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8 | Welcome to the Alcohol Addiction Group

   "Chris is still..."

   "A dipshit? Yeah," I forced a laugh. "But I can blame that on the fact that he dipped his feet in his shit when we used to go camping as kids," I said honestly, but also wanting to change the energy.

   He bit back a smile as he shook his head. "Sounds like a real dipshitter," he nodded while looking back out the window. His eyes lingered before staring at me with worry. "Is that the unwanted guest?"

   Feeling his stare burning into me, I dropped my eyes so I was staring at my cup—which happened to be sitting on my lap. "She's my mom," I shocked myself by admitting, but hating how broken I sounded to my own ears.

   A wave of stubbornness hit me as I straightened my back, taking a deep breath as I cleared my expression. "She screwed our family over years ago, and now he's just welcoming her back with open arms," I said, keeping my voice steady. But when I looked outside, seeing her again got me clenching my fists on top of my lap.

   My whole body stiffened when I felt a large, warm hand drop on top of my own a moment later. My eyes snapped to Liam, seeing him staring at me with mixed emotions. "Come on," he whispered just as he stood up. Using his strength, he brought me to my feet before guiding the both of us to the back exit.

   Our hands were still locked together as he pushed open the door, bringing us to face the July heat. "Thanks," I exhaled. Despite the humid air, I found myself breathing easier.

   Liam said nothing as I looked back into the shop, seeing both Liam and mom enter the store. My body moved without another thought as I dropped my grip on his hand before slamming against the brick wall two feet from me.

   "Fucking hell," I laughed as I shook my head with humour. "I can't wait to do this every single time I see them. What an exhilarating feeling, you know?" I tightly smiled as I looked back up, meeting his interested eyes.

   His lip ended up twitching up as he reached for my hand again. "Come on, Bangs," he said, tugging me forward hard enough that I stumbled, only for my free hand to land on his hard chest so I could stabilize myself. When my eyes focused on his face a second later, I noticed him smiling with amusement. "If you're gonna run, you might as well run somewhere you want to go to."

   "And where would that be?" I asked, my brow arching. But I couldn't resist smiling as well.

   His lip twitched upward as he glanced inside the shop. "Well, I doubt that drink is worthy enough of making your day," he drawled out before smirking in my direction. "Let's get food."

   "Food?" I shook my head. "Why food?"

   He shrugged before tilting his head to the side. "Well, I don't know about you, but food typically gets me in a happier mood."

   "And that's what you want?" I asked with amusement, crossing my arms. "Get me in a happier mood?"

   His smile widened into a grin, and I couldn't help but step back, startled by the sight. His facial expression instantly changed how he looked, making him appear younger. "Well, I gotta get you happy about something today," he explained, his tone making it appear that his intentions were obvious.

   "Alright," I nodded after a few beats passed. "Lead the way, Triple."

   We ended up hopping into his pick-up truck, which was parked in front of some other store. Once we stepped inside, we drove a few minutes before parking next to a small restaurant, with most of its seating outside.

   "Mexican food?" I asked, staring at him with interest as we both stepped out of his car. "This is your idea of a happy place?"

   "You haven't tried their food yet, Bangs," he tsked as he led us to the front entrance. Before I could comment, he spoke to the hostess, who led us to one of the picnic table's outside.