Page 105 of The Design of Goodbye
I closed my eyes and tried to fall asleep.
“Hey,” I whispered. “Liam?”
I’d really tried to fall asleep, but every time I closed my eyes, I saw Liam get hit, heard his head smashing on the tile floor...
A sigh. “That was only three—”
“Can you come up here?” He felt miles away. “I need you closer.”
Silence. And then a nervous, “Are you sure?”
“Hurry up.” My bed dipped. “Getunderthe covers.”
Cold air hit my legs as he pulled the comforter over himself. But even with him in my bed, it wasn’t enough.
“Closer.” In the dark, I found his arm. I draped it over my waist, so we were curled against each other.
He found my hand and traced his index finger on my wrist. “What are you drawing?” I asked.
“A bird.”
“What kind?”
He readjusted his head on my pillow, so when he answered, his warm breath tickled the back of my neck. “A blue jay.”
“Will you keep drawing until I fall asleep?”
A soft, drowsy “Yes” was his answer.
And that’s how I fell asleep: his soft touch and warm breath against my neck.
chapter thirty-six
When I woke up, Liam was no longer curled next to me. I rolled over to find him sprawled on his stomach and Thimble sleeping near his feet.
I couldn’t believe I’d asked him to sleep in my bed. What had I been thinking? I was surprised he hadn’t gone back to the floor. But he’d stayed. That had to mean something, right?
Maybe he did like me.
My happiness over this possibility didn’t last long because I caught sight of his lower back. His shirt had lifted up during sleep, exposing yellow-and-blue discolored skin. I shuddered and covered him with my comforter.
I’d made a terrible mistake, hadn’t I?
I suddenly felt sick. I remembered when I’d started middle school and my dad had given me some rudimentary advice: tell an adult if someone was getting hurt. It’d seemed simple then.
But life was different now.
I wasn’t that innocent, naïve, little girl anymore. I was on the cusp of adulthood; I wasalmostthe adult. I was given the freedom to make my own choices because, according to my dad, I had to learn and grow from them at some point. But now? I wished I was little again so my dad could make the tough choices for me. Because I was pretty sure I’d made the worst one of my life.
My phone buzzed. A message from my dad lit up the screen.
Please call me.
He didn’t know Liam was hereandin my bed, did he?
Last night, I’d snuck Liam through my bedroom window. Liam had gone to bed at nine. We’d barely made any noise. But my dad always said he knew everything, so did he know this? Was he going to ground me for life?
It’s an emergency.
