Represent

Chapter 6

After dinner, the men went downstairs and played video games. I got ready for bed. I wrapped my hair up in a scarf and decided to wear a sports bra under my t shirt due to my company. Then I checked my phone, which Niall had apparently thrown into the loot bag with Risky's jacket. Nia had called me once. I decided not to return the call, since she hadn't exactly been expecting me and wasn't aware that I was "missing." I saw one call from my brother Jeremy, and multiple calls from my parents. I was still a bit irritated with them, but in light of the day's events I decided it was only fair that I sent them a curtesy text message letting them know that I was safe.

"Texting your boyfriend Risky?" I heard a voice say quietly. From around the corner I saw Liam appear. He had a playful half-smile.

"That's not funny," I protested. "He was trying to... get me."

Liam sat down on the bed and began removing his socks and shoes. "That's how it goes for y'all out here. Gotta watch out for guys like him." I huffed but didn't say anything, refusing to tell this practical stranger who I was texting. "So, where am I takin' you tomorrow anyway?"

That was a good question. Going to my family's was out, since I was no longer in danger. And Nia had classes in the morning. "I don't know anymore."

Liam shrugged. "Move in for all I care. It's not my house. Louis would probably enjoy the company." He placed his snapback on the television screen across from the bed and pulled his tank top over his head, revealing his toned abs. After stretching a little, flexing his hard muscles, he tossed the shirt carelessly to the ground. He'd already changed his jeans into basketball shorts for sleeping. His calves were just as defined as the rest of his body. Our eyes connected for a second, and I felt embarrassed for staring at his physique. The street-hardened guy wasn't usually my type, yet I couldn't help but feel attracted to this guy who'd saved my life. It was unsettling for some reason. Suddenly, I wished I hadn't been bed-ready, with my make-up free face and my wrapped up hair.

"So, you're good with cars?" I asked, desperately trying to focus on something else.

"Cars, washing machines, anything mechanical, really. You name it, I can fix it."

"You should be a mechanical engineer," I said, immediately feeling stupid. He wasn't leading that sort of lifestyle. He'd probably think I was being uppity.

He didn't seem irritated, though. He almost seemed sad. His brow furrowed and he looked down. "I mean, I wanted to. Mama ain't have no money. Pops wasn't around."

I had wanted to tell Liam it wasn't too late, but his last sentence silenced me.

"I know you're wondering, so I'll tell you. He wasn't no punk. He didn't leave us or nothing. He got killed trying to provide for us." Liam put both his arms over his head and his hands behind his head, making his biceps bulge. "Sister moved out a year before I graduated. I didn't need to be running off to no college anyway. Someone's gotta be around for Mama." He lay back and rolled off the bed unto the couch that was at the foot of the bed.

I was a bit confused by his abrupt movement. "You don't wanna know anything about me?"

"I figured if you had anything to tell me about yourself that you wanted me to know, you would. Plus, there probably isn't that much to know."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked indignantly. Who was he to write me off?

"I mean, you know, pretty little suburban girl, runnin' around the big city, probably in college judgin' by that University of Chicago tattoo," he said, pointing at the temporary tattoo on my ankle that my little sister had put on me last night. "Fairy-tale life. What's to tell?"

I was thrown off by the sly compliment he'd given me, calling me pretty, but then I wasn't sure if it was sincere. "If I live such a fairy-tale life, then don't you wonder why I was standing around alone in the city? Or how I have no idea where I'm going once I leave here?"

Liam was quiet for a second. "I guess I am a bit confused by that."

I smiled and stretched out on the bed, happy to get to share my life. In the back of my mind, I was hoping that my story would impress Liam, this hardened southsider. Then I paused. For one thing, I didn't think telling him that I'd, in a sense, run away from my parents would impress him. In fact, the whole story needed to be tweaked if I was going to keep Liam from laughing me off.

"Well, I'm striking it out on my own. I'm not in college right now. I'm trying to save up some money to pay for tuition, get some financial aid, and become a writer." Somehow, my story still sounded weak. "So, I need to find a place to stay, a job, you know. Gotta make my own way." I waited for his response.

Of course, it was laughter. Liam didn't take me seriously. "So where are you parents then?" he asked, catching the one detail I'd purposely left out. "In the house, right? And you were livin' with them, but they pissed you off so you left them too, right?" He let out another hoot. "Take your ass home, little girl."

I could feel my face burning. How dare he belittle my struggles? "I am a grown woman. I don't need to be subject to their crap. I can do whatever I want!" It was clear that he didn't respect my way of life.

"Look, you may be legal, but you sholl ain't grown. Try livin' like me for a while. You're talkin' about tryin' to succeed, and I'm talking about just trying to survive. Try that, then run away from home." His laughter was so... diminishing. Who did he think he was, talking to me like that?

"Screw you," I muttered, shooting a text to Nia to expect me tomorrow morning. I couldn't stand it in the room with this jerk much longer. "I basically did live your life with that asshole Risky, or did you forget about that?"

Liam chuckled, his voice making the bed vibrate. "Risky just wanted to get some. Don't get me wrong, he was being a little bitch about it, a fuckin' asshole really, but I saved you, didn't I? He probably would have freaked out and left once he dropped his pants."

"He was talking about making me a prostitute," I answered flatly.

Liam sat up on the couch. "He said what?" I could see the concern on his face. I wasn't sure if it was for me or for his former friend, but it was interesting to see such a tough man showing such a vulnerable emotion. "No, not Risky. No." I said nothing, allowing him the chance to process what I had just told him. "Whatever. You'll go back to your charmed life in a few hours and it'll all be like a bad dream." He lay back down. How rude.

I recieved a positive reply from Nia. She'd leave me a spare key.

"Oh, shit," Liam mumbled. "I forgot to tell my boys to come over tomorrow to split the stuff. You seen my phone?"

"No."

"Well, can you call it? I don't know where I put it." He gave me his number and I called it. Liam's pillow began to buzz and glow.

"Hmmph," was his only reply. Exasperated, I lay down in bed and tried to forget the whole ordeal.