Liam and I by Elaina H (the reading list .TXT) 📖

I was getting up to leave she walked up to me. “Ready.”

“You were half an hour late!” I exclaimed, clearly agitated.

“Sorry, my hair appointment was pushed back. You know I couldn’t come here without my gold highlights. They’re made with real gold you know!” (I’m pretty sure she didn’t say that but I swear that’s how I remember it).

I turned around and started walking into the hospital. I had already visited Liam two days ago, and I hadn’t told him about Alice. I should have, but I didn’t. I had wanted to see him deny her in front of everybody.

“Whatever, let’s just get this over with.”

We walked up to the front desk, and were lead up to Liam’s room by a nurse. “You girls sisters?” she asked kindly.

I looked at Alice with raised eyebrows. We looked like exact opposites. She had dark hair, brown eyes, creamy skin, and she was short. I, on the other hand, was blonde, blue eyed, and tan. Also I was almost four inches taller than her.

Before we could answer we were in front of Liam’s room, and the nurse was waving good-bye.

Alice smoothed down her already perfect hair, and smothered lip gloss all over her already glossy lips. “Ready?” I asked.

“Mm hm. Let’s go!” I told Alice to stay there while I went in to tell Liam.

I entered the room quietly, “Hey, Liam?” I whispered.

“Isabel? Why are you whispering?” Liam was lying on the hospital bed reading a magazine and drinking some lemonade.

I laughed, “I was just seeing if you were awake. I was actually hoping you were.”

“Why? You didn’t want to see me.” Liam looks at me with his green eyes and I stare back.

“No, I wanted to see you, but I brought you a visitor. She said she was really worried about you. She wanted to let everyone know how you were doing since she had the whole school on speed-dial.” I chewed on the end of my nail.

“Who is it? You know I don’t like people visiting me in the hospital, Isabel!” Liam wasn’t mad, but he wasn’t happy either.

I threw my hands in the air, “I know. I know. She was so stinkin’ persistant!”

“Who was?” Alice was behind me, and I turned around and glared at her.

“I told you to wait outside! I was talking with Liam,” I was angry, and I actually wanted to punch her.

Alice stepped past me toward Liam, “How are you doing, Liam? Everyone has been so worried about you.” Alice looks up at Liam through her eyelashes, “I’ve been worried about you.”

I gagged in the corner, and Liam glared at me, but I just shrugged my shoulders. Clearly he could see this was all fake, and she was obviously trying to use him! For what I didn’t know.

I had expected Liam to ask Alice to leave, but instead he asked her to sit down. My bottom jaw hit the floor, and I pretended to shoot myself in the head with a gun. Liam saw me and glared at me.

He gestured with a nod of his head for me to leave. ‘Are you kidding me!’ I mouthed at him.

Liam didn’t move, and I stood up and noisily left the room.

I was so angry with Liam that I left that day and didn’t visit or answer his calls for two weeks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Nine

I talked to Liam a little bit over the summer, but he spent most of his time with Alice.

A week before school started I visited Liam at his house since he was finally out of the hospital. The chemo was less and less now; the doctors said that he might actually stay in remission now although I didn’t believe it.

In his room were, at least, twenty pictures of him and Alice. I tried to ignore them, but they were always watching me.

“So,” I remember asking, “you going to be there for the first day of eighth grade? We’re the big kids on campus, remember?” I asked jokingly.

Liam laughed, but he wasn’t completely there. He was holding his brand new cell phone in his hand, and he happened to check it every ten seconds.

After a while of me making all the effort, I left his house and didn’t talk to him unless I ran into him around town.

When the first day of school finally came, I got a ride with Katie, Samantha, and Joe. Samantha’s mom offered to drive us to school everyday since she drove past our houses everyday for work.

When Sammy’s mom dropped us off we all ran to our lockers and prepared for the school day.

Katie elbowed me in the ribs and jerked her head to the side.

Even through Liam and I never dated or broke up, I do have to say I consider this my very first heartbreak.

Liam and Alice walked down the hallway hand in hand, and went right past us without saying anything.

Sure, I hadn’t talked to Liam much during the summer, but still! I deserved a hello, or, at least, I thought I did.

The rest of first semester was much the same. Liam and Alice dated consistently, and Liam and I only talked when we had to. I guess you could say we weren’t friends any longer.

I think at some point during eighth grade year Liam stopped chemo all together, and his cancer went into remission again, but I’m not sure. Like I said, we didn’t talk.

It was also during eighth grade year that I tried smoking for the first time.

I only did it because Katie and Joe did it. It wasn’t anything I did seriously; I just did it because it was cool.

Funny, though, that it was the smoking that finally brought Liam and I back together.

It was May, and our eighth grade year was almost over. I hadn’t talked to Liam in months, and I was finally accepting that our friendship was over.

Katie, Sammy, Joe, and I were in the park talking about the school year being over and it being freshman next year.

Katie handed me a cigarette, and Joe lit it for me. I inhaled the smoggy smoke and smiled at the instant buzz I felt.

Suddenly, I heard someone shout my name. I looked over, and saw a blonde haired boy running for me.

“Isabel! What are you doing?!” the boy took the cigarette out of my hand, and threw it on the ground. He ground the beautiful cigarette into the ground, and I frowned at the boy.

“What do you think you are doing? That was my cigarette!” I try to salvage it, but it’s just ashes.

The boy bends down, and stares me in the eyes. It’s then that I realize the boy is Liam. “I think I’m trying to save your butt! What are you now, some kind of idiot, Isabel? God! Why you gotta be so stupid!” Liam glowers at me.

Liam’s words hit my heart, and I don’t look him in the eyes. “What’s it matter to you any how? You stopped caring about me a while ago, Liam. We ain’t friends anymore. You don’t gotta watch out for me.”

“Isabel,” Liam started, “we ain’t ever stopped being friends. I assumed you just wanted to take a break.” The grin that spreads across Liam’s face is contagious, and my mouth twitches into a smile.

I leap forward and hugged Liam, “God, Liam, I hate you so much,” I mutter into his shoulder.

“I know you do, Isabel,” Liam hugged me back, and yanked me to my feet. “Katie, Joe, Sammy, we’ll talk to y’all later!”

It probably wasn’t such a fast make up, but that how I remember it anyhow.

Leaving, I waved good-bye and snatched another cigarette from Katie. “Where we going?” I asked Liam as we walked off.

Liam raised his eyebrows, “Nowhere till you throw that cigarette away. You know that ain’t good for me. You wouldn’t be able to smoke ‘round me anyways.”

“It’s not like we were around each other that much before now,” I mumbled, but Liam didn’t hear.

It turned out, Liam was going to the hospital for a check-up, and I was just the kind of support he needed with him.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter Ten

Alice and Liam broke up the summer between eighth and ninth grade. Alice broke up with Liam, and Liam was devastated.

I helped him through it, but on the inside I was super happy. I was so tired of Alice hanging around all the time.

Freshman year started and flew by. Nothing important seemed to happen freshman year, well, except Katie moved to New York (the city, gross!).

Liam and I pretty much did everything together.

With everyday that passed, I fell more and more in love with Liam.

Liam didn’t seem to notice my feelings for him, so I didn’t mention them. Liam and I were inseparable, and our other friends sort of fell away.

There were a few rumors around school we were dating, and a couple saying we were long lost siblings.

Neither was true.

Our routine was pretty much the same until we came home from the pool. It was July, and it was hot. Liam had gotten his license two weeks earlier, and he was driving us the city pool.

We swam for hours and hours, and time passed as it usually did with Liam; too quickly.

When Liam drove me home, and dropped me off at my house, my mom and dad waved him over. “Oh God, what could they possibly want?” I had been getting annoyed with my parents lately, and I tried to be away from home as much as possible. Usually, I was with Liam.

“They probably want to tell me how great I am, and how they wish you were more like me.” Liam turned off his old beater car, and walked with me inside.

“Hello,” Liam said in his thick drawl. “Need me for something?”

Mom spoke first. She cleared her throat, “How about you two come over here and sit. Here, right there.”

Dad sat across from us, and Mom sat in between us. I gave Liam a weird look, and he just shrugged.

Dad began, “We, um, know how teenagers are, okay? We were teenagers once. We completely understand that you want to, um, honey?” he looked helplessly at my mom.

“What your father’s trying to say, Izzy, is that you and Liam can spend your time together however you want. We just ask that you wait, you wait until you are married. Okay, sweetheart?”

My face was hot, and I felt warm tears of humiliation leak from my eyes. “I can’t believe you just said that!”

Mom and Dad looked at each other with wide eyes, and both of them tried explaining themselves at the same time.

I glanced at Liam out of the corner of my eye. He was chuckling.

Here I was sitting mortified, and he was simply laughing at the situation. I was mad at all three of them.

Liam spoke up, “You don’t have to worry about that. We’re friends.”

My parents looked at me and I nodded my head vigorously, “Friends.”

Instead of ending the conversation Liam continued on, still laughing, “Besides I could never…” he laughed heartily, “not with Isabel!”

First, I had been embarrassed. Now I was devastated. Let’s just say that Liam was not affiliated with the idea that you can never say something like that to a girl.

Now more tears poured from my eyes, and I sobbed out loud before standing up and running to my room.

I had cried for an hour straight before Mom came into my room, “Honey, I know we shouldn’t have said anything. I realize that now. You have to understand, we were just worried, okay?”

“I’m not crying because of you!” I shouted, and started crying all over again.

Mom rubbed little circles on my back, “Why are you crying then, sweetheart?”

I didn’t really want to tell my mom, about my boy troubles, but it had all come spilling out anyways. “Liam said…” I heaved a loud sigh, “he said I was ugly! He said he could never be with me! He laughed at the idea of us being together, Mom. He thinks I’m a troll!” I sobbed harder, and my body shook.

“Honey, that’s