Shattered [On Hold]

09. Brother Dear

- Kady -

I wake up abruptly, my eyes taking in every ray of light coming in from the window and illuminating the room. I can hear the sound of the heavy traffic and the noises of the day in full swing. Without a doubt, I know that I've slept for too long.

I scramble up to a sitting position and reach my hand out to grab my ringing phone.

It's Liam.

But I'm an hour late for work. If I answer his call right now, I know I'll be even later than I already am. On the other hand, I know I'll be in trouble if I don't pick up the call too. As I sit there contemplating whether to answer or not, the call ends.

There is also a text message from him, sent quite early in the morning at six o'clock. I thought it must be the same message as before, checking up on me and asking me about how I'm holding up and if I've encountered anything weird lately. But when I look at his message, my eyes widen. It's a simple text, just one line, yet I know this means trouble.

'I'm coming over at 11 am sharp.'

"Shit," I whisper under my breath, and check the time again.

11:06

Please, let him be late this one time. Please.

The doorbell rings.

"Crap," I mutter. I hastily crawl out of bed and stagger out of the bedroom and into the living room, but not before quickly running into the bathroom and rinsing my mouth with water and running my fingers through my hair.

I am doomed.

I stroll over to the door and stand in front of it for a moment, preparing myself for what is to come, before pulling open the door to see Liam standing there in a crisp suit and his phone in his hand.

"I've been standing here for more than five minutes," Liam says before I can utter a word. He emanates the same aura of confidence and fortitude that he usually does, although I'm unfazed. I'm too used to it now.

"And you didn't think to ring the doorbell until now?" I sneer and lean on the doorframe. "Anyways, I'm getting late for work so maybe we can meet up later?"

Yes, play the work card, Kady.

"You're working on Sundays too now?" he asks, raising an eyebrow.

"Today is Sunday?" When Liam raises both his eyebrows this time, I try to act more assertive. "I mean, yeah. Of course, today is Sunday." I nod, feeling stupid because I don't work on Sundays.

He sighs before saying, "Can I come in now?"

I silently step back from the doorway to let him through. I close the door and mutter under my breath, "Stupid, Kady."

When I turn around, I see him making himself comfortable on the couch.

"How's everything? Anything I should be worried about?" he asks as he loosens his tie.

I avoid his question. Instead, I ask: "Should I get you something? Water, coffee-"

"I asked you something, Kady."

"No, nothing you should be worried about," I reply, shaking my head. He doesn't need to know about anything that happened in the ghost town. It happened just one time. There's nothing to be worried about.

He narrows his eyes at me.

Keep a straight face, Kady. A straight face.

"So, what are you doing here in Denver?" I ask, trying again to change the subject.