Liam.
One word.
Only four letters.
Two small syllables...
Yet... so much heartbreak.
It only hit me how much I missed him as I sat cross-legged on my bed in the middle of the night, my clock confirming the time as four thirty. In a couple of hours I'd be heading to the airport to fly all the way across the country for the trip to Boston. The night had been a long one and I hadn't been able to sleep for more than an hour without waking up in a cold sweat.
The dreams I was having weren't helping either. It seemed like in every one I would turn up on Liam's doorstep, dragging my luggage with me as I waited to see him after so long. The outcome of what happened when he opened the door was different each time. He would either open it, arms outstretched to hug me tightly as excitement was clear on his face, or open it and a look of utter horror appeared on his face. The bad dreams usually included a new girlfriend of his who would appear behind Liam with an unpleasant scowl and a hand on her hip.
That's when I'd wake up, panting and nervous as I tried to calm myself down with deep inhales and exhales. Then eventually I would nod off again only for it to happen again.
As my eyes searched through the darkness around me, the clouds covering the moon dispersed and it's light shone through my circular window, guiding my gaze to the photos of me and Liam next to my bed. There was a small stack of them there, untouched with a thin layer of dust covering the glossy surface.
I let my hand hover over them unsurely before slowly picking them up and flicking through each one. Every photo held a different memory and I couldn't hide my smile as I recalled each one. I almost burst out laughing at a couple, especially the one where Liam and I were at the beach and Liam was completely sunburnt because he forgot to wear suncream. I rolled my eyes and moved to the next photo.
It was one of my favourites. Liam and I were grinning like idiots as we stood on the pier hand-in-hand. We were fully dressed yet soaked to the skin after thinking that it would be a good idea to dive into the ocean on a blustery wet day. It didn't matter where we were or what we did, but as long as we were together, we'd be happy.
At one point I felt tears prick my eyes when I saw us looking at each other like we were the happiest people alive, without a single worry. Nothing mattered to us back then except each other.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh!" I squeaked. I almost jumped out of my skin at the sudden groggy voice coming from the floor. I had forgotten that Amy spent the night at my place. Her parents were out of town so she was coming to the airport with me the following morning. "Nothing! I was just...you know..."
Amy sat up straight on the blow-up bed and gave me a funny look. "Um...?"
Remembering the tears glistening in my eyes, I shot my hand up and wiped them away before attempting to slip the photos back into their original position, but I failed miserably when they scattered all over the floor. I cursed under my breath and bent down to pick them up but Amy got there first.
I watched in horror as she gathered up the photos and began to look through them. She tossed a strand of cherry red hair over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at me. "Who's this cutie, Bianca?" She asked. "I can't say I've seen him before."
"Please Ames, just give them back!" I begged, trying to grab them. I lunged at her but she dodged me and I fell off the bed, landing next to her. "Ouch!"
Amy giggled. "Sssh! You'll wake your parents. Now come on, spill the beans girl," she said, turning to look at the next photo. I hung my head when I saw which one it was. "Woah, woah, woah! Who is this garçon you're kissing? I need details, Bianca!"
"He's nobody," I told her quickly.
"What, so you just go around kissing random guys and keeping the photos? Yeah, I think not..."
"It doesn't matter."
"Whatever." Amy was clearly annoyed with my response and she looked away.
"Well there's no need to say it like that!" I said.
"Like what?" She snapped.
"Look, it's just not important."
Amy turned to me with wide blue eyes and pouted. "Please, Bianca! Tell me."
The puppy eyes were too much. "Okay, okay! He's my ex-boyfriend Liam from back home," I explained. "We broke up because I had to move here."
The word 'home' slipped out of my mouth before I could stop it. Amy didn't say anything, but her eyes turned cold.
"You can hardly expect me to call California home. I've only been here for a couple of weeks. Boston was my home for sixteen years. Kind of a big difference, don't you think?"
Her irises softened and a smile tugged at her lips. "Yeah, I guess so. So you weren't up for a long-distance relationship, huh?"
Truthfully, I could vividly remember writing my name over and over again and putting 'Connor' as my surname as if we were going to get married. Instead of blurting that out though, I simply said, "it wasn't serious."
"Well, he's cute!" Amy commented.
"Don't say that!"
"Why not? I thought you guys weren't serious...?" She raised her eyebrows at me.
"Shut up!" I whined.
Liam was cute though. He had this really dark hair that was almost black and bright green eyes like a cat's. Something I really loved about him was his build. Liam was the perfect height for me, making kisses and cuddles feel perfect, and how could I forget his amazingly defined abs, making him look so hot when he was shirtless. But the most incredible thing about Liam was his personality. He was half-Irish and had this certain cheeky charm about him.
I returned to my bed and leaned back on my pillows, sighing sadly. I hadn't realised how much I'd missed and longed for being with him.
"Wait a second!" Amy interrupted my thoughts suddenly. "You're going to be seeing him when we go to Boston, aren't you? Oh, how awkward!"
I nodded. I had pushed that thought out of my mind since the trip was announced, but now I couldn't sleep because of it.
***
"Starbucks, you are my saviour," I said with a happy yet weary sigh as Amy and I left the coffee shop with a drink clasped between our hands.
I was hoping that the vanilla bean frappuccino with a shot of espresso would be enough to keep me awake until we reached the airport, and then I could sleep solidly for the five and a half hour plane journey if I wanted to.
Amy nodded in agreement. "This caramel latte is my life!"
I giggled as we climbed back into my Dad's car: me in the front and Amy in the back. "Nice drinks?" Dad asked us.
"You bet. I hope they have coffee in the hostel..." I said.
Dad smiled. "Well if not, I've packet some energy drinks in your suitcase."
"Monster?"
"Of course."
"You know me too well, Dad," I said happily.
As the car went silent, the familiar uneasy feeling returned to my stomach and it felt like it was being tied in knots. I began regretting my decision not to tell Liam that I was visiting Boston, because all that was flying around my mind was that he'd have a new girlfriend. I made a mental plan to contact my other friends first and that way I could get up to date on Liam's love life.
"Take your time," a sarcastic voice caused me to snap out of my thoughts and look to it's owner. It was Amy who was getting out of the car. It took me a second to realise that we were at the airport.
Dad tackled me into a hug, helped me gather up my bags and then drove off. I glanced at Amy and saw that she was almost going to burst with excitement like me.
I started running in the doors of the airport, buzzing with various emotions as I dragged my wheely suitcase behind me. "Hurry up Ames!" I called back to her, turning around. She was carrying at least four large bags and was moving in slow motion.
My eyes widened. "What do you have a shit load of stuff for?!" I asked.
Amy pointed to each of her bags in turn and said, "clothes, make-up, hair, accessories."
I resisted the urge to roll my eyes and laughed it off instead. I was in too much of a good mood to care.
"We're going to Boston, bitches!!!" I yelled as I hurried towards the other juniors with Amy in tow.
Through the crowd of teenagers, Cole caught my eye and gave me a little wink. I just didn't get the fluttering butterflies in my stomach that I used to get with Liam.
Oh, Liam.
***
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I really do hope you liked it :) Also please check out my two new books: Beyond Words, and Raindrops! c;
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~oreolover75