Through The Dark

by Jae

  “Hey, silly.” Liam greets, pressing a kiss to the top of my head before moving to get a bottle of water out of the fridge.

  “Hi.” I smile, taking in his appearance.

  He’s shirtless, barefoot, and wearing a pair of white basketball shorts that ride low on his hips, showing the waistband of his black Calvin Klein boxer briefs.

  “What’s that?” Liam asks, motioning to the stack of pictures.

  “Pictures from the Fourth of July I thought you would want.”

  Liam walks back over to me, resting the side of his leg against the table as he picks up the pictures and slowly flips through them. I take this opportunity of distraction to trace the deep v-cut that dips into the fabrics covering his lower half. I pull him closer to me by the waistband of his shorts before wrapping my arms around his hips and resting the side of my head against his lower stomach. I breath in the scent of his body wash mixed with his Bleu De Chanel cologne; an amazing smell that I will only ever associate with Liam. I squeeze my arms tighter around Liam when I hear his phone start ringing in his pocket. Maneuvering around me, he pulls his phone out and answers it. I shut out the one sided conversation when his free hand begins to run through my hair.

  “Don’t stop.” I whine when Liam removes his hand from my hair after he ends his phone call. This only makes Liam laugh as he unwraps my arms from around him and then bends down to pick me up, carrying me out of the kitchen and to the couch in the living room. Liam lies down on his back before gently resting me on top of him. I nuzzle my head into his chest, grinning when one of his hands finds my hair again and the other rests behind his head.

  “Daisy, is everything okay with you?” Liam asks, a bit of hesitation in his voice.

  “What do you mean?” I mumble into his skin.

  “Well, and please don’t take this the wrong way, you’ve been acting really shady lately.”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Is everything okay with us, then?”

  “Of course they are.” I reassure, pressing a kiss to his chest.

  For the next few hours before I leave, Liam and I talk about all sorts of random things and teasingly make fun of each other. That’s one of the biggest things that makes me love Liam, he isn’t afraid to be silly with me. It’s times like these, when Liam is giggling like a little kid with his deep dimples showing, that make me forget what a scary person he can be.

  Friday night I show up at Liam’s just after eleven o’clock. I had spent the entire day tiding up last minute details and making sure everything is set in place for the party. I really hope everything turns out great and Liam loves it.

  After taking a quick shower I change into a clean pair of underwear and one of Liam’s plain black t-shirts. I smile as I take in the comforter messily draped over my favorite boy’s waist while he lies on his back with his right hand tucked under the pillow beneath his head and his left arm across his bare stomach. He looks absolutely adorable.

  “Daisy?”

  I look up from climbing onto the bed to see Liam’s sleepy eyes looking at me.

  “Hey,” I smile, leaning down and pressing a kiss to his cheek. “Go back to sleep, babe, it’s late.”

  Liam nods his head before shifting around a little and pulling me down to him. I rest my head on his chest and toss my arm across his stomach, quickly falling asleep to the feeling of his fingers lightly brushing across my skin.

  When I open my eyes the next morning, my heart leaps in my throat for a second when I see how close I am to the edge of the bed; my arm actually hanging off of it. As slowly and carefully as possible, I twist around in Liam’s tight hold around my middle and roll my eyes at all the space behind him. I can’t believe Liam still has yet to get used to sharing a bed with another person. There have been many times where I’ve woken up with the majority of his body sprawled out on top of me. I bring my face close to his neck and blow on it, knowing the annoying feeling would wake him up eventually. I feel victorious when he lets out a tired groan, his still shut eyes squeezing even tighter.

  “Liam.” I whine, poking his cheek with my finger and letting out a huff when I don’t get a response. “Liam, move over.”

  “Stop.” He grumbles, squeezing his arm even tighter around my wiggling body. “I’m sleeping.”

  I persist in my moving around, poking his cheek, and blowing on his neck until he finally flops onto his back. I instantly scramble away from the edge of the bed and crawl on top of him, straddling his waist. Liam’s eyes slowly flutter open at my actions, his lips forming into a small grin while he watches me trace the daisy tattooed on his chest.

  “You’re pretty.” He compliments, slyly sliding his hands under the shirt I’m wearing.

  “You know what today is?” I ask while pulling his hands out and making him chuckle.

  “It’s my birthday.”

  I nod my head, leaning forward to plant a sweet kiss on his lips. “Happy Birthday, baby.”

  “Thank you.” Liam responds with my favorite dimpled smile.

  After a few more kisses, Liam asks me what the plans for today are. I force myself to stay calm while I tell him my Dad is going to take him golfing, then he and I are going to go bowling, and then to dinner wherever he wants. Thankfully Liam agrees to the plans with zero complaints.

  “Okay, birthday boy, it’s time to get up.” I say while patting his firm chest.

  “Or,” Liam’s voice sings songs. “We could do something else first.”

  “I’m guessing that your ‘something else’ involves not leaving this bed.”

  “And being naked.” Liam adds with a wink, happily confirming my suspicions.

  I only raise my eyebrows.

  “Please, Daisy.” He whines. “It’s my birthday!”

  “Oh, so you’re going to be one of those people who act like a little princess that should get everything they want on their birthday?” I joke, poking his nose.

  “No.” Liam responds, swatting my hand away from his face. “I just love you.”

  “I love you, too.” I giggle, pushing his hands away when he tries to slide them under my shirt again. “But it’s not going to happen.

  “Fine.” Liam huffs while putting his hands behind his head and I take a moment to appreciate the way his biceps are bulging. My god, he is so sexy.

  Eventually I wrestle my way away from Liam and scurry into the bathroom before I pee my pants. After doing my business and brushing my teeth, I walk out to find Liam sitting up in his bed and doing something on his phone.

  “Liam,” I sigh, pulling my hair up in a messy pony tail. “You have to get out of bed.”

  “I will.” He says, looking up at me. “I just want to watch you walk out of my room.”

  I roll my eyes at the cocky smirk on his face and shake my head while he loudly whistles as I turn and walk out of his room. When I enter the kitchen, I start making a pot of coffee. I have to climb up on the counter to reach the mugs that are stored towards the back of the second shelf. Once I make it safely back to the ground, I move to the fridge. I let out a groan when I pull out the bottle of French Vanilla creamer.

  “Liam!” I holler with annoyance clear in my voice. “You put the empty bottle of creamer back in the fridge again!”

  How many times do I have to tell him to throw the bottle away once it’s gone and right down on the list on the fridge to get more? And of course, he’s going to ignore me. He can be so irritating sometimes. Rolling my eyes, I move to his room only to find it empty; the bathroom and closet also.

  “Liam?”

  I find him in the living room, his still shirtless back to me. I notice he’s pulled on a pair of basketball shorts. I’m about to ask him why he’s ignoring me when my eyes land on the two older women standing in front of him. I instantly regretting walking in for two reasons: I’ve clearly interrupted their conversation and I’m still only in Liam’s t-shirt and my underwear. My eyes widen in surprise when the younger of the two women pushes past Liam and throws her
arms around my neck, holding me tightly to her. Not knowing what else to do, I wrap my arms around her too. After a few moments she pulls back just enough so I can see her tear stained face.

  “Thank you for helping Liam to reconnect with us.” She says softly, more tears forming in her eyes.

  I’m at a total loss for words when she pulls me back into the tight embrace we had just previously been in.

  “Mom.” Liam somewhat whines while moving towards us. “Mom, let her go.”

  Her arms reluctantly fall from around me as a small smile forms on her lips. My eyes shoot over to the older women when I hear her laugh, her short pepper colored hair swaying as she raises her hand to cover her mouth.

  “Daisy, this is my Mom, Nora, and my Grandma, Margaret.” Liam introduces, gesturing to each of them.

  “Oh, dear, please call me Maggie.” His Grandma tells me.

  “I didn’t know you were stopping by today.” Liam says with a clipped tone.

  Knowing Liam, he’s probably a little annoyed. I’m sure he probably would’ve wanted to arrange our meeting instead of having it thrust upon us. Not that I mind though. I’m so happy to finally meet them; despite my lack of pants.

  “It’s your birthday, so we wanted to stop by.” Nora answers.

  “It’s great to meet you both.” I smile.

  “You too.” They both respond.

  We fall into silence for a few moments, Liam’s hand rising to rest on the back of my neck, his thumb moving around in soothing circles. His Mom and Grandma’s eyes watch us, both of them grinning at Liam’s affectionate actions. Something tells me that they aren’t used to seeing him act this way.

  “I take it you’ve both just woken up?” Nora asks, her grin now teasing.

  I feel Liam’s hand slip down my back and around my hip before pulling me closer to him.

  “Yeah, I’m going golfing with her Dad around noon.” Liam answers.

  The two women nod their heads, smiles never disappearing. I watch Nora’s eyes scan over Liam, as if to make sure nothing is out of place. I can only imagine how weird it is for her to see her son after all these years; missing out on the opportunity to watch him grow into the young man he’s become.

  “It’s just after 11:00, Sweetie.” Nora continues.

  Before Liam can respond, an unexpected comment is made by his Grandma.

  “Oh, quit pestering him, Nora. I’m sure they were doing something more fun than sleeping last night and are feeling a bit tired this morning.”

  My eyes widen in shock and a fierce blush fills my cheeks when Liam’s bare chest and my uncovered legs are brought to attention. I immediately feel embarrassed, imagining my parents standing in front of us instead. Of course the way we look would portray that we did more than sleep last night, even though sleeping is exactly what we did. As if becoming aware of the way I’m dressed for the first time, Liam slightly shifts his body in front of me.

  “We’ll be right back.” I say, grabbing onto Liam’s hand.

  “Make yourselves at home.” Liam says as I quickly pull him back to his room.

  “Oh my God!” I exclaim in disbelief, throwing myself down on the bed and covering my face with my hands. “I can’t believe that just happened.”

  “Daisy, it’s fine.” Liam chuckles as he leans over me, placing his hands on either side of my head.

  “No.” I protest, taking my hands away from my face to look at him. “It’s not fine. I just met your Mom and Grandma for the first time in my underwear and your t-shirt and now they think that we were having sex last night!”

  Why is he acting so casual about this? If anyone else had seen me dressed like this, he’d be furious. My thoughts are cut short by Liam pressing his lips to mine, obviously trying to calm me down.

  “It’s fine. Stop worrying.” He smiles in reassurance after pulling away. “I’m going to shower and get ready. I have to meet your Dad at the course in 45 minutes.”

  I sit up and watch him move to the bathroom.

  “What am I supposed to do?” I ask, panic rising in my voice.

  “Go talk to them.” Liam suggests, leaning against the doorframe.

  “What?” I exclaim, my eyes widening in panic. “You mean, like, by myself?”

  “Well, that’s the idea, babe.” Liam chuckles.

  “What are we supposed to talk about?” I barely squeak out, my eyes searching around the room like the answer will be written on the walls.

  “I don’t know?” Liam says, his face twisting in confusion. “Whatever girls talk about?”

  I just stare at him. Is he really going to make me go out there by myself?

  “Daisy, they aren’t going to bite.”

  When I don’t laugh like I know Liam expected me to, he closes the space between us again and cups my face in his hands.

  “They’re going to love you, Daisy.” He says, pressing a kiss to my forehead before rubbing our noses together.

  “How can you be sure?”

  “Because, I love you.”

  I nod my head while reciprocating the one phrase I know I’ll never get sick of saying to or hearing from Liam.

  “Now, put some pants on and get out there.” He smiles, smacking my butt after pulling me up.

  I roll my eyes and Liam just laughs as he walks into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. I quickly get dressed in the white Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle muscle tee and black jean shorts I brought with me last night. I leave my hair up in the messy pony tail I put it in earlier and check to make sure I don’t have anything on my face before I exit the bedroom. I have a lot of running around to do today, so I’m not planning on getting ready for Liam’s party in any way till later tonight.

  “We thought you might not come back.” Maggie laughs when I enter the living room. “Come, sit.”

  I move around the couch and sit between them, still blown away that they’re both here. After apologizing profusely about Liam and I’s lack of clothing and reassuring them that we in fact did only sleep last night, we fall into a comfortable conversation.

  While we talk, it’s easy for me to recognize the familiar characteristics, both in physical features and personality, which Liam shares with these two women. I notice that Nora is a lot quieter and calmer than her Mother; who is constantly moving her hands around and making dramatic facial expressions while she talks. Maggie gives off a very free spirited vibe that I admire and sort of wish Liam would’ve inherited more of. It’s obvious Liam gets his dark curly hair from his Mom, though hers reaches her shoulders and is styled more appropriately for a woman. His beautiful emerald green eyes come from his Grandma, though hers look more alive and like they’ve never been touched with a hint of the darkness that can so easily consume Liam’s.

  I love sitting here and listening to the many stories they have of Liam. Some of them even have me nearly spitting out the lemonade I’m drinking while they sip their coffee; minus the creamer. They both seem so relaxed and content sitting with me, reminiscing on the past and asking questions about me. I tell them about my parents and my childhood; both of them smiling the entire time. When they ask, I give them a watered down version of how Liam and I met and our journey together up until now. They both tell me that everything will work out fine when I inform them of my conflicting decision concerning basketball and Paris. It isn’t long before I turn the conversation back to being about Liam. As much as I love the stories about when he was a kid, I want to know what he was like before he left them.

  “What was Liam like as a teenager?”

  “I suppose he was like most teenagers; a bit grumpy and thought he knew everything.” Nora laughs. “But he was always very sweet and always wanted to help whenever he could. He was also very protective.”

  I quickly realize that Liam is still a lot like he was as a teenager, but in a more mature way. I know all too well about the protectiveness and what he’s willing to do to ensure it. It really doesn’t surprise me to know that he’s always been like that. It
makes me sad to think of why he had become that way though; watching his Dad break his Mom down time and time again. My heart aches at the thought of a young Liam sacrificing the fun of being a kid to worry about the safety of his Mother. No kid deserves that.

  I’m pulled out of my thoughts when I see Nora look at Maggie with a sad smile while latching onto her free hand. Something about the gesture confuses me; like there’s more to it.

  “Is something wrong?” I ask, reaching over to give their clasped hands a gentle squeeze.

  “Does Liam still fight?”

  Her question surprises me.

  “We know about his job, but does it go beyond that?”

  I’m at a complete loss for words.

  “I only ask because my Mom and I are just worried about him. We’ve heard some things in the past that were…” She trails off; obviously finding it hard to speak of the things her son is capable of doing with his bare hands.

  “I know he fought quite a bit in the past and even some when we first met, but I’ve talked to him and he’s promised to try to stop.” I finally respond, somehow finding my voice again. I give them a look of reassurance as they both let out sighs of relief and visibly relax even more.

  “That’s great, thank you.”

  The atmosphere in the room seems to shift a bit and my favorite smile of Liam’s appears in a mixture between his Mom and Grandma’s faces.

  “I’m so glad you’re looking after him.” Nora confesses, squeezing my hand.

  “I’m pretty sure he looks after me more than anything.” I chuckle. “But I’m trying my best. I think he deserves it.”

  Both of the women nod their heads, paying their gratitude to me a bit more. It’s obvious to me how broken up Nora is with Liam’s leaving and his reasons for going.

  “Did Liam always take his anger and frustration out in a physical way?”

  “No, he always kept everything bottled up; though sometimes that would lead him to have panic attacks.” Maggie answers, looking thoughtful for a moment. “I suppose, in a way, him finding some alternative ways to let it all out is a good thing.”