Wrong Move

8 - Three Words, Eight Letters

"Hello employee of the month," he teased, and I walked past him with a roll of my eyes. The small kitchen was empty of any smells, and I turned to Liam with a questioning look.

"I thought we were having dinner? Did you want to order in?" The tension in his shoulders made me ask.

"I wanted to talk to you first, and depending how that goes, we can get some food"

I froze. Was Liam about to preempt me? I walked to his couch and sat down, letting him settle in next to me.

"I got a job offer, it's head sales," he started, sucking in a fortifying breath. I exploded, clapping my hands with happiness.

"That's amazing! I'm so proud of you!" I gushed, but he didn't seem happy. He pulled away, putting space between us, his eyes searching mine.

"The position is on the west coast. They'll cover my costs, but it means moving." He said finally.

It sucked the air out of the room, I was still as I waited for him to elaborate.

"Taylor, you know how I feel about you. But I think we should break up" his voice quivered.

"W-what?" I breathed, floored by his words. My head was spinning. Liam reached out and cupped my hands, stroking his thumb down the side.

"You don't love me Taylor, and maybe if we had more time than you might feel for me the way I feel for you" he ran his hand through his short hair "It's not fair to ask you to move when I know your heart isn't going to be mine"

"Liam—" I started, unsure of what to say. This was not how I envisioned my night going at all.

"I saw you with him," Liam said.

"With who?" I shook my head, forehead furrowed in confusion.

"The bikie, he comes into Binghams a lot doesn't he" Liam said, but there was no reproach in his voice, only sadness. "Your colleagues were joking about your admirer last week, and I had to see what they were talking about. I recognized him. He's the same guy who got jealous the night we met"

My throat tightened so much that I winced. He was talking about Wings. He didn't know how wrong he was.

"Liam—that bikie, he doesn't like me, the Bingham's visits, they're driven by guilt. We aren't even friends, I hate him"

Liam looked at me with pity. His thumbs were still stroking me with a maddening softness.

"Tay—trust me when I say that guy doesn't keep coming around because of guilt. Do you know how I know that?"

My fingernails dug into Liam's skin, and I shook my head vigorously. I didn't want to hear anymore.

"It's like looking at a mirror. I love you Taylor, and if I'm right, and I'm sure that I am, that guy you 'hate' loves you too"

I pushed away from Liam, pacing in front of him with a look of horror plastered on my face.

"You don't know what you're talking about," I said hoarsely, my heart thumping double time in my chest. I was fighting the urge to pick up and run, anything to avoid this madness.

"Do you want to know what you look like?" Liam said with a sigh.

"Don't you dare," I warned, my hand rubbing my chest.

"You look like someone caught in a tornado, angry, frightened, exhilarated, alive. I know you don't look like that with me"

"That's because I actually care about you Liam!" I shouted, feeling strangely exposed, even though I knew what he was suggesting was craziness. Wings was nothing to me, had to be nothing to me. To let him close was to invite total ruin again, and I never would take that chance, not in a million lifetimes. Liam dropped his head back on the couch and stared at the ceiling, breathing deeply.

"Do you love me?" he asked in a soft voice. "I said I would let you get there in your own time, but I need to know."

"Liam," I pleaded

"Do you love me?" he asked, turning to look at me with such longing. I wanted to say yes, I wanted to sweep this horrible conversation away and forget it had ever happened. Liam was a wonderful guy, but my heart didn't beat for him. I couldn't pretend any longer. Words escaped me. I shook my head, tears chasing a downward path down my cheeks.

"I'm going to take that job, Taylor, and I think it would be best to have a clean break. I hope you find what you're looking for. I hope you find that person who can break down the walls you've built. I tried, but I could never get through to you, really through. Now I know why, someone got there before me and made you feel you had to hide"

I choked, my arms coming to wrap around myself. Liam stood, moving towards me, but I put up a hand, moving towards the door with a sudden urgency. I grabbed my jacket and purse and ran for the door, ignoring Liam as he called my name. My face was streaming with tears, mostly born out of confusion, and the feeling only heightened as I slid behind my steering wheel and squealed out of Liam's driveway. I drove through the sedated streets like a maniac, surprised I wasn't pulled over for speeding. My phone rang and rang in my purse. I knew it was Liam but I was incapable of speaking. How dare he suggest there was any feeling left in my for Wings. Not when he'd torn me apart and left an empty husk. He said he wouldn't rush my feelings but then demanded me to feel the same after watching one interaction with the bane of my life. I rubbed the heels of my hands against my eyes and swiped the tears away angrily. I heard a tapping on my window and looked up to see the object of my hatred, Wings. He was peering in, face clouded with concern.

"Are you okay?" he asked, muffled through the glass.

I opened the door so fast that it clipped him and he bent over with a groan.

"What are you doing here?" I demanded, getting in his space, desperate for answers. He folded upwards with a wince, eyeing me carefully. I guess I looked pretty crazy right now.

"I saw you speeding down main street and thought I'd make sure you were ok" he said

My lip curled back, and I jammed a finger in his chest. I was standing so close that my face was inches from his.

"I'm not yours to check on. Why can't you just leave me alone!" I was screaming at him now. "Stop co-coming into my work and bothering me, stop follo-w-wing me and pretending like you give a shit about me" my fists pounded against his wide chest, sobs coming through more than words.

"Tay, Tay, what's happened?" he said, his hands catching my fists and holding them immobile. I sagged against him, the heat of him searing my skin. Liam's words echoed in my mind.

A tornado. Alive.

I was falling apart, but my heart was thunder and lightning. What key had I given this man to let him my body react like this in his presence, after everything he did to me? Why did he insist on forcing himself into my life, even after I continually asked him to leave?

"Do you love me?" I whispered, the words tumbling out. Wing's eyes widened, the whites of them flashing with panic. I waited for the refusal, the vehement denial. I could almost taste it. But then he said something that made my knees buckle in utter shock.

"Yes"

That was it. Just yes. His jaw tightened, and he looked down at me in defiance. If I thought I had been angry before, it was nothing on the roar of fury that swept through me now.

He loved me? Now? What kind of sick joke was he playing now? I struggled in the iron hold of his fists. Worse was that the longer I looked in his eyes, the more I could see it. My stomach flipped with the truth of it shining in his face.

"How dare you" I hissed, my chest heaved. "you've no right!"

"I know," he nodded sadly, his fingers opening gently, to let my wrists free. We stared at each other for a long moment, me in utter shock and he slumped resignation. There was a scorching heat between us, our bodies straining towards each other, but it was a twisted, fucked up song they were singing. I lifted my flattened palm and struck Wings with all the force I could muster. The crack it made echoed in the quiet parking lot. My hand stung, and it cleared some of the haze in my mind. A red print on Wings cheek was bright, and his nostrils flared as he looked at me.

"Stay away from me, Wings, I mean it."

I turned on my heel and walked away, refusing to look back.