Liam’s POV
Christmas had come and gone; I had finally met Anna’s parents and let me just say it could quite possibly have been the most awkward experience of my life. We had Christmas lunch at my house with my family, and then Anna and I went to her house for dinner. Her parents were not only giving me dirty looks the whole time, but also to each other. Not only that, but they fought…at the table…in front of us. I wanted so badly to ask them why they were even married, but I refrained from doing it. I could see how mortified Anna was that they were acting this way in front of me, and I felt horrible. So later that night when we had journied back to my house, I tried to make light of the situation by telling her how much I liked them. Obviously she didn’t believe me but it got her to smile.
It was nearing the end of Christmas break and things between Esme and I were almost normal. It felt as though we had known each other forever; like we hadn’t despised one another earlier in the year. It was like I hadn’t put her through hell and back. I had spent quite a bit of my Christmas break with her, and I almost wondered if Anna was suspecting something. She hadn’t even asked to see me since the day after Christmas.
I promised Holly that I would go over there today and bake cookies with her.
***
“Liam!” Holly ran straight to me when I walked in the door.
“Holly love,” I replied back, mimicking her enthusiasm.
“Are you ready to bake?”
“Of course I am, is Esme helping us?” I asked curiously, wondering why I hadn’t seen her yet.
“I don’t know she hasn’t really come out of her room today.”
“Really? Hols, how about you go get all of the baking stuff out while I try to get your sleepyhead of a sister out of bed.”
She nodded cheerily before scurrying off into the kitchen.
I walked down the hall and came to a stop in front of the door to Esme’s bedroom. I took a deep breath before knocking. There was no answer so I tried turning the knob; luckily it was unlocked. I walked in to find Esme all wrapped up in her blanket, but she was faced away from me. I walked around to the other side of the bed only to realize that she was crying.
“Hey, hey, hey,” I combed back the hair that had fallen in her face. “What’s wrong, what happened?”
She sat up slowly, wiping a few tears from her face in the process. She took a few deep breaths, calming herself down, before she finally spoke.
“It was last night,” her tone was soft, and she started to get worked up again.
“What was last night? What’s the matter?”
“I don’t think he,” she paused again, trying to catch her breath. “I-I don’t think,”
I took a seat next to her on the bed, wrapping my arm around her in the hopes of calming her down. “Okay, take a deep breath and try to breathe.” She did as I said, breathing in and then letting it out slowly. “Now what happened last night?”
“Tate showed up here, he usually calls first, b-but this time he just came. Unfortunately my mum was home so I couldn’t use Holly as an excuse not to go with him. And I don’t think he,” she paused again, and looked away from me. It almost seemed like she was embarrassed to tell me what happened. “I don’t think he put on a condom.” She finally managed to speak; her voice was almost a whisper.
I realized what she was upset about, and I had no clue to do, but I just wanted to make everything better. I wanted to assure her that everything would be okay, that she shouldn’t be assuming the worst. I nonchalantly took a deep breath in and then let it out, hoping she didn’t sense my sudden nervousness.
