SHE

Chapter Twenty-six

Liam's eyes widened in panic when he opened the door to the two women sobbing into each other's arms, both of them quickly separating when they acknowledged his presence.

"Is.... everything okay here?" Liam asked curiously as he and Emma moved closer to the bed, causing Emily to abruptly stand up still hiding her face as she wiped it continuously.

She made her way out of the room when Liam stepped closer, "Emma, come" She said on her way out.

Amelia let out a soft smile at the older's reaction as the door closed behind her, causing Liam who was able to catch a glimpse of her face to tilt his head curiously.

"What's going on? What happened?" He asked again, now taking the empty seat next to Amelia's bed.

"Uhmmm....let's just say my job at the Walker's is almost done" She simply said, lips forming into thin line as Liam blinked, replaying what she just said as he, returned his gaze back to Amelia who did not seem at all bothered.

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Leo rushed out of the car that pulled up in the hospital grounds, Immediately making a run for the entrance doors and not bothering to wait for Audrey who sat in the passenger's side with Knox in the driver's.

"I'll join you soon" He simply said, motioning for Audrey to join Leo. She nodded before grabbing her purse and stepping out of the car.

His head fell back on the head rest, mind trailing back to their journey from Amelia's house since he went to pick up the two.

"Could his thoughts about Audrey be right?'' He thought to himself.

Thinking about how the other had been treating him, he realized it'd be better to clear things up between them before it was too late. He wasn't blind, he saw the way she looks at him, the late night and early morning texts too, the random dates and every other action that led up to this point.

He figured she just might not be bold enough to say it upfront but her actions definitely did speak loud enough. Of course, he appreciated all of her gestures and she was good company but he didn't want to give her the wrong impression, or lead her on to be exact. Talking about it and letting her know his thoughts would be his best bet now. He nodded in determination before alighting from the car after parking it correctly.

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Liam applied some perfume, letting out a soft smile as he saw Amelia from the corner of his eyes, turning in her sleep, not quite awake yet but just changing her position.

His expression suddenly grew solemn when he thought back to her words at the hospital. He decided to wave it off for now, setting out to grab a quick breakfast before meeting with his long time friends at the Gym.

He arrived at the dinning area, dressing a well fitted tracksuit, sneakers and just one of his earpods in, finding his mum alone, setting the table. They were two plates on opposite sides and knowing what that meant, he slowly took his seat, waiting for the other who had flashed him a smile on arrival to finish. Liam noticed many changes in his mum ever since they got back from the hospital. His mother now hardly left her room, no outings or going out to visit her friends as usual.

The money that has been in her bank accounts too had just been sitting there for a while now. Amelia spends a lot of time in her room lately too and he wonders what that was about.

Whenever he asks Amelia about their frequent rendezvous was about but she'd always just tell him to be patient so now, he doesn't have to think far to understand what this was about. He watched her take a seat next to him and they both silently began to eat.

He could see her halt between bites, struggling to start a conversation and avoiding his eyes whenever she looked up at him. After a while and deciding he'd had enough, he got up, pushing his chair backwards and grabbing his plate, rounding the table all while Emily watched with wide eyes until he was now sat next to her.

He looked at her, with a soft smile on his face "Mum" He called gently. Watching her eyes blink rapidly as the word got out.

Emily couldn't help the way tears welled up in her eyes at the sound of that. It sounded different. So much different from how she'd heard him say the word in recent times which was mostly during their neverending arguments.

Liam noticed that and pulled her into a hug as she sniffled, he pulled away afterwards, taking her hands into his before he spoke again.

"Mum...I understand you, even without words. You are my mother and I have no reason to stay mad at you for your actions. You don't have to say anything, but trust me, I understand everything. We can go back to the way we were, right? How we were when Dad was still with us? Yes, I'd like that and I know it's what you want too. I know you love me and I love you too mum. We're all humans, none of us are above mistakes and the best we can do is give ourselves another chance after we mess up right? A second chance is needed and I.... I want you to know that...not even for once. Not once, have I ever hated you or resented the fact that you're my mother. I love you and I always will. Okay?"  Emily was already shedding buckets of tears at this point. What did she ever do to deserve such an angel? Her actions of the past kept replaying as she wondered how her poor son must've felt all along, all while she yelled, screamed and threw tantrums, all which he received with level headedness. What exactly had come over her, making her become so unfeeling of her own son's problems and not even wanting to hear him out. The only answer she could arrive at was her own greediness and her thirst for worldly luxury, the tears weren't stopping but she forced herself to say something.

"I just..... I don't know what came over me...I was just such a fool. I'm sorry, Liam, my baby. I am so so sorry" She choked out, Liam pulling her into another hug as he nodded continuously at her words, fighting back his own tears.

Amelia, from where she was well hidden in a corner was smiling from ear to ear at the scene that was unfolding in front of her.

"Did you do it? Yes I did!" She thought to herself with a proud smile before turning around when she heard footsteps, rushing to Emma who had confusion written on her face and dragging her away so as not to interrupt the two.

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"You sure you don't want me to drop you off" Knox asked, Audrey shaking her head as they walked out of the restaurant.

She turned to him with a small smile, masking her sad expression as she spoke "No, it's okay. My Uber should be here soon" He nodded, turning to face her properly as they now both stood in front of the restaurant.

"I'm so-"

"No! you don't have to say that" She quickly cut in, letting out a small smile at Knox' guilty expression. "I mean....it's normal actually, it happens and we can't force these things, I know that and I understand you, trust me I do, I'm just glad I atleast tried, you know, it's better than just thinking about the 'what ifs' while doing nothing....it's all good. And thank you for the dinner" She said, still having a smile on her face, Knox just staring in silence, unsure of what would be appropriate to say. A car pulled up in front of them, Audrey waving him goodbye before getting in.

Knox sighed heavily after the car drove off. A mixture of guilt and sadness weighing in on him, even though she'd just gave her words. He wondered if he was at fault for turning her down.