Page 58 of The Design of Goodbye
I tried to figure out the right words to explain something I didn’t understand myself but couldn’t.
“Shouldn’t we be working instead of talking about this?” I asked.
“You brought Liam to your job. The only time you’ve ever mentioned Liam was the day before he was going to start tutoring you,” she said. “What’s up with you two?”
“Nothing.”
“You don’t hang out with your math tutor on Sundays and call it nothing.”
“We had to talk, and I was in a hurry, so he came with me.” I shrugged. “That’s all.”
She raised her eyebrows.
“Look,” I continued, struggling to figure out how to explain Liam. Friend was the only word that came to me, even if it didn’t feel right. Why? Because of those persistent butterflies. “I think we’remaybefriends. I like hanging out with him. He’s cool.”
“He’s cool?” She laughed. “I’m glad you’remaybefriends. I think he could really use one.”
“What makes you—”
The door opened, and Liam peeked his head out. We both froze.
“Sorry,” he said. “Did I interrupt something?”
“Nope!” I hoped I didn’t look too guilty. “What’s up?”
He held out his cup. “Is the tea supposed to look like this?”
Tea leaves were floating in dark liquid. Taylor took the cup from him, holding back a laugh. “First task of the day: teach Liam how to properly steep tea.”
chapter twenty-one
I held my throbbing hand over the sink. I tried not to panic, but it was impossible. There was so much blood. It coated the sink, my hand, and was even dripping down my wrist.
A knock sounded on the bathroom door, and I jumped. “Madison?”
Liam. Crap.
“Go away!”
“Madison, I—”
“Liam,” I cut off, unable to hide the shakiness in my voice, “you need to wait. I’m busy.”
“Let me in.”
“I’m not—”
“I saw what happened,” he said. “Open the door.”
I unclicked the lock, and he snuck in. He held up a first aid kit, glanced at my finger hovering over the sink, and grimaced.
“Do I need to go to the emergency room? Will I need stitches? Am I going to lose my finger?”
“You’re not going to lose your finger.”
He set the kit on the small table Bev kept loaded with extra supplies and stood behind me. The scent of mint enveloped me, and that, along with the warmth of his chest pressed against my back, calmed me. He was here, and he was going to fix this mess I’d gotten myself into.
He lowered his hand near mine. “Can I?”
