out of a playboy, for example.”
“Don’t remind me about that. Cupcake has one hell of a swing in that arm.”
“Cupcake?”
“Oh yeah, she hates it when I call her that.” He chuckles, that mischievous glint back in his eyes. “She’s a feisty one, but also savage.”
I stare at him, turning into the private back road that leads up to the house.
“You talk like you’re best friends or something,” I grit out, my chest tight again.
“Bro, she is my girlfriend, besides that, she did visit me very single day at the hospital. She even brought chocolate chip cookies twice.”
He could have bitch slapped me with a banana and I still wouldn’t be as surprised as I am now.
“She did what?” I demand with urgency. I press the button for the underground garage and we start going down.
“Oh shit, I didn’t think you’d go ballistic like this.” Liam suddenly looks weary.
Shit. I look away and try to calm my breathing. After counting from a hundred down to one, I start feeling calm again. We’re parked but neither of us move.
“J, it’s okay to care about her.”
“You never mentioned that this entire week,” I start, my voice low. “Are you now keeping secrets from me with a potential suspect?”
“Listen J,” Liam starts. “The truth is, I didn’t think it was a big deal because I promise you, something happened between her and I that night.”
“What do you mean?” I frown.
“We…shit.” He looks away then runs a hand through his slightly longer hair. “We connected, okay.”
“Explain.”
“It’s pretty hard to explain a connection that’s born in dissing each other.” Liam shakes his head. “But she came to the hospital on Monday, ditching school because she wanted to talk to me about what’s happening. Why would a girl like that do that?”
“Because she doesn’t have friends or maybe she wanted to finish you off.”
“You don’t even believe that and no, she trusts me.”
“Don’t tell me you bought into her fairytale too and trust her right back.”
“You know what, I actually do trust her!” Liam puffs out his chest, then groans in pain. “You should do it too.”
“I’d be shooting myself in the damn foot by trusting her,” I say. Since I’ve net the girl, she’s done nothing but make me distrust everything she does and says.
“Dude, we’ve already established that the recipient of that charming, cleverly placed bomb, was you, not me.” Liam shrugs then moans in pain.
“Take it easy will you.” I grab a bottle of water and pass it to him. “Did they give you a prescription?”
“I refused.” Liam shakes his head, accepting the bottle. “No way am I getting hooked on that shit.”
“Good call.” That eases my mind some, but I know why he did it.
“I know.” Liam says as his phone vibrates with texts, but he ignores them. “So, what’s the plan?”
“Well, it looks like we need to get with Cole and strategize.”
“And Mia.”
“No,” I deny, watching him.
“J, think about it. There’s obviously something there that we’re missing. We need to get to the bottom of whatever connection that asshole has with her.”
I know what he’s saying is right, but—
“Nope, I don’t want to hear your stubbornness right now.” He looks like he wants to knock some sense into me, like I’m the one whose lost my damn mind. “I don’t give a damn whether you agree or not, she matters and she’s central to this shit. Don’t even get me started on the way you look when her name is mentioned.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Yeah, sure. Let’s see how long you’ll keep fighting it.”
And with that, he opens the door, getting out of the car like he’s about to step into a rap music video.
“Grab your own shit, will you. You’re still a high-functioning asshole with a smart mouth, I think you’re capable of carrying your own weight,” I call after him.
“Shit, I’m in so much pain. My back, my neck, damn J, take me back to the hospital quick.”
“Fuck you.”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll get a good, welcome home fuck from my—”
“If you finish that sentence, I’ll knock your teeth out and send you back to the ER, this time with brain damage that you’ll never recover from.”
The shithead has the audacity to throw his head back and start laughing but only for a little bit before he groans in pain. “Shit, I forgot I’m still so fucking tender.”
“Serves you right. Are you dying yet?”
“Not yet, fool.”
“Well damn,” I grumble, as I grab his bags from the back, then