A Borrowed Life (Carly and Liam #1)

by Stephanie Cholette

“I wouldn’t! You are beautiful, no matter what you wear.”

  I smile back hiding all my hair, even my bangs, inside the cap. We eat quickly and try to sneak out to Liam’s car in the underground parking garage.

  “Do you have my things?” Liam asks.

  “In the bag, Mr. Walker,” confirms Javen.

  He lets me get in and sits beside me, slipping his arm around my shoulders and smiling at me reassuringly. His look tells me not to worry, that he’s got everything under in control.

  “Does this happen often?” I ask.

  “No. I never talk to journalists and they know it. They stopped wasting their time with me a long time ago.”

  “Why do they think it will be different today?”

  “Because these aren’t journalists, they’re paparazzi. They only want a photo or something crunchy to sell to gossip magazines who will make up the stories.”

  “Ah.”

  “They get nothing from me usually, so no, I’m not used to dealing with this kind of stuff first thing in the morning.”

  The tone in which he finishes his sentence doesn’t make me feel good. He seems upset and border line angry, and I immediately feel uncomfortable. I mean, I come in his life and mess up his whole routine. He had work this morning, but he stayed with me. I finish work late at night, so I’m used to getting up later.

  We leave the parking lot and three men with cameras stand in front of the car. They see us and take pictures, but the tinted windows probably prevent them from really seeing inside. Liam stretches up to his driver.

  “Make sure they don’t follow us.”

  He’s right. The worst thing that could happen would be them knowing where I live.

  Liam’s cell phone rings.

  “Daniel,” he says, recognizing the caller I.D. “No, I said an hour… Fuck! Alright, I’m on my way.”

  He turns to me before adding that he will be there in forty-five minutes. I shake my head and whisper that it’s fine, that he doesn’t need to drop me home before he goes. I’m in no hurry because I’m off today. Javen can drop me after, no problem.

  “Are you sure?” he mouths as he presses his hand on the handset.

  I nod to confirm.

  “Yes, it doesn’t bother me at all, I promise.”

  He holds his breath, hesitating a moment, then sighs and responds to Daniel that he will be there in ten minutes. I don’t know who Daniel is, but it’s not really my business. He’s obviously related to his work.

  We stop in front of a huge glass building. Liam turns to me and pulls my face against his, pressing a soft kiss on my lips.

  “What are you doing tonight?” he asks.

  “I don’t know. Do you have plans?”

  “Maybe. Stay free,” he orders before getting out of the car.

  “Okay.”

  My smile grows on my face and I know I look like a child right now, but he causes that the feeling in me. I feel so light and safe with him, it’s almost like a falling back into childhood again. Or perhaps it’s love that’s making me feel this way? Don’t we always say that a loving heart is a young heart?

  I fall back into the seat, my eyes sparkling with happiness. I notice Javen’s stare in the rear-view mirror. He has a wide smile, but remains polite enough not to say anything.

  I have the apartment all to myself today as Sean begins his new daytime schedule. I seize the opportunity to rest and go swimming before dinner. I haven’t been to the pool since the cruise, and it’ll do me good to release the tension of the past few days.

  I roll my sweater over my head, remove my pants, and find myself in a bikini at the deserted pool of the gym. The evening promises to be fresh, and a shiver runs through my body as the breeze blows on my skin. As usual, I don’t mind and dive in. The cold is chilling, but after a few seconds I can’t feel it anymore.

  I do one length of the pool and reach the other side, push my feet against the wall, and throw myself in the opposite direction. I stop abruptly and take my head out of the water to look around; I swear I felt someone’s hand brush my ankle, but I must have been dreaming, because there’s nobody else here. And no one could come and go so fast without me seeing them.

  I pull myself together and resume my laps when suddenly, a figure appears ahead of me as I get to the edge of the pool, and I accidently swallow chlorinated water at the same time. I thrash my hands toward the surface, but I can’t get out. I need air and fast! I try to pull myself out of the water, but something pushes me towards the bottom. Fingers wrap around my throat and push me under.

  My head starts spinning and my heart wants to explode as my arms and legs go numb. I can no longer fight. I begin to suffocate slowly and painfully, swallowing more and more water. I give up. I won’t win. My body softens. Everything goes black around me and I feel nothing. It’s over, I’m leaving this world.

  Suddenly, I see a smile. Eyes as blue as the azure sea and brown messy hair. Liam… A shock gives me a brief breath of life when I see him. What will he say when he finds out I gave up? My chest tightens painfully at the thought. Suddenly, my convulsing legs hit against the cement of the pool and propel me to the surface. My opponent’s strong grip around my neck drags him into the water with me as he wasn’t expecting this sudden movement.

  I take advantage of surprising him to turn around and hit my palms against his body to push him further away. I finally emerge from the water in a jump and inhale deeply while rushing to the ladder on my left. I don’t even take the time to turn around. I climb out of the pool, still choking and still feeling his hands crushing my vocal cords. I cough uncontrollably as I hear a low voice echo in my ears.

  I look up. A coach stands before me, asking if I’m okay. I nod and turn around to look for my assailant, but he’s already disappeared. I see the footprints of water heading to the green grass that leads to the sidewalk. He left and I didn’t have time to see who it was. I don’t even know if it was a man or a woman all of it happened so fast! Everything is so confused in my head! The images replay over and over, but I can’t sort out a thing. I let myself fall on my right side while I catch my breath.

  It’s almost seven o’clock when someone rings the doorbell. I open, wearing simple jeans with a slightly frayed right knee and a gray tank top. The man on the other side of the door is wearing old jeans too, and a t-shirt and a navy cap, but no clothes could hide the muscles of his solid body. His strong jaw, blue eyes, and his slight smirk still have the same effect on me. I throw myself into his arms without any restraint.

  “Are you okay?” Liam asks with a shaken voice.

  I nod, but I can’t even talk. I still see his face as I was drowning. It’s to him that I owe being alive right now, even though technically he wasn’t even there.

  “How did you find out?” I finally ask.

  “It doesn’t matter, I did and that’s it. I was in a meeting when it happened. I came as soon as they told me.”

  I don’t care to how he knows. Right now, I just want him to hold me; to hear his heart beat and feel his warmth on my body as his energy invades me and reassures me. His fingers brush through my barely dried hair to press me stronger against him. I can feel his distress in his embrace.

  “I almost lost you, Carly! Do you have any idea who it was?”

  I shake my head. “We can’t see anything on the surveillance cameras, either.”

  “I know. I spoke to the detective.”

  “What?”

  “Carly, I was worried! You don’t understand what it’s like to find out through a phone call that the woman you love was nearly killed. Despite all the money that I have, despite all the means that I have, I couldn’t protect you, and I couldn’t be there with you. And I couldn’t stop picturing you under the water, drowning. And you…”

  I remain frozen. It’s still a little weird to hear him say the woman he loves.

  “I mean, I can’t think straight when it comes to you,” he says.

  I smile.

  “I gues
s this is what justifies the jeans and T-shirt?” I joke in response. I never thought I’d see Liam so simply dressed. He holds out his hand, smiling.

  “Come on.”

  We get to his rented gray Honda Civic. Liam sits behind the wheel and I’m in the passenger seat. It’s the kind of simplicity that I love. For the first time, I feel no pressure to be perfect, or be someone I’m not. I’m in my element and I feel great! I can only love Liam even more for understanding this need and making up for it.

  Liam parks the car at a parking meter at the Hudson River port. The city lights already illuminate a darkening sky. Liam takes my hand and we walk along the river, which I’ve never really done. I must say that I’m rarely in town, and I’m not stupid enough to walk alone in New York city at night. It wouldn’t be very safe.

  I marvel at every detail, pointing everything I see to Liam who’s just enjoying the moment. He laughs without restraint and for the first time, I see him without the usual pressure he carries on his shoulders. The fear of judgment that tarnishes his expression fades and allows me tonight to discover the man behind the imposing facade he shows.

  When a horse-drown carriage passes in front of us, Liam stops the driver. He holds out his hand for me to lean on him and climb in, and joins me inside. I snuggle against him and in his arms, I feel like we’re alone and completely immune to everything.

  The horse resumes his route and now we are able to marvel at each attraction we cross. The Statue of Liberty is especially beautiful with all these lights. It’s majestic, standing there before us, as the powerful symbol of a value so dear to all of our hearts that we forget too often. I turn to Liam and notice his expression of amazement.

  “I never really stopped to look at it,” he says, seeing my astonishment.

  “Are you kidding? You live in New York!”

  “I’m always working. I don’t really live. Well, not until I met you.”

  “And I thought you were mad at me for keeping you away from your usual tasks.”

  “Not at all! I love the person I’ve become in your presence.”

  I turn to him and smile. I don’t think he could have given me a better compliment.

  “I love this person, too.”

  We head to a small coffee shop where we enjoy a slice of absolutely delicious chocolate cake. At some point, Liam’s eyes darken as they land onto a man who probably recognized him despite his cap. He drops a twenty-dollar bill on the table, gets up, and we leave.

  Today with cell phones, it only takes one person snapping a picture for it to go viral.

  “You know this doesn’t cost more than six dollars?” I say looking at the twenty.

  He smiles, shrugging his shoulders.

  “The waitress will have a good tip.”

  We walk out of the coffee shop. I know it’s because of me he did that. I don’t think he had ever stopped to think about a waitress’s life before he met me. He treated them as many people do, as if we were born to serve them and that it’s just normal for us.

  We stroll along the sidewalks and euphoria takes over us. Liam allows himself to let go and I discover he has a good sense of humor I never would have suspected. That’s when he sits next to a statue of a man reading a newspaper on a bench, and I burst out laughing, unable to stop.

  He begins to talk with the statue and I laugh so hard that my ribs hurt. I’m able to express my pain with a barely audible “Ouch!” and Liam jumps up and drags me into his arms, joining me in laughter. I finally calm down and we start walking again.

  We return to the car, still talking. The evening was wonderful! I hold a rose in my right hand that he snatched from a bouquet of a florist, busting a theatrical movement and handing it to me in a reverence.

  At the end of the evening, we walk up to the front door of my apartment. My breathing picks up as he begins kissing me. My fingers dig in his shoulders and his grip on my waist tightens as if slowly losing control. Suddenly, he pins me against the wall behind me, giving way to a surge of passion that’s clearly too strong for him to resist. He kisses me even more wildly and completely takes over me.

  His fingers slide along my arms that he lifts above my head to hold my wrists in his grasp. His one hand brushes down my body, stopping on the side of my breast and leaving me breathless. Suddenly, he stops and steps back, pulling himself together.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “I lost control. I…”

  “I loved it!”

  “Don’t say that. You don’t know what you mean.”

  “What?”

  He sighs and presses a soft kiss on my forehead.

  “Forget it. I love you and I want to take care of you. I could never bear to hurt you.”

  “I’m not as fragile as you think. You won’t hurt me because you let your instincts take over.”

  He purses his lips together, trying not to say something that he obviously doesn’t want to tell me.

  “Carly, believe me when I say you don’t know what you mean. What matters is the man I am when I’m with you.”

  “I’m not sure I understand?”

  “I love you,” he whispers in my ear, holding me in his arms. “Good night.”

  With that, he leaves and I stand there, alone and completely exhilarated. I sigh before pushing the door of my apartment, disappointed and troubled. Sean is lying on the couch waiting for me.

  “Really?” he says.

  “What?”

  “Mr. Perfect is too perfect to enjoy himself tonight?”

  “Shut up!”

  “Oh! We’re grumpy! You need it.”

  “SEAN!” I yell and it takes him by surprise. It’s not like me to react this way, and I’m a little surprised myself.

  “Hey, are you okay?” he wonders, standing.

  He pauses his movie and makes space next to him for me to sit.

  “Yes. It’s just something he said… I… Well, it was weird. That’s all.”

  “Really?”

  I shrug and shake my head.

  “Anyway, I had a great evening and that’s what I choose to remember.”

  I go into into my room without giving him anymore details.

  I remove my shirt to put on my pajamas when I see an envelope on my pillow. Intrigued, I open it and find a picture of Liam and me, eating the chocolate cake. I look at it with more stars in my eyes than there are in the sky. On the back, there is a note:

  Respect our agreement, Carly. Or things could go wrong!

  I take in a sharp breath. My hands are shaking. This isn’t good at all. The note clearly came from Richard Lexington. He had me followed, obviously. Whatever! I will not let him intimidate me! I throw the message in the garbage and tomorrow, I won’t even think about it.

  No need to contact the police. What could they possibly hold against Mr. Lexington? He would be able to buy them anyway, which would make things even worse for me. I know it, I’ve already been there. I can’t trust the police.

  Chapter 11

  I stretch out and yawn, unable to bring myself to get up. My face is buried in my pillow. I mutter under my breath as I take one leg after another out of my sheets, letting them fall limply on the floor. I find myself sliding out of bed and sitting on the carpet in my panties and tank top.

  “Where is she!” my brother yells suddenly.

  I frown looking at my alarm clock. It’s only nine in the morning, what’s he doing up before ten o’clock? But I hardly have time to ask myself that when heavy knocks bang on my door.

  “What do you want?” I ask with an irritated tone, slowly getting up.

  He comes in, holding a newspaper in his hand.

  “You weren’t supposed to see him again!” he wails.

  “I do what I want with my life, I remind you.”

  “Carly, this is serious! Think before acting for once!”

  “Yeah, and you sure are the best person to give me advice on that.”

  “Definitely! Because when you’r
e in trouble, there will be only me to get you out of it. Even if our lives aren’t so great, I have no desire to move again with a new identity because my little sister fucked up again!”

  “That’s not fair! I never asked you for anything! It wasn’t even my fault, and I don’t have to pay for it for the rest of my life!”

  My voice fills with tears as I finish my sentence and I let myself fall on my bed, crying. Ethan takes a breath to calm himself down, then comes to sit beside me.

  “I’m sorry,” he says. “I got carried away.”

  “I can’t take it, Ethan! I don’t want to live in a prison like this all the time. Just think of me in this situation. Do you think I like it? I live each day being reminded of everything you’ve sacrificed for me. Sometimes I wish you wouldn’t have done it, you know.”

  “Stop! I have no regrets. I’m here with you and you’re safe now, that’s all that matters. I wouldn’t want it to happen again, that’s all. What if he finds you? I would spend my nights fearing you’re not okay. And if he hurt you…”

  He pauses before finishing his sentence.

  “It won’t happen.”

  “Promise?”

  I nod.

  “It’s that bad?” I ask, pointing at the newspaper.

  He shakes his head.

  “There are no photos. Only the same description of a pretty brunette, but they are getting more and more detailed.”

  I sigh. I promised him everything would be fine, but I wonder how long I’ll be able to keep my promise. He’s right; if my former stepfather were to find me, it would be really bad! I am sure that Richard will do everything for that to happen, or at least make me believe it could, so that I accept his protection and rules.

  “Are you working today?” he asks.

  I nod. “At three o’clock.”

  “Do you finish late?”

  “I don’t know, why?”

  “Just so I know,” he says with a shrug. “I’ll pick you up.”

  “Yes, okay.”

  “By the way, did you hear from the detective?”

  I signal him no.

  No, and I doubt that I will. Whoever attacked me at the pool was careful not to leave any clues, and it almost looks like a professional did it. Except if that was the case, I probably wouldn’t have survived. I scratch my throat nervously, thinking back to his hands choking me and I take a deep breath. He’s out there, somewhere, and he could return at any moment.