Page 27

Chapter Twenty-Seven

T he full extent of what Liam’s career meant for his life didn’t really hit me until I saw the article. I guess I wasn’t aware that reporters, even credible sites, could post blatant lies about someone and get away with it.

Harbor Wolves Star Liam Brynn Involved In Altercation.

It was the first time I’d allowed myself to click on something involving him. I guess I wanted to respect his privacy before, so I didn’t bother to read anything about him on the Internet. It was too weird.

But this? There was no way I could suppress the curiosity inside of me when I saw that headline. I just had to see how they could justify what I knew was a lie.

I’d been there at the game where this supposed altercation had taken place. I was talking with Liam when it ended, and then he drove me home right afterward. There couldn’t possibly have been time for him to get into a fight. There just wasn’t.

Plus, this was Liam they were talking about. Clear-minded, level-headed Liam was far more likely to respond to something with stoic indifference than a punch.

When I clicked the article, it was exactly what I expected. No proof. No evidence. Just a few random reports from “witnesses.” None of whom could even confirm that it was Liam for sure.

And that night? It was the one he held me in his car, comforting me as I humiliated myself by crying on his shoulder about the woes and despairs of my life.

There was no way he could be that gentle and understanding after supposedly getting into some hockey brawl moments before?

I rolled my eyes, clicking out of the article while promising myself that I wouldn’t bother to read any more clickbait about him ever again.

I don’t know why I even searched his name. It was stupid. Also, sort of fangirlish. But I couldn’t help it. He was gone for an away game, and the apartment felt so lonely without him… and I guess I just… missed him.

Again, stupid. He wasn’t mine to miss.

He may have comforted me the other night, but that was just because he was a nice guy. No matter how much I wanted to think we had stumbled into “friendship” territory, I couldn’t fool myself. He just cared about me on Maggie’s behalf. That was all. I had to remember that so I didn’t go and embarrass myself by breaking down in front of him again.

But then my phone buzzed, and when his name flashed on the screen, I forgot all the promises I was making to myself about keeping my head clear.

Liam: What’s the deal with Ross? Is he like a psychopath or something?

I smiled, fingers typing back rapidly.

: Are you…….. Watching Friends?!?!?!?!!

Liam: We were flipping through the channels in the hotel room. It was on.

: What episode????

Liam: I don’t know, Ross is yelling about a sandwich.

: Ah. The One With Ross’s Sandwich. I know it well. ??

Liam: Why did you capitalize it?

: It’s the name of the episode title. ??????

Liam: What? Just a description of the episode?

: Yep.

Liam: ……

Liam: That’s actually genius

: Isn’t it, though?!

Liam: So, what are you doing? You okay?

: Of course, but your apartment is not.

Liam: ??

I sent a selfie showing the mess that surrounded me. Laptop open, file folders everywhere, glue, and containers of glitter.

I saw the three dots indicating he was typing, then a pause. My heart hammered. Was he going to be mad about the mess? He knew it was a joke, right? That I’d obviously clean everything up before he got back?

But his text didn’t say anything about that.

Liam: Nice hoodie.

I looked down at what I was wearing, realizing with shame that I had on the hoodie he’d given me that first night.

I was humiliated.

I didn’t even know what to say. Sorry? I’ll give it back? I don’t actually wear this all the time when you’re not around because it reminds me of you?

But he sent another message before my frantic mind could figure out what to say.

Liam: It looks good on you.

I blushed, grinning at my phone like an idiot.

I didn’t know why I suddenly felt like a middle school girl texting her crush, but just seeing his name appear on my phone made me want to kick my feet and giggle. Which was a dangerous feeling, considering he was my roommate. And my friend’s brother. And a famous hockey player that every girl had the same exact feelings for.

I was hopeless.

A knock sounded at the door, and I froze. Before Liam started leaving for away games, he warned me to double, triple, quadruple, and quadruple-check who was there before opening because, in the past, he’d gotten some strange people showing up at his doorstep.

He made it sound like they just happened to stumble there accidentally, but after the way his neighbor had treated me, I knew he had some pretty deranged fans out there, so I was more than a little cautious when checking the peephole.

“Ahhhh!” I screamed, jumping back from the door at a huge eye magnified against the peephole.

On the other side, laughter sounded.

“Let me in, you dork. It’s me,” Maggie called.

“Maggie?” I gasped, fumbling with the intense lock system after the breath returned to my lungs.

The door was open half a second before Maggie was striding in, carrying coffees.

“Wow,” she said, spinning around. “You totally -ified the apartment.” Maggie clapped slowly. “I applaud you. It actually looks like a human being lives here now.”

“What are you doing here?” I asked, gratefully accepting the coffee she handed me.

“Well, officially I’m here because Liam wanted me to check and make sure you were okay.” Maggie rolled her eyes. “Like I need him reminding me to do that. But unofficially, I’m here because I need someone to listen to my word vomit about these disgusting feelings I’m having.” Maggie groaned at an insane volume, muffled slightly by the hand covering her face.

“Is this about Brody?” I smirked, drawing out his name the tiniest bit.

She was silent.

“Maggie,” I crooned.

“Yes!” she admitted. “Yes, okay. Fine. I like him. I don’t even know how because I’ve barely even interacted with him. But I have a big, stupid crush on him. Okay?”

I let out an obnoxious squeal.

“This is amazing. This is the first time in our entire friendship that you’ve ever liked someone!”

“Not true.” She frowned. “What about Pete?”

“Tattoo Pete? Who got your name forever imprinted on his biceps after two weeks of dating you?”

“Yeah.” She scrunched her nose. “He was kind of weird. Well, what about Kile?”

“You said the way his name was spelled gave you the ick.” I laughed, remembering the first time she saw it on his driver’s license. She broke up with him the next morning.

“Matthew?” she suggested hopefully.

I shook my head solemnly. “You said he had the fish tank smell.”

“Ugh. You make me sound ridiculous.”

“No,” I laughed. “You’re just selective, which is a good quality to have. Now tell me about Brody!”

“Well, we talked at the hockey game the other night,” she said. “And then we had that shared traumatic experience of ripping Liam away from the fight—”

“What!” My jaw dropped. “That was real? ”

Maggie’s head snapped backward, her eyebrows arched in question. “Liam didn’t tell you…?”

“I saw an article, but I thought it was just lies and rumors that they were spreading. When could he have gotten into a fight? We were with him after the game, and then he drove me home immediately after!”

“Oh, .” Maggie’s face paled a bit.

“Is he okay?” I asked. “I mean, I know he’s okay because I was with him after, but I mean, what happened? Who did he fight? Did he get hurt?” I was too flustered to form coherent sentences.

“You should ask Liam when he comes home. I don’t really know the full story,” Maggie said, but the way her eyes wouldn’t meet mine left me with more questions and anxieties.

I bit my lip, trying to move past this news. I knew hockey was a rough sport. He’d probably gotten into a heated argument with someone from the other team, and it probably happened so frequently that it wasn’t even on his radar to mention it. Right?

“Was it some guy from the other team?” My stomach was twisting itself in knots.

“I don’t know, . Just—ask him, okay?”

She refused to meet my eyes, which did nothing to help my nerves.

“Maggie,” I pleaded.

“Nope! Not doing this. Not answering a single question that will stress you out.” She grabbed her phone. “Instead, look at my flirty little text messages.”

I feigned a growl of frustration but forced myself to move on. If Maggie wasn’t going to tell me, there was nothing I could do. She was as stubborn as they came. All I could do was reassure myself that Liam was fine.

“Let me see,” I relented, hand held out expectantly.

She smiled, handing over the phone after opening their text thread.

I scrolled through message after message. Brody was big on emojis. The angel emoji, the smile emoji, the sun emoji. He sent ‘good morning’ messages, ‘good night’ messages, ‘how are you doing’ text messages, and what was Maggie giving him in response?

One to three-word responses.

“Maggie, why are you barely responding to this sweet angel boy?” I looked at her in shock, scrolling through the texts. “You’re giving him the barest of minimum to work with here! He’s going to think you’re not interested!”

“That’s what I’m going for.” She smirked. “It drives them crazy.”

“Maggie!”

“What?” She feigned innocence. “If they know you like them, they think it’s okay to stop trying, or they get bored, or they just totally ghost you.”

“Yeah, but Brody isn’t like that, from what I can tell.”

“No,” she mused, staring down at the texts with a slight smile. “He doesn’t seem like he is.”

“So, what’s the problem then?” I asked softly as if the volume of my words could coax the answer out of her.

“You know how hockey players are. They travel a lot. They hook up with random women in every city.” She waved her hands dismissively. “It’s too much to worry about.”

My stomach plummeted a thousand feet. “They do?”

She snorted. “Yeah, they’re the sluttiest of all the athletes.”

“So, you think right now, they’re all just… what, sleeping with a bunch of women?”

“Not right now.” She laughed. “It’s almost time for their game. But after? Probably.”

It made sense, especially if Liam wanted to have no-strings-attached relationships. It would be easier for him to do it in the States half the country away.

My brain was gnawing at itself with questions while my stomach churned uneasily.

“Why do you look like that?” Maggie asked, frowning at whatever she found in my expression.

Instantly, I wiped my face clear of emotion, offering her a smile.

“Oh, I guess I was just worried that I was taking up too much space here, especially if Liam ever wanted to bring a girl home or something. He’s probably uncomfortable living his life normally with me in his space.”

Maggie threw her head back, laughing dramatically.

“Liam doesn’t talk to girls, never mind hook up with them.”

“But you said all hockey players—”

“Oh no. Liam’s the exception to that.”

Relief flooded through me. I didn’t bother trying to discern why.

“He is?”

“Yeah, he doesn’t have time for girls in his normal life. Never mind girls in random cities across the country.”

“Why?” I asked, dumbfounded and reassured all at once.

“In college, he had a few casual girlfriends.” Maggie shrugged. “Well, I wouldn’t even call them that. They never really went anywhere. It got worse when he got signed. I’m not even sure the last time he spoke to a girl. If I’m being honest, I think the puck bunnies kind of scared him off from our gender completely. He hates girls who are obsessed with him.”

Oh.

Right. Like me.

Because I was obsessed with him, wasn’t I?

I thought about him all the time, and I talked his ear off whenever we were in the same vicinity. I mean, I was wearing his hoodie, for God’s sake.

I fought the urge to visibly cringe. I was just as bad as the rest of them. And worst of all, I was living in his house. He couldn’t escape from me if he wanted to.

“But he’s been different lately,” Maggie said, fingers tracing the lid of her coffee cup absentmindedly.

“Different?” My voice was far too curious for an indifferent listener. “How?”

Maggie’s lips quirked as if I’d given her exactly what she was looking for.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she mused. “It’s just not like my brother to be, well, as concerned as he’s been about you.”

“Me?” My face flamed.

“Yes, you.”

“No, Maggie, no.” I shook my head. “It’s not like that. It’s just—well, I made a fool of myself. More than once, I might add. Literally broke down into tears in front of your brother multiple times.” My words tumbled out faster than I’d intended, all blending together. “If he’s concerned, it’s only because he thinks I’m the most fragile person in the universe.”

“Somehow, I doubt a few tears are what caused my brother to have a personality transplant.” She snorted. “I mean, sending me over to check on you? That weird way he insisted on coming with us to the bar. Getting into a fight—”

“What’s that got to do with me?” I countered defensively.

“Never mind.” She shrugged innocently. “It’s probably nothing.”

“Maggie, you don’t seriously think—”

“Calm down, .” She giggled. “I wasn’t accusing you of anything.”

“I know, but—”

“Ah, ah, ah.” She stopped me with a look. “Forget about it. Let’s order takeout and watch a movie,” she said, sliding her jacket off and moving toward the couch.

My phone buzzed as another text from Liam came through. My stomach flipped upside down as my fingers fumbled to open it.

“And make sure it’s something romantic.” She called over her shoulder, “I’m feeling weirdly gushy lately.”

Apparently, so was I.