing?” Ellen asked.

“I’m going to find Liam and teach him a lesson.” His jaw was still clenched, his voice stern and cold.

“No!” I yell horrified, causing Chad to snap out of it. “I cause too many problems; I don’t need you to start them too.”

“She’s right,” Ellen states. “Last time was a doozy.”

“But…”

“It’s my problem, not yours,” I said, looking at the time on my phone. “It doesn’t matter anyway I have to go pick up Carey.” I grab my things and leave.

When I was walking towards Carey’s house, my phone sounded. Grabbing it from my pocket, I see it’s a text from Chad that read, “I’m sorry for losing my temper. Please call me later.” As I read the text, I accidentally bump shoulders with someone.

“Watch where you’re—oh, hi! You’re the girl that was with Liam this morning.”

“Hi… Ember…”

“So what were you doing with Liam this morning? Are you two dating?” Her high-pitched voice caused my ears to start ringing.

“No… My dad and I are just staying with his family for now…”

“Oh! That’s great news!” Ember replies, flipping her long black hair. “What is your name?”

“Bree.”

“Such a nice name! It just rolls off the tongue and floats away… Like a breeze!”

“Is there anything else you need to ask me about?” I question, trying not to sound too rude. “I need to be somewhere in just a few minutes.”

“Ok… I just wanted to tell you since we weren’t properly introduced, that Liam and I used to be friends when we were a little younger.” She starts winding herself up. “I had heard that he decided to go to this little college, which was weird. You know how intelligent he is, why would he come to this college? Anyway, I transferred so I can get close enough to him to date him.”

“Oh… really?”

“Yeah! Do you know if he is interested in anyone or seeing anyone?”

“I really don’t know…” I reply becoming uncomfortable.

“Really?” Ember states becoming disappointed. “I thought you two must’ve been close enough to know at least that much about each other.”

“To be honest, we aren’t all that close. And if he was interested in someone, he wouldn’t let anyone know.”

Ember giggles. “That is true.”

“Well, as I said, I have somewhere to be.”

“Okay!” She replies merrily. “I’ll see you later then! I think we are going to be great friends!”

“What?”

“Well, you live with him, why wouldn’t I want to be friends?”

“Oh… right… Okay…”

“I’ll see you late then!” She replied happily, walking off.

“Bye…”

After that unpleasant encounter, I hurriedly walked to Carey’s house, where she was waiting for me patiently.

“Bree!” She calls to me, running happily to me and hugging me.

“Hi!” I smile, equally happy to see her. “Have you thought about what you wanted to do today?” I ask.

“Uh-huh!”

“What is it?”

“I want to go to the zoo!” She replies excitedly.

“Really?” I respond, looking at the time. “I’m not sure we can make it there and back in an appropriate amount of time riding the bus…”

“Please! You said we could go anywhere I wanted!”

“I know…” I reply, feeling guilty. “Let me see something right quick.” Taking out my phone, I call Mrs. Hall.

Ring, ring.

Ring, ring.

“Hey, Mrs. Hall, I’m with Carey and we have a little favor to ask you. “

“Oh, what is it?” Her voice asked sweetly over the phone.

“She wants to go to the zoo. Do you think you could give us a ride?”

“Of course!”

“Okay, I’ll text you the address. Bye!” I say, hanging up the phone. “Okay, Carey, Mrs. Hall is going to be here in a little bit to take us to the zoo.”

“Yay!” Carey yelled, jumping up and down.

After about 15 minutes of waiting, Mrs. Hall’s vehicle pulled up. Grabbing Carey’s hand, I help her in the backseat before going to the passenger seat to see that Mrs. Hall wasn’t the one who was driving.

“Why are you here?” I question Liam.

“Mom said she couldn’t come because she suddenly wasn’t feeling well…” He replies bluntly. “So I had to.”

“She sounded fine over the phone.” I retorted.

“Yep…” He responds, equally annoyed.

“Who are you?” Carey’s small voice questions from the backseat.

“My name is Liam.” His voice changed to a sweeter tone. “I heard a lot about you, Carey.” Liam’s voice was soft and pleasant when he spoke to Carey. “Bree talks about you a lot.”

“Oh!” Carey replies excitedly, with realization. “She talks about you a lot too!”

Looking back at Carey I stare at her mortified, shaking my head no.

“Does she?” Liam questions, looking in the rearview mirror for a second before looking back at the road. “Hopefully only good things.”

Carey giggles.

“No, only how much of a bully you are…” I mumbled, staring out the window.

When we finally made it to the zoo, it felt like we had been in the car for years. The short drive was excruciating for me. While Liam had a nice conversation with Carey, which he was surprisingly good at, I guess it shouldn’t have been all that unexpected since he has a little brother and is used to interacting with children.

But while we were at the zoo, the three of us had an enjoyable time. The entire time we were with Carey, Liam didn’t say or do anything to tease or humiliate me.

“What would you like to go see first?” I ask Carey.

“Hmm… I’m not sure.”

“How about the lions or tigers?” Liam says, with a smile. “Rawr!”

Carey and I laugh a little.

“Okay!” She said excitedly.

“Then let’s go!”

On our way to the lions and tigers, we walked past the pond full of big koi fish that we stopped to feed. They were so huge! Gold and white speckled fish, orange fish, midnight-black fish, and orange, black, and white speckled fish would splash mercilessly in the water fighting for the bits of fish food.

In the center of the pond was a little island with a small house, tire swing, and other toys. There were a few large trees and three spider monkeys playing.

“Why are those monkeys over there?” Carey asks sweetly. “Aren’t they afraid they will run away?”

“No, I think they like it here,” I reply.

“Some animals, like these monkeys, and peacocks, have it good here. So they don’t really have a reason to try and escape.” Liam adds.

“Oh!” Carey replies.

“Are you two getting hungry or thirsty?” He questions as we start getting close to the concession stand.

“Yes!” Carey says merrily.

“What about you, Bree?” He questions with a smile.

Taken aback, I wasn’t sure what to say at first. “Um… Y-yeah, sure.”

Liam looks at me quizzically. “Why are you stammering?” He wears a beautifully innocent, charming smile.

“Why are you being so nice?” I question as my heart skips a beat.

“I can be nice.”

While Liam was getting us some drinks and food, Carey and I sit down at a table, waiting for him to return.

“Are you having fun?” I ask Carey while we wait.

“Yes!”

“I’m glad,” I reply with a smile.

“Bree, why aren’t you and Liam dating?”

“W-what?”

“I think you would look good together,” she replies.

“Oh… Okay.”

“So, what aren’t you with him?”

“I don’t think Liam likes me in that way…”

“Oh…” She replies a little sad. “But I think he does.”

“Why do you think that?” I question, curiously.

“Why does she think what?” Liam asks, carrying our food and drinks.

“Nothing!” I reply quickly.

He looks at Carey inquiringly.

“Nothing!” She responds with a teasing smile.

Before long, the fun was over, and we had to bring Carey back home. The poor thing was exhausted, falling asleep in the backseat until she got home. When I was done bringing her to her foster parents, I head back to the car to ride home with Liam. The car ride was… awkward. We were quiet for most of the ride. After a few moments, I couldn’t stand the tension any longer, so I tried to start a conversation.

“Thank you for bringing us to the zoo even though you didn’t want to be there. And for buying us some food and drinks.” I smiled, remembering how carefree and happy he looked while there.

“Yeah…” He replies, with his voice stiff and cold.

It was as if just that quickly, as soon as Carey left the vehicle, he reverted to his cold and uncaring self. The tension in the air remained for the rest of the car ride, without another word being exchanged between us.