right up against me so I could wrap my arm around his shoulders and keep him at my side. “I know, Liam. No doctors.”
“But, honey, we have to.” Mrs. Brenner left her seat and fell to her knees in front of Liam, almost praying to him to be reasonable on this. “Dr. Khory has always been so good to you. He just wants to make sure everything is okay.”
Liam refused to make eye contact with his mother. His gaze was solidly locked on my face.
I nodded and pressed my forehead to his. “I promise.”
“Wyatt, please. You don’t understand.” Mr. Brenner tried to convince me to go against Liam’s wishes but I wasn’t about to give in.
“Not yet.” I rubbed my palm up the back of Liam’s arm, soothing him while making it clear to everyone in the room that I was invested in their son’s health and happiness—and I would do whatever he requested. “Call the doctor and tell him what’s going on. Maybe he’ll have some suggestions on things we can do here…for now. At some point, when he’s ready, maybe Liam will change his mind. But it’s only been a few days. Let’s give it some time before we put him through a battery of tests that probably won’t provide any real answers anyway.”
Avery leaned forward in the chair she was sitting in. “That’s true, Mom. You know they never say anything for sure. It’s always just a bunch of ‘maybes’ and ‘we’ll sees’ from them. If we give it some time, maybe he’ll just fully recover and Liam won’t need to see anyone at all.”
Liam turned to his parents, obviously looking for their reactions.
“I don’t know…” Mrs. Brenner turned to her husband, and they held a silent conversation with just their eyes. “I suppose we can give it some time.”
Liam relaxed in my arms and rested his head on my shoulder.
I considered the consequences of not seeing a doctor and realized there might be something I could do to help. “I’ll start a journal of his progress. Maybe if we log everything from this point forward, that will help the doctors even if they can’t physically see him.”
Mr. Brenner smiled. “I think that’s a good idea, Wyatt. You spend the most direct time with him and you’ve witnessed most of his milestones. We’d be grateful for your help.”
And so my role with Liam had evolved yet again. First I was a companion, then a friend. And though the romantic aspect of our relationship was new, it was a surprising twist on my job. But this additional task was more rewarding than I ever could have imagined.
Not only was I bearing witness to the mental development of a man I was starting to seriously fall for, but I was being paid to document his progress and possibly help aid it.
Nothing could be sweeter.
Eighteen
I was starting to think I’d bitten off more than I could chew.
My time with Liam was becoming stressful and a chore. Not because of anything he was doing. He was perfect. Smiling, laughing, and yes, speaking. Not more than a few words at a time, and not on demand, but it was amazing and beautiful and the best gift I could have ever received.
But having to write down every new word or gesture or expression was exhausting.
Even our private times weren’t private anymore because it was during those make-out-turned-masturbation sessions that Liam was usually the most talkative. I didn’t want to miss any important detail his doctors might need, so I often found it hard to truly enjoy myself because I was so distracted by keeping track of what he was doing.
And Liam was starting to notice too.
There were times when I felt like he was purposely holding back. Not wanting to do or say anything that might require me to grab my journal. Admittedly, I was grateful for those moments when we just sat and watched a movie in my bed, quietly cuddled up together. It was like the early days of our relationship when we just chilled in silence and enjoyed each other’s company.
But even when we were relaxed, I was always trying to draw him out. Anyone else would have recognized my thinly veiled efforts to bring the true Liam to the surface. Starting with my strategic movie selections. My goal with our cuddle time was to not only introduce Liam to pop culture references that he’d missed by not hanging out with friends through his teen years, but also to present