Stole My Heart- 1D Fanfic

Chapter 17

Georgia’s POV

My head and hands felt heavy as I clicked off the call. I looked in the mirror, staring bleakly at the sheen of sweat sparkling on my forehead. The whole situation was wholly twisted, and anger and sadness rose in equal proportion in my mind. But as confused as I was, I couldn’t let Liam know anything was wrong, especially when he was trying to make his recovery. I was a little afraid of what it would do to him. I wasn’t even sure I should ever tell him, even when he was fully recovered. After all, those were my express orders. I stared at my phone. Everything was going so well. I should have known something would ruin the undeserved happiness I’d felt for the last couple of weeks. I shook my head to clear it of the thoughts, then tried to put on a cheerful expression as I exited the room. 

I found Liam propped in the worn and overstuffed chair, parked in front of the TV, watching Lord of the Rings, again. He had a puzzled and almost angry expression on his face, despite the fact that this was one of his favorite movies. The upside, I noted,  was that he had gained back most of his former color, and his skin no longer had the chalk white pallor of an invalid. He glanced up, meeting my gaze, and I noticed his eyes were unusually sharp and focused, moving over me like he was picking up on every minute detail. 

I shifted, a bit uncomfortable under the scrutiny. He spoke first. “Who was on the phone?” I started. How much had he heard? How much would I have to tell him? This was going to kill him. I was going to kill him. I winced inwardly, considering how best to proceed. Outwardly, I frowned, trying to play off my panic as mild annoyance at him for eavesdropping.

“It was Harry.” I carefully chose my words, telling the only absolute truth I knew I could say. “I didn’t know you could hear it. Why? Did I wake you?” I tried to maintain my facade. 

“I was already awake, but I was looking for you and I heard you saying something was ridiculous and talking about some people and calling them ‘them.’ And then you got all quiet and I walked away because I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I’m sorry.” He added pitifully, hanging his head a bit. 

Any anger I had previously been prickling with melted away, along with the panic and annoyance. “It’s not a big deal, Lee. I wasn’t exactly being quiet, I suppose.” I moved over, embracing him and burying my head in his shoulder. “It’s just some stuff Harry was dealing with, he called to tell me the story. I didn’t want to wake you up, so I went into the bathroom.” I felt a little guilty at the half-truth, but there was no way I could tell Liam the whole story right then and there. It might be better to leave that to a later date, maybe about forty years down the road.  

He nodded, seemingly placated and oblivious to my mental commentary. I sighed in relief, snuggling into the huge chair, halfway on his lap, legs thrown over his. We fell into a easy sort of conversation that only the two of us could achieve. It was so comfortable,  talking and laughing with one another, that we usually lost all sense of time. 

“When do you have to go testify against Alex?” He asked, taking a more serious note and pulling on a strand of my hair. He always did that absentmindedly, as if my curls held a certain fascination for him. I couldn’t say I didn’t love it though. I closed my eyes against his question specifically, and against the memories that sprang, unbidden, into my mind at the mention of Alex’s name. 

“Next Thursday, I believe.” My voice was quieter, and despite all my best efforts, still wavered in fear and sadness. Liam tightened the arm that was slung around my shoulders. The court date had already been postponed twice, much to my dismay and growing squeamishness. 

“I can always come with you, if you need me to.” Liam suggested gently, and I twisted so I was facing him. 

“Thank you, Lee. Really, you have no idea how much it means that you’d offer.” I paused, meeting his eyes and seeing the genuine concern in them. It still amazed me, every time he got this look, that he actually cared enough about me to offer something like this without resentment or a feeling of obligation, and actually mean what he said. I did consider, for a moment, taking him up on his offer. “But I don’t think I could let you do that. It wouldn’t end well for any involved party. You shouldn’t have to go through all that because of my stupid mistakes.” I finished, trying to make him see that it wasn’t at all personal. I imagined Alex and Liam, on opposite sides of a small courtroom, both listening to me explain what had happened in the short amount of time Alex and I had been together. It wasn’t pretty on either side of the spectrum.