Delicate

Chapter 65

It was just different. But sometimes different was a good thing. It felt like a good thing here I think.

With Damon closing in on him, Liam looks to Mekhi or me with those wide brown eyes as if he expected one of us to go help him up, or for Damon to come to his senses and see the real enemy in his eyes. But he wouldn't be receiving any of that here and he only seemed to realise that when his gaze on Damon doesn't produce any explanation or apology, and then no form of aid or rescue from Mekhi when he looks to him next.

Then his gaze settles on me, and I didn't need my full vision to know the type of raw anger that was filling his dark eyes right then. He blamed me for this no doubt, and I guess he wasn't wrong to, but I didn't feel guilty as he clearly thought I should. 

He tries to stand again and this time Mekhi let him scramble to his feet. Righting his clothes as best as he can, Liam points a finger at me like an arrow set to its target. 

"You," he grinds out, taking a step forward. Despite the distance between us, I take one back and his miserable frown deepens even further in response. "Still afraid of me?" He asks mockingly while rubbing a finger to his no-doubt, aching jaw, "So afraid that you got someone to what? Rough me up a bit?

Did you get yourself some bodyguards to protect you?" He presses on with another step forward, his eyes glancing to Damon who was painstakingly rolling his sleeves back, "do I scare you that much William?"

I wanted to deny it, to say that he didn't scare me in the slightest. But he did.

Every part of Liam terrified some part of me. 

His voice, his presence, his smell, his posture, his laugh, his wicked smiles and evil words. There wasn't a thing in him that didn't make me want to scream and that was something I couldn't deny.

"I'm not his bodyguard," Damon says calmly, as he steps towards Liam who immediately stops his advancement towards me. "But I am his, as he is mine, and you hurt him." Damon states, his tone growing rougher the closer he got to him, "you hurt what is mine and for that, you will pay with your life."

Liam begins to reclaim his advances on me, trying to put distance between the two of them but Mekhi had somehow gotten behind him, caging Liam into the space he and Damon had created with a small smile on his lips. 

I didn't understand enough about magic and how spells worked to know what Liam remembered and didn't remember, and I couldn't necessarily ask Mekhi to explain it all to me now. But by the fact that Liam wasn't making a plea based on friendship to Mekhi, I'd guessed that that certain spell that made him think they were best friends was long lost. 

"Hurt him?" Liam repeats as if the possibility was impossible, "I would never hurt William."

From there, he starts his usual words of friendship and heartache that I'd lie about him doing such a terrible thing, but when no sort of sympathy comes from it, he switches to the accusations. 

He keeps going for a while before he stops suddenly, only just registering Damon words and understanding them for what they were. He blinks foolishly, like a lost child before he accuses, "you're fucking him."

He said it as if it was the vilest thing in the world. As if it was wrong and shouldn't be possible which just made me angry, because there wasn't anything more right in this world than what Damon and I.

"I'm doing a lot more than fucking him," I reply before I can stop myself and Damon glances back at me with a smile I knew to be proud.

It felt good to say it, to deny Liam something he thought he still controlled - me.