Say Hello For Me

f o u r t e e n || the revelation

"I don't know who I hate more," Liam continues to talk. "Do I hate her more for cheating on me or him for going along with it all?"

"Do you need a punching bag?" Nessa suggests, trying to add some lighthearted humor into the conversation to relieve the underlying tension. "We can order one off of eBay right now. We can even pay for rush shipping."

"I think I'd rather use one of their faces. It'd be free and I wouldn't have to wait a day for them to get here. They're a five minute drive from me right now."

"Are you actually going to—"

"If I hang up and head over there," Liam cuts Nessa off unexpectedly, "I probably can get the job done in fifteen minutes with time to spare and call you back."

"Liam—"

"We can set a Guinness book record. How cool would that be?"

Nessa really didn't take Liam as a violent guy, but she can't tell whether or not he was joking. The anger hiding in his tone makes it difficult to distinguish.

"Hasn't anyone ever told you it's not very nice to hit girls?" she plays along nonetheless. "You'd be setting a bad example for little boys all over Seattle."

"I didn't specifically say I was going to hit Delilah," he justifies his actions, adding in a pinch of laughter. That's when Nessa knows she can breathe again, her worries slowly easing until Liam says, "I'd much rather punch Jack."

This was a roller coaster ride full of unexpected drops, loops, and sharp turns.

"Is Jack your brother?"

"I now think he was adopted. He has to be. That would explain everything, wouldn't it?"

"I'd punch him where it hurts," Liam adds seconds later.

"Violence is never the answer, Liam." Nessa frowns on her side of the line. "But if you're going to go wound his manhood, you should . . . "

"I should what?" Liam speaks up, not wanting to elongate the pause any farther.

"You should kick him instead," Nessa tells him. "It hurts a lot more."

It takes Liam a little bit of time to process the information Nessa has just relayed to him. When he finally understands, he asks, "Wait, how would you know, Nessa?"

"Uh—"

"Is there something you haven't told me? Are you secretly a guy pretending to be a girl? Are you cat-fishing me?!" Liam shrieks.

"How can I be cat-fishing you if you've never even seen what I look like?" is all Nessa gets to say before Liam butts in.

"Wait, never mind, I really don't want to know the answers to those questions. Don't answer them!" Liam yells exaggeratedly, making Nessa laugh. "This whole time, I've been picturing you with long, brown hair. I think I want to keep it that way."

"You're very close, but there's just one problem with that, Liam."

"What?"

"I have long, brown hair, but it's so dark that it almost looks black even in the sun," she elaborates. "And I guess I can let you in on a little secret now since you were almost correct."

"Ooh!" Liam sounds like a child on Christmas morning sitting in front of all the presents under the tree. "I can keep a secret."

"Okay, are you ready?"

"As ever."

"I have curly hair."

After awhile, Liam says, "Me too, Nessa. Me too."