Chapter Twenty-Eight Liam

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Liam

Three Years Ago

This whole night felt like a mistake. Sneaking out to the Malibu Hills while his parents were out, dragging Noah along so he wouldn't get caught…It was risky, out of character. But breathing some fresh ocean air was nice, and so was talking to people who weren't his mum, dad, or cat. And he'd gotten to meet his classmates properly in person. Before, he'd known only Willa, and only kind of, but everyone else seemed cool.

This might be the night they would all look back on years later as the start of something. Or maybe it would be the night he'd lose his twelve-year-old cousin and his parents would murder him.

It could go either way.

Liam craned his head over the crowd, searching for anyone of unusually short stature, but he didn't spot Noah anywhere on the patio.

"You should be drinking." Declan appeared with craft beer in hand, one proffered pointedly in Liam's direction.

Liam would have loved to, but his senses were clouded enough from the whiskey shot a bit ago. He needed to keep a clear head. Where is Noah?

"No thanks, Prime, " Liam said, projecting what he hoped was a chillness about it. Places like Warner Prep, this party, were all about appearance. Liam had been to enough industry parties with his mum to know that.

Declan surprised him with an easy grin. "No problem, bro." He shoved the extra beer into the pocket of his shorts. Then he turned gloomy. "It's kind of a bummer, right?"

He indicated the half-full patio and the decidedly low-key vibe of the crowd.

"Not as many people showed up as I hoped. None of the good people, at least. No offense."

"None taken," Liam said, suppressing a laugh.

"I mean, like, celebrities and older people," Declan clarified. "This was supposed to be a proper Swaghouse blowout. But my housemates bailed for some other TikTok party in Hollywood at the last minute." He worried his lower lip. "If this pilot doesn't go…"

But before Liam could even guess at the rest of that sentence, Declan rebounded, a chipper dude-bro shellac overtaking his features.

"You enjoying yourself, though? Meet any girls?"

Liam's cheeks went hot, and without thinking, his eyes flitted over to the dance floor. Declan followed his sight line.

"Technically that's my girlfriend," he said with a shallow bark of a laugh. "For now, at least."

Sour panic rose in Liam's throat. "Sorry," he was quick to say, but Declan waved him off. It was only then that Liam caught up to Declan's aside. "Are you breaking up with her?"

"Pretty sure she's going to break up with me," Declan said knowingly. "There was this whole unfortunate incident over Christmas with a gag gift. Filmed it for my family's vlog channel—got over two million views!—but Del took heat from some online bullies. Gave her an unfortunate nickname. She's been prickly ever since."

"What did you do?"

Declan cast him a serious side-eye. "Technically it was the trolls." Then he turned contrite, almost sheepish. "I gave her an adult-themed present. My dad said it would be hilarious. Gotta get that AdSense, right? She didn't find it very funny." He took a contemplative pause. "It was a mistake."

No kidding, Liam thought but didn't dare say aloud. And speaking of mistakes…"I can't find my cousin," Liam said, remembering what he'd been doing before Declan walked up.

Declan did his own scan of the patio, then nodded toward the house. "He's probably inside."

"I already checked. Sorry again for bringing him. I know it's annoying."

"It's cool. I'll help you look for him. There's a lot of rooms you could've missed—and there are a few places I'd rather he not get into, if you know what I mean."

Liam could only guess and was sure he didn't want to know, but he was glad for the help nonetheless. They'd not taken five steps back into the house when Delaney appeared in their path. "Perfect timing! Eden sent me to fetch you."

Delaney in person had a magnetic pull that was hard to explain. Not just her beauty, but a vibe. A razor-sharp sureness. They followed her back to where the night had started, but found the kitchen empty.

"What did Eden want?" Declan asked, and Delaney bit back quickly, "I don't know. She just said to get everyone in here."

"Because Eden always comes in clutch," came a singsong voice behind them. Eden went from complimenting herself in the third person to sliding a large silver tray full of plastic cocktail glasses and a tall brown liquor bottle onto the kitchen island. Liam recognized the name on the label. It was super-expensive whiskey from Scotland. Wyatt trailed in behind her, and soon Willa and Cam came in from the patio.

"Hey, before we do whatever this is, has anyone seen Liam's cousin?" Declan turned to Liam. "Noah, was it?"

"Ohhh," Wyatt said with a gulp. "He was bored, so I sent him upstairs to play your PS4."

"You what ?" Declan exploded. "Oh god, what if he erases my game data—"

He took off, and a moment later they heard his feet slapping up the front staircase. Liam rushed after, but at the top of the stairs he was confronted by a sea of closed doors and no clue which room Declan had disappeared into. He listened for muffled shouts, anything. Either Declan was impressively measured, or the room he was in was soundproofed. Finally, a moment later, a door at the end of the hall whipped open. Declan marched out, a cowed Noah in tow, and a surprise guest—Piper Giambruno, of all people. They filed back to the kitchen.

"Did he do anything? What did you do?" Liam fired questions at both Declan and Noah, while Eden sneered at Piper. "You're still here?"

"Unfortunately." Piper's voice was infused with nonchalance, but her eyes darted between the group and the doors as though searching for the nearest exit.

Noah rolled his eyes at his cousin. "I was fine. Piper and I were just playing Call of Duty. Lay off me."

Liam looked up at Piper, who nodded, confirming the story. "Why did you even go upstairs?" Liam pressed.

"My phone died. Plus, this party sucks," Noah huffed.

"Here, you can use mine." Willa came to the rescue, phone in hand. She unlocked it, even tapped into the YouTube app and pulled up a video. Gratitude washed through Liam. Willa was really something special.

"I was thinking about this for your science fair experiment," she continued. "Why don't you check it out, and we'll chat about it on Monday?"

"Yeah, all right." Noah took the phone greedily.

"I don't want him getting into anyone's stuff," Declan said, low and away from Noah so he couldn't hear. Noah was engrossed in the YouTube video anyway.

"I'll watch him," Piper interjected hastily. "Nothing better to do," she added. "Come on, Noah. We can go sit out front. It'll be quieter anyway." She was already leading him by the hand, clearly eager to get away.

"Ugh, good riddance!" groaned Eden once they were gone. "No offense, Liam."

"None taken, but I should probably go wait with them. Noah has found enough trouble on his own for one night," Liam said.

"They'll be fine. And you don't wanna miss this, do you?" Eden waved the liquor bottle in front of him. "At least stay for the toast. To new friends?" Her eyes sparkled with either mischief or inebriation. It was hard to tell.

"I'm good," Liam said, "but okay, I'll stay for the toast at least." Eden had already distributed the glasses to everyone else, taking Liam's agreement as a given.

"I told you I'm not drinking." Camille shoved her cup back.

"Come onnnnn," Eden whined. "It's only one drink! And this shit's really fancy. Just have a little bit. Your coach will never knowwwww."

Eden's cajoling worked. They crowded around the kitchen island, everyone with glass in hand but for Liam, who clutched his soda can in solidarity. Even though he wasn't participating, Liam felt a thrill thrum through him as Eden cued them.

"On your mark…"

Everyone lifted their drinks.

"Get set…"

Glasses poised to lips.

"Go!"

And they drank.