Page 48 of Awakened
"No, I don't think you do," Mike's eyes were suddenly weary and resigned.
"Yes," Liam grated. "I do. What you don't understand is that I will kill anyone who tries to hurt her; that includes you."
Mike looked as if he had just punched him in the jaw, Liam had never threatened any of them but he would kill them in order to protect her. "Go talk to her Liam, see what she says. Maybe there's nothing to worry about, but if there is..."
"No!" he interrupted. "I'm not kidding Mike, you stay away from her; do you hear me?"
"Yeah, I hear you," he muttered. "I couldn't do anything to her anyway, you know that."
"Don't tell anyone else about this."
"Yeah, whatever, you're the boss." Liam strode to the door. "What are you going to say to her?" Mike asked as he opened the door.
He turned to look at him and shrugged helplessly. "I don't know yet. The truth."
Mike snorted as he shook his head. "We don't have to be concerned about what to do with her after that, she'll be locked in the loony bin."
Liam shot him a scathing glare as he slammed the door. He hurried back to his room and opened the door. Sera had rolled over so that the blanket fell away to reveal her exquisite face. She looked angelic and peaceful in her sleep. He dreaded the hurt that he was going to continue to inflict on her.
He sat on the edge of the bed and touched her shoulder. Her eyes opened and she stared up at him, a smile spread across her beautiful face. Then, suddenly, it was gone. Remembrance crashed over her features and shuttered through her eyes. She bolted upright; her hair tumbled around her face, and shoulders. Her eyes were huge, and a vivid, startling purple.
"Sera, we need to talk."
"Are you going to be honest with me?"
"I never wanted to lie to you."
"Really? Because it's all you've ever done. I feel like I don't even know you. You've been this one person, this person that you've let me see, or wanted me to see. This person that I fell in love with, but you're not that person. And now this. This! Who are you Liam? What are you?"
Tears spilled down her cheeks and she angrily wiped them away. She was mad at herself for crying, and she was furious at him. "I'm going to be honest with you, about everything."
She laughed and shook her head despairingly. "How am I supposed to know that?" she demanded.
Her words cut into his heart and he winced involuntarily. "I deserve that, but it will be the truth Sera, I promise."
She snorted and looked away; she rubbed her hands along her arms to ward off the chill that was wracking her. "I hope so Liam, I really hope so."
He stretched his hand out to rub her cheek. She jerked away from his touch, her eyes burned with a resentment that bordered on hatred. He dropped his hand away. He was going to lose her, no matter how much she loved him she wouldn't be able to deal with this. She was going to walk out of this room, and never look back. But, she was going to hear the truth first, she deserved it, and no matter how much he had never wanted her to be, she was involved now.
He stood up and walked across the room, he paced rapidly as he ran his fingers through his hair. "I told you why I didn't tell you about Michelle, but I didn't tell you about all the circumstances surrounding her..."
"Don't you think you should tell me about last night first?" she cut him off abruptly.
"No. Last night happened because of her. It will be best to explain her first."
"Fine."
"I met Michelle two days before school started. We were throwing an end of summer party here, and she came to it. I didn't pay much attention to her at first, which I don't think made her very happy. But it was a game that I was playing. I knew that by not paying attention to her, she would want me more. She was a challenge to me. She wasn't as tough to get as she pretended to be. By the end of the night, I'd had too much to drink, and I had her. It was quick, it was over with, and it didn't mean anything, not to me anyway.
"Apparently she thought that it meant more, which I am sorry for. She came by here a couple of times after, but I didn't talk to her. When she confronted me on it, I told her the truth. It was a fling, a one-night stand, nothing more, and it was never going to be more. She didn't take it well, and I can't say that I blame her. I was a jerk, I know it, but I can't take it back. But I wasn't by myself; she was there too.
"Then, a couple of weeks later, you showed up. I saw you before you saw me. Everyone was talking about you, and guys were fluttering around you like moths, but you didn't notice. I didn't know what to make of you. Some said you were stuck up, mainly the girls, but then I noticed you with Kathleen and Danielle, and how open and happy you were with them. The guys said pretty much what guys say. They wanted to sleep with you, they wanted this, or they wanted that. Except, for Mike. He actually told me to stay away from you. To leave you be. For Mike to say something like that... Well it just amazed me, and piqued my curiosity. I had to meet you...."
"Did I become a challenge too?" she asked as her chin lifted defiantly.
He didn't want to tell her this, but she wanted the truth, and he was going to give it to her. "Yes," he admitted. "You weren't a challenge in the same way that Michelle was, but you were a challenge."
"Good to know," she mumbled bitterly.
