Between Us

chapter fourteen

14

  Liam blinks slowly when I finish the story of my parents kicking me out, his jaw slack.

  I'm feeling a lot warmer now, able to free myself of the blankets. My coffee cup is empty, but I keep my hands on it and spin it around. "Liam?"

  "You nearly destroyed your relationship with your parents over me? What the hell were you thinking, Taryn?" he asks, his voice rising.

  "Don't flatter yourself, Liam. It wasn't about you, it was about them telling me who I can and can't hang out with and treating me like I'm eight instead of eighteen," I say, rolling my eyes. "Looks like they're not the only ones. I'll just go, I shouldn't have come here. I'll find a hotel."

  As I stand up, Liam grabs my wrist and pulls me back down. "Oh no you don't, you're staying here. It's way too cold, and I never said you couldn't stay. I just don't understand why all the trouble over studying for calculus," he says, looking into my eyes, trying to understand.

  I sigh and change the topic. "I'll try not to stay too long, I don't want to be a burden. I'll pay for groceries, too," I tell him.

  He shakes his head and stands up. "You don't have to. Mi casa es tu casa," Liam jokes, trying to lighten the mood, gesturing in a sweeping motion with a dorky grin.

  I try to smile. "Thanks. I really appreciate it," I say sincerely. "Um, can I borrow your phone for a minute? I need to text Reed, he's worried."

  Liam's eyebrows wrinkle in confusion. "What's wrong with yours?" he asks as he grabs it off the coffee table and unlocks it.

  "Parents turned it off, remember?" I say, taking it from him. His lips form an 'o' shape and he nods. I open his text messages and create a new one for Reed, typing in the number I know by heart.

Liam
  It's Taryn, from Liam's phone. Parents turned mine off I'm safe and I love you. see you tmrw @ school.

Reed
The fucking nerve they have. Luv u 2 sis.

  I close the app and turn off the phone, then return it to Liam with a small smile. "Thanks."

  He smiles too, our fingers brushing as he takes his phone back. I'm suddenly hyper aware of how shirtless he is, and how close we are. I clear my throat and step back, feeling my cheeks heat up.

  Liam coughs slightly and rubs the back of his neck. "So, you can sleep in my bed and I'll take the couch," he says.

  Immediately, I shake my head. "I'm the guest, I'll take the couch," I tell him.

  "Exactly, you're the guest. You get the bed."

  I grin. "We could be a total cliché and fight and fight until we decide to share the bed," I say with a wink.

  Liam laughs. "I'm pretty sure it's frowned upon for older men to share beds with teenagers."

  "You're not that old, and I'm eighteen," I point out. "What, afraid I kick?"

  "Slightly."

  I can't stop the smiling spreading across my face. "Well, I don't. I just talk."

  "Well then, I can listen to you from the living room," he says with a cheeky grin.

  "You're impossible," I mutter.

  "I'm a gentleman," Liam corrects. "Still want to study?"

  "Would you mind if I showered first?"