~Raleigh's POV~
Everything in me shatters. I can't do it anymore. I can't. I can't lose everyone all over again. I can't go on the run again. I can't risk losing Liam again. I'm not going to go through that agonizing circle of hell again.
"NO!" Liam screams at me as I jump off the branch. He tries to grab me but I slide in between his hands; I hope that's the only thing I miss on the way down. If I hit every branch at the right angle and hard enough, it will kill me by the time I hit the ground. I close my eyes, enjoying the few seconds of falling before I hit something. I hit the branch with my ankle and then fly forward and down. My ankle doesn't feel broken, just bruised. I'm about to smack my head onto a branch when I suddenly stop only a few inches away from it.
"What do you think you're doing?" I hear a familiar voice and I turn to see Zoey and Zoey holding onto the tree with one hand and them holding me back with their other hands.
"Jumping to my doom." I respond with tears running down my face. Both girls glare at me and pull me back to their branch. I see Liam climbing down to me and I see all the tears in his eyes; it makes my heart ache.
"Why would you do that?!" Liam depends as he crushes me to his chest, holding me tight. That's when my tears start flowing out of control more than they already were.
"Shh, it's going to be okay. I got you." Liam repeats over and over again. How can it be okay when part of my family is missing all these years later and most of my family that I did find just exploded?! I can't keep doing this. I want it all to end. The pain. The torture. The unknowing. We've been through so much and yet there's always more. I make my way over a mountain only to realize I only made it over a hill.
"I-I can't! I can't keep doing this!" I tell Liam as he holds my shaking body. My sobs shake my body and my soul. I just feel my heart breaking and my whole world falling apart. Just when I finally have everything together, it all falls apart. "God can get you through it", I hear a soft voice whisper in the back of my mind. No. No. No one come get me through this, not even him.
I don't know how long we sit up in the tree as Liam holds me tight, scared to let me go. Zoey and Zaya watch the ground as well as our surroundings. Just when I think I'm good, I catch a glimpse of the burning house and I fall apart all over again. How much suffering am I supposed to go through before I have my peace?! How many more people am I going to lose until enough is enough?
No one says anything for what seems like hours and maybe it was hours before someone opened their mouth again, I don't know for sure. But I do know that the next person to speak was Zoey and she didn't speak, she yelled.
"RANDY!" As soon as that left her mouth, Zoey was climbing down the tree as fast as she possibly could. Through my tears I can see her running straight to him. Once Randy sees Zoey, he sprints to her, dropping his bag on the ground in the process. They just crash into each other and kiss passionately. Zoey and Randy wrap their arms around each other and embrace each other. I let out a sigh of relief when I see them break apart.
At least that's one more person that's alive. I sigh and try my absolute hardest to focus on the positives. That's one more person I didn't lose. That's one more blessing for the day. That's another good thing to keep me going. That's one more person I have to live for. Even though I should live for me, I'm not there yet; not anymore. I can't jump that far forward when I went so far backwards.
I see Randy's smile as him and Zoey look up into our tree and I find myself smiling back. I take a deep breath before tapping Liam's arms around me; letting him know that it's okay to let go. Then I take another deep breath as Liam looks at me with panic and worry. When I get ready to climb down, Liam wraps his arms around my waist and pulls me to his chest again.
"Liam, I'm trying to see Randy." I assure him but he still remains holding me close to his chest on his lap. He's not going to let go, is he? I sigh and lay my head on his chest and he lays his head on top of mine.
"I can't lose you." I hear Liam whisper and I turn to see his eyes closed and a few tears sliding down his face. My heart breaks at the sight of him crying over the thought of losing me. Yet, it feels full. He loves me so much that he can't bare the thought of losing me.
I love this man so much that I can't hurt him like that. I may want to end all of my own pain but I failed to consider everyone else's pain. I'm not the only one hurting and if I killed myself (especially by something as horrifying as crashing on the way down from a tree) than that would be extremely selfish of me. Liam loves me and just the very thought of losing me, puts him in so much pain and it would be cruel of me to hurt him like that. He's been through so much and I shouldn't add to that, no matter how much I'm hurting.
"I love you, Liam."
"I know, princess."
"Promise me that you won't leave me. Promise me that I won't lose you too." I beg him, a few tears starting to slip down my cheek. If I have him, I can do this. I can. I know I can.
"I won't leave you, I promise. You're not going to lose me, okay? I'm always going to be here with you, alright? Remember Bonnie and Clyde forever, right?"
"Oh wow! Brining up that? Wow! We could be Romero and Juliet, remember?" I ask Liam with a small laugh.
"See? We will always find a way back to each other because we are meant to be."
"We are meant to be." I repeat with a smile. For a full second, I don't think about the disaster that is my life, I just look at the love of my life and think of how after all we've been through, we keep coming back to each other. We always find our way back to each other.
Liam is right, we are meant to be. Him and I are soulmates. And that's not me being cheesy or love obsessed, it's a fact. There's no one else that can make me feel the way he does. My heart beats for Liam. He's my whole world. Him and I are intertwined and we will always be intertwined. Our hearts will only beat for each other.
"Hey, are you two lovebirds going to come and see me?!" I hear Randy yell up and I grin. Liam looks at me with a smile but it doesn't reach his eyes. He looks at me with worry and concern; yet that's not all...there's also pain. I lean in and give his soft lips a quick kiss. Only it's not just a quick kiss.
Liam's hand makes it way to my neck and pulls me closer to him while his other hand repositions my ass on his lap. One of my hands gets tangled in his hair as I pull him closer, my other hand is on the branch so I can balance myself as I move. I carefully place my legs on each side of Liam's waist without breaking the kiss and I realize Liam's hand is still on my ass, but I don't mind. As if he realized it at the same time, he gives my ass a squeeze. Oh jeez! There goes my hormones!
We break apart so we can catch our breaths but Liam's lips don't leave my skin. He starts to kiss up and down my neck and I tilt my head back, trying not to moan. Liam's hand on my neck moves down to my back to keep me stable. My hands go to the branches by Liam's head to hold myself up a bit.
"Shit Liam!" I mumble with a gasp as I feel his lips travel down to right where the top of my shirt reaches.
"Oh don't worry, princess; you ain't seen nothing yet." Liam promises me with devilish smirk and I feel my heart race.
"RALEIGH AND LIAM!" Randy yells up to us and we both sigh. Liam mumbles something along the lines, "Ruining all my fun". You and me both, Liam.
"Shall we?" Liam asks me as we both sit up. He offers me his hand and I grin, taking it. Even though it's a simple gesture, I know it's deeper than that.
It's a promise that he's going to be there for. Liam is telling me that he's there for me. That he's going to help me not only climb down the tree but he's also going to help me climb over the mountains life is going to make me overcome. I take his hand as a way to show him that I'm going to let him. That I'm one-hundred percent letting him in. Which means I can't make crazy decisions (like accepting a painful fall out of a tree) by myself. Because I'm no longer going through life by myself; there's two of us now.
Liam and I climb down the tree with little difficulty. The twins help Randy get us safely to the ground once we are low enough to jump or leap into their waiting arms. Zoey offers me her hand as I crouch on the bottom branch (still about five feet off the ground) and I shake my head. I move my body around the branch and grip it with my hands, then I swing around so I'm dangling but holding on. Liam does the same thing but a few branches over, only he doesn't hesitate as he jumps down. Of course he lands perfectly on both feet.
"Well that was easy." Liam comments as he dusts himself off and shoots me a grin. I shoot him a glare but then my lips curve up into a sinister smirk, having a plan in mind. I swing back and forth, gaining momentum and when I have enough I throw myself forward. Liam sees me flying at him and wraps his arms around me as we both fall onto the ground.
"I guess you really fell for me, huh?" I ask him with a smirk, not getting off of him.
"Oh shut up and get off!"
"Nah, I think I'll lay here a little while. Plus you quite enjoy me on top, don't you?"
"Oh you wanna play that game? No, princess. I don't enjoy you on top; I would much rather you under me, gripping the sheets because the pleasure is too much for you."
"DID I JUST HEAR THAT CORRECTLY?!" Zaya exclaims loudly and whip my head to her. She stare at Liam and I with wide eyes and a look of pure horror on her face. I give her a sheepish grin and get off of Liam who stands up but gives me a glare. To make him feel better, I blow him a kiss with a grin on my lips.
"Thank God, you two are alright!" Randy exclaims as he grabs me to pull me into a tight hug. I wrap my arms around him and hold him tight, trying not to fall apart again.
"It's okay, it's okay." Randy repeats as he continues to hold me as I sob. I'm so thankful he's here with me still. I should be focusing on the positives but the negatives still tear me apart. Positives: I have Liam, Zoey, Zaya and Randy. Negatives: I don't know where anyone else is. My home was completely destroyed. Randy holds me for what seems like forever but I need it. I need comfort.
"KIDS!" I hear a voice yell and I look over seeing my parents and Aunt Janet running to us. I let go of Randy and run to my parents, letting them squeeze the life out of me. They're alright! They let go of me and Janet hugs me before running over to her daughters. Liam makes his way to me and takes my hand which makes me smile. I turn to look at him to see him already looking at me with a smile.
"We're going to be okay." Liam promises and for some strange reason, I believe him. Even after all we've been through, I believe him. I believe that together we can overcome anything life throws at us.
We just have to keep fighting and keep trying; even when it seems helpless and when there's no point. Those are the moments where we have to fight the hardest, never give up and stick together. When life keeps throwing rocks at us, we have to shield each other and gather all of those rocks to build an empire. Like a Phoenix we need to raise from the ashes stronger than we ever were.
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~2,304 Words~
Hello everyone! Thank you for still reading this book and staying with me through this journey! I'm so sorry for taking so long! I'm trying my best, I assure you. I never want to give you a half assed chapter that doesn't have my heart and soul poured into it. I'm sorry this chapter is pretty short, I'll try my best to make the next one longer. Anyways, I hope all of you are staying safe and healthy this holiday season! I love you all!
What do you think will happen next?
Is Raleigh going to be okay?
How did you feel about this chapter?
Will everyone else be alright?
Will Liam and Raleigh help each through all the challenges life throws at them?
Will Liam lose Raleigh?
PLEASE VOTE AND COMMENT!💟