37 | Everything

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A sudden, startling combination of noises drags me out of the depths of sleep. My eyes shoot open as I strain to make sense of the sounds.

A ringing phone - loud and piercing in the silence of Liam's room - and insistent banging on the door. It takes me a second to register the muffled male voice coming from the other side of it.

"Damn it, Archer! Open up!"

I push myself onto my elbows and turn to my side, finding Liam awake and rubbing his eyes groggily.

"Who is that?" My voice is hoarse, rough. I sit up straighter and clear my throat.

The phone stops ringing abruptly, providing some relief that is quickly swallowed by the voice outside that continues to shout for Liam's attention.

Recognition dawns on his sleep-addled features as Liam curses under his breath.

"It's Rick. I'm meeting him today at . . . wait, what time is it?" he asks, sitting up and throwing the covers back. Raising his voice so Rick can hear him, he yells, "Yeah, I'm coming!"

As he climbs off the bed to grab his phone, I turn to the slightly foggy window for any clues about the time of day. But the light gray sky outside is dull and cryptic.

"Whoa, it's almost eleven." Liam exhales aloud, running a hand through his tousled hair.

"Oh," I say softly, still feeling only half awake. Everything around me has a soft, hazy quality like a blurry photograph. I rub my cold fingertips over my eyes and blink until my vision sharpens.

I turn to find Liam heading towards the door, his hand already extended, the doorknob turning with an almost imperceptible click.

"Wait," I whisper urgently, scrambling off the bed at the thought of Rick seeing me in Liam's room, in his bed, wearing his sweatpants. "Where do I hide?"

"Carmen, you don't have to," Liam says, his voice somber as he glances at me over his shoulder.

Looking at his face, the soft light hitting the length of his jaw and the curve of his lips, I can't stop myself from thinking, I wish I didn't . . . I don't want to lie and hide to be with you.

"Do you trust me?" Liam implores when I stare at him in staggered silence.

Finally, I nod in response, and he motions to his bed and says, "Stay right here. Rick isn't going to say anything."

I squat down at the very edge of Liam's bed, trying to occupy as little space as possible. Crossing and uncrossing my legs awkwardly, I chew my lip as Rick dashes into the room with a can of diet soda clutched in one hand and his phone in the other, a string of agitated words flying out of his mouth.

"What the fuck? I called a thousand times-"

Rick falls silent at the sight of me, his eyes flitting from my face to the sheets behind me and to the clearly unused bed on the other side of the room.

"Hey," I say quietly, looking at Liam for assurance. He nods reassuringly from behind his friend's back.

"Oh. Hey."

I search Rick's impassive face for any signs of shock, but he seems surprisingly unmoved by my presence. He's looking at me with nothing but a vague sense of perplexity as though he's staring at a picture that is ever-so-slightly askew on a wall.

"I'm sorry, man," Liam interjects smoothly in the short pause that follows. Rick swivels to look at him, the agitation returning to take over his features. "I'll meet you at your place soon. We still have time."

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