Jaylene rolled away from Liam, naked discomfort hanging in the distance that parted them. Liam's hands until then craned in place as if he were still holding her, unable to process that she had so coldly withdrawn from him. After a few seconds, he sat up, pressed his palms to the bed and swung his legs over the side. Behind him, the seventeen year old, blond bombshell gathered the sheets in her hands and pulled them around her. Soundlessness raked its claws into the atmosphere. It wasn't a difficult request, not too much to ask. At least
Liam didn't think so.
"I'll take you to that little boutique you like or whatever, too, if you just come to dinner with me." He breathed quietly, defeated.
"I don't
want to go out," she began.
"You know the festival started already and you haven't even gone?""I don't want to eat, I don't want to fucking hang out and shoot the shit with Demi." She continued as if Liam never interposed about the Electric Daisy festival.
"What is wrong with you today?" Liam's shoulders slumped before he got to his feet.
"As if you don't know what I'm going through right now - as if I haven't explained a thousand fucking times," she held up her hand when he opened his mouth to speak.
Liam's shoulders tightened as he straightened his posture, twisted his torso and got a good look at Jaylene. He delved into one of the pockets of his straight leg khakis, retrieving his phone as if diverting his attention would be some sort of buffer. Up until that point, their backs were to each other like they were about to initiate an old Western standoff. However, at that point in time, Liam knew standoffs weren't unorthodox. Especially not with Jaylene Sullivan, ex-spoiled-brat-and-trophy-only-child-with-a-high-quality-complex. And it wasn't to say that he thought of her as some brash, pampered dumb blond. But her history was a huge part of her, and she still sometimes played the part accurately. He set the phone down on the bed and gazed at her, completely in the raw and fury prickling on her skin.
Sunshine trickled through the long blinds that blocked the perfectly placed patio entrance from the bedroom, the thin frame of Jaylene only a shadow against its light. She had let the sheets fall away from her body. Anyone who could have seen her in said light would have distinguished it as a peaceful gesture or a penance. Jaylene stood before filtered sunlight, ivory threads sinking down and away from her body like a mythological goddess who had reached some solitude. But instead of composure came the tensing of her muscles as one hand rested atop the tall dresser, her teeth gritted. Sometimes she found herself this way, angry at Liam for asking questions he knew the answers to. In the same regard - there was
so much she hadn't told him, so much she didn't want to explore or voyage over again. Forbidding green eyes stared at Liam and then Jaylene fashioned her index, middle finger and thumb into the shape of a gun. Thrusting the finger tips to her temple, she went on.
"I shot a cop. I'm not even a legal adult. I hide in your house all day long, too afraid to do anything else. I fucked over my friends, and abandoned them. And you fucking patronize me and try to persuade me by buying me things. Jesus fuck - you know I'm not after clothes and money,
right? You
do know that I have a brain,
right? Hey also, did this ever occur, to you, Liam Bradach," she bent at the waist, bringing her hands to the mattress again in a way that made Liam freeze, "I'm a human being, just like your sister. I'm someone's daughter. Not an object, not some brainless idiot like the girls you used to fuck before you met me. Not some random runaway with no family and no friends. I'm not nameless."
Liam would have reeled in complete distaste of her verbal expression had it not been for her body language. Instead he kind of gawked, forcing a laugh to cushion his annoyance and disbelief. As alluring as the juvenile was, her incomprehension of what she was saying and doing was explicitly offensive. Dusky chestnut eyes winced before he rose and backed away from the nude girl bent over his bed who he suddenly didn't ache to touch. In one, seething over-stepped communication, she had pillaged him of his desire for her. He'd seen her upset before but never so pointedly enraged with him. And her onslaught of bullshit, acting as though he was some habitual pedophile, actually made him slightly livid. Liam sighed as she finally shut her mouth, tugging at the seam of his shirt and grating his hand against his eminent abdominals. Rather than exhibit the same ignorant behavior as Jaylene, he browsed the surface of his own skin as if it could provide an answer or solution.
"It's funny that you're angry with me for things you've done," he shrugged,
"But it's cool.""Right, it's my fault that
you basically told me to live with you."
"Holy shit!" He exclaimed as his hands flew into the air, "
Do you know how fucking vapid and selfish you sound right now? Go find somewhere else to live then! How about that? Is that better than the invitation to stay somewhere safe and be taken care of?""Ha," she wasn't backing down, "I guess I'll go sit in another club and find another sorry douchebag."
"You're unbelievable." He respired calmly and left the bedroom.
The young girl sat in his wake, silenced. She gasped quietly and watched the silhouette of his structure fade into the living room when she turned away and hung her head. If there was something she was reluctant to admit but appreciated nonetheless, it was Liam's pragmatic ways. Unlike so many men she knew, he didn't instigate or feed arguments. He didn't raise his voice often, didn't crowd her space when it was least needed. Something miserably changed position in her stomach; deep regret and stupidity. Without a word she remade the bed and pulled her hair into a shoddy sock bun. When she had finally forced herself to submit and slide into a collared shirt and faded skinny jeans, the TV could be heard along with the key-tapping on an iPhone. Daringly Jaylene popped her head out from the bedroom, watching twilight saunter over the contemporary white walls and black kitchen appliances. Her inspection danced across Liam who, didn't so much as look up to acknowledge her. He looked tired, handsome in his well-dressed glory but exhausted and even doleful. He'd been working his ass off.
Steadying herself against the door frame, she pulled on a pair of platform pumps Liam bought for her. It was incredibly difficult for her to admit she was wrong let alone approach someone she knew she insulted without rational cause. Her fingers scraped against her heel as she tugged the wedge on. Finally she had the temerity to approach the couch and mutter, "I'm sorry."
All Liam did in response was shake his head and toss his iPhone onto the coffee table, still not meeting her eyes with his own. His stand-out cheeks and jawline expressed nothing in his face. Jaylene's lips jerked, "If you want to go out to dinner still⊠I
want to go with you." A stifled laugh came as a write-back, Liam lightly slapping the back of his hand against one of Jaylene's thighs. The flat screen that was mounted from the wall went black and Liam walked away from her, grabbing his keys off of the kitchen table. But still, he said nothing. After unbolting the door, Jaylene took his actions as an indication that he still wanted to go out. Nearly taking a spill right into him to follow him to the door, Liam turned suddenly and declared flatly, "I
don't sleep with teenagers. I haven't had an actual girlfriend in two years or more. Don't say stupid shit anymore, please." Jaylene retreated a little and he proceeded,
"I went out on a limb with you. Trust me, if I knew it was going to be this way I would have thought it through a little more thoroughly. I'm not used to this, okay? I don't go around picking up random girls." Liam secured Jaylene's chin in one of his hands, constraining her to look at him
, "Doesn't mean I'd take it back though. So don't pout or anything stupid." His mouth twitched into a smirk, awarding himself a grin from the girl in return.
The way he touched her was comparable to someone she loved very dearly. In fact, his lightheartedness and willingness to forgive reminded her exactly of Summer. Again her heart made its descent. And his dumb way of playing around and evading serious issues just for the sake of her peace of mind, his protectiveness⊠Well, she knew damn well
who demonstrated the same behavior. But that was never going to happen again and she needed to establish and accept that for what it was. She needed to just start over and get her life on track.
As per usual Jaylene was resting her feet out of the open car window at the moment that they pulled up to a sidewalk. She had a habit of cringing and squeezing her eyes shut every time Liam dared to parallel park but, he never failed to inherit a perfect spot with flawless proximity. It was probably due to the fact that after she got her driver's license she was already a resident of Belleville so she never had to worry about parallel parking. The small Canadian town was practically a dead zone compared to Vegas. If Jaylene ever had to brave parallel parking even her small-sized BMW between two cars, she'd have an anxiety attack.
Summerlin was peachy and tolerably populated but since the assembly of the festival, the place was crawling with tourists and half-dressed girls. To say the least - it was definitely an environment Jaylene would have dived into head first if she wasn't technically on the run. Recanting her legs and feet, she opened the door and stepped out of the car to wander the avenue close in step with Liam.
They spent what felt like an eternity glancing through shop windows in the shadow of looming buildings. The sun was so lazily sinking that Jaylene didn't catch it disappearing until the atmosphere around her grew quiet and the hum of bass and electricity in the distance made her twitch. She stopped short of the border of the street, dropping her hand from Liam's. He turned on his heel, simpering and asking her what was wrong. When she started to shake her head, he beckoned to her and dragged her towards the sounds. Beyond the metropolitan avenue was vast open area which Jaylene would have never expected. The festival laid claim to the land, its variegated lights and resonance spattering the Summerlin night. Eccentric and ecstatic figures danced on the horizon, their bodies governed by the music and excitement. What if someone she knew had come to the festival? Then it was all over. She didn't want to get too close. Again she stopped short.
"I'm - I can't run into anyone." She admitted.
"Are you serious?" He grabbed his phone, opened the browser and showed it to her.
"WhatâŠ"
"This is Belleville's homepage - the next tab is Canada's government website. There aren't any stories about you anymore, Jaylene.""ButâŠ" She swiped her fingers across the screen.
People had forgotten. In a way this granted her freedom, but at the same time doused her in despair. There wasn't an excuse not to live anymore, to go out and be at leisure. She grasped the phone in her hand and walked towards the flashing lights and noise with Liam until they were a few yards from the admission parking lot which looked fairly vacant. Tilting her head, she mused, "It sounds so busy but there's like - no cars." Liam chuckled a little and wrapped and arm around Jaylene,
"A lot of people travel by bus and camp out at the festival. They just get dropped off." In concession her head bobbed as she peered at the parcel, when a fateful sight shattered her equilibrium. The old truck that she had sat inside of, slept in, hotboxed in and shared memories with her friends in was maybe ten yards from where she stood. Squinting, she forgot to breathe.
Nah. Not them. They wouldn't drive all the way out here for a festival when they could have a party at home, at the lake. She convinced herself otherwise, abandoning her premonition and leaning into Liam's side, one palm pressed to his torso.
'There aren't any stories about you anymore, Jaylene.' Her friends had moved on, ceased searching. Her family, too. Summer probably found another best friend, probably Avery. Kaleb wouldn't ever get lonely with his looks and charm. Glancing up at Liam, she tried to mask her unsavory shock and sadness, "Can we get some food now?"