by Theresa Jane
A carpeted staircase led to the upper levels, a crystal chandelier hanging in the middle of it all. Feeling the warmth of the house wash over me, I quickly shrugged out of my jacket and dumped it on the floor, followed by my shoes.
“I can’t believe I ever hired you as a maid,” Liam chuckled, picking up my jacket and hanging it in the hall closet, lining my worn out sneakers next to his immaculate ones.
I may be earning a lot of money from my art, but I still dressed as shabby as I always have. What was the point dressing nicely when almost everything I owned was covered in paint anyway?
“Life with me is messy. Get over it, superstar,” I shrugged, wandering into the next room. This one had a fire burning in it, filling the room with a warm glow. However, that was the only thing in the room apart from an intricately woven rug and a couple of pillows.
“Where’s all your stuff?” I frowned, walking around the spacious room and glancing into the next. It was bare as well. Had he been living here all this time without any furniture?
“I wanted to wait,” he answered from where he stood at the entrance to the room.
“Wait for what? The sales?”
“No, for you.” Looking back, I saw that he was rubbing the back of his neck nervously, the tips of his ears turning pink. “I didn’t want to get something you didn’t like.”
“You want me to help you decorate the house?”
“Isn’t that what normal couples do?” he asked uncertainly.
“Normal couples go to IKEA and fight over how to put the devil furniture together. Are you suggesting we go to IKEA?”
“Only if you want to.”
“Is that even possible?” I asked, knowing the stir he could cause just walking down the street.
“It’ll be tricky, but I think I could manage it,” he shrugged, pushing off the wall he was leaning on and making his way over to me.
“Liam,” I started, wringing my hands anxiously. I was nervous to ask my next question, but I knew if I didn’t, we could end up back where we were before. “Are you sure we should move in together right away?”
He was now standing right in front of me, and he reached to hold my hands in his. Heaving a heavy sigh, he rested a finger under my chin to get my eyes to meet his.
“Freya,” he began, a sad look crossing his features as he looked down at me. “My life is never going to be normal. The best I can do is love you and keep you safe. That’s why I bought this house. You weren’t safe in New York. Here, I have a security team keeping watch over the place twenty-four hours a day.”
“Liam-” I started, but he was too intent on what he was saying to let me cut him off.
“I know what you’re thinking, but I’m not trying to keep you trapped here,” he said before he pulled me through the room and into an open kitchen and living space. I tried to take it all in, but Liam had his mind set on something else.
“Look,” he ordered, motioning to several pieces of paper lined up neatly on the bench. “I’ve had a real estate agent look into apartments for you in the city. All you have to do is pick one, and I know you don’t want me to pay for it, but I will be paying for the security team that will stay in the building with you at all times. I also made sure they were close to someone we knew so if something did go wrong, there would always be someone there for you. This one is even near your brother because I know you want to be there for him and-”
“Liam, stop,” I laughed, resting my hand against his forearm to get him to settle down.
“I know I’m overprotective and sometimes possessive as hell,” he continued in a low voice. “It’s just…I need to know you’re safe. After everything that happened…I just…I just don’t want to see that happen again. I can’t lose you again.” His eyes were burning as they met my gaze and I couldn’t even think before I pressed my lips against his.
He took a moment to respond; then his hands seemed to be everywhere. His lips were burning tracks across my skin. My hands were buried in his golden hair as he lifted me from my feet and sat me on the marble bench top. The room began to spin as my lungs burned with the need for air until he finally pulled away, resting his forehead against mine.
“I want you here with me,” he breathed, running his hand up and down my arm gently. “But, I understand if you need some time.”
“I like this place a lot,” I started, and I watched as his shoulders sagged in defeat. “But it might be nice to have a place in the city, too. A studio of sorts.”
“A studio?”
“Yeah, then you don’t have to worry about me spilling paint on every surface in this place.”
“I don’t mind,” he tried to assure me.
“You don’t mind?” I scoffed, remembering his reaction when I had painted on his walls.
“You can paint the whole place pink for all I care.”
“Pink?”
“I don’t care what you do. I just want you. All of you.”
“You’ll regret those words, superstar.” I chuckled, looking down at the apartments again. “I still think it might be nice to have a place where I can just go to paint.”
“We’ll look into it,” he nodded, brushing my hair back and pressing a kiss against my nose. “But wherever it is, there will be a team of guys with you the whole time,” he finished sternly, and I couldn’t fight the urge to roll my eyes at him.
“Okay, super—is that my old coffee machine?” I frowned, pushing him away and crossing the kitchen to inspect the duct taped coffee machine.
“I found it in a thrift store near your old place.”
“How did you know it was mine?"
“The paint gave it away,” he chuckled, coming up behind me and wrapping his arms around my waist.
“I can’t believe you found this.” I shook my head in disbelief. I thought everything had been thrown out, but the movers must have just taken everything to a thrift store.
“It makes shit coffee,” he mused.
“Yeah, but it doesn’t try to attack me when I use it.” I countered, reaching for the coffee and setting it to brew.
“It really wasn’t that difficult,” Liam mocked, spinning me to face him and pressing my back into the bench. His hands caged me in on either side, and his lips were inches from mine again.
“I’m sure I could have used it if someone hadn’t been an ass and had shown me how it worked.” He kissed me then, probably to stop himself from insulting me.
When the coffee was ready, he poured us both a cup, and we both sat up on the bench and drank it in silence. My mind was reeling from everything he had said since we had arrived, but in the silence, the peace of the place was undeniable.
“Nope, I can’t do this,” Liam announced suddenly, jumping down from the bench and taking the coffee from my hands.
“Hey,” I protested, but he ignored me and instead walked over to the sink and poured them both out. “I was drinking that.”
“We’ll go out and buy a new coffee machine tomorrow. I refuse to drink that shit, and I’m not letting you drink it either. For all we know, it’s poisoning us.”
“It’s not poisoning us. Don’t be overdramatic,” I scoffed, jumping down from the bench.
“Tasted like poison,” he grumbled, taking my hand again and leading me from the kitchen and back into the entryway.
“Where are we going now?”
“Our room,” he answered. “It’s been a long day.”
I followed him up the stairs, again noting how bare the walls were until suddenly they weren’t anymore.
I stopped suddenly beside a wall with three frames on it. Two of the pictures were of Liam with Charlie. There was one with him playing the guitar with her, and another was of the two of them asleep on Lucy and Jarred’s couch. I felt a smile grow when I saw that Charlie had managed to wedge her fingers in Liam's mouth while he slept. The third photo was of Liam and Ant, standing with their arms around each other in Lucy’s backyard.
“It was Lucy’s birthday,” Liam said beside me. “Luce gave me the photos.”
I nodded in response, too stunned to form an answer. It was small, just three photos, but it was infinitely more than he had before.
“Come on,” he grunted, tugging me farther down the hall. He came to a stop in front of double wooden doors. Seeming to become nervous, he hesitated, giving me a sideways glance before he pushed down on the golden handles. What was he nervous about?
I followed him in until I was standing in the middle of the biggest bedroom I’d ever seen. Dark gray carpet covered the floors, and a giant bed filled the center of the room.
Just like the apartment back in New York, it was very monochrome, and I couldn’t help but smile. He may have changed, but he was still the same Liam.
Soft lights filled the room with a warm glow, coupled with another fireplace in the corner. The fireplace was surrounded by plush looking chairs, but my attention was focused on something else. Something very familiar.
Without realizing it, I released Liam’s hand and walked over to the fireplace in a daze. All my attention was focused on the frame above the mantle.
“You bought it,” I whispered, running my hand along the edge of the frame and looking up at the familiar golden sunflowers, the silhouette of the man standing above them all.
“I couldn’t let anyone else have it,” he answered, standing just behind me. I didn’t look back. Instead, I ran my fingers over the red and golden smudges hidden among the sunflowers. I knew no one else had seen them. You only noticed them if you were truly looking for them. They were moving toward the edge of the canvas, and many people would simply mistake them as smudges in the sunflowers, but they weren’t.
While all the sunflowers cast their light on the silhouette of the man, the true man was free to walk away.
“When I heard your song that day, I tried to get it back,” I mused, letting my fingers fall away. “I didn’t want anyone else to have a piece of our story.”
“They don’t know our story, Freya. This is all that matters,” he whispered, spinning me around so I was facing him, his lips brushing gently against my own as I melted into the safety and warmth of his arms. “And this, they will never see.”
Epilogue
“Freya,” Liam groaned. He had been hovering over my shoulder for the last hour.
“I’m nearly done,” I muttered, straightening Davis’ place setting and readjusting the flowers in the center of the table.
“Freya, it’s perfect. Now, will you just sit down and take a break.”
“I’m just going to check the turkey,” I mumbled, sidestepping his outstretched arm and heading for our kitchen. It had taken us a year to fill the house with furniture but it was finally exactly how we both wanted it. Most importantly, we had started to fill the walls with pictures of our friends and family.
As I walked past the fridge, I saw one of my favorites. It was Liam giving Davis a brand new guitar for his sixth birthday. We celebrated it last month. The two had called a truce of sorts after the new baby was born. Jarred and Lucy’s new addition had quickly wormed her way into all our hearts with Lucy’s blue eyes and Jarred’s brown mop of hair. It was the most hair I had ever seen on a newly born child.
When Liam and I had gone to see the family in the hospital, Liam had immediately been drawn to the new addition. After the news I had given him a few nights before he seemed more than curious about the tiny bundle of pink. When he was handed Thalia for the first time the most accurate description of his expression I could give, was blind terror. I let him suffer for a few minutes before I took pity on him and nestled her in my arms. Liam had then moved to stand behind me and watched the gurgling baby from over my shoulder. He had hesitantly, brushed his hand against Thalia’s forehead, as if he were afraid his rough touch might break her.
“She’s so small,” he had whispered. He seemed transfixed, much like I was whenever I saw him up on stage. Completely captivated.
“She’s perfect.” I had replied before I leaned up and pressed a gentle kiss to his cheek. I couldn’t describe the feelings I felt when I watched him with Luce and Jarred’s children. He had changed so much with them. Especially, Charlie.
She was talking a lot now, and it was mostly to the superstar at my side. Those two had a bond that rivaled that of her and her father. When I watched them playing together, my heart would swell to a size where I thought it was impossible for it to remain inside my chest.
“Freya, you need to rest before they get here,” Liam scolded, wrapping his arm around my waist and diverting me from the kitchen.
“Liam, I need to make sure it’s not burning,” I whined, trying to wriggle out of his hold. He had grown even more protective over the last few months.
“I can’t smell it burning, so it must be fine,” he assured me, leading me into our lounge room and sitting me on the armchair by the fire. He quickly pulled the blanket from the back of the couch and rested it across my legs. Then tucked it in around me, so I felt like I was wearing a mermaid tail.
“Now, stay,” he ordered before he leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss against my forehead.
“They’re going to be here soon. Do you really expect me to sit here all afternoon?” I challenged, already pulling the woolen blanket from my lap and moving to get up.
“No,” he answered, pushing me back down and tucking me in again. “You can get up when it’s time for lunch.”
“Are you insane?” I scoffed. He was saved from any further comment when there was a loud knock at the door.
“I’ll get it,” he announced, darting from the room before I could object. He was lucky we were having guests over. Otherwise, I wouldn’t hold back on the scolding I was going to give him.
“Freya,” Davis shouted, bouncing across the room to where I sat. He was just about to launch himself at me when Liam caught him mid-air.
“I don’t think so, you little terror.” He set him back down on the floor, only to have Charlie latch on to his leg.
“Ace, I miss you,” she beamed, and it didn’t look like she was letting go anytime soon.
“I missed you too, munchkin,” Liam smiled, ruffling her hair affectionately. I couldn’t help the smile that spread across my face as I watched the two.
Jarred and Lucy walked in after their children only seconds later. Jarred had Thalia swaddled in his arms and Luce was close beside him.
“Freya,” Davis prompted, and before I could look at him, he was already crawling onto my lap. “Can I feel if princess is kicking?”
“Of course you can,” I smirked, taking his hands and pressing them against my swelling stomach.
“I’m not sure if you’ll feel her though. I think she might be sleeping.”
“I’ll be quiet then,” he whispered, leaning closer, so his ear was pressed against it. When we told everyone about our little accident, Davis had almost been more excited than when I had told Liam. It had taken me two weeks to work up the courage to tell Liam, and in the end, he found out because I was struggling to keep my breakfast down every morning. The third morning he found me leaning against the toilet he was about ready to rush me to the hospital. After I calmed him down, I finally found the courage to tell him the truth.
I was terrified he wouldn’t want it, and in turn, he wouldn’t want me. It was irrational because I had seen how he had been when he thought Alex had been mine back in Amsterdam but I still had my doubts.
It was going to be a big change in our lives, and even though I was excited, I wasn’t sure he was going to be.
So, I was shocked when he swept me off my feet and ordered me back to bed. I tried to tell him he was being irrational but he wasn’t having a bar of it. He managed to keep me there for all of an hour before I snuck out to my studio in the separate house out the back. He found me half an hour later, covered in paint and knelt over the toilet again. Morning sickness was not kind to me. Again, he insisted
that I return to bed and being as tired as I was, I agreed. He then carried me all the way back to the house and watched TV in bed with me all day.
He and Davis had taken to waiting on me hand and foot. Some days, it was as if they were in competition with one another. The two of them trying to outdo the other for who could look after me better.
“I can feel her,” Davis whisper-yelled, pressing even closer.
“I can feel her too,” I cringed. I think she was using my kidney as a punching bag. We didn’t officially know we were having a girl but I just had a feeling.
“My boy’s going to be a soccer superstar,” Liam announced proudly, sitting on the arm of my chair with Charlie on his hip. He leaned over me, pressing a kiss to my forehead and resting his warm hand over my stomach. I looked down to see a familiar sight. His hand despite my ever-expanding waistline still spanned my stomach in a protective hold.
Davis was just about to object to having his hand pushed from my stomach when there was another knock at our front door.
“I’ll get it,” Lucy announced, jumping up from where she sat beside Jarred and heading for the front door.
“Look who’s here, Davis,” Lucy announced returning with two more figures.
“Uncle Rynosauce,” he exclaimed jumping down from my lap and leaping at his uncle instead. Ryan, well aware of Davis’ tendency to leap unexpectedly, caught him just in time.
Ant shuffled around Ryan and ruffled his nephew’s hair before he walked over to Liam and me.
“How’s my future niece fairing?” He asked, nodding at Liam’s hand that still held my stomach.
“She’ll be wrapped in bubble wrap the minute she arrives,” I grumbled, glaring up at Liam playfully.
“There’s nothing wrong with being safe,” Liam shrugged. I narrowed my eyes at his smug face.
“I never thought I’d hear that from you,” Ant smiled, clapping Liam over the shoulder and then leaning down to give Charlie a kiss. Charlie was clinging onto Liam’s neck for dear life. Not ready to give up her favorite guy for anything. Smiling, I glanced over at Davis to see Ryan pulling an endless handkerchief out of his sleeve. Davis’ eyes were wider than the cookies he liked to sneak when his mom wasn’t looking.