Eve's POV
Thankful, that was the only word I could think of once I had opened my front door, closed it behind me, and pressed my back against it. Relief flooded through my entire body once I had stepped through the door, my shift at the restaurant one of the worst I had ever encountered.
The Saturday lunch rush was absolutely manic, my feet were aching and a dull pain had settled across my lower back. All I really wanted to do was take a hot shower to soothe my tight muscles and curl up in bed for the rest of the day. I wanted to be well rested for tonight anyways, because I was going to be staying over at Harry's.
My stomach fluttered in remembrance of what happened yesterday, how Harry showed up on my doorstep and ended up tangled with me on my bed, peppering kisses to my lips and forehead after sharing such an intimate time together.
It was something that was kind of hard to forget about, considering how flushed my cheeks had gotten when it popped into my mind at work, and how I made the stupid mistake of telling Zayn about it, rendering him unstoppable with this new information and reminding me nearly every second he saw me with a wiggle of his eyebrows and smirk plastered on his face.
I figured I ought to tell Dad about tonight, my best excuse for not being here would be that I was going to Niall's. I was hardly around on the weekends anyway, so much that I probably wouldn't even have to inform my parents that I was going out for them to notice. Even though half the time my Mum talked to me was to yell at me for not being home enough, she didn't really try and stop me from making plans or leaving the house.
There was a small amount of chatter coming from the living room, which was strange considering Mum and Dad rarely talked anymore. I furrowed my brows at the thought of who could be here, Dad having friends over was highly unlikely, because, well, it's never really happened before.
I walked through the hallway and into the living room, the voices stopping as soon as I stepped into the doorframe. All heads turned to me, but eyes were only focused on one. I could feel my chest heaving for oxygen that was escaping my lungs in the rush of skepticism, the familiar burning sensation tingling the back of my nose and causing my eyes to water. My limbs went weak, my bag dropping from my shoulder and landing on the carpet with a soft thud, because there he was, the boy who I hadn't seen in 2 years.
My brother.
"Liam," I whispered, shaking my head in utter disbelief. He looked so different, his hair so much shorter than how It used to be, and a thick layer of stubble growing along his jaw and across his upper lip. His familiar smile stretched at his lips as he rose from the couch, and my feet carried me towards him, wrapping my arms around his neck and burying my face into his chest.
Nothing else mattered right now, not the fact that I was sore and tired from my shift, not the fact that there were other people in the room who I had yet to acknowledge, and not the fact that the tears streaming from my eyes were surely dampening his shirt. But he was here. My Mum drove him away 2 years ago, but he was here, he was back.
"Evie," he mumbled back, the quivering in his voice noticeable despite how quietly he said my name.
"It's you Li, it's really you," I rambled, tightening my grip around him when he tried to pull away. He only chuckled at my attempts to keep him with me a little longer, lifting me off the ground and kissing my wet cheek.
"Yes, kiddo, it's me. I'm here." He reassured, placing me back down on the floor. His thumbs moved to wipe under my eyes, a gentle smirk quirking at his mouth as he took in my clearly distraught state, "You really missed me, didn't you?"
Liam was the only one who knew how upset I was once he left. He was the only one who knew that I cried myself to sleep nearly every night for weeks after his departure, that I despised my Mum for kicking him out and that I didn't talk to her for months once he had left, and that I slept in his empty bed whenever I missed him.
"Shut up," I grumbled, smacking him on the arm. Liam only laughed, placing his hand on the small of my back to turn me around.
"Eve, this is Sophia, my girlfriend," He introduced, my eyes landing on the pretty brunette who I failed to notice sitting in the armchair. She was all bronzed skin, full lips and long legs as she stood up and outstretched her hand. I stared down at it in curiosity, glancing at Liam smugly at her formal action. I didn't hesitate to take a few steps forward, embracing her in the same hug that I had Liam in a few minutes ago.
"It's nice to meet you, Eve," she breathed, red creeping up her neck and onto her cheeks from my act of affection.
With a quick greeting to my Dad, we all sat in the living room whilst Liam filled us in on his life back in Leeds. He talked about his job, university, Sophia, and all the new memories and adventures he went on once he left home. He was only here for a visit, seeing it would be appropriate because we hadn't seen him in so long and that Sophia had family down here she wanted to see.
"Where are you staying then?" I asked, hoping that the place they would be staying at was close.
"Well, here, if Mum doesn't mind," Liam said warily.
"Does she even know you're here?" I questioned, my eyes widening and glancing back between my Dad and Brother.
"No, she doesn't. She's due home soon though, hopefully she doesn't get too agitated." Dad stated, "I'll go get started on dinner, that's one less thing for her to be angry about once she realizes your home."
Time had flown by so quickly, the tiredness that was present in my body once I got home after work completely eradicated by the fact that my brother was home. I felt awful that I had forgotten to contact Harry about not being able to stay over at his place, my head too lost listening to Liam's tales about his life away. I quickly pulled out my phone to send him a message, hoping that he wouldn't be too upset cancelling our plans last minute.
To: Harry Styles
I'm so sorry Harry but I can't make it tonight. Liam is home and we're having a family dinner. Perhaps we can do this another night?
I chewed my lip waiting for his response, his reply almost instant as my screen lit up just a few seconds after I sent the text.
From: Harry Styles
No worries, Evie. Enjoy your evening and you brother's return, and yes, I would very much like to reschedule.
H. xx
I sigh of relief escaped my lips, thankful that he didn't sound angry or upset because I couldn't make it. I remembered how excitement filled his eyes when he asked if I would like to stay, and I could just imagine the disappointment he would be feeling right now when I said I wasn't coming.
The sound of keys rattling in the door pulled me from my thoughts of Harry, causing both Liam and I to quickly look at each other in fright. Mum was finally home, and my heart started to pound against my chest in anticipation about how she would react to seeing Liam.
Mum was still upset about the whole incident that made her kick Liam out of the house. She never really forgave him for what happened, and because of that, she couldn't bear to have him around and to see him everyday. She was only thinking about herself when she told him to leave, not even caring about the impact it would have on my Dad and I, or how it would affect Liam either.
Dad quickly found his way into the room before Mum had reached us, both of us thankful that he would be here to help out with some of the damage control. I had no doubt in my mind that Mum would reduce to anger when seeing Liam sitting on her couch, but hopefully she wouldn't make a scene in front of Sophia.
Her eyes were wide when she spotted us huddled together in the living room, her eyebrows angling downwards at the sight of her son that she hadn't seen for 2 years back in her house. It was eerily quiet as she surveyed the situation, the tense atmosphere suffocating all of us, the only sounds heard were our breathing and the distant whistle of water boiling in the kitchen.
"Liam," she finally spoke, her mouth parted as she stared at her son.
"Mum," Liam replied back sternly, watching her face carefully for any signs of hostility.
"What are you doing here?" She continued to ask, her brows furrowing once she noticed Sophia at his side.
"I've come to visit for a bit, I was wondering if it would be okay if we stayed here?"
Mum scoffed, snickering quietly and shaking her head. Liam stiffened next to me, and I saw him squeeze Sophia's hand in the corner of my vision.
"Evie, can you take Sophia upstairs for a bit?"
I didn't hesitate to leave, springing to my feet and pushing my way past Mum with Sophia hot on my trail. I was thankful to get out of there alive, because if I had stayed I would've gotten defensive and probably in more trouble with my Mum than I should be. We took the stairs two at a time, before I showed Sophia around the second floor and into Liam's old room.
It was hard to ignore the faint shouts and yells from downstairs as we locked ourselves away in the safety of Liam's room. It was truly embarrassing to be part of such a dysfunctional family, and I wish Sophia didn't have to listen to their arguments or see how flawed we really were. I could tell that she really cared for Liam, the way she hung off every word he said and looked at him with such loving eyes. That was the reason why I thought she didn't care about how messed up everything was, the way she walked quietly around the room and didn't once mention what was going on downstairs.
"I'm sorry about my Mum," I said, cutting the silence and drowning out the sounds from the living room. I thought I ought to apologize, seeing as Sophia had only been here for merely an hour and had already witnessed how Mum acted.
"It's fine, Eve, Liam already warned me about everything so I wasn't expecting anything different." She confessed, giggling in relief and sitting down next to me on his bed.
I wondered if Liam had told her about what happened. About the reason why Mum kicked him out and why he moved to Leeds. It was clear how much they cared for each other back when we were talking downstairs, and I wouldn't really be surprised if Liam had chosen to share with her that dark part of his life.
"Do you know? About what happened and why he left?" I asked cautiously, treading lightly with my words so that I wouldn't let out something that Liam maybe wouldn't want me to.
She frowned, "I know something happened," she spoke quietly, "But he hasn't told me what yet. I don't think he's ready. But I don't mind, I'd rather him wait and tell me when he's comfortable."
I smiled at her answer, my liking to her growing more and more by the second, "You don't mind then? Not knowing?"
"Not at all. I really, really like him, and nothing he can say will make me think any less of him." She said.
We spoke for another few minutes, mostly exchanging stories about Liam from the past few years and when he was a kid. We had yet to notice that the argument taking place downstairs had come to an end, Liam bursting through the door at the sound of our uncontrollable laughter.
"It's settled, we're staying." he announced, looking at both of us suspiciously as we tried to contain our giggles, "Mum isn't happy about it, but she gave us the okay."
Sophia gave him a soft smile, gently pressing her lips to his before they started to unpack their things. It was all laughter and grins as we continued to talk, the sound of Liam's voice and his mere presence filling a hole in me that was made as soon as he stepped out of the front door 2 years ago. No amount of words could explain how delighted I was to have him back here, even if it was only just a visit.
I hadn't felt this happy for a long time. Everything was coming together for me, I had my friends, I had Liam, and I had Harry. Everything was finally working out.
*****
Yes, I'm sorry. I'm highly aware that this chapter was shitty and wasn't worth the wait. But YAY LIAM'S FINALLY HERE. Also really sorry if you don't ship Sophiam, but they are basically my parents and I ship them so hard so - look how perfect they are in the pic in the sidebar like cmon how can you not ship them idek
comment down below with your theories on what happened with Liam and why you think his mother kicked him out
I also have some very exciting news - I'm currently in the works of creating a new fic!!
I'm still in the planning process, and I want to plan it out thoroughly before I give anything away or make any promises or even start the writing process. All I can tell you right now is that it will be a short story and I won't be posting it until I get a lot more reads and stats on this fic.
It's a harry au (of course) and it will contain A LOT of dark and strong themes so it might not be everyone's cup of tea. But I'm really, really excited to start working on it! Of course, 'Nothing' will always come first when I'm writing, and I will still continue to write this if I end up choosing to write the other fic.
but dw, I will keep you all updated on everything ;)
I hope you all have a good day/night - thank you for reading and all the support, and thank you for 9k votes!
love youuu,
-zara xxx