Liam POV
“It’s time, Liam.” Ezra said as he took a seat next to me.
“They are going to bite my head off.” I mumbled.
Ezra chuckled. “Probably. But you can distract them if you work fast enough.”
I shot him a glare as I opened up my laptop.
Ezra and I were sitting in my office, preparing to do something I’ve been putting off for almost a month.
“It will be okay.” Ezra said quietly as I opened the video call. “They will understand.”
I really hoped they would.
A few moments later, my grandfather’s and my uncle’s smiling faces popped up on my screen.
“Well, if it isn’t my two favorite grandsons.” my grandpa said with a huge smile.
“You tell that to all of your grandchildren, grandpa.” Ezra chuckled.
It was the truth. He told all of us that we were his favorites. But we knew the truth. We weren’t really. She was.
Grandpa chuckled, nodding his head in agreement.
“To what do we owe the pleasure, Liam?” my uncle asked, sipping his coffee.
“Are my cousins home, Dan?” Ezra asked our uncle.
“They are.” uncle Dan nodded his head. “Why?”
“Can you call them?” I asked. “We have something to tell you.”
Grandpa and uncle Dan furrowed their eyebrows. Uncle Dan nodded and stood up.
“Is everything okay, Liam?” grandpa asked, worried.
“Of course.” I smiled.
I wondered who would be angrier, grandpa or Dylan?
Ezra, grandpa and I waited in silence. I could see grandpa studying us carefully, but I remained calm. I had a small smile on my face the entire time.
A few silent minutes later, I heard familiar voices of my cousins. Uncle Dan shifted the camera so we could see all four of them.
“It’s nice of you to finally call, Liam.” Dylan smirked. “Did you forget about your cousins?”
“Yeah, you never call us anymore.” Carter said, faking hurt.
“I was busy.” I shrugged.
“Too busy to call your favorite cousin?” Dylan pouted.
For a 31-year-old man he really did know how to act like a child sometimes. It was hard to believe he was a year older than me.
I opened my mouth to argue, but grandpa interrupted me. “Okay, enough. What do you have to tell us, Liam?”
I glanced at Ezra, who gave me an encouraging smile.
“We have some good news.” I said slowly.
“You are getting married!” Matt yelled, not letting me finish.
“To whom?” Dylan snickered. “The man is already married to his job.”
Ezra nervously started bouncing his leg up and down. Our cousins were too much sometimes.
“Let him speak.” uncle Dan sighed, glancing disapprovingly at his sons.
“Continue, Liam.” grandpa said sternly.
I took a deep breath and tried to mentally prepare myself for what’s to come next.
“We’ve found her.” I said quietly.
My family narrowed their eyes at me. They were silent for a few moments.
“Found who?” Carter spoke first.
“Lucy.” Ezra said, taking a deep breath.
Their expressions almost made me laugh. But remembering what they will do to me once they find out I’ve been keeping her away from them for almost a month made my laugh die out instantly.
“Lucy?” uncle Dan repeated suspiciously.
Ezra and I nodded, but stayed silent, allowing them to process the information.
I couldn’t count all the emotions I saw on their faces. Confusion and happiness were the most prominent ones. I knew they would soon be replaced by anger.
“How?” grandpa managed to ask, his voice breaking.
“We found her in a small town in Colorado, while we were on a road trip to Los Angeles.” Ezra said.
My family was silent. Uncle Dan, Carter, and Matt were just staring blankly ahead. Grandpa covered his eyes with his hand, but I could see his shoulders shaking slightly. Dylan buried his face into his hands.
I looked at Ezra. I wasn’t sure what to say or what to do next.
Dylan looked up and narrowed his eyes. I could see his fists clenching.
“You were on a road trip a month ago.” he said, gritting his teeth.
Here we go.
“Yes.” I nodded, trying to maintain my calm composure.
“You have been keeping her from me for a month?!” Dylan yelled, slamming his fists against the table.
Grandpa moved his hand from his face. He was shocked and angry.
“How could you do that, Liam?” uncle Dan gasped.
“Let me explain.” I said, taking a deep breath. “I did it because I thought it was best.”
“She is my grandchild, Liam!” grandpa yelled, running his hand through his hair.
“And she is my child!” I said sternly. “I’m her legal guardian and I’m responsible for her wellbeing. I didn’t do it to hurt you. I did it for her.”
“Let us explain, please.” Ezra said. “Like Liam said, we were only thinking about her and what was best for her.”
Dylan was seething with anger. Grandpa looked hurt. Uncle Dan, Carter, and Matt had confused and saddened expressions on their faces.
“Alana died six years ago.” I started to explain. “She forged Lucy’s birth certificate, stating that the father was unknown. The child services didn’t have any other choice but to leave her with her stepfather. They didn’t know she had any other family.”
“That fucking bitch!” uncle Dan said, slamming his hand on the armrest.
Ezra looked at me and raised an eyebrow. If they reacted like this to Alana forging her birth certificate, how will they react when we tell them about Jack.
Ezra and I had a long talk about what to tell them. We decided to tell them that she was abused, but not to go into detail. If she wanted to tell them, she could do so whenever she felt comfortable. We knew that they would come to live with us for a while, and we would have a lot of trouble explaining increased security, her personal bodyguard, and Theo.
“Did she recognize you?” Carter asked quietly. “Does she remember us?”
“Not really.” I said, shaking my head. “She remembered us after Alana took her, but she told her we were her imaginary friends. She believed her after a while. She didn’t know it was us when she saw us. We didn’t talk to her about you yet.”
The saddened look in their eyes was hard to watch.
“Why did you wait a month, Liam?” my grandfather asked after a few moments of silence.
“She needed time to adjust.” I said slowly. “She needed time to heal.”
Their eyes widened simultaneously. I could see their breaths quicken. Some of them narrowed their eyes, while others clenched their fists.
“Heal from what?” Dylan practically growled.
Ezra looked at me, and I took a deep breath.
“Her stepfather was abusive.” I said slowly, trying to stay calm. “She had several injuries when we found her. She is still recovering.”
The look on their faces after I finished talking made me shiver. To say that they looked murderous was an understatement.
“What?” grandpa finally spoke.
“We are really sorry, but we can’t tell you anything else.” Ezra said slowly. “We shouldn’t even be telling you this, but we wanted you to understand why we didn’t call you sooner. If Lucy wants to tell you the details, she will do it herself.”
“Also, we wanted you to know so you wouldn’t push her if she feels uncomfortable around you.” I added before any one of them could speak. “She is doing great so far. She met Nate, Ethan, Aiden, and Riley. But she still doesn’t like to be around a lot of people. We didn’t want to overwhelm her.”
“Where is the bastard?” Dylan asked, clenching his fists and ignoring what Ezra and I had said. “Tell me he is tied up in your basement.”
“We will talk when you get here.” I said, trying to stay calm.
Just thinking about Jack made my blood boil. I wished he was tied up in my basement.
“Liam…” Dylan started talking, but he was interrupted by his dad.
“We are on our way.” uncle Dan said, standing up.
“Wait!” I stopped him. “We need to talk to her and tell her about you. You can come tomorrow afternoon.”
“Liam…” my grandfather said angrily, but I stopped him.
“She is my priority.” I said sternly. “I am doing what’s best for her. And having the five of you barge into my house without her knowing who you are is not what’s best for her. I will see you all tomorrow afternoon.”
I ended the call and slammed my laptop shut. I took a deep breath and leaned my head back.
“That went well.” Ezra mumbled.
I opened my eyes and glared at him.
“I’m going to see if they came back home.” Ezra said as he stood up.
He walked out of my office, and I grabbed the bottle of whiskey, pouring myself a double shot.