“Okay… well, you look mentally tired.” I try not to worry, but growing up with a sister who battled depression her whole life, I'm a little worried.
He lets out a breath before kissing my neck. “I'm fine.”
“Promise?”
He starts to nod, but I force him up. When his eyes meet mine he really does look tired. “I promise. It's not a big deal-”
“So itissomething?”
He lets out a breath before rolling off of me.
“Wait, no. Come back. I'm sorry for badgering you.” I try to pull him on top of me again, but he doesn't let me and sits with his back against the headboard.
“I need to go anyway-”
“Please stop.” I grab him before he can stand and I crawl over to him. I straddle him instead, and he looks off to the side. “We don't have to talk if you don't want to. We can lay down if you're just tired.”
His eyes meet mine, but I pull him to lie with me before he can voice a complaint. He feels tense at first, but I wrap my legs around him again, and as his arms come around me, he relaxes again.
I'm rubbing my hand down his back when I feel him kiss my neck.
“I just came from seeing my mom.” His voice is just above a whisper, but he sounds numb again, so I lean forward to plant a soft kiss on his head.
“Is she okay?” I tread lightly and rub a hand down his shirt when I feel him tense.
“She's sick, Dory…” He holds me tighter.
“Is it like… terminal? Because I know amazing doctors, and we can-”
“There's no cure, baby.”
I can barely hear his voice now, and I try to pull away, but he keeps his face in the crease of my neck.
He pulls in another deep breath before kissing my neck again. “I just need a break, Dory. She wasn't having a good day, and I'm going to go back later, but Ijustneed a break.”
“Okay. Just rest so you can reset.” I kiss the top of his head again, and when I lay back down, I feel him relax again. We lay in silence for about an hour until my phone is ringing.
“That's my brother…”
Liam doesn't move, and I kiss the top of his head. As much as I don't want to leave him, I can't miss my twin's birthday…
“I need to go, babe, but you can stay and sleep if you want?”
He tells me he needs to go back to his mom, so he gets up. Before he stands from my bed, I cup his face and plant a soft kiss on his lips. “Thank you for opening up to me.” I steal another kiss before hugging him, and his arms immediately come around me. “If it gets hard and you need more breaks, you can always come to me.”
He only squeezes me tighter before we get up without a word.
I fix my makeup and grab August’s gift, along with my spend-the-night bag since we’re having a sleepover. When we get to the lobby, I stop when I realize Liam stopped following me.
He has his eyes on August’s bright orange Lamborghini before looking over at me.
“What?”
“Nothing, go ahead, Dory. Call me tomorrow night.” He doesn’t make a move to hug or kiss me goodbye, but I tell him I’ll call him before walking out and climbing into August’s car.
“Hello, birthday boy!”
“Hello, almost birthday girl!”
