13. Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Thirteen

Sage

" W hen you like a message, that means you're agreeing with the person," Liam grumbles from my couch as I let Moon in.

"Hi, friend!" Moon beams at Liam, who ignores him. I bite back a laugh as Moon pulls me in for a hug. When he pulls away, I study his features and I want to guess where he's from but decide to just ask.

"I'm Malaysian and Japanese." He smiles at me when my jaw drops.

"I swear I was going to guess Malaysian!"

His smile widens as he looks into my eyes. "Okay, I'm trying to guess where you're from, but the green eyes are really throwing me off right now." When he turns his head to the other side, I let out a laugh.

"Mom is Haitian, and Dad is Jamaican." I have Dad's green eyes, and besides my twin, we're the only ones in the family with them, so I'm not sure where the gene came from.

Moon nods in thought. "Yeah, I was so off."

We settle on the couch with Liam, and when Moon sits too close to him, he shoves him away.

"Hey! Don't be so rough."

He rolls his eyes at me, so I pinch him for being rude . He looks down at his arm before looking up at me. "Did you just pinch me?"

"Yes, don't be rude."

He lifts his hand, but I see it from a mile away and shoot up from my seat before he can pinch me.

He gets up after me, but I run around the couch, and he stops in front of it. "Don't make me chase you, Sage."

I let out a laugh as I ran around the couch again.

"Come here."

I don't, and he walks after me, but I run to the other side again.

He lets out a breath, and another laugh escapes past my lips.

In one swift move, he hops over my huge freaking couch and grabs me. I let out a squeal as he scoops me into his arm and over his shoulder.

"Oh my God!"

He pinches my butt, and I squirm in his arms with another scream.

"How the heck are you lift-"

"Stop-" He pinches my thigh again, and I try to swat him away. "-asking me how I can pick you up ." He pinches me again, much harder.

"Ouch!"

"Do I look like I can't lift a woman?"

"I never said-"

"You implied it. Stop doing it."

"I only meant that I'm-"

"What? Too heavy? Don't even say it, Sage Loana."

My voice is nowhere to be found at his sharp tone, and I certainly don't say that those were my exact same thoughts.

He tosses me onto the couch, and I shake my head from the dizziness as he flops next to me. He pulls my Dodgers blanket out from under him when he sits on it, and my jaw drops as he tosses it aside.

"You are so rude!" I let out a soft laugh as I pick up the blanket from the coffee table in front of us.

"Don't take offense, Sunshine," Moon voices from my kitchen as he raids my cabinets. "He's a Dodgers hater."

I look back at Liam, and he's watching Moon with his usual glare.

"You hate the Dodgers?"

He nods once.

"Why?"

He turns to me and leans back in his seat. "I'm with the Yankees," he shrugs. "They're one of two teams that usually beat us in the playoffs."

"My brothers also mentioned not liking the Yankees," I hum in thought as Liam watches me blankly. "Have both teams always hated each other?"

He shrugs. "I don't know the entire MLB history."

"Well, maybe not, smarty pants, but do the players genuinely not like each other, or is it a historical rivalry that you guys feed into? Like, if you were traded to the Dodgers, would you feel the same way about the Yankees?"

Moon chimes in. "I think he just doesn't like-"

"Moon." Liam cuts him off before he can finish his sentence. He's glaring at him, and when I glance over at Moon, I see that he looks confused.

"What?" Moon looks between Liam and me. "I was just going to say-"

"Stop talking and stop ransacking her cabinets." Liam rolls his eyes before turning back to me and pulls me onto his lap. "The hatred between the teams doesn't matter." He kisses my cheek.

I kiss his lips before glancing over at Moon. "What were you going to say?"

Moon glances at Liam before shrugging. "I forgot." He looks back at my cabinets. "Can I have some of these marshmallows?"

"Yeah, sure."

He grabs them before walking over to us. "Random, but I thought your full name was Sage Loana this entire time. Am I the only one who gets that?"

"A lot of people assume that, but they catch on to the fact that I'm a Hale." I smile proudly.

"Yeah… that's still shocking." Moon glances over at Liam again.

"Why?" I look down at Liam, but he's just glaring at Moon. "What's wrong with you two?"

"He's just a weirdo," Liam mumbles.

I shake my head at him as I turn back to Moon. "How come it's so shocking? Are you, like, a stalker fan of my brothers?" I tease.

Moon laughs in response. "I just mean it's shocking that I'm friends with you. Your family is so dope." He shrugs sheepishly.

"Aw, that's so sweet. I think you're way cooler than my brothers, though."

"My ass," Moon mumbles, and I break into a laugh before turning to Liam.

"Have you ever met my brothers? Like at games and stuff."

He only nods in response before stealing a kiss.

I pull away, but he steals another one. I let out a soft laugh and put a hand on his chest to push him away. "Stop that," I whisper, but he tries to kiss me again, and when I pull away, he tickles my side. "Alright!" I'm hysterical as I give in and let him have another kiss.

I pull away quickly since Moon is still sitting a few feet away from us. "Okay, that's it." At the reminder of full names, I ask Liam, "What's your middle name?"

"I don't have one."

Hmm. I know a few people who don't have middle names, but that's kind of boring. Maybe his parents thought nothing went well. Or maybe they were just lazy…

"Why are you lying to her?" Moon chimes in.

I let out a soft gasp and look down at Liam, but he only returns it with a bored look.

"Well, are you?"

He rolls his eyes at me and pulls my shirt up just a bit so he can rub my stomach. "You know I'm not."

"I don't know anything ." I put my hands up in defense like I'm being questioned for murder or something, and he shakes his head at me.

"Oh, come on, you know my middle name."

He doesn't respond.

"Just tell me in my ear, and I won't tell anyone."

I lean down to him, but he softly pushes my head away. "You'll scream it from the damn rooftops."

"Ah ha!" I jump off of his lap. "So you do have a middle name!" I point at him accusingly, but he only looks up at me, confused.

"What?"

"You just said I'll scream it from the rooftops, which is an exaggeration if you ask me, but if you didn't have one, I wouldn't be able to scream it anywhere." I cross my arms because I caught him. "Liar."

His bored expression doesn't falter as he pulls me back to his lap. "Don't call me that." He takes my arm and drapes it around his neck, and I smile at how touchy he suddenly is. "I meant if I did have one and told you."

"I'm sorry, but I sense you're lying." I give him a weak shrug. He opens his mouth, but he's interrupted.

"He is," Moon voices.

"Do you know it?"

"Yup." He casually leans back in his seat and I look back at Liam, once again shocked that he really lied.

"He's full of shit." Liam waves Moon off and starts rubbing my arm that's around him. I stare into his soul, but he doesn't pay me any mind. Instead, he leans forward to kiss my cheek a few times.

"Just tell her, man."

Liam lets out a sigh but keeps kissing me, making his way across my jawline.

"I know it's embarrassing, but it's okay."

Liam lets out a bigger sigh, this time as he pulls away. " Leave ."

I turn to Moon and raise my brows, but he only giggles.

"Tell me." I keep my eyes on Moon since the man under me wants to keep his middle name locked up like Fort Knox.

"It's Leslie." Moon laughs before he barely finishes his sentence.

I look between them, and Liam only shakes his head.

"Leslie?! Your middle name is Leslie ?"

"No, it isn't."

I immediately break into a laugh, and Liam does not look an ounce amused.

"Liam Leslie Walker." I laugh again. "It actually has a nice ring to it."

"That's not my name." Liam sounds so defensive, but I can tell it's true.

"Don't lie to me, Liam Leslie." I snort, and he looks bored.

"I won't be answering you if you call me that." He picks up his phone, but this is too good.

"Oh, don't be ashamed of your name, Liam Leslie."

He rolls his eyes and looks over at Moon. "I'm kicking your ass."

Moon and I are a laughing mess, and Liam doesn't pay us an ounce of attention. He starts drawing a few shapes on my thigh before looking up.

"Moon."

"Yeah?" He turns to Liam.

"Leave." When Liam's hand slips into the side of my shirt, I realize why he wants Moon gone, but I give him a knowing look.

"I want him to stay, and either way, you can at least ask him nicely."

"I don't think he knows what that means."

I look over at Moon.

"He's actually never said please or thank you, like ever."

Liam doesn't deny it, and I remember Rob mentioning something similar when he ordered a drink at the coffee shop.

"That's rude."

"Yeah." Moon sends him a stern look but Liam isn't looking at him. "The other day he said he would never beg for anything, not even his life." That sounds like something he'd say but I still glance down at Liam.

"What if someone had a gun to your head?"

"I wouldn't beg."

" Really ?"

He nods once and keeps his eyes down as he rubs his hand up and down my thigh. I let my arm drape around his neck like before and lean in a bit.

"You okay?" I whisper into his ear before I kiss his temple.

He seems… off, but he only nods and keeps his eyes on the ground.

"Are you sure?" I run a hand through his hair.

"I'm fine." His words aren't harsh but numb instead. After a beat, Liam glances up at me. "Want to help me with something?"

I nod eagerly, and he kisses my lips. "I need to pick out a gift for someone."

"Oh, I'm so good with gifts! Who is it for?"

He hesitates before saying, "Someone."

I watch him carefully before nodding with a smirk. "A surprise, I like it."

He shakes his head at me, and I kiss the smirk on his lips.

"If this is your way of trying to figure out what I want for my birthday, I want to make it very clear that I don't accept early gifts because they're bad luck."

"Who told you that?" He watches me suspiciously, but I wave him off.

"They just are." I ruffle his hair as I lean my back against him. "Is the gift for a boy or girl?"

"Girl." He returns to drawing shapes on my thighs, as I think.

"Get her a purse. You can never go wrong with a purse." Am I biased because I love handbags? Yes, but it's true, and they make the best gifts.

"She wouldn't use it," Liam mumbles in response and I hum in thought.

"Well, what does she like to do? Those make the best gifts."

Liam takes a minute to think, rubbing his palm down my leg. "Puzzles."

"Puzzles are great! I saw one that was all white and missing one piece. That'd be a cool gift."

I feel him shaking his head from behind me. "You lied about being good with gifts."

I stifle a laugh as I elbow him. He tickles me in return, but as I squirm in his lap, he stops. "Okay," he grumbles as he holds my hips firmly. "I need you to stop moving so much if you want your friend to stay so damn bad." He keeps his voice low, and I feel my brows furrow but go still when I feel him getting hard through his pants.

I feel a heat come to my face, but when I glance at Moon, he's zoned into whatever show he's watching on my iPad.

"Tell him to leave," Liam mumbles so quietly that I barely hear him over my racing heart.

"Get a custom-made puzzle." I ignore him and swiftly go back to what we were discussing. "You can order it online and submit the picture you want the puzzle to be."

He doesn't respond, and when I turn to look at him, he squeezes my hips. " Sage ," He warns, and I bite back a laugh as I turn back around.

Deciding to put him out of his misery, I get up to sit beside him instead, but as I rise, I instantly need to sit back down when my vision goes completely dark.

"What's wrong?" Liam grabs my hand before turning my face to look at him.

"Nothing." I shake him off, but my vision is still blurring, and my blood is running warm.

"It doesn't look like nothing . Are you dizzy?"

"Just a bit." I try to convince him that I'm okay, but he isn't hearing it.

"You probably just need to eat." He walks to my kitchen, and I, again, try to tell him I'm okay and I'm not hungry, but he completely ignores me as he raids my cabinets.

"Maybe your blood sugar is just low. You need sweets." Moon nonchalantly hands me a marshmallow, but I decline and turn back to Liam.

"Liam, really-"

"Why are you being so weird about this? You looked like you were about to pass out; just eat."

He has his back turned to me, but my eyes still fall to the ground, and I don't say anything else as he makes me a sandwich.

Just eat. He says it as if it were as easy as breathing, and I feel a knot form in the back of my throat because it isn't that easy.

When he hands me the sandwich, I mumble thanks, and since he has his eyes on me, I just take a bite of the damn thing and force it down. After a few minutes and very small bites, Liam gets a phone call and says he has to go. Moon tries to stay, but Liam pulls him up from my couch and drags him out.

I sit back down in front of the huge sandwich and eating with the girls earlier opened my appetite, but considering I barely ate in two days, I'm so hungry it's nauseating. I force myself to take another bite, and it's as if there's something physically blocking me from swallowing because I can't swallow it. I try to force it down with water, and when it finally flows down my throat, it feels like I'm swallowing thick, wet cement, and tears sting the back of my eyes.

I take a deep breath and force myself to take another bite. I know I need to eat this, but every bite feels harder than the last.

"You're being ridiculous, Sage. Just eat it," I whisper before compelling myself to take another bite. I clear my mind of everything, and the mental barrier fades as I swallow. I nod to myself as I take a small sip of water, and I get on my phone to distract myself. I take another bite as I scroll through my feed. Tapping on the 99+ likes and comments, my eyes land on one.

Lucky8797: That color is not flattering on you. Or maybe it's just the dress. No hate, but have you thought of going on a diet?

Everything in my stomach bubbles, and it feels like acid is seeping down my throat as I force another bite. The replies are defending me, but when I see another person agree, the sandwich in my hand sends a wave of disgust through me, and I'm suddenly standing over the garbage as it all comes back up.