Chapter Eighty: "Good Riddance."
"CAN SOMEONE EXPLAIN to me why my face looks like this?" Carly frowns, pulling her cheeks and nose in all kids of directions.
"Because you were born with it?" Johnny says slowly, a vague look on his face.
She scowls at him. "I know that."
He shrugs, throwing his arms up in surrender. "Hey, you asked."
"It was a rhetorical question!" she snaps.
"Guys." I interfere, chuckling at my friends' nonsense. "This is our last day in Vancouver, let's not ruin it by fighting."
"He called me ugly!" Carly protests, but before she can continue, Johnny cuts her excuse short.
"I did not!" he exclaims. "You asked a question and I answered."
"That question wasn't supposed to have an answer!" Carly retorts.
"Apologize already!" Lacey hisses, and glares at Johnny. "Just apologize and shut up."
Lace definitely isn't a girl to mess with, I think to myself.
"Let's go bowling!" Becca suddenly says, her voice giddy from excitement.
"I don't think coach will let us go bowling without the team." I frown, suddenly feeling in the mood to bowl. I never really go bowling, but when I do I suck very bad.
"Then we'll ask!" she churns chirps back. "Come on, Brooklyn, I've never been bowling and I really want to go!"
I sigh. Why is everything always up to me?
"That sounds marvellous." Selena smiles. "Please, J.R., can we go?"
Justin groans. He hates being put on the spot. "I'd love to, but we're here to visit and it wouldn't be fair to everyone else." Always the sweetheart.
"I'll go talk to coach." I mutter, standing up from my seatâLandon's lapâand brushing fake dust off my pants.
Landon stops his conversation with his brothers and Casey. "Wait, where are you going?"
"Going to talk to coach if we can go bowling."
"Seriously?" he asks in bemusement.
I shrug and walk out the door.
***
"Coach?"
"Coach!"
I've been knocking on the door for a solid minute with no response. I'm about to leave when the door is suddenly thrown open. "Coach?"
"Hi, Brooklyn!" Coach replies quizzically. "What can I do for you? Is everything alright?"
"Hi! Sorry, yes, everything is fine. I don't mean to interrupt but I just wanted to know if my friends and I could go bowling tonight, since it's our last day in B.C. and such."
"You'd like to go bowling?" He laughs in amusement.
"Yeah, I know it's ridiculous but the girls have been nagging me about it so I figured I would just ask even though I know it'll be a noâ"
"Sure." Coach shrugs.
"Because we're minors andâwait what?" I stop, wondering if I heard him right. Did he actually...
"Sure." He shrugs again. "Go bowling, just be back here by midnight because our flight leaves at 9:00AM sharp."
"Wait, we can?" I'm still in shock.
"Yes, Brooklyn. Now, if you say 'what' one more time, it's a no."
"Right! Okay!" I laugh in disbelief. I can't believe he actually agreed to this. "Thanks Coach!"
Arriving back to the hotel room, everyone is sat down around the small table playing Jackass. "This is horse crap!" I hear Johnny exclaim as I remove my shoes and set them on the mat.
"What's going on?" I laugh, going to sit on the bed closest to where everyone is sitting.
"What's going on is that nobody is letting me win this stupid game!"
"Johnny, we can't help it that you suck at this game." Landon chuckles, laying down triple sixes.
"What the hell!" he shrieks. "How do you expect me to have triples?!"
I sigh, shaking my head. "It's a logic game, Johnny."
"If you weren't so stupid when you're drunk then you would probably be better at this game." Lacey chuckles, laying down triple queens.
"Oh, for fuck sakes!"
"Hey!" Becca suddenly says, making me jump a little. "What did the coach say?"
"Oh, right! I forgot!" I didn't. "He said we're allowed to go bowling, but make sure we are all back at reasonable time because we have an early flight tomorrow morning."
"Awesome!" she squeals. "Screw this game, I'm going to go out and buy a new pair of jeans to wear with my sexy bowling shoes! Carly, come on!"
Nobody even got a word in before she threw her cards in my face saying, "Here, you play!" before grabbing her shoes and Carly's hand, and running out of the hotel room barefooted.
"Is... is nobody going to go after them?" Casey questions.
"Nope." Liam replies. "Becca's got a mind of her own, and Carly, well... she's Carly." I can tell through his voice that he is extremely interested in Carly. Which, he should be! She is a sweet, kind-hearted girl who not only is pretty, but pretty smart. It's not everyday you meet someone as special as the extroverted twin, and I'm happy Liam finally has interest in someone other than himself.
"The brothers are still getting used to my friends," I explain to Casey, who furrows his eyebrows in confusion. I don't blame him; it's a weird combination to have my friends and the McGibbon's being in the same friend group. It's like a lion mothering a baby deerâyou don't see it everyday. "They didn't know I lived with them until recently. I suppose they are still in shock.
"Interesting." Casey hums. "So, like, you went almost a year without them knowing where you live and who you live with?"
"Casey!" Lacey snaps, slapping his arm. "Don't be so intrusive."
"Ouch!" he grumbles. "I'm curious!"
I chuckle with a shake of the head. "No worries. Yeah, it went that way, sort of. Basically, I didn't want them to think differently about me because I was living with so-called 'bad boys'."
"Wouldn't that give you the protection you desired from Taylor, but never got?" Casey questions, genuinely curious. I didn't mind his asking; in all fairness, I didn't even think of the situation that way. I suppose I was always wanting that defense that I never had being a criminal, but then again, I did have some form of protection. I knew Taylor would protect me with his life, but at times it didn't feel that way. Perhaps living with a house full of boys who had a reputation could fill that void that was empty inside of me.
I frown and purse my lips. "I never saw it that way, Casey." I tilt my head and raise my eyebrows as Lacey slaps him again. "It's fine, Lace, I swear. Um, yeah, I guess the boys can offer me that protection that he couldn't ever give me. I know I'm safer with them than I was with Taylor because the boys weren't involved in a drug gang or anything like that. I don't know; I guess they give me a different form of protection. Not from harm, but psychologically, too."
"Case, baby, you are digging yourself a bigger hole the more questions you ask." Lacey scowls. I grab her arm in reassurance and give her a smile to let her know that I'm okay.
And I was... I was okay. Finally.
***
After we landed back in Thunder Bay, I was exhausted. I slept most of the time on Liam's shoulder. He seemed a little off, but I shrugged it off as I knew that it wasn't the right time to ask him what's on her mind. It was strange seeing him like this, but I guess if I had a crush on someone whom I don't just want to sleep with for the first time, I will feel the same way he does. I pity him, oddly enough.
We got home late in the night; late enough that Ella was sleeping with Lucas. When Landon disappeared with Lance and Maya to put the luggage and trophy away, I decided that now would be an adequate time to speak with Liam.
I grab his arm, with him not fighting back, and pull him towards the back door. He's sluggish, which is unlike him, but he's not resisting which is great on my end. He's a strong man, needless to say.
As we reach privacy, he clears his throat and speaks up. "Look, I know what this is about, but I have no idea how to talk to you about it. Can we drop it?"
I sit down after he does on the porch and place my hand on his knee. "You know me better than that." I say softly. "I just want to know how you're holding up. I know you're going through a lot of emotions."
"What do you mean?" he questions. "I feel fine, Cupcake."
"Shut up, Liam." I chuckle. "I've been there. Why are you hiding your feelings? You like Carly, what's so wrong with that?"
"I'm not like this, Cupcake." he sighs. "This isn't me, and I'm confused."
"I know," I say, "but think about it this way: this is out of your comfort zone, and maybe that's a good thing. Liam, she's an amazing girl. She's quirky, smart, funny, beautiful... why are you scared?"
"I don't want to hurt her, Brooklyn." He says eventually. I frown. I know how he is, and it's utterly shocking knowing that he actually doesn't want Carly in pain from his actions. The guy who would hookup with any girl without even needing to think about it, is afraid of hurting my best friend.
"You won't." I say with positivity. I know for a fact he wouldn't. Either way, even if he tried, I know Carly would put him in his place. She doesn't come off as being upfront and confrontational, but once you get to know her, she's a no-nonsense kinda girl.
"How do you know that?" he frowns. "It's who I am."
"Liam, you genuinely like this girl. You wouldn't feel this way if it was a regular hookup. You're worried about her feelings, and that happens when you like someone a lot more than just sleeping with them."
He sighs. "You're right." He runs his fingers through his hair, and then the stubble on his chin. "I just don't know what to do. I have never felt this way about anyone, and I don't know how this happened. It's like it just... hit me. Like a grenade; a bullet through my brain. I'm so confused, and I don't want to be rejected. That'll really hurt my fucking ego, and you know how much I love that."
I laugh, knowing he's trying his best to make light of the situation. He and I have become closer, and I can say in confidence that Liam is a friend, not an acquaintance or roommate. "Your ego will be fine."
"How do you know that?"
"Because she likes you too, Liam. And she's too scared to hurt anyone, anyways. You really have nothing to worry about when it comes to Carly. She'll put you in your place when you cross boundaries, but she's a lover, not a fighter. She's unconfrontational, she'll probably scream when you tell her and she'll run away, but she'll come back eventually."
After a few minutes of silence and Liam thinking things over, he takes me by surprise and turns to hug me. It takes me a long second to realize what he's doing before I embrace him back. I feel sorry for the man, he's vulnerable and I've never thought I would experience this first-hand. "Thank you." he whispers.
I nod, and nearly jump out of my own skin when the porch door swings open.
"There you are! I was wondering where you went. Whoa, what's goin' on here?" Landon.
Liam doesn't let go, and I use a free arm to fling around, gesturing him to go away. His eyes widen and he leaves before anything else can be said.
After awhile, we finally release one another and stand. "I'll see you in the morning?"
I nod. "Let me know if you need anything or just want to talk."
He nods back and walks inside, leaving me alone on the veranda. I never realized how quiet it was outside until I heard the wind whistling through the trees, and the wolves in the distance howling. "Good riddance." I huff and walk into the house.