Page 64 of Addicted
“Toward your apartment. You live in Pinewood Estates, right?” Owen pulled over, realizing that he should have confirmed Liam’s address.
“No, I’m in the complex on Eastmont Avenue.”
“Oh…” Owen was confused. “Did you move?
“No?” Liam was still frowning.
Owen looked out the window, seeing only red flags again. “You sold the house so fast. I’d been constantly fighting with Sharon and before I knew it I was helping you pack the moving van. As you drove away, I realized I’d forgotten to ask where you were going. Diane gave me your new address. She said you were staying in Pinewood Estates.”
Liam huffed in disbelief. “I couldn’t afford that even if I made triple what I was being paid now. That’s in the nice part of town.”
Owen did not like what he was hearing. The nice part of town? So where was Liam staying? And why did Diane give him a phony address? It wasn’t like she’d misspelled a name, it was completely different, like she was trying to make Liam inaccessible. And Owen had a hunch why. She didn’t want anyone looking too closely because she’d done something wrong.
The slow burn of anger crawled through Owen’s mind as he vowed to find outexactlywhat she’d been up to. But he wasn’t going to bring it up to Liam. Not yet. Liam had been through enough and Owen would have to do some research, get some proof before he started making grand accusations.
“Why would she lie about that?” Liam was still baffled.
Owen shrugged. “Maybe I was the one who got it wrong. I did try e-mailing you, you know, even calling. But you changed your number.”
Liam looked down, clasping his hands again. “It took a while to get settled in. I didn’t think about my email for months and by then it was so full of spam that I just deleted it. I didn’t want to think about anything. It was so much and I needed some quiet. So, I got a new phone too.”
“I understand.” Owen put his hand on Liam’s knee, gently rocking it. “I sent you a few letters and Christmas cards but they all came back. I guess now I know why.”
“You did?” Liam looked like he was about to cry and Owen was glad he decided to hold off on saying anything about Diane and her shady lawyer boyfriend.
“Yes, and I still have them, although they’re somewhere in a box in my garage. I’ll look for them tomorrow.” Patting Liam’s leg, Owen put the car in drive. “Now, can you tell me where you live?”
It was a quick and quiet ride since Liam lived close to Bar None and, by extension, The Pointe. The apartment complexes that lined the very outside of town were shoddy at best and when Owen pulled up in front of the one that Liam pointed out, he tried not to grimace. The facade of the place was faded, with cracked walls sprouting greenery and what looked like mold. There was no sign outside the building, and only a few of the lights around the property worked, one of them flickering over a parking lot that was more broken gravel than pavement.
Owen’s eyes rested on Liam’s blue Honda.
“It’s nice to see your car again! How is she running?” He jerked a thumb toward the lot.
“Okay, I guess?” Liam rested his fingers on the door handle and a little tremor ran through him. Now that Finn had pointed it out, Owen had been noticing them more and more.
“How about this weekend you come to my place for a tune-up? Of the car, I mean.”
Liam barked a laugh.
“And I could take you to dinner?” Owen asked hopefully.
“Sure. That sounds nice. But you don’t have to take me anywhere, you can use your grill! And wear the apron.” Liam’s sweet expression was too much for Owen.
“Deal,” Owen stated, putting a finger under Liam’s chin and drawing him in for a kiss. It lasted longer than it should have but neither one of them complained. When they finally broke apart Owen chuckled as Liam, flushed and disoriented, couldn’t find the door handle. Leaning over, Owen helped him and then got out as well, walking Liam to his door and brushing their lips together before wishing him goodnight.
Once back inside his car, Owen was pensive. Liam had been right about one of the birthday wishes but there were so many more. He wished he could have his son back in his arms. He wished that he could mend his friendship with Finn. He wished for The Pointe to be successful and for him to have his job for many years to come. He wished for this coming year to be eons better than the last. And he wished for Liam to be healed and happy.
He pulled the photo Liam had given him from the back seat, staring into it and wondering what Lilly and Logan would think of him dating their son. To be fair, they were more than fifteen years older than Owen, who was closer in age to Liam, but he would never know how they felt because they were no longer here. And Liam was suffering because of that. Silently, Owen promised them that he would stand by Liam, help him, try to make him happy, and give him the future that he deserved.
It had been a week since the argument and Finn still hadn’t called. If asked, Owen would deny that he was constantly checking his phone but that would be a lie. The two of them had gone this long without talking before but that was when life had gotten in the way. This time was different. This time they’d exchanged heated words until one of them had stormed out.
Pushing away from the desk, Owen leaned back in his chair, rubbing his eyes. What stung the most was that Finn had never checked in with Owen after court. It showed that he was not only prideful, he was hurt. Well, that made two of them. But the worst part about this whole thing was that Finn had left but his accusations hadn’t. Owen couldn’t erase what Finn had said, and the words percolated in his brain until he was forced to consider them.
For weeks, Owen’s gut had been telling him that something was going on with Liam. He thought he’d unearthed it all as Liam had sobbed on his shoulder but maybe Owen had been wrong. Maybe there was more.
Liam didn’t seem like he was using. Sure, he was shaky, but he had emotional issues, especially anxiety. His eyes were sometimes glassy with rings under them but so were Owen’s and it wasn’t much of a stretch to assume that Liam didn’t sleep well either. He’d also lost weight. Finn was right about that; Liam was too thin but he’d always been small and the years hadn’t been kind to him. Over the last nine months, Owen had lost weight too; however, he’d had it to spare and it barely showed on his bulk.
Sitting up straight, Owen minimized the tab of marinade recipes he’d been looking at for his date with Liam and typed“how to tell if someone is addicted to narcotics”into the search bar. After spending an hour reading a bunch of articles, he was no closer to an answer. Erasing his search history in case Liam ever decided to use that computer, Owen stretched as the final stanza of Last Dance echoed through the building. It was getting close to quitting time.
