Inevitable

Tension

I couldn't speak. I was blown away by what I just heard. Liam loves me. I never in a million years would have expected him to say that to me. And he pushed me away on purpose. That hurt. A lot. So much time lost.

"I don't know how to respond to that Liam. I'm stuck on the part about you choosing to check out on our friendship. I had nothing to do with your breakup. I spent this year trying to get over you because I was hurt and confused about why you disappeared. I was ready to move on. And now all of a sudden, you are ready to be with me."

I was getting angrier the more I thought about it. If we weren't sitting in the middle of a restaurant I would have probably yelled at him. I didn't deserve any of this. I couldn't help but feel like he was telling me all of this now because it was convenient for him.

"I'm so sorry Em. I majorly fucked up. I see that now. You have every right to be mad at me. But I meant it when I said I wasn't going to give up. I'll wait for however long it takes. Can you honestly say that everything you felt for me last year is just gone?"

I wanted to scream. I had no idea what I wanted. I didn't know what to do about Henry or Liam. Did I still care about Liam? Could I still trust Henry or was he playing me? Maybe I would be better off by myself. My life was certainly simplier when it was just me.
I started picking at my food even though I had lost my appetite. I was avoiding answering his question. I didn't know the answer. I felt his eyes on me waiting for me to say something. I had dreamt of Liam saying he loves me for so long. But not like this. It was so far from the fantasy I had in my head.

"Em, can you say something? I don't know what you're thinking."

"I don't know Liam. This isn't how I imagined this moment going. I'm not sure how I feel anymore. And there might be someone else."

His face fell at that. I don't even know why I mentioned Henry. Things were up in the air with him but I couldn't deny how strong my feelings were. No matter what happened, meeting Henry changed everything for me.

"Is it the guy you went out with over the weekend? Didn't you just meet him? How serious could it be? You and I have known each other for almost 2 years."

"You're kind of being a dick now. I've barely seen you the past six months. So don't act like you have a claim on me."

This was going downhill fast. We never fought when we were just friends. Even though neither one of us had really eaten anything, I asked our waiter for the check. I needed some time to think about what Liam told me. I had a lot to figure out.
Liam insisted on paying for dinner and I let him. He had a lot to make up for. We left the restaurant and silently started walking back to my dorm. After a few minutes, Liam broke the silence.

"I hate that this night turned out like this. I can't seem to get it right with you. You deserve so much more than this. I swear I'm going to make this right. And I'm going to make you remember why you cared about me to begin with."

"I need some time. I need to figure out what I want. And there's some other stuff going on that I don't want to get into. It's just a lot right now."

"Okay. I'll give you as much time as you need. You're worth the wait."

We reached my building and Liam pulled me in for a hug. It felt good to be in his arms even after everything. I was so confused. When I pulled away from him, I noticed a familiar black SUV in the parking lot. And sitting in the driver seat was Henry. Crap! This just keeps getting worse!
I watched in shock as the car door opened and Henry got out and walked over to Liam and I. I've never wanted to disappear more in my life.

"Hey Emily. Thought I would surprise you. I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

I'm not sure why but I took a step away from Liam.

"Henry, this is Liam. The friend I said I was meeting for dinner tonight. He was just walking me home." Why did I feel the need to explain myself? I hadn't done anything wrong. I wasn't committed to either one of them.

Liam held out his hand to shake Henry's. This was too weird.

"I think I recognize you. You were in the band that played at my frat Friday night. You guys were really good."

"Wait, this is the frat guy from the party the other night?" Henry asked me. Crap crap crap!

Liam looked at me confused, "What is he talking about Em?"

Henry now had a very angry look on his face. "What I'm talking about is that she was alone in an alleyway crying because of something you did."

Shit! This was so bad. The last thing I need is these two fighting. I had to do something. I stepped in between the two of them and put my hand on Henry's chest to try to get him to focus on me instead of Liam.

"Henry it's fine. He apologized and I forgave him. I need to say goodbye to him now and then we can talk." He looked down at me and his eyes softened a little. He turned around and walked back over to his car.
I turned back to Liam who now looked angry too. "That's the other guy! Are you serious Em! And what the hell does he know about what happened Friday night."

"After you left to go work the door, I was really upset and I ran outside to get some fresh air. Henry was out there too. I didn't tell him exactly what happened but he could tell something was wrong."

"You were crying? Why didn't you tell me? God, I'm going to regret that night for the rest of my life."

"Because I was embarrassed. I just want to forget it ever happened. I need to go talk to Henry though. Thanks for dinner."

"Okay, can you text me when you get in your room. I want to make sure you are alright. I have a bad feeling about that guy. I saw him flirting with so many girls at the party. What are you doing hanging out with someone like him?"

"I'm not discussing Henry with you. And yes I will text you when I get upstairs. Bye Liam."

I turned and walked over to Henry's truck. The night had already been emotionally draining. I wasn't sure I could handle anything else but I guess I didn't have a choice.