A Girl Like Me

9. Memories

Liam.

One word.

Only four letters.

Two small syllables...

Yet... so much heartbreak.

It only hit me how much I missed him as I sat cross-legged on my bed in the middle of the night, my clock confirming the time as four thirty. In a couple of hours I'd be heading to the airport to fly all the way across the country for the trip to Boston. The night had been a long one and I hadn't been able to sleep for more than an hour without waking up in a cold sweat.

The dreams I was having weren't helping either. It seemed like in every one I would turn up on Liam's doorstep, dragging my luggage with me as I waited to see him after so long. The outcome of what happened when he opened the door was different each time. He would either open it, arms outstretched to hug me tightly as excitement was clear on his face, or open it and a look of utter horror appeared on his face. The bad dreams usually included a new girlfriend of his who would appear behind Liam with an unpleasant scowl and a hand on her hip.

That's when I'd wake up, panting and nervous as I tried to calm myself down with deep inhales and exhales. Then eventually I would nod off again only for it to happen again.

As my eyes searched through the darkness around me, the clouds covering the moon dispersed and it's light shone through my circular window, guiding my gaze to the photos of me and Liam next to my bed. There was a small stack of them there, untouched with a thin layer of dust covering the glossy surface.

I let my hand hover over them unsurely before slowly picking them up and flicking through each one. Every photo held a different memory and I couldn't hide my smile as I recalled each one. I almost burst out laughing at a couple, especially the one where Liam and I were at the beach and Liam was completely sunburnt because he forgot to wear suncream. I rolled my eyes and moved to the next photo.

It was one of my favourites. Liam and I were grinning like idiots as we stood on the pier hand-in-hand. We were fully dressed yet soaked to the skin after thinking that it would be a good idea to dive into the ocean on a blustery wet day. It didn't matter where we were or what we did, but as long as we were together, we'd be happy.

At one point I felt tears prick my eyes when I saw us looking at each other like we were the happiest people alive, without a single worry. Nothing mattered to us back then except each other.

"What are you doing?"

"Oh!" I squeaked. I almost jumped out of my skin at the sudden groggy voice coming from the floor. I had forgotten that Amy spent the night at my place. Her parents were out of town so she was coming to the airport with me the following morning. "Nothing! I was just...you know..."

Amy sat up straight on the blow-up bed and gave me a funny look. "Um...?"

Remembering the tears glistening in my eyes, I shot my hand up and wiped them away before attempting to slip the photos back into their original position, but I failed miserably when they scattered all over the floor. I cursed under my breath and bent down to pick them up but Amy got there first.

I watched in horror as she gathered up the photos and began to look through them. She tossed a strand of cherry red hair over her shoulder and narrowed her eyes at me. "Who's this cutie, Bianca?" She asked. "I can't say I've seen him before."

"Please Ames, just give them back!" I begged, trying to grab them. I lunged at her but she dodged me and I fell off the bed, landing next to her. "Ouch!"

Amy giggled. "Sssh! You'll wake your parents. Now come on, spill the beans girl," she said, turning to look at the next photo. I hung my head when I saw which one it was. "Woah, woah, woah! Who is this garçon you're kissing? I need details, Bianca!"