The Coldest Summer✓

Thirty

"I wish we could escape from here and go to a place where only you and I will be." My eyes stay transfixed at the blue ocean in front of us.

"Let's do it," Liam says, his fingers playing with my curls in a soft, dexterous move.

I don't respond. I just smile tightly.

Liam heaves a very heavy breath. "You know if we just tell Samantha the truth, everything else will be solved, right? I'm not sure what you're expecting from all of this, Kira, but I'm getting tired of hiding my feelings."

I still don't respond. I don't know what to say.

"You do realize that at some point she'll have to find out about this, right?" He continuous. "Or could it be that you're planning to live your vacation while doing this secret romance, and then forget everything about us once you're done?"

I turn around stoutly.

"Of course not, Liam. I want us to work this out, I really do!" I argue and we are suddenly distant, physically and emotionally. "I just don't know how to reach out to Sam. I don't know how to explain to her that I actually went behind her back and stole her affection from the same guy who made her come all the way here with hopes that they would be something special. I don't know how to make her see that I never wanted to hurt her even if I eventually will when she finds out about us."

I just don't know how to do it.

"So, what do you want me to do?" Liam snaps. "Because it's you that I love, Kira, and if you can't tell her, then let me do it for you. I want you, I need you . . . and I'm willing to do anything to make this work. And the first step is coming clean about our affair."

Thinking of Sam, I know how resentful she can be. know how ballistic she will get knowing that Liam's rejection towards her has something to do with me.

Ever since she learned that her mother had personally abandoned her at the orphanage, that it wasn't an accident or anything similar, she became fragile and overly sensitive. She once tried to kill herself for a guy—the guy who turned her wild and crazy, and nearly a druggie.

We were only seventeen, but I still see that fragile girl in her even today. She may pretend to be bold, full of life, but deeply she's more scared of being alone than anything else.

"I guess I know where we stand now," Liam says after a deep breath that makes my eyes wider. "Why are we even wasting our time here? It's crystal clear that you've made your choice and you're not ready to change it."

"What do you mean, Liam?" I breathe, staring him deeply in the eyes.

I hope it's not what I'm thinking.

"I think it's time you make up your mind, Kira. It's either Samantha, or us," he says crisply.

"W–what? Are you giving me an ultimatum or something?" I ask carelessly, unable to move.

"Perhaps that's the right word, Kira. I can't be your summer adventure, if that's what you want from me. I'm truly sorry but I'm not that kind of a guy—call me old fashioned and I wouldn't mind." He slaps the sand off his shorts.

"Summer adventure?" I manage to stand up stoutly. "Now you're being unfair."

"Unfair? And what do you call this?" Liam snaps. "Are we fifteen? We're adults, right? Then why do we have to hide our relationship from our friends? Until when? Tell me, Kira! Until when do you plan to hide it? I hate games, and it's precisely what we've been doing so it's about time we stop!"

I suck in a deep breath and say, "Maybe you're right. It's time to stop this—"

"I'll take you home, Ms. Jones," Liam says automatically and starts moving, leaving my speech hanging.