Published: July 14th 2023, 2:00:03 pm
LIAM
Katie sits on the rickety swing set in the backyard, her toes dragging along the ground as she stares at the morning sky and sips her coffee.
She’s wearing some of the makeup I bought her, her eyelids sparkly whenever she blinks and her lips a slightly darker than natural shade of pink. Her hair’s a bit less frizzy than usual, too. It objectively looks good, but I prefer when she runs around looking like a feral animal.
It suits her personality better.
“Stop staring at her.”
I sigh, turning toward my mom. She’s smiling, clearly proud of herself for catching me in the act.
“It’s going to freak her out,” she continues.
I shrug. That’s not my problem. Katie is annoyed by everything I do, so I’ve given up trying to avoid it.
“How long has she been out there for?” I ask.
Of course, the one day I sleep in is the one day Katie decides to leave her room. We’ve only been here for four days, but already she’s settled into a predictable routine. Or, at least, I thought so.
“Not long,” Mom says. “Maybe thirty minutes.”
That’s too long. It’s early enough that the sun isn’t too hot, but Katie burns. I doubt she’ll be appreciative if I come outside with the request she put on sunscreen, too. She’d probably lay outside all day to spite me.
She seems to take a lot of pleasure in doing that.
Still, I’m glad she’s taken it upon herself to leave her room. I was beginning to grow worried she wouldn’t ever get comfortable here, but today’s looking positive.
“Who is she?” Mom asks.
She sits to the left of me, her hands clasped around a steaming mug of coffee. I should make some, but I’m not interested in getting up.
Watching Katie is far too entertaining.
“She isn’t anybody,” I say.
This isn’t the first time Mom’s asked me this question, and I’m surprised she hasn’t given up yet. I’ve never been particularly forthcoming with her about my work, and she’s gathered by now that this isn’t a social visit.
“It didn’t look like that when I walked into your bedroom yesterday,” Mom continues.
I ignore her.
Showing Katie my porno magazine was a bad idea, and kissing her was an even worse one. She’s been so withdrawn these past few days, and I thought giving her ammunition to make fun of me would cheer her up.
It did, but then she was smiling and laughing, and I got carried away.
I don’t regret telling her the truth about where I see our relationship going, but I fucking hate what it’s led to. I liked the way things were before. She was loud and possessive and spiteful, but now all she does is glare at me like I’ve kicked her dog.
It’s still better than how she looked at me when I drugged her, though.
Fuck.
Katie loves to talk about how I’m this massive threat to her, but that was the first time she’s ever looked at me with genuine fear. She thought I was going to hurt her, and if I could take it back, I would.
She was just being so argumentative, and I couldn’t risk her trying to get help from the hotel staff.
Things with her dad are worse than I’ve led on, and I can’t risk her returning to New York right now. She’d be a sitting fucking duck, especially since those photos of her have surfaced. The fucker who was stalking us at the cabin managed to send some off before I took care of him, and I have no idea how many people have seen them.
Whoever made an attempt on David’s life and killed his wife isn’t fucking around, and I refuse to let Katie get caught in the middle of it.
“She seems like a nice girl,” Mom says, nudging my shoulder.
I continue to ignore her. She’s trying to get a rise out of me, but I won’t let it happen. Things between Katie and me are tense enough, and the last thing I need is Mom trying to play matchmaker.
She’s done it my entire life, and she’s not very good at it.
Besides, Katie would probably convince herself I was putting my mom up to it and get mad at me. She’s always trying to blame me for things.
“Will you tell her to put on sunscreen?” I ask.
Mom raises a brow. “Why don’t you?”
“Because she doesn’t listen to me.”
I tell Katie to turn left, she sprints right. I ask her to hand me a spoon, she tries stabbing me in the kidney with a fork.
The only time she ever listened to me was when I was fucking her, but that’s not happening anytime soon. She runs away every time I touch her, not that I blame her.
“She listens to you just fine,” Mom argues.
I snort.
Mom clearly isn’t seeing the same Katie I am. While I’m willing to admit she’s been relatively subdued since leaving the hotel, she’s by no means listening to me.
I’m worried it’s because she thinks I’m going to drug her again, that any genuine resistance she makes will be met with me forcibly taking control of the situation.
I fucking hate it.
Mom stands and makes her way to the back door. There’s a small cabinet near it where we keep sunscreen, and she quickly grabs a bottle before heading outside.
Katie looks up as the door opens, her face flashing through a dozen different emotions when she realizes it’s just my mom. Then a broad smile spreads over her lips. It’s fake, they almost always are, but Katie’s an exceptional actress as she accepts the sunscreen from my mom and begins rubbing it on her arms and legs.
I absentmindedly bob my head, beyond pleased as I watch her cover herself.
My mom points to Katie, probably telling her to remember her ears. It’s a command I’ve heard thousands of times in my life, and one my mom loves to give.
Eventually, Katie turns and looks at the window I’m staring at her through, and I fight every childish instinct I have not to duck out of sight. Instead, I meet her gaze head-on, my heart pounding.
Katie raises a brow before turning back to my mom.
What are they talking about? I assume it’s been exposed that I’ve been watching her from the kitchen.
Naturally.
Why did I even bring us here? It would’ve been easier to rent another hotel room in some random town and hide out there. Money isn’t an issue, and Katie seemed to like the hotel just fine.
It was a significant improvement from the cabin.
I tap my fingers against the counter, annoyed with how Katie and Mom continue to chat. I asked her to give Katie the sunscreen, not stand around and talk about fuck knows what.
I regret ever bringing Katie here. I never bring women home, and despite what I want to pretend, I knew Mom would read into it. Katie’s reddish brown hair, lanky ass limbs, and rude attitude are traits I’ve always found attractive in women, and my Mom knows that.
Fuck, everybody in town knows that. It used to be a running joke how I’d let girls half my size bully me around. Even after all this time, it doesn’t seem that’s a trait I’ve grown out of.
After a few minutes, Katie tucks her sunscreen under her arm and heads to the back door. She meets my gaze through the window again, and I instinctively straighten up.
“Morning,” I say the moment she slides open the door.
Katie steps inside, and my mom quietly follows.
“I’ll be heading off to work now,” Mom says, making her way to the front door.
Her shift doesn’t start for another thirty minutes, but I’m in no hurry to point that out. I prefer spending alone time with Katie, anyway.
Katie takes a seat at the kitchen island opposite me. She smells of sunscreen, and I eye a small patch on her neck that she forgot to rub in.
“Beth said you’ve been staring at me,” Katie says, crossing her arms over her chest.
I run my tongue over the inside of my teeth. Katie already knows I watch her, so I don’t get why she’s acting surprised.
“I’m always staring at you,” I point out. “It’s my job.”
I regret the words the second they slip from my mouth, and Katie’s subtle flinch only worsens my guilt. I don’t like her thinking she’s just a job to me, but I have a feeling she won’t appreciate me trying to explain myself to her.
She never seems to like it when I do that, and it always makes things worse.
“What’re you doing today?” Katie asks, changing the subject.
I shrug. I was planning on sitting in the living room watching TV while she hides in her room. That’s how the past few days have gone.
“Would you like to do something?” I ask. I force my voice to remain level, not wanting to sound excited.
Nothing can happen between Katie and me, and I need distance just as much as she does.
I can’t imagine letting her go when we return to the city, and if she catches wind of my reluctance to stand by my word, she’ll fucking push and push until I give in. She doesn’t seem to have realized she can yet, and I don’t want her to.
This will be better for her in the long run. She doesn’t want to be tied down by me.
“Does this town have any good lunch spots?” Katie asks.
No. There are precisely five restaurants in town, two of which are chains and the other four are meant for sit-down dinner meals.
I don’t want to admit that to Katie, though.
“Of course,” I say. I overheard a few women speaking about a new sandwich shop on Main Street the other day. Apparently, it serves boba tea, and the teens are flocking to it.
It’s the only thing I can think of that could potentially impress Katie. There’s a Starbucks further down on Main Street, too, so maybe I can drive us the long way so she sees it and gets excited—just like I did for Whole Foods.
I know she likes seeing brands she recognizes.
“Do you like boba?” I ask. Katie perks up, just like I thought she would. Hopefully, the drink distracts from the shitty sandwiches, and the Starbucks gives her something to look forward to for future outings.
I press my lips together and run my hand through my hair, annoyed with my thought process. I’m embarrassing myself.
“Just let me put on some socks,” Katie says, setting down her coffee mug. “I’ll be right back.”
I nod, waiting for her to leave before dropping my head onto the counter. It’s Saturday, and I assume most of my old friends will be out and about. I’ve done an excellent job avoiding them during the week, but I can only do that for so long.
They’ll be annoyed I haven’t reached out to say I’m in town, although I’m sure Emily and my Mom have already spread the word that I’m here.
Emily probably sent word the moment she saw me in the restaurant with Katie.
I wonder if she’s still angry with me. She didn’t seem upset, but she always had an immaculate poker face. I asked her to leave town with me, begged her for months, but she never saw the appeal of moving to New York City.
I should’ve given more warning before leaving.
There was never a set date for me to leave, and I don’t think anybody ever truly believed I’d do it until I was gone.
Emily and my’s 1st anniversary was supposed to be on a Thursday, but all she got was a text on Tuesday night saying that I had packed my things and left. I didn’t even answer her subsequent phone calls and texts, and after a few days, they stopped altogether.
Fuck. I still feel guilty about that.
“Let’s go,” Katie orders, stepping into the room.
Her hair whips behind her as she flies past me, and I can’t help but notice the sunscreen splotch on her neck has been rubbed in.
I smile, unable to stop myself.
“Yes, ma’am,” I laugh, climbing off my stool.
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a little surprise Liam POV for your Saturday morning :)