Chapter 5

CHAPTERFIVE

Liv

I take a deep breath, the scent of fresh soap and peppermint filling my nostrils, and a smile spreads across my face. River. I snuggle into his hard chest, feeling warm and content. My nose is slightly squished, but I don’t mind. My right hand is on his hip, my fingers just under his shirt, but I let them wander up his back, tracing light patterns. I hear him groan, so I scratch him lightly with my nails, trailing my fingertips from his back to his abs. His six-pack is impressive, and I can’t resist running my hand over it. As I move, my arm brushes against his erection in his sweatpants, and I feel it twitch.

“Liv,” he whispers. “Are you awake, beautiful?”

“Mm-hm,” I hum, trailing my hand farther down, but he grabs my wrist gently and leans back so he can look me in my eyes. He looks disheveled, his normally styled hair ruffled, making him look so much like his brother. He lets go of my wrist and cups my cheek, stroking it.

“How are you feeling? Did you sleep okay?” he asks.

I nod and look around, taking in my surroundings. I realize I’m in a room I don’t know, but a quick glance makes it clear that it’s River’s. There’s a big desk with three monitors on it, a TV mounted on the wall across from the bed, with multiple game consoles attached to it, and beside the bed sits a beanbag. Still, his whole room is tidy and clean and just as big as Ryder’s.

“I don’t remember coming in here,” I say, and he chuckles.

“You fell asleep in my arms, and we couldn’t get you to let go of me, so I improvised.”

I blush as the memories flood back and cover my face with my hands. I had a fucking breakdown, and River was my victim.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to break down on you like that, I just—” I start, but he interrupts me with a gentle shushing sound and takes my hands away from my face before planting a soft kiss on my nose.

“It’s okay. I hate that you’re hurting so much, but I’m glad I could be there for you. I know you’re strong and capable, but I’m here to give you a break if you need someone else to be your strength for a while.”

His words are so comforting that I feel my eyes tear up again, but this time, it’s out of gratitude. I lean into him and wrap my arms around his neck, feeling safe and loved in his embrace.

“I missed you so much. I thought I would never see you again,” I whisper, and he squeezes me tightly.

“Weeks, months, years—it doesn’t matter. I would have found you, Liv. I’m not gonna let you disappear from my life. I just got you.” His words comfort me, and I relax a bit.

We stay like that for a while, just holding each other and enjoying the moment. Finally, he pulls away and looks at me with a smile.

“Come on. You can go have a shower, and I’ll let Jaxon know you’re awake so he can do his magic.” My belly growls, and he laughs. “Let’s go before you starve. You slept through the night and nearly a whole day.”

I look at him in shock, now feeling my bladder too.

“I needed a break too, don’t worry,” he says, and I get up and let him guide me out of his room.

* * *

As the hot water trickles down my body, I let out a deep sigh. The past few days have been a nightmare, but I’ve come to the realization that I overreacted. Yes, Liam found out where I am and wrote me a terrifying letter, but he’s still locked up and unable to do anything about it. He can only terrorize me with his words, something he has done before when I was back home. Not opening the letters helped, even though it was always a hit to my progress when one arrived, but I can handle letters. I refuse to throw away my new life, my friends, and the guys just because of that. Stepping out of the shower, I wrap myself in the plush towel that River laid out for me. I’ve already used a spare toothbrush and Chase’s hair products, which are way better than mine. I need to know where he shops.

I put my damp hair in a high ponytail and dress in the boxer shorts, sweatpants, and T-shirt River brought in earlier. I think they’re Chase’s, since he’s the smallest of them, but they’re still way too big on me. I tie the strings of the sweatpants tightly, trying to keep them from falling down. As I look in the mirror, I can’t help but notice how ridiculous I look in the oversized clothes, but at least they’re comfortable. I wish I had some lotion or oil for my skin, but I’ll have to make do without it. How do guys manage to have such nice skin without using moisturizer?

Focusing on getting through the rest of the day without any more breakdowns, I take a deep breath and head out of the bathroom, ready to face whatever comes my way.

I make my way to the living room, where the guys are all seated on the couch and watching a show on TV, but they stand when I come in. Jaxon comes over to me and pulls me into an embrace.

“I hope you like scrambled egg breakfast burritos for dinner,” he whispers in my ear, and a weight falls from my shoulders. I thought he was going to demand answers from me.

“I know I’ll love them since you made them,” I say, and he kisses me quickly before letting go and heading to the kitchen.

I take a quick look at the clock on the wall and find it’s already seven pm. Chase pulls me in next and cups my head in both his hands, his eyes hooded.

“I so like you in my stuff, gorgeous,” he says before lowering his head and kissing me gently.

It’s a good kiss, and butterflies erupt in my stomach as I realize he’s never kissed me like this before. Chase is a great kisser and lover. We did kiss during sex, but never just like a simple kiss. As much as I want to push away the thought, the truth is that practice makes perfect, and he’s had a lot of practice.

I shake my head, trying to clear my thoughts, and smile at him.

“Thanks for the clothes, Chase. They’re comfy,” I say, trying to stay on topic.

He grins at me, obviously pleased with himself, and heads to the kitchen to help Jaxon.

“Twin sandwich!” Ryder shouts before I get squished from the front and the back, though River is noticeably gentler in his squishing from behind me. I laugh.

“I missed you, baby,” Ryder says, then pulls me in for a passionate kiss that leaves me feeling a bit dizzy. River, meanwhile, moves my hair to the side so he has free access to my neck and starts to kiss me there, sending shivers down my spine. I gently push Ryder away, feeling way too horny for the setting.

“Guys…” I say breathlessly.

Ryder chuckles as Jaxon and Chase enter the room with plates of food.

“To be continued,” he whispers in my ear, and I can feel my cheeks flush with heat.

We all sit on the couch, and Jaxon hands me a plate with a burrito on it. I’m famished, so I take a big bite and hear them chuckling as I stuff my face. I don’t even look up and just flip them off.

“That was so good. Is there more?” I ask Jaxon after I’ve demolished my burrito.

“Sure, I’ll get you more,” he replies, blinking at me, then he stands up with my plate in his hands. When he comes back, they all watch as I eat the second one a bit slower.

“What?” I ask around a mouthful.

“Did you eat anything in the last three days?” Jaxon asks me, and I look to the ground.

“I had some coffee and a cookie from a gas station,” I reply with a shrug.

“Liv,” he nearly growls.

“Drop it, please,” I whisper, which he does, but I feel him fuming beside me.

I finish my food and set the plate down, all of them still watching me. Jaxon sits on my left side and pulls my arm over his lap, tracing the scar on my forearm with his finger. His touch is gentle, but I can’t help but twitch anyway. He looks up at me, the question written all over his face. Can I talk about it? They deserve to know. I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself.

“He cut me while I was fighting to get my phone back from him,” I explain, stretching my arm out so the others can see better.

Chase is sitting on my other side, but River and Ryder stand up to come kneel in front of me. River pulls my wrist towards him, inspecting the scar.

“He also got me here,” I say, pulling back the collar of the oversized T-shirt to reveal the scar on my left shoulder. Jaxon bends over and reaches for the collar, stretching it out a bit more to get a better look.

“Motherfucker,” he mutters, and I nod in agreement.

“What happened, Liv? We saw an article about the trial, but we don’t know the details,” Chase asks, rubbing my knee.

“You don’t have to tell us anything if you’re not ready, beautiful,” River tells me after shooting Chase a glare, but I give him a grateful smile.

“I know I don’t have to, but I want to. I want you guys to know me, all of me,” I reply.

Jaxon nods and squeezes my shoulder, so I start.

“Liam and I grew up together. Our parents were best friends, and his family lived just next door. We did everything together—went to the same school, same classes, and got into dancing at the same time. He was my only friend, my best friend. I’d had a crush on him since I was like twelve, and everybody always said we were made for each other. When we were sixteen, Liam finally confessed his feelings for me, and we got together. We were in love.”

I look up from my hands in my lap and see Jaxon’s jaw ticking, so I look back down.

“We both loved dance, and we were good, so our dance teacher thought it would be a good idea for us to audition for Canada’s Biggest Talents.”

“We saw the finale on YouTube,” Chase says. “You guys won.”

“Yes, we did,” I reply, nodding. “We took off from there. Liam was good with the media. He was Canada’s golden child, and I was the pretty little accessory on his arm. Since I’m not good with people or crowds, I let Liam do all the talking and was just there, smiling at the cameras. We started a YouTube channel, built a community for ourselves, and performed all over Canada. We won some competitions, and everything was great. It was a hard lifestyle, but I loved it, and Liam was good to me…until he wasn’t anymore.”

Chase and the others listen attentively as I continue. “It started with little things, like him being more controlling over my social media and what I wore or ate, until he controlled my whole day. Then it escalated quickly, and he became physically abusive. At first, he would just grab me or push me, but then it turned into hitting me. He would always apologize afterward and say he was stressed or had a lot on his mind. I believed him and forgave him, but it just kept happening. When it just got worse, I wanted to leave him, but I was too scared of what he could do to me or my career. He had everyone wrapped around his finger, and nobody would take my side or even believe me. I didn’t know what I would do if I couldn’t dance anymore. At that time, we were already considered celebrities, and I just knew that if we parted ways, it would make waves,” I say, my voice shaking with emotion, so I take a deep breath before continuing.

“The final straw was when he pushed my little brother during a fight. Theodore heard him yelling and came in to protect me, realizing that Liam was hurting me. I knew then that I had to leave him. Hurting my family was over the line. I told him that we were over, and he left, telling me I would regret it,” I say, my voice breaking as tears stream down my face.

“The same evening, he came over to our house and he…he…” I start to sob, so Jaxon scoops me up to sit in his lap, straddling him.

“We’ve got you, Liv. You’re safe,” he says, stroking my head.

I feel more hands rubbing my arms and my thighs, so I relax in Jaxon’s hold. He’s right—they’ve got me, and I’m safe.

I turn my head in his embrace and lean against his shoulder, needing his strength to tell them the end of the story. He holds me tight while I start again.

“Our house had three floors, and I was just going down to the kitchen to get something to drink when I heard a muffled scream. When I hurried to check, I found Liam standing over the bodies of my parents with a knife in his hand. They were already dead, lying in their blood. I ran back up to get my phone but remembered Theodore was in his room, so I went to him, and we hid in his closet. Only Liam found us and brought us up to my room on the third floor. He was frantic, telling me that we needed to leave and that we would build a life together somewhere else. He said they were all against us and wanted to break us up. He was waving the knife around and swung it in Theodore’s direction, stabbing him in the chest,” I recount through sobs.

Jaxon wraps his arms around me tighter and plants a soft kiss on the top of my head.

“He didn’t mean to hurt him, but when I wanted to call for an ambulance, Liam refused to let me or help him. Theodore bled out in my lap. It all happened so fast.” Tears are now streaming down my face.

“After that, he told me we needed to leave and that I would get over everything. I refused to let him take me, so I tried to get to my phone, but he was faster. We struggled for it, and he cut my shoulder and forearm in the process. He went to get some bandages to patch me up so we could leave for wherever he wanted to take me, but I’d rather die than go with him, so I jumped out of my window.”

I feel Jaxon inhale sharply as I continue with my story.

“The jump didn’t kill me, obviously, it just shattered my knee and caused some other minor injuries. Our neighbor saw me jump and called the police and ambulance. I needed three surgeries and physical therapy to walk again. Liam’s trial was sped up because of his father’s connections. The Harris family is old money, and they own half of the health institutes in Canada, including the hospital my father worked at as chief of cardiology and the facility Liam is locked up in.”

“How could they do that?” River asks, his voice laced with disbelief. “Locking him up in a facility his dad owns? How is that fair treatment for his offenses? And how did he even get away with pleading insanity?”

“You guys have no idea what money can do,” I reply, letting out a bitter laugh. “I witnessed a few times how Mr. Harris made Liam’s life easier by dropping their name and throwing around some money. It’s all just rich privilege.

“After what happened, I was left alone in the big house. I started trauma therapy, which I’m still doing online, and just tried to survive, but the media was relentless. There were people in front of my house all the time, journalists and fans of Liam, telling me I destroyed his life and career and that I should be the one locked up. It got so bad that I couldn’t leave the house anymore without being harassed, even months after everything happened. On top of that, Liam wrote me a letter at least once a week, and his parents called and knocked on my door regularly. I couldn’t handle it anymore. One day, while I was at my therapist’s office, someone sliced my tires, smashed my windows, and spray-painted a message on my car, telling me I should go kill myself. That’s when I decided I’d had enough and needed to disappear.”

Jaxon is shaking, and I can see the rage building in his eyes. I turn my head to look at River and Ryder. Ryder is furrowing his brows and playing with his lip ring, while River’s eyes have a glassy sheen. Chase hooks his pinky finger with mine.

“You did the right thing, Liv,” he tells me gently. “You needed to get out of there.”

I nod. “I knew I wouldn’t have survived that hell any longer, but now it seems he’s found me, and it’s all going to repeat itself,” I say, my voice breaking.

“It won’t,” Jaxon says, his voice firm. “You’re not alone anymore. We’ll keep you safe and figure out how he found you. You’re not going out in public alone until we know how dangerous this situation really is. We don’t know if it’s just a letter to spook you, or if he has someone near you who could hurt you.”

“I don’t think he would want to hurt me. In his strange view, he did all of this because he loves me,” I say.

“That’s not love,” River says.

“It’s not, but he doesn’t get that.”

Jaxon nods his head in agreement. “We will figure this out together. You don’t have to go through this alone, Liv. We’re here for you.”

“We’ll make sure he can never hurt you again,” Ryder says, reaching out and squeezing my foot.

I give them a small smile, relief washing over me. For the first time in a long time, I don’t feel completely alone and helpless. They know everything now, and they’re still here.

“Thank you, guys. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

Chase pulls me from Jaxon into his own lap and gives me a tight hug.

“You don’t have to know,” he whispers in my ear. “We’ll always be here for you, no matter what.”

For the first time since Liam ruined my life, I feel like I might have a chance at not just surviving, but living.