Life is Liz (LiL, #1)

Chapter 10: Part 2: Teaching Sessions

I smiled up at him. "Sounds great." The song changed from If these sheets were states to The Fray's Love don't die. I rested my head back on the cold leather couch and closed my eyes, feeling tired from all the crying I did. I felt Ryan mirroring my actions and I sighed. "Ryan?"

He hummed.

I rested my head on his shoulder. "Thank you," I said, my voice barely audible. I felt kind of embarrassed after he saw me cry. It was a really uncomfortable feeling. But I was grateful that he was there and comforted me. And I was more than just thankful that he didn't question me. Though it was quite ironical as

he said: "Whoever did this to you doesn't know how great you are."

Little did he know that I was the one who did this. I hurt myself. I punished myself. For not being the person I wanted to be. For not being good enough for myself. For not being perfect. I did it because I had to learn to be different. To be a better person. To be something better than I was now.

"You are welcome, Elizabeth," he whispered. It was weird to hear him call me that, usually only teachers, Dr. Goodman and sometimes, my family called me by my full name.

I smiled and let the Arctic Monkeys lull me to sleep.

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I awoke as something skimmed my cheek, tickling me in the process. I groaned and turned around, pulling at the soft fabric in front of my face. My eyes were still closed as I covered my face with the fabric. Then I analyzed the position I was in. I was lying on my side, on the couch, my head propped up on a pillow. But the cushion was made out of a weird material. It felt like... denim?

Something heavy was placed around my waist and I could hear faint music in the background. I let a loud and not so lady-like yawn out, making my pillow vibrate under me. I knitted my eyebrows in confusion and slowly opened my eyes.

My eyes widened as I realized that the soft fabric my face was buried in seconds ago was a shirt. I quickly pulled away and looked up to see a chuckling Ryan looking down at me in amusement. I let go of his shirt, blushing. It was just then that I realized my head was resting on his lap, facing his stomach. "Sorry," I mumbled, my voice hoarse from sleep. How I ended up in that position is beyond me.

I wanted to sit up, but his arm was wrapped around my waist in a firm grip. I rubbed my eyes with both my hands and yawned again. "How long did I sleep?" I asked with a groggy voice, looking up at him.

He pulled my ear buds out of his ears and gazed at me with a smile. "I don't know. An hour, maybe?" I nodded. And then I remembered his plans for the

night.

"What about your friends?" I tried to sit up, but his grip only tightened around me.

"Relax. We still have time. It doesn't matter when we are meeting them. They're already there."

I frowned. "And where is there?"

"I think they wanted to go bowling," he said, his thumb brushing small patterns trough my shirt. I groaned. Bowling? I hated bowling. That was one of the many things I sucked at.

"I should get ready so we can leave soon," I said pushing at his arm, hoping he'd get the hint to let go of me. He made a weird noise, but then sighed.

"Okay."

He retreated his arm from around my waist, letting me sit up. I ran a hand through my messy hair. "Just so you know," I said. He looked at me with knitted eyebrows. I continued, "I won't bowl."

"Oh, come on. Why not?" he pouted.

I held my index finger up. "Uh-uh. I'm just heading out with you, because I'm hungry. Nothing more and nothing less." Actually I wasn't hungry at all. The only thing I felt was... well, actually I didn't feel anything at the moment. No sadness, no hatred, no happiness, no nothing. I felt like a robot.