Inevitable

Chapter 74

What the hell was wrong with me? I couldn't even completely focus on anything Liam was saying because of the inner turmoil I was feeling. I had no right to feel anything but happiness for him. And I was happy for him. But I felt something else too and hated myself for it. I pushed him away several times last year because I was in love with someone else. Someone I was still desperately in love with. And who I was 100% committed too. So why was the news of Liam getting back together with Lily bothering me so much? I had to tune back into what he was saying.

"....so I was able to convince her to transfer to our college. I think the distance is really what messed things up for us last time. I know we can make it work now." Wait, what? Lily was going to school with us. I was going to have to meet this person. I wondered how much she knew about what happened between Liam and I. That could be awkward.

"That's great Liam! You must be so excited to have her close by. Is she starting next month?"

"Yup, we were able to get her into fall semester and we even found her a place to live. It's a house with a bunch of girls and one of their friends dropped out of school so they needed someone to fill her spot. She's a little nervous about starting over someplace new but I told her I would be there for her every step of the way." He dug into his pasta that the waiter placed down in front of him and I did the same. I didn't know what else to say. All week I've had a dark cloud over my head and today it's just a full blown storm. I felt awful.

"So there's one other thing you should know, Em. I haven't told Lily about what happened with us in the spring. I didn't want to hurt her by telling her that I had feelings for you while we were together. I don't want things to be weird between you two. I just got her back as my girlfriend and I just got you back as my best friend. Everything feels perfect and I don't want to mess that up."

"Um okay. She's your girlfriend so it's none of my business. Honestly, I was worried about it being awkward anyway. You might want to let Jess know, though. I can see her saying something to start drama. She's still pretty pissed at you."

He laughed at that. Jess and Liam always had a love/hate relationship.

"She would do that, wouldn't she. Never a dull moment."

"Ha, that's what I always say to her too."

We continued catching up over our pasta. I filled him in on what I had been up to all summer and how our friends were doing. He told me all about how him and Lily reconnected. I put on quite the performance for him so he wouldn't catch on to how I really felt. I was a terrible friend.

Liam drove us back to his friend's house which wasn't far from the restaurant. It was a big house that reminded me of Jess's. There was a pool in the backyard and of course that's where the party was at. Liam walked me around introducing me to his friends. I recognized quite a few of them from his frat. I was polite to everyone but I wasn't a big fan of this crowd. I didn't like the person Liam became when he started hanging around with them. After about 2 hours of listening to their partying stories and watching them play a million drinking games, I asked Liam to take me home.

When he dropped me off, he gave me a big hug and made me promise to give him a call as soon as I got back to school so we could hang out. I said I would even though I wasn't sure how I could still be friends with him with his ex-girlfriend being in the picture. It was going to be complicated.

It was only 11:30 but that was late for me. I was supposed to call Henry but between being exhausted and feeling guilty about my feelings after hearing that Liam got back together with Lily, I was hesitant to talk to him. I decided to just send a text letting him know I made it home okay.

Hey, just wanted to let you know I'm home safe and sound. Super tired so I'm going to bed. Love u 😘

I went into the bathroom to take my makeup off and brush my teeth. A minute later my phone was ringing and it was Henry. I paused putting toothpaste on my toothbrush and hit the answer button.

"Hey, I'm sorry I didn't call. I'm just so tired."

"It's ok babe. I just didn't want to go to sleep without hearing your voice. How was your night?"

He sounded anxious. I hate that he was so worried about me spending time with Liam.

"It was fine. Liam took me to dinner first so we could catch up and then we went to his friend's house. It was mainly his frat brothers there so I didn't stay too long."

"He took you to dinner. Just the two of you? You didn't tell me that part." He sounded annoyed and I guess he had a right to be. Me keeping things from him is what started our troubles in the Spring.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you but it was sort of a last minute thing. He wanted to tell me that he got back together with his ex-girlfriend and she's transferring to our school next month. I'm happy for him. He deserves to be happy."

"O wow, ok. That's good to hear. I guess he really is moving on. One less thing we have to worry about."

"Yup, so now you can stop getting upset whenever I spend time with him. Although who knows how much of him I'll be seeing if his girlfriend is going to be around. He told me he decided not to tell her about what happened last year. So that won't be awkward or anything." I chuckled at how ridiculous the whole situation was.

"Starting out a relationship with a lie. Sounds super-healthy." He laughed at his sarcasm.

"Stop! We have no room to talk. We haven't made very good choices either. And anyway, I'm glad he's not telling her because it would make it uncomfortable for me. Hopefully Jess doesn't accidentally let it spill though. She loves to mess with Liam." I heard him sigh on the other end.

"I know we have made mistakes but we are starting over with a clean slate. No more lies, no more half-truths, no more insecurities getting in the way. Right?"

"Right. What Liam does is none of our business. We have our own relationship to worry about." I didn't want to talk about Liam anymore.

"I know things are more complicated right now. I'm sorry for that. But I promise it's temporary. I'll be back to school before you know it. This way you can get settled in to your new apartment and the new semester without me distracting you because I won't let you leave my bed for days next time I see you."

"Promise?"

"Cross my heart and hope to die. You're all mine when I get back. Remember I'm going to have my own room so no interruptions. You should just move in because I'm never letting you leave."

"I can't wait. I hate doing this long distance thing. It's so hard." My voice cracked as I tried to keep from crying. I refused to break down every time I talked to him.

"It's not forever. If I get a day off next weekend, hows about I come visit you?"

"Really? O Henry! I would love that! You could meet my mom. And I can show you my hometown like you showed me yours. Do you really think you could make it happen?"

"I can't make any promises because I'm not sure what this new agent guy has planned for us but I'm going to try. Even if it's just a day trip!"

We talked a little more about making plans and then I started falling asleep so of course Henry stayed on the line with me.