Niam- What I've Done

Four: I've Drawn Regret

“Ahhh,” I said awkwardly, scratching the back of my head. “No. He’s just a friend.”

“Can I tell Mommy?” His eyes got big and wide and adorable, making it hard for me to resist, but I managed.

“No,” I repeated. “She can’t know. It’s a secret, okay?” I held out my pinky finger for him hook into his own.

When he did, he said, “It’s our secret. Not even Raine can know.”

Personally, I found that adorable, because Raine had been sitting there watching the whole exchange and listening intently, but just for Cooper, she pretended she didn’t hear anything. I smiled as I went to grab socks and put them on. On my way out the door, I said, “I’ll be back before nightfall,” and then I was sprinting toward the field, eager to see Liam again.

And when I got there, he was leaning on the tree, waiting for me, except this time he had a blanket and a basket with him. Curiously eyeing him, I walked up and began to ask him what it was, but he spoke before I got the chance.

“We’re having a picnic,” he announced, taking my hand with the arm that wasn’t carrying the basket and blanket.

“Well this was unexpected,” I muttered, grinning nonetheless.

“What took you so long? Usually you’re here half an hour before you got here today.”

“My mom was questioning me about why I was so late getting home yesterday,” I reasoned, watching as his eyes widened. He found a nice spot in the middle of the field and laid down the blanket.

“And what’d you say? Does she want to meet me?” he asked anxiously.

“I told her I was out to go shopping but I forgot the shopping list,” I said. “It’s not like I could just tell her I met a nice British boy and I was going to meet him every day.”

Sighing, he sat down on the blanket next to where he’d plopped the basket and pulled me down into his lap, making me blush a bit. He put his arms around me and let me nuzzle his neck with my nose. “I’m sorry,” he breathed into my ear. “I wish we could be together around your family.”

His words made me freeze, because even though I knew he harbored some attraction toward me, I never knew he actually wanted to be in a relationship with me. Quickly, I pretended like what he said hadn’t made my heart skip a beat and I nuzzled his neck again, breathing in his scent. “You’ll meet them someday,” I assured him, feeling my lips brush his neck and knowing my words were probably false. “When the war is over.”

Smiling softly, Liam watched as I pulled away from his neck. “It’s time to eat. I made some sandwiches,” he informed me as he somehow managed to open the basket. “Get off me for a second,” he said, not unkindly, as I climbed off his lap to sit in front of him.

The sandwiches he made were, of course, peanut butter and jelly. Still smiling, he handed me one of the sandwiches and took one to eat as well. Sitting in silence, we ate the sandwiches, watching as the occasional bird flew overhead. When we finished, Liam pulled a couple of water bottles from the basket, watching as I downed mine in under a minute.

“How much water do you drink, Niall?” he asked when I calmly put the empty bottle in the basket.

“A lot,” I grinned crookedly at him. “Thanks for lunch, Liam. You make amazing peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.”

“Awww, thank you,” he pretended to hide behind his hair as he accepted my compliment. A few minutes later he was throwing his empty water bottle into the basket as well.

Out of nowhere, I asked him a question that had been on my mind for a while. “Did they name the color orange after the fruit orange or the fruit orange after the color orange?”