His Perfect Match (Liam Payne AU)

Part 21 -

Liam sat on his couch, waiting for Alex. It was funny, he thought. Neither one of them could really think about anything in the future. He didn't want to think about the next steps, marriage and children, because it hurt. She didn't want to think about the next steps because she was already taking care of people. She didn't see herself ever having another family. He supposed that it was good they found each other, neither of them wanting a commitment? But, it was also terribly sad, neither of them saw a future beyond the now.

There was a knock at the front door and Liam stood up, opening the door for Alex. "You don't have to knock." he said. "You can just come in. Seriously."

Alex smiled and threw herself at Liam. "Okay. Carry me, please. My feet are dead."

Liam grinned at picked her up, carrying her to the couch. He set her down, then sat next to her and pulled her feet into his lap. "I just ordered pizza. I figured you'd be tired and pizza means no dishes, right?"

Alex nodded and shrugged her way out of her coat. "So, are you okay with what I told you? They want to meet you? And I guess since you know, I can just invite you for dinner tomorrow? Dinner is really early at my house. 5?"

Liam nodded. "Sure. I'd be glad to meet your parents."

Liam showed up the next night at 4:45 with flowers and a bottle of wine. Alex opened the door, a grimace on her face. "Come on in." she said.

The first thing that hit Liam was the smell. It smelled like a nursing home. Urine and cleaning products. He tried to brush it off and begged his face not to show his discomfort. He just smiled and leaned forward, kissing her cheek. "Here." he said. "Is this okay?" he handed her the wine.

Alex nodded. "We can drink it. My mom might have a little, but my dad won't drink it. Come on in."

She led him into a living room, couches, television. No tables. Not an end table, no coffee table. Just the couches and TV on the wall. No art, no random things sitting around. There was a woman in a wheelchair who looked very much like Alex, only old. Very old. Older than 55 Liam knew she was. Liam smiled again and held out the flowers. "These are for you, Mrs. Andrews."

Alex's mom reached out and took the flowers. "Thank you." Then she turned to Alex. "Dear, can you?" Alex nodded, took the flowers and hurried out of the room.

Liam turned to the man sitting on the couch. He looked gray. There was no other way to describe him. His skin, his hair, even his clothes were gray. He did not look well. Liam held out his hand. "Mr. Andrews." he said. "Nice to meet you."

Mr. Andrews nodded and gestured to the other couch. Liam sat. "So," Mr. Andrews began. "Alex tells us that you are a teacher, too? You teach with Jackie?"

Liam nodded. "Yes, sir."

"Alex!" Mrs. Andrews called. "I need you." Alex hurried back into the room, gave Liam a desperate look and wheeled her mother away.

Mr. Andrews hadn't stop looking at Liam. "So, what are your intentions with my daughter?"

"Uh, I'd like to date her?"

Mr. Andrews nodded. "She's a special girl."

Liam nodded. "Yes, sir, she is."

"While she's gone, I'll just be frank with you. We aren't well. I know we rely on her too much. We've taken away her young adulthood. I'd like to see her happy before I die. If you don't have good intent, please don't stick around."

Liam gulped. "I only have good intentions, sir. Jackie wouldn't let me near her otherwise."

Mr. Andrews nodded. "We trust Jackie."

Liam prayed for Alex to come back into the room. He was pretty sure that Mr. Andrews was going to die any second. He did not look well. This entire place felt depressed and desperate. He decided a nod was a good answer and nodded at Mr. Andrews.

Alex stepped back into the room. "Dinner is ready." she said.

Dinner was roast beef. Her father did not eat. He pulled a tube out of his shirt and slowly poured liquid into the tube. Her mother picked at the food, mostly eating mashed potatoes and gravy. Liam wasn't sure if he liked her gravy, so he stuck with meat and potatoes. He didn't even try the salad. Alex was the only one who even touched the greens.

There wasn't much talking, either. Liam suddenly understood why Alex was so quiet. Nobody talked here. She had never needed to be loud. And whenever someone was loud, she ducked her head. She wasn't used to noise. He was surprised had how quiet she kept her classroom, too. Her quiet nature must have rubbed off onto the kids.

When everyone had finished, her dad wheeled her mother back into the room with the TV and Liam helped Alex clean. "It's so quiet here." he said. Alex nodded. He watched her work, dividing the leftovers into lunch sized containers, putting some in the fridge and others in the freezer. When she was done, she turned and handed one to Liam.

"Just meat and potatoes." she said, smiling.

He smiled back, leaning down and kissing her. "Can you come to my house for a few hours? I haven't seen you all day."

Alex shook her head. "No, come with me." Alex grabbed his hand and pulled him around a corner and up a set of stairs. "My parents sleep in the Den. They don't come up here anymore." she said.

Liam looked around. Three closed doors and one left open. The open door led to a bedroom with purple walls. She pulled him inside. The bed was a full sized canopy bed, done in white and purple. The entire room was white and purple. It was the bedroom of a young girl. "Is this your room?" he asked.

She shrugged. "Ya. Never thought about changing it. I know. It's for babies, but." She shrugged again.

"What's in the other rooms?" he asked.

"Not a thing." she said. "My bathroom is right there." She pointed to a door. "The other rooms up here are empty. Two more bedrooms and two more bathrooms. The water isn't even on in the toilets. It's creepy."

Liam looked around again. Suddenly, he felt very sad. Her life was very lonely. He felt bad for ever making her feel bad, she must have been so happy, thinking she was going to have someone in her life and then he had been so awful to her. He grabbed her and pulled her close. "I am so sorry, Lex." he said.

Alex burst into tears.