Page 43 of Liam (Preston Brothers #4)

Liam

Four days away with Lincoln is exactly what I needed. Four days without a phone? Even better.

We did nothing while we were gone. Didn’t talk about work. Didn’t talk about girls. Didn’t talk about the reality that awaited us when we got back home.

It was perfect.

Almost too perfect.

And as soon as we got in the car to drive back, I could tell Lincoln was bursting to talk about all of it. He had the decency to wait until we were almost home to ask, “Remember that day at the diner—with Addie and Jules?”

I glance over at him, then turn my eyes back to the road. “Yeah…”

“Afterward, Julie mentioned she was surprised that you and Addie were hanging out…”

My lips tug down at the corners. “Why would she be surprised?”

“That’s what I said.” He shifts in his seat, his tone careful.

“Apparently, Addie and Helmet were the ones to start the whole Twincest thing. At least, that’s how she remembers it.

” A beat passes, and I focus on the dotted lines of the road slipping by.

“I kind of assumed as much, based on how Helmet treated you,” Lincoln continues, “but I wasn’t sure which came first, so… ”

“So… what?”

“So, is it true?”

Suddenly, the calm of the past four days vanishes, and the storm of reality is biting at my heels.

“If I’d known for sure,” Lincoln adds, “I wouldn’t have been so nice to her when?—”

“No.” I cut him off. “She doesn’t deserve that.”

“Then you’ve got to help me out here, man, because I don’t know what’s going on.”

I figured this was coming, and I’ve been contemplating how much to reveal. Or where to even start. From the beginning, probably. My shoulders rise with my sharp inhale, slow exhale. “Remember when we were younger, and I’d take off some nights? Ride away on my bike.”

“Yeah, I hated it.”

“What? Why ?”

“Because it always felt like you needed a break from me .”

I eye him sideways.

“I’m needy, okay? Kill me. Go on.”

Shaking my head, I tell him, “One night, when I was ten, I went for a ride and I found Addie hiding out near Fillmore.”

Liam sits taller. “Cam’s beat-up old van?”

“Yeah.”

“And…”

I tell Lincoln almost everything. Start to finish.

How the stupid name was invented the day after I found her hiding, then the note in my locker that led to the beating, then the cops showing up the night Roman was arrested, to everything that’s happened while she’s been back, ending with our blow-up the last time I saw her.

At least, I tell him things from my perspective.

I leave out the parts of the story that aren’t mine to tell.

Not because I want to protect Addie, but because they’re her secrets.

Not mine. All I tell him is that she had her reasons for starting shit with me.

Reasons I now know and understand. Reasons compelling enough to earn my forgiveness. Which she has.

For the most part.

Lincoln stays silent, intently listening to every word, and by the time I’m done, we’re pulling into the driveway of the studio.

The first thing I notice is Addie’s skateboard, leaning against the porch rails.

It’s a familiar sight, one that always made my heart skip a beat—both good and bad—knowing that I was seconds away from seeing her.

I hadn’t planned what I was going to say or how I was going to act when I saw her again.

Though the thought often crept into my mind while we were gone, I fought hard to push it aside.

Avoidance was easy then. Not so much now.

I sigh, cut the engine, and pull out the keys. “Time to deal with reality, I guess.”

“Wait,” Lincoln says, touching my arm.

I turn to him. “What’s up?”

He hesitates, dropping his hand, his gaze falling to the space between us. “I have to show you something.”

“Okay…”

“Just—before I do, know that I waited until now because…” he trails off.

“Because what ?”

He pulls out his phone, taps it a few times before handing it to me. On the screen is a video ready to be played.

“What is this?” I ask, reluctant.

“Just watch it.”

Slowly, I trail my eyes from his, down to the phone, my thumb hovering over the triangle before tapping once.

The video starts off blurry, but I can tell it’s a parking lot.

It takes a second for the audio to kick in, then the camera pans over to an old truck and a girl with a baseball bat.

My shoulders tense the moment recognition hits.

Breath caught in my chest, I watch intently as Addie takes swings at the truck, aiming first at the rear lights, then the side mirror.

I wince at the sound of glass shattering, then at the yells of the bystanders.

Of Roman . The person recording moves closer just as Addie takes out the headlights.

Then she climbs the hood, raises the bat above her head, and strikes down directly on the windshield.

“Addie!” Roman yells, standing beside the truck, trying to grasp her legs.

Whoever’s recording is next to him now, and the speakers crackle when Roman shouts, “That’s enough! ”

The camera zooms in on Addie’s face. It’s almost like her body was there, but her mind wasn’t—not until she heard Roman’s voice.

She turns to him, her eyes wide… as if surprised by her own actions.

Then her shoulders shake, and she lets out a heart-wrenching sob—the single sound shattering my soul to pieces.

She collapses, first onto the hood, then into Roman’s arms. “I didn’t know,” she cries.

Roman holds her tighter, stroking her messy braid. “It’s okay.”

The video ends, the screen going dark, and there’s a visceral ache in my chest. A knot in my gut so painful it has me breathless.

A part of me wants to hit play again, just to catch any details I may have missed.

But… I don’t think I can bear it—watching her like that…

seeing her fall apart, completely unhinged and detached from reality.

I hand Linc back his phone and speak through the ache in my throat. “When did that happen?”

“The day before we left.”

The same day I screamed at her, told her how badly she’d ruined me.

“The truck?”

“It’s Helmet’s.”

I try to put the pieces together, one by one.

“You okay?” Linc asks, his hand landing on my shoulder.

I stare ahead, but everything’s a blur. “Why didn’t you tell me?” I face him. “Is that why you wanted to leave, so I wouldn’t see it?”

He shakes his head. “I didn’t tell you because I know you, and I wanted to give you time to process it, and no . I suggested we leave town because I knew you would, with or without me, and I wanted to be there.” He lets out a weighted breath. “You don’t go closet-dark for nothing, Liam.”

He’s right. I don’t. And I don’t regret the time away with him, but—“What the fuck was she thinking?”

“I’m assuming she figured out who actually left that note in your locker.

And I’m assuming she went to the source.

And I’m assuming she did what she did because she cares a hell of a lot about you…

maybe a little later than she should have, but she definitely cares now.

” He pauses a beat. “Did you find out about the whole boyfriend thing?”

“No,” I’m quick to say. “I didn’t exactly give her a chance to explain.”

“Maybe it’s not what you think. Or even what Roman thinks.”

“Maybe.” Until five minutes ago, the whole boyfriend thing mattered.

Now, it’s the last of my worries. I suck in a breath.

Hold it. Release it slowly. Then I ask, because it’s something that’s weighed heavy on my mind since I walked out of that closet a few days ago, “Do you think I’m weak for still caring about her? ”

He rolls his eyes. “You’re talking to a guy who can’t get over the girl he fell in love with when he was thirteen. If that’s weak, then call weakness my superpower.”

I look toward the studio, first at her skateboard, then the door.

“Let’s go,” he says, opening the door. “I need to piss.”

The first thing that grabs my attention when we step into the cabin is a sound I’m all too familiar with—the tap, tap, tapping of the keyboard from the back room.

Lincoln rushes ahead to use the bathroom, and I trail behind, my steps slow, my breaths uneven.

I round the corner into the hallway and freeze.

It’s not Addie behind the keyboard. It’s Logan.

“What are you doing here?” I ask, confused.

He turns to me, his smile strained. “Nice to see you, too. How was it?”

Sometimes, I assume my older brothers don’t notice when I’m gone.

It’s a mindset I should probably rectify.

And soon. Especially with Logan. I step forward, lean against the doorframe.

“It was good. Definitely needed.” Such a dumb thing to say, considering what Linc and I do for work compared to him.

Us: film dumb shit and sit behind a computer.

Him: lifts heavy shit and constructs entire buildings.

If anyone needs a break, it’s literally everyone but me.

Linc comes out of the bathroom and joins me.

He doesn’t seem at all surprised to see Logan here instead of Addie.

Logan nods at him, then goes back to what he was doing.

He says, answering my question from earlier, “Dad was planning to send this off to someone to get done before he offered Addie the job, so I’m just trying to figure out where she got up to. ”

I push off the frame, my spine straightening as I cross my arms. Brow bunched, I ask, “What do you mean?”

He peers up at me. “Mini Roman quit,” he deadpans. “Said it wasn’t working out. Hasn’t been here for days.”

I glance over at Lincoln, my question silent between us. He shrugs. “I didn’t know that part.”

Logan sighs, bringing my attention back to him. “Roman’s real worried he’s going to come home one day, and she’ll be gone.”

My arms drop to my sides. “She told him she’s leaving?”

“Not exactly.” Logan shakes his head. “It’s just… things have changed, you know? Especially since she went all Harley Quinn on that guy’s truck.”

“Did she get charged with anything?” Linc asks the question we’re both thinking.

“Not yet,” Logan says. “Apparently, the cops showed up, but they’d already left. Leo said the guy refused to press charges, so…”

“Leo was there?” I ask.

“Not at the scene,” Logan answers. “But he knows about it.”

“So everyone knew about it?” I ask, and Logan and Linc share a look.

Got it.

Everyone knew but me.

“The group chats were going wild,” Linc admits. “But, like I said, I didn’t want you to know while we were away.” He pauses a breath. “I called Mia’s dad. Had him get his tech team to scrub the Internet clean of the video.”

“You did?” I ask, surprised he’d go that far, especially for Addie. But maybe he didn’t do it for her. Maybe he did it for Roman.

Linc nods. “They did their best, but they can’t do shit about people sending it through private messages or whatever.”

“Anyway,” Logan says, “the guy?—”

“Wyatt,” Linc interjects.

“Who gives a fuck about his name?” Logan mutters. “He can’t claim insurance without a police report, so now it’s a whole thing Roman has to deal with. The truck’s at the auto shop, but Roman says it’s not worth fixing, so he’s looking to buy a replacement.”

My eyes drift shut.

All of this bullshit because of me.

Even though I can assume the answer, I have to wonder if Logan can, too. “Do you know why she did it?”

His eyes meet mine, holding my stare longer than I’m comfortable with. “Roman said he heard your name thrown around between them beforehand, but doesn’t know much else. She won’t talk to him about it, either. She’s just… shut down.”

I know that feeling. I’ve lived it many, many times.

The difference is, I’ve had Lincoln by my side or, in extreme cases, on the other side of the closet door. Addie’s had no one. And at the thought, reality returns, knocking on the walls of my chest, right through the bone and onto my flesh . And this time, I have no plans to remove it.

If Addie’s still here, she’s here for a reason.

And maybe that reason is me .

“Liam,” Logan says, pulling me from my daze. “There’s something else you need to know…”