UNEDITED VERSION
To break free of the stereotypical box that high school placed her in, Charlie must team up with Liam, the new soccer player on the team her dad coaches.
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Girls fall at Liam's feet - except Charlie. She...
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Pulchritudinous (adjective)
- physically beautiful; comely.
~*~
My fingers tapped repeatedly on my knee as I gazed ahead at the wall, feeling nerves flood over me. Opposite me sat Liam's Aunt Judy with a cup of tea in her hands, her dull blue eyes fixated on me. It'd been like this ever since I arrived at their house fifteen minutes ago.
Liam had escorted me to the living room and instructed me to stay put whilst he went to change and pack a bag. The part about the bag confused me a little but my brain was too reluctant to question him because he'd answered the door shirtless.
After about five minutes of waiting, his aunt made her way into the room and sat down, making things very awkward. The clock on the wall read 10:00 am and I contained a sigh, querying why I had to be here this early if we were only going laser tagging.
"I'm sorry about the other night."
My fingers halted their tapping as I looked up, seeing Aunt Judy set her cup down onto the coffee table and tighten her robe around her petite frame. Her dull blue eyes scrutinised my wide ones, anticipating a rejoinder. She looked slightly apprehensive as if she was suspecting me to lash out on her.
Clearing my throat awkwardly, I choked momentarily and the older woman looked at me in concern. My cheeks blazed in humiliation and I let out a timid laugh. "It's okay," I supplied with a minuscule smile. "It's not any of my business anyway."
She was undoubtedly relieved that I held no animosity towards her and her shoulders visibly sagged with the relief. A delightful laugh fell from her lips and I found it hard to conclude that this was the same woman who threw an intoxicated tantrum.
"If it weren't for you, Liam probably would've lectured me again," she spoke in a small voice, reaching for her cup of tea as if seeking warmth. I wondered how the hell this relationship worked, with Liam having to scold his aunt. "You're good for him."
I glanced away from her, an eerie feeling slithering up on me. I'd already told her that it was none of my business yet she was still speaking. She looked anxious to say something and I wanted so badly to roll my eyes. Without meeting her gaze, I asked, "what do you mean by that?"
"He hasn't been as angry as usual, these past few weeks." Aunt Judy announced in a gratified voice. The mention of Liam's anger piqued my interest.
Using the elastic on my wrist, I pulled my hair back into a ponytail before questioning, "does he have anger issues or something?" Sabrina had mentioned his anger before and even he himself spoke about it. And now his aunt was addressing it too.
