The Darkest Minds Imagines and Preferences | Slow Updates

Liam Requested

@ThatMadiPerson requested this one! Thank you for the request! I'm so sorry this took so long! Long as in, like, months. Hope this came out close to what you expected . . .

The warm door of Black Betty closed behind me, nearly crushing the fingers of my unfortunate nerdy brother behind, who happened to be gripping onto the metal frame.

"Hey!"

It was late out, but I didn't care; they could go to sleep while I wasn't. My footsteps clanged on the metal of the motel's thin steps, stopping at the top of the second floor for a moment to look back down at my blond boyfriend before training my green eyes on the post and railing.

I clambered onto the railing, slippery from previous rain, my arms tightening around the pole—why didn't they have a staircase to the roof?

It took a minute, but I was eventually able to pull myself up onto the ugly green roof. I walked over to the other side, hoping they would get the message and leave me alone for a while, maybe practice with Zu for a while instead. My eyes throbbed slightly in pain as I pressed my fists into them, trying to hold back the tears that were threatening to spill down my cheeks.

"Darlin'?" I heard Liam question doubtfully as he slowly moved from one end of the roof to mine.

"What do you want?" I took my hands off of my eyes to wipe them of the tears that I was still, somehow, able to hold in. I knew I was rude to him, but I couldn't bring myself to care at the moment.

He sat down next to me as I turned to see him. "You okay?" he asked, hesitantly bring up his hand to move a long lock of brown hair from where the soft breeze had placed it in my face.

I broke.

Tears silently leaked out of my eyes and splashed onto my faded band t-shirt. 

"Hey, don't cry, my Green Eyed Girl," he hummed softly, pulling my shaking body into his chest as the silence of my crying broke, turning into sobs that rang loudly in the nearly silent night. "It's okay. I'm here." I could feel the fabric of Liam's shirt and jacket soaking my tears and cries into it as Liam shushed me gently, rocking back and forth in a successful attempt to calm me. 

Although being honest, he had always calmed me.

"Maddy?" His voice was gentle as it willed me not to break again.

"Yeah, Liam?"

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

I sighed as I pried myself out of his comforting arms, momentarily hurting him before I gave him a curt nod.

"I--" I brought my hand up to wipe the tears that had started to for with that one word, but Liam got to it first, resting his hand on my cheek as he brushed them away with his thumb. "I hate what I can do--what I did do to that Tracer." Anger laced my voice as I spit the word "Tracer" out of my mouth like poison.

"Maddy, that wasn't your fault," Liam argued back, forcing me to look at him.

I barked out a humorless laugh as he tried to say more. "Whose fault do you think that was, Liam? Do you think the tracer just killed himself?" I nearly stopped myself as the flash of his dead body entered my mind, the black outfit, gun in hand, and bullet in his skull as I took his hand off of Chubs' arm. "No. That was me. I'm a killer, Li--"

"Listen," he demanded, tears gathering in his own eyes, "You're a lot of things, Maddy Cary, but you sure as hell ain't no killer (Bad Southern grammar, yay!).

"You're sarcastic, and you always find a way to interject your comments in every conversation. You're adorably funny when you want to be, which isn't often enough. You've got trust issues, but you wormed your way into my heart, and I hope I wormed my way into yours. You're a year younger then Cubs, but you're much more . . . How can I put this? . . . Mature than him. 

"And you're the strongest person I've met or ever will meet, so I'm not going to let you quit on yourself like this. You have Chubs. You have Zu. And you have me. We're gonna get through this, okay?"

I nodded. "How did I get someone like you?"

"That's something I should be asking you." 

We both laughed as I rested my head on his shoulder, feeling his hand wrap around my waist.

"Oh."

We both turned around to see Chubs' head poking up from the railing he was going to try (and fail) to lift himself from the roof to. 

"Really, Chubs?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Bye Lee. Don't do . . . anything with my sister." He was hesitant at saying the last part, and Liam stiffened, but I just laughed.

"Don't be mad I got your crush before you could!"

We could practically hear his eyes roll as we laughed and he left back down the outdoor hallway to the room and Zu.