A/N: Oh, Faith...
I apologize in advance for any spelling errors and sorry if the chapter is kinda crappy! It was kind of rushed but...yeah. Enjoy!
edited, kinda
~ ~ ~
Rosie was the first person I saw when I rolled over and opened my eyes. A soft glow of sunlight streamed through the two, small windows in the basement that were placed just high enough in the room to catch a glimpse of the sun. I yawned unattractively as I opened my eyes, only to see the seven year old with a finger against her lips, telling me to shush.
I was sent into immediate confusion, my mouth falling open in direct disobedient of her first command before her eyes went wide and she slammed her finger against her mouth again. My attention fluttered towards the other sleeping body behind her. Liam's back was towards us, his shoulders moving up and down slowly.
The little girl raised her hands in my line of sight and giggled as she shook the bottle of pink nail polish in front of my face. Oh God.
"Rosie!" I hissed as I shot up from my position on the soft mattress, eyes wide. Liam would be so pissed if she's planning to do what I think she's planning to do. "You can't just paint his nails pink!" She giggled as she took a step back and made her way over to Liam's still body. I crawled my way over there, ignoring all the blankets and pillows that sat in my way.
"He likes pink," She stated as she unscrewed the top. I groaned as she wiped the brush off on the edge of the bottle with a shaky hand. Thankfully, Liam's right hand was rested harmlessly on the mattress; his other however, wasn't the case. He had his left arm snugged awkwardly under his pillow. My attention stayed on his closed eyelids as Rosie started off with his thumb. "I'm going to do at least two coats on this hand."
Two layers?!
"Rosie, I'm sure - ''
I wasn't even able to finish my statement as Liam groaned and shifted his body ever so slightly, burying his face in his pillow even more. It was crazy how the muscles in his arms contracted at such a tiny movement. Rosie wrapped a hand around her mouth, attempting to stop herself from giggling and ruining the entire prank. When Liam finally lay still, she continued.
The pink nail polished glistened off Liam's right hand as Rosie started to wrap up. She was cautious and gentle as the tip of the brush left a smear of pink on Liam's pinkie. And that is when Luciano moved.
Both Rosie and I took a giant leap backwards as Liam brought his hand up to his eyes and rubbed. He groaned and mumbled something incoherent as he sat up, blinking rapidly. His eyebrows were pushed together, his hair standing up widely at all ends. Even early In the morning, Liam looked good. He glanced at me, then at Rosie - who smiled so wide, I mentally cursed. Don't give it away.
"Why are you two staring at me?" His morning voice was deep and raspy; truthfully it sounded like he needed to take a moment and clear his throat. I glanced up at Rosie, who shrugged, still smiling. "Was I...talking in my sleep?" Liam yawned again as he lay back down, smacking his lips together.
I uttered a quiet, "Nope."
"Good," A smile crossed Liam's face as I looked up at Rosie, who was slowly backing up towards the entrance of the door. Luciano's hands were rested just in front of his closed eyelids - the second he opened them, he would know.
And open them he did.
His jaw clenched as he pushed himself up off the mattress in a flash of rage. A flash of pink flew out the room in seconds as Liam glanced at his pink finger nails again. "Cagna," His word was muffled as he crawled to his feet, still stumbling. A litany of Spanish words mixed with - what sounded like - Italian spewed out his mouth as he yelled at the girl. "Rosalie Marie Peters get your three-fourths black ass down here right now." I watched Liam jog out the room slowly; a few seconds later a high-pitched scream came from somewhere in the lower level of the house, making me laugh.
Don't hurt her, Liam.
~ ~ ~
The clock read 9:46am as I stepped out the shower, a white towel wrapped around me. The smell of chocolate chips and fried batter filled my nostrils as I snatched my pre-picked outfit off the bed and slipped it on. A pair of lightly faded jeans fitted me perfectly. I threw on a uniform like burgundy shirt with buttons on the front, and then slid on a pair of non-matching socks. I threw my hair up in a bun before exiting my bedroom and heading downstairs.
The Luciano household was quiet as I hit the kitchen. I hadn't seen or heard from Melanie or Michael, nor had I laid eyes on William since yesterday.
My heart swelled as I turned into the kitchen and stopped, a smile appearing on my face as the sight in front of me. Liam had his arms around Rosie's waist as she stood on the kitchen top counter, bending over as she dumped one chocolate chip in the frying pan. I approached softly, not wanting to ruin their little moment.
"Babe, if you want a chocolate chip pancake, you have to put more than one in it," The amusement in Liam's voice wasn't missed as Rosie muttered an, 'Oh.'
"But mom says I can't put chocolate in breakfast food because it isn't healthy!"
Liam just sighed as he readjusted his hands, "Fine, but at least put in another one so the first chip isn't lonely." Rosie beamed at that idea as she dug her tiny hands into the bag of chocolate chips before pulling out another and watching it plop onto the frying batter.
I laughed softly as Liam picked Rosie off the counter and let her fall to her feet, still smiling. "I'm going to go set up the plates!" The little girl ran by me with a, "Good morning, Miss Faith!" I smiled as I watched her go, her ponytail whipping back and forth because of her movements. At the mention of my name, Liam glanced over his shoulder.
"Hey."
"Morning," I greeted with a soft smile as I reached the island that sat in the middle of the kitchen. I scooted a stool across the hardwood floor and snagged the seat. The room was quiet despite the sizzling noise that came from the food Liam was supervising.
" - the plates are done Liam!" Rosie sauntered back into the kitchen, her arms swinging at her side. She had the cutest grin on her face, her hair pulled back into a neatly style ponytail. I raised my eyebrow at Liam, figuring he was the only one who could do that considering Melanie wasn't home.
Liam's grey eyes fluttered towards me before he turned and smiled at the little girl. He held her single pancake and a jug of syrup in his hands as he bent down and handed them to her. "Great, Liam and miss Faith will be there soon, okay?" Rosie nodded her head as she bounded out the kitchen, eager to eat her pancake.
Luciano stood up and sighed loudly as he glanced at me. He ran a frustrated hand through his hair as he nodded towards the kitchen entrance, "Follow me." I did as I was told as Liam took long steps up the stairs. I could tell by the determined look on his face that whatever he was going to tell me was important.
We entered Liam's room; and to be quite honest, it wasn't like any other room I had visited in this house. The room was dark, the shades still drawn closed. Other than that, and the musky smell of cologne still floating around in the room, Luciano's room was a typical bedroom.
He pointed towards an open P.C. on a desk in the corner of his room. I followed him slowly, watching as he sidestepped to the left and pointed towards the seat. I sat down and looked up as Liam started speaking. "I have eyes on your house at all times," He began. Liam bent down and tapped the space button on his expensive looking laptop. The screen lit up almost immediately and a frozen video greeted me. "The other evening, Luis and Alex said they saw some sketchy looking people trying to break into your house," He pointed towards the camera, "Luis took this on his camera phone."
Liam leaned over me, the scent of his cologne drifted through the air around my nose as I inhaled normally. His hand clutched the wireless mouse as he let the arrow on the screen hover over the play button, before finally, he pressed it.
The video was nowhere near HD as I watched three people - who I assumed were men because of their height - break into my house in broad daylight. My mouth dropped as Liam and I watched the feed; the men seemingly walked right through my fronts doors while Luis narrated the entire thing in his Spanish accent. Luciano paused the video right after Alex suggested going inside once the men left.
"What are they looking for?" I questioned breathlessly, my gaze still locked on the frozen video. I could feel the heat rise in my cheeks under Liam's stare before he took a step back, an unamused smile on his face.
"They're looking for you, then the money."
"I don't have the money. I don't have any money; I'm broke," I through my hands up as I pushed myself up off the seat and away from the desk. I ran a hand through my hair in a frustrated manner as I threw my head back, groaning loudly. My knees hit the edge of Liam's unmade bed as I plopped down, the springs moaning under my weight. I buried my head in my hands as Liam stayed silent, allowing me to wallow in the variety of emotions I was feeling at the moment. "This money," I spoke slowly, raising my head up. Liam's eyes were trained on me, never faltering, "They think I have; I know I don't have it. So the million dollar question is, where the hell is it?"
Liam grasped at the stubble on his chin before he sighed and ducked his head, running his hand along the base of his neck. "I have it - ''
"You what?!" My sock covered feet hit his bedroom floor in milliseconds as I practically flew across the room, anger boiling deep below. My fists clenched as I stood in front of him, eyebrows connected. My question is clearly rhetorical as I shook my head in disbelief.
The money these men were willing to kill me for; the money that literally changed my life was in Liam's hands and he hadn't told me?
"I said, 'I have the - ''
"I heard you the first time, you dumbass," I laughed harshly as I shook my head. Liam looked somewhat surprised at my language as I continued, "Why would you have it? I thought my father said I would have it?"
"Well, he lied," Liam brushed past me as he walked towards his dresser and swung open a door, digging through its contents. My shoulders fell.
"Why?"
Luciano pulled out a couple wrinkled newspapers and marched over towards his bed and scattered them out. He pointed at them as he spoke, "You father wanted the money to go towards something good, not drugs and sex trafficking." I felt like I was walking on air as I glanced down at the newspapers, mentally reading the headlines.
'Luciano donates $800,000 to St. Jude's Children hospital'
I glanced up at Liam, who too, seemed to be re-reading his headliners again.
'Tanner Corp CEO offers up 10 million dollars to help cancer research'
The last one wasn't like the others; the words weren't in huge texts, drawing attention to them. The only reason my attention was drawn towards it was because it was circled in a red, permanent marker. I squinted, a small, run-down building with a few homeless looking people stood out front, their smiles making me happy.
A small script of writing was under the picture. 'A generous amount was donated towards Group Homes and Nursing Homes today by a donor that would like to remain anonymous. All we can say, is that the check received was up in the multi-millions.'
"That's where it went," Liam's voice filled my ear in a gentle way as I looked up. He turned away immediately as he gathered the newspapers together, stacked them neatly, and pushed them back in his dresser drawer.
I couldn't be mad, could I? The money was going to something, to things that could save lives; children and the elderly.
"I'm not mad about that," I stated, "I just want to stop running; I don't want these people chasing me for the rest of my life, Liam."
"They won't be," He smiled softly as he turned around, shrugging my words off like they were flies.
"Then what do you suggest? If we don't have the money to pay them off, what do we do?"
"Oh, please, I have the money," Luciano stated, "But I wouldn't dare give it to crooked people like that."
"Then what do we do?"
Liam was smirking as he closed the distance that had grown between us. He rocked on his toes as he stopped merely a foot in front of me. His grey eyes swirled with mystery and a hint of amusement as he chuckled deeply, "We kill them before they kill you." He sounded so sure of himself; but what if that didn't happen?"
"Liam," I deadpanned, "These are players in the most dangerous game in the world."
"I am the game."
"I don't know..." I drew my lip into my mouth as a nervous habit as every horrible scenario ran through my mind. Liam might be very talented and educated in how business ran in the streets, but when shit hit the fan, would he also be able to watch out for me? Considering I was useless in defense mechanisms.
A shot to a man's balls and a spritz of pepper spray was all I really knew how to do; and unfortunately, a gun was faster than me.
I bowed my head as tears rushed to my face. If anything were to go down, I was helpless; and I was scared. I was more than scared, I was petrified. With a clenched fist, I wiped at my eyes. A lone tear fell down my face as I ducked my head and aimed my body towards the door.
No way was I letting Liam see me cry.
"Nope," His deep voice cut my string of thoughts in half as his fingers clenched around the fabric of my shirt. I felt like a yo-yo as I was tugged back and pulled into his arms. The feeling was unknown to me as Liam wrapped his large arms around my shoulders, my face being pressed up against his dress shirt.
"What are you doing?" I mumbled against his shirt as I pressed a hand against his chest. Bad idea; just kidding, genius idea. His chest was solid as I heard him chuckle.
"Hug; H-u-g, verb; to squeeze someone tightly in one's arms, typically to express affection."
Bastard.
Handsome bastard.
I laughed as he copied my form of sarcasm from when we first met. For three calm minutes, all I felt was the warmth of Liam's body and the steady, rhythmic beating of his heart. My once wet tears were no dried. "I won't let anyone hurt you, Fi."
Except yourself.
"Grey!" Rosie's high pitched voiced squeaked out one of Liam's nicknames as she rounded the corner, her hands on her hips. She had a sick looking glare plastered on her face, making me laugh as Liam let me go, raising his hands in a defensive stance.
"You're in trouble now," I spoke in a hush as I stepped away from Luciano and watched Rosie approach him.
"You didn't eat your pancakes with me!" I could see the hurt behind her eyes as she folded her arms across her chest in anger. Liam squatted in front of her, matching her height so they could talk it out.
"I know, I'm sorry," He ran a hand across her cheek as he tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. The tone he spoke with was full of regret, and I believed he meant what he said. Rosie took a step back, frowning.
"You always say that," She huffed as she turned around, refusing to meet Liam's gaze. I understood how she was feeling; looking Liam in the eye and not believing anything he said was nearly impossible. Damn those grey eyes.
Luciano reached for her tiny arm as he grasped at it and pulled her closer to him. "Rose, I'm sorry, you know I'm busy with work."
"You're always busy with work. I set the table and everything; I even poured orange juice for you! I even put in two ice cubes like you always want! And you didn't even - '' Rosie brought a hand up to her face as the dam was released and the waterworks began. Liam called for her by her full name, but it was too late; she had already ran out the room. Seconds later, I heard a door slam, which was only followed by silence.
~ ~ ~
The Tanner Corp headquarters in downtown Los Angeles was nothing short of extraordinary. The lobby was constantly bustling with business men and woman and small groups of tours. Phones were ringing off the hook as Liam walked straight through the front doors with me on his tail.
He waved and said 'hello' to a few people, the only time we stopped was on the 33rd floor, where Liam's corner office was held. He had leaned up against the desk as a pretty young woman with high cheek bones and a pixie haircut smiled at him. I was introduced to her, learning she was Liam's personal receptionist. She handed him a four manila folders as he thanked her, telling her to remind him to give her a raise.
The inside of the office building was fancy, yes, but it wasn't until Liam pushed open the large black doors that I stopped and my mouth dropped. One wall was dedicated as an entire window, showcasing a gorgeous view of Los Angeles from so high up.
"This view," I breathed as I stepped in the large room. The furniture was mainly black and white. The ceiling went up easily over 10 feet. A door was pushed to the very corner of the room, one that I assumed was a personal bathroom. I had finally floated towards the glass windows as Liam dropped into a seat behind his large, fancy looking desk.
"It's beautiful isn't it?" At the sound of Liam's voice, I turned and looked at him, nodding repeatedly. His attention was on me, before he turned and looked out the window, his lips pursed in a straight line.
"So, is this where all the magic happens?" I joked playfully as I turned around, extending my arms to his office. Luciano already had his head in a stack of papers as he replied with a nod and a grunt. "What are you working on?" I moved towards his desk slowly, my eyes taking in the stacks and stacks of papers that were mounded on top.
Liam sighed, "Those need my signature," he pointed towards a stack on the top left of his desk. "Those need to be reviewed," this stack was on the bottom right, "And last but not least, these are complaints."
"I didn't think big wigs like you would be harassed with our minuscule complaints."
Luciano just chuckled as he leaned back in his seat, "We do deal with complaints when more than one person complains about something. For example, if two-hundred people complain about their being a lack of bathrooms on one floor, I usually try and do something about it." I nodded, it did make sense.
"Oh," was all I could say as Liam leaned forward and continued scribbling his signature beside each X on the page. Sliding the paper to his right, he continued doing the same for the next four packets of paper. "Wait, you're left handed?"
"Good observation, Keesha."
I blinked.
Liam glanced up, a smile on his face as he looked around. "What? You never watched The Magic School Bus?"
I blinked again.
"Ms. Frizzle?"
"Oh!" The name finally registered as I nodded, "I remember that show!" Liam rolled his eyes dramatically as he went back to signing papers. The only sound that echoed from the room was the sound of his pen scribbling against the paper. I cleared my throat as I looked around, "So, is there anything I can help with?" At first Liam shook his head, but then he stopped and looked up at me, nodding.
"Actually, yeah; I need you to go through my business email."
"Business - ''
Liam was already up, a black laptop in his hands as I followed him over to the couch on the opposite side of the room. He bit his bottom lip as he clicked on the Firefox icon, mumbling something about how much internet explorer sucked ass.
Once Liam got his email set up and me in a comfortable position on his couch, he went back to his work. I couldn't help but take notice of Luciano stripping himself of his dress jacket and loosening his tie. For the first fifteen minutes of our work, I scrolled through his email, laughing slightly at some of the messages he received. I attempted to make note of everything that seemed slightly important.
But my mind began to wander when Liam spoke. "How was your day yesterday?" My day yesterday was fine.
"My day?" I glanced up from the glowing computer screen, only to see Liam's grey eyes piercing mine from across the room.
"I'm sorry," He laughed unamusingly, shaking his head as he apologized, "I meant, how was your date yesterday?"
That got my attention.
"It wasn't a date," I diverted my attention back towards the computer screen, but my mind was elsewhere. I could hear Liam grunt in non-agreement as I looked up again, scoffing, "It was a friendly...outing."
"It was a date."
I huffed as I rested the computer on the couch beside me. "So, let's say it was," Luciano glanced up at me now, resting his pen at his side as he nodded. "Why would you care?" Sure, my question might have come out a little harsher than planned, but it was the truth.
Liam bowed his head as he mumbled something in his arm, all I could catch was a 'because', the rest of his sentence cut off. I quirked an eyebrow as he sighed loudly, running both hands through his hair, "Because, I've warned you about him before." I stood up and walked towards the window; I tended to walk when I was nervous.
I let a silent moment pass before I answered, "William is a great guy." I stared out the wall window at the bustling city below. The chair Liam was sitting in squeaked as he got up; and a second later I felt his presence at my side.
"That doesn't make him perfect," Liam's Italian accent was quite clear when he replied. I had to glance at him out the corner of my eye; his gaze was elsewhere, focusing on movement in the city.
"Nobody is," I laughed, "He's a good friend."
"Just because someone is nice to you, doesn't make them your friend."
I had to take a step back and away from Liam. I folded my arms across my chest, a breath of air coming out my mouth. "Oh, so you consider yourself my friend? I didn't know abusing someone was something friends did to each other."
Luciano's voice was stern as he turned his attention towards me. "William doesn't date. All he is trying to do is get in your pants." I scoffed once again as my eyes rolled into the back of my head. If I had done that to my parents, I would've been knocked out.
"Are you...jealous?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I shook my head, a cold laugh coming up from my throat. "You're incredible, Liam. Will is kind, funny, and good-looking. He actually seems to care about me and quite honestly, he's everything a girl could want."
On this rare occasion, Liam's voice came out soft-spoken. "What am I?" I couldn't help but shake my head in a form of disappointment as I stared at the well-dressed man.
"You...You're the devil. The only thing you're missing is the red cape and pointy horns."
A flash of emotion crossed Liam's grey eyes as he turned, a rush of air coming out his mouth as he shook his head.
My confidence was only rising.
"Where are you going?" I called out after him, "I didn't take you as one to give up on a fight."
"This isn't a fight, Crawford." At the mention of my name, shivers ran down my spine. "My mother taught me to ignore ignorance."
"I'm not ignorant." I folded my arms across my chest roughly as I leaned back on my left foot. My eyes were squinted as I tried to give Liam my most intimidating look.
When I saw Liam turn around and make his way towards me, I honestly felt like running out the door; but I didn't. And maybe that's where I made my mistake.
"You're not?" Was all he said as he grabbed my wrist hastily, yanking it down from my chest. I felt myself being tugged towards him as my chin hit his chest. My back hit the wall as I gulped, Liam's face mere inches from mine. The look he was giving me could break ice as the color in his eyes darkened. I turned my face away from him, glancing out the window at the 33rd floor drop that greeted me. "Look at me." Luciano tugged at my arm, gaining my attention once more at the harshness of his words.
"If you aren't ignorant," He stated through gritted teeth, "Then you would know, that the devil didn't come dressed in a red cape and pointy horns. He came as everything you could ever wish for."
Anger surged through my veins as I clamped my mouth closed. Liam was breathing heavily, his grip on my wrist only tightening even after he was finished speaking. I had enough as his fingernails clawed at my skin, the look of murder in his eyes never diminishing.
So I did it.
No, I didn't spit this time.
I slapped him.
~ ~ ~
A/N: I apologize so much for the wait for this chapter. Thank you all for the support this story is receiving, I appreciate it sooooo much!
Thoughts on the chapter?
How will Liam react to Faith hitting him?
Should Liam and Faith go after the Corinelli's and Costello's?