Page 2 of Landing Liam

As they leave, I exhale, letting the mask slip a little. There’s a place I need to be, a spot where I don’t have to be the strong son, the invincible athlete. Just me—alone with everything I’m too afraid to say out loud.

The drive through the winding streets of my hometown feels like a loop I can’t break out of. Every turn, every familiar landmark whispers that no matter how far you go, some places never truly let you leave. They just tug you back, right to where you started.

I pull up to my cousin Izzy’s sprawling white mansion, perched on a hill overlooking the valley. A few years ago, Iz married a tech billionaire, and now she’s raising their kids and running part of his empire. Out here, her life looks like something off a magazine cover, but Izzy’s always been more than that to me. She’s the one person who keeps me grounded, who doesn’t care about my fame, my bank account, or my occasional lack of a filter. It’s a family curse—second-born sons like me are genetically inclined to say the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time.

“Pass me those potatoes?” Iz asks, motioning with her elbow while balancing a squirming toddler on her hip. Another kid clings to her leg, his big eyes trained on me. “Dinner’s not going to make itself.”

I raise a brow. “You don’t have a chef or a nanny or something? I know you can afford it.”

Iz rolls her eyes. “I can do it all,” she says with a laugh that tells me she knows it’s a lie. “Now hand me that potato peeler.”

“Here, let me,” I say, grabbing a potato and getting to work.

She glances over, her eyes sharper than I’d like. “What’s going on?”

“Got my official diagnosis today.” My voice catches, and I swallow down the tightness.

Her eyes soften. “And?”

“MS.” The word feels foreign, like it belongs to someone else.

“Multiple sclerosis,” she says barely above a whisper. “Liam, I’m so sorry.”

I shrug, attempting a smile. “I’m fine.”

“Of course you are.” She nods, playing along. “You’re Liam. You’re always fine.”

But we both know that’s just a story I’ve been telling myself, one that’s getting harder to believe. Snowboarding was the one thing that was mine, the thing that set me apart. Taylor, my perfect older brother, has always been Mom’s pride, and Mia’s taken over the family business and added a grandchild to the mix, giving her even more reason to celebrate. Emmy, my little sister and the artist, has Dad’s talent and shares weekends with him behind a camera. And me? I’m just the snowboarder—now the snowboarder with a diagnosis and a career dangling off the edge.

“You staying for dinner?” Iz asks, offering me a small, sympathetic smile.

I shake my head. “I’ve got somewhere to be.” The lie slips out effortlessly.

“If you need anything…” She pauses, swallowing back her own emotion. “Just remember, we Thompsons stick together.”

I chuckle softly. “Yeah, Mom’s mentioned that once or twice.”

She tilts her head, giving me one of her classic pep talks. “I know you think snowboarding is all you have, but you’re more than that. You’re funny, you’re smart, you’re strong. You can do anything you set your mind to.”

“Anything my body lets me do,” I correct, half smiling.

“Snowboarding’s been incredible for you,” she says. “Even if this is the end, you’ve had a hell of a run, Liam.”

I raise an eyebrow, smirking. “Now you’re using puns?”

“I couldn’t help it,” she laughs, nudging me with her shoulder.

I glance down, setting the potato peeler aside. “It just feels unfair, you know? I’ve spent years taking care of myself—early mornings, clean eating, training, and enough sleep to make a grandma proud.”

Iz laughs, cutting me off. “Yeah, except for those bar nights.”

“That doesn’t count,” I protest, raising an eyebrow. “I was there for… other reasons.” I glance at her son clinging to her leg, careful with my words.

“Women,” she snorts. “You were there for the women.”

I give a rueful chuckle. “It’s been a while since I went looking for something to take the edge off.”

“Maybe you’re done with flings and one-nighters.”