Chapter 23

Liam cameinto the kitchen with a look of shock on his face. “Is that Annie throwing up?” I asked, pointing at the ceiling.

“Uh, yeah. I didn’t think you were home.”

I eyed him suspiciously. There was something he wasn’t telling me. “I’ve got a meeting in London next week, so I thought I’d come home early and sort out some things from home. Why? What’s going on?”

“Oh. Nothing.”

I had been able to tell when Liam was lying for a long time. This was one of those times. He wasn’t making eye contact as he moved around me and put the kettle on.

I raised an eyebrow and looked at him. “Liam, what is it?”

He sighed and leaned against the counter as the kettle boiled. “It’s not my thing to tell you.”

Panic filled me. “Is something wrong with Annie?”

Liam gave me a look that confirmed it but also told me he wasn’t willing to tell me more.

“Is she okay? Should I go up?”

Liam shook his head. “No! Don’t do that, it’s something she needs to deal with first, I think.”

“Liam, you’re worrying me.”

His shoulders sagged. “Look, she’s just found out she’s pregnant, but I didn’t tell you that. She’d never forgive me.”

I wanted to reply in a sensible way, but I couldn’t. “What? Jesus, that bloody Declan, I assume? Well, that’s going to be a hell of a lot for her to deal with without anything else, that makes this more difficult with us, doesn’t it?”

“Difficult with us?” Annie commented behind me, looking from me to Rich and back to me again. Time started to slow, and I was paralysed and powerless to stop what was about to happen. Rich’s eyes met mine, and his mouth opened. I knew what he was about to say before he said it. I stared at Annie and waited for her to explode.

“You and Liam?” Annie scoffs. “Dad, be real. Like Liam would ever look twice at...” Her words disappeared the second she looked at me. “No.” She begged me to tell her it wasn’t true with her eyes. I looked away. My friend—my best friend—knew me so well that everything I did would give me away. “No!” She shouted this time, so forcefully it made me jump.

“You’ve been fucking my best friend? Is that what you’re trying to tell me right now?”

“I should have told you sooner,” Rich confirmed.

“No... No fucking way. You’re disgusting, both of you. I can’t deal with this shit.” Annie ran down the last few stairs, grabbed her coat, and was out the door before anything else could be said.

“Annie!” Rich called to her as the door slammed behind her.

He looked at me, and the shock, the emotion, the guilt, the uncertainty of it all poured out, and I started to pace the floor. Rich came to me and wrapped his arms around me.

“Relax. We will sort it.”

“What about Annie?” I asked.

“She’ll come around, Liam. She loves you too much to fall out with you for too long, and she loves me and will eventually forgive me. It’s fine.” I knew the first part of my statement was true. I just hoped the last part would come to fruition. I didn’t want to gain a boyfriend by forsaking my best friend.