14. Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fourteen

Liam

" I don't see why I couldn't stay."

I ignore Moon as I type out a message to Capri but pause to steal a glance at him. "Did Sage seem weird?"

"What do you mean?"

"When I asked her to eat after she got dizzy. Did she seem weird?"

He shrugs.

"She hasn't told you anything? You think she's fine?" I study him for a beat.

"She said she was fine." He shrugs again. "I think she just needed some sugar. I get like that sometimes, plus she works a lot. I'm sure she's fine."

I let out a breath before looking at my phone again. I can't shake off the worry from seeing her lose her balance earlier, but at the same time, she did keep saying she was fine…

"Are you worried about her?"

My silence is the only answer he gets.

"I think you like her."

I can hear the smile in his voice. I tell him to stop talking and it only makes him laugh.

"I can't wait to tell Jordan you're in love with Sunshine."

"Shut the hell up, kid." I roll my eyes at him and when Capri replies to my message and tells me my mom isn't too bad, I decide to stop by my house before going to see her.

I slip into my car, and Moon climbs in after me. "Tell Jordan to meet us at my place to pick you up. I don't have time to drop you off at your place." I speed off, and I can see him smiling in the corner of my eye.

"You're willingly taking me to your fancy penthouse?"

I ignore him.

"I could've stayed with Sage."

"I didn't want you to," is all I say, and he's quiet for a few seconds, but I feel him watching me.

"Worried about her and jealous? Yeah, you like her." He laughs to himself, and I shake my head at him.

We're stepping out of my elevator, which leads into my living room, when my eyes land on Jordan, and he's tapping his helmet nervously. The minute he sees me, he pushes off from my couch and crowds us at the entrance frantically.

"You said SOS?" He scans the two of us, and I shake my head at the way Moon abuses that damn code.

"Your guy is in love."

Jordan looks over at him, but before he can respond, my phone starts ringing. My eyes land on Sage's name, and I don't need to look at Moon to know he's smiling when I answer.

"Hello, Liam Leslie." She giggles before her entire sentence is out, and I shake my head at her. I don't answer her because that's not my damn name, but she's still laughing. "Are you there?"

"Yes."

"I—oh. You sound upset. Are you sure everything's okay?"

No, my mom is slowly losing her memory and dying.

I let out a sigh and rub my forehead. This woman cares so much, and it's weird to me, but it unbalances me more that I like it. When she asked me if I was okay earlier, it did something to me. I haven't had someone care about how I felt in a while, and she always cares. From the very first day she met me, she has cared, and I don't know what to do with this feeling that seeps into me every time she asks that question.

"Are you okay?" She was laughing when she answered and now she sounds concerned for me but there's something else in her tone I can't decipher.

She takes a beat to reply before telling me she's fine.

"You sure? Are you still dizzy? Did you finish eating?"

"I'm okay , Liam. Moon left his phone here. I can drop it off since I want to hang out with him. Can you send me his address?"

"I'll pick it up another day."

She's quiet for a few beats, but I wait for her to respond.

"Are you sure he doesn't want his phone today? I know I would, and I don't mind taking it to him. Where is he now?"

I look over at him, and he turns his head in question. This is the least of my worries right now, but to satisfy her, I tell her I'll go back for it.

"Okay, perfect. Are you going to be too busy to stay for a while when you come to get it?"

I'm quiet for a beat as I try to decipher what she wants. "Too busy for what?"

She doesn't answer right away, then: "You know…"

I feel a smirk tugging at my lips, and I slightly cock my head to the side, although she can't see me. "I don't know anything. "

Her laugh fills my ears, and I briefly close my eyes, feeling my stress from Capri's call somehow start to fade. She sounds like she's waiting for me to say something, but when I don't, she says, "Are you really going to make me say it?"

"Yes."

She's quiet, and I don't think she's going to say a thing.

"You can either say it, or I just won't go."

I hear her let out a breath, and she's quiet for another second before she says, "Are you going to be too busy for us to have sex?"

"Not at all, pretty girl." I tell her I'll see her in a bit before I hang up. I hear someone clear their throat, and I almost forgot I wasn't alone. When I look back at the guys, they look like they're waiting for me to tell them something.

"I'm going to pick up your phone from Sage, so–"

"Wait–" Jordan looks between the two of us before settling on Moon. "Sunshine Sage?"

I look over at Moon, and he's watching Jordan with a smile.

"Why would she have your phone?"

Moon doesn't hesitate to tell him how he was at her house, and he sounds a bit too happy to have been in her presence.

Then he gets to the part of me liking her.

"You like her?!" Jordan stares at me as if I have grown another head.

"You two need to-"

"Does she at least have a single clue that her brothers despise you?"

"Wait, she doesn't know? " Moon looks between the two of us. " That's why you were acting so weird?"

"I wasn't acting weird." I keep my glare on him, but he rolls his eyes like he doesn't believe me.

"You straight up lied to her and tried distracting her by sticking your tongue down her throat." He turns his head to the side and sounds like he feels bad for whatever reason.

"I didn't lie. "

"Not telling her is lying, bro. This whole thing is fucked up." He gives me a once-over like he's actually mad at me, and I don't think I've ever seen him upset.

"What's fucked up? I'm not sleeping with her because of who her brothers are. Why do you even care?"

"Because it's fucked up , and I'm not lying to her for your ass." He crosses his arms like the child he is.

"I don't give a shit," I bite out.

"So you don't care if I tell her you and her brothers—"

"Shut up, Moon. I didn't tell her since it's not relevant."

"If it's not relevant, you'll tell her." When I don't respond, he nods once. "Case in point. You're an asshole, and she doesn't deserve that shit." He rolls his eyes and looks off to the side like he can't stand to look at me anymore.

"Shut the fuck up. You're acting like I'm torturing her." I shake my head at him.

Jordan lets out a scoff and I send him a glare. "Do you also have something to say?"

He shrugs. "You don't sleep with women more than once. I agree that this is fucked. I mean, come on, you're really telling me if she wasn't their sister, you would've stuck around for this long? Leave her alone, man."

I would have stuck around this long, but I don't voice another word since I don't have to explain shit to them. Sage is clearly close with her brothers, and if I tell her, I doubt she's going to want to continue this arrangement with me, and sue me, but I don't want it to end yet.

Jordan keeps his eyes on me, then his brows raise. "You really do like her."

"Get out."

"Holy shit! You're falling for her." Jordan looks way too excited.

"I've known her for maybe two months-"

"And you like her." Moon joins in now as he shakes his head at me. "If your feelings are genuine, I won't say anything, but you better tell her."

"Or what, Moon? Don't threaten me. Leave."

They ignore me, and Jordan looks over at Moon now. "What's he like around his girlfriend?"

"She's not–"

"Happy." He sounds confused before he turns to me. "I swear I saw you smile when you chased her around the couch. I have no clue how you're happy around her, considering you're a rainy cloud compared to her."

"I'm not–"

"You smiled ?!" Jordan loses his shit again. "I need to see this! When do I get to hang out with you while you're being all mushy with Sunshine?"

"You don't. I'm not mushy with her. Leave. Now ." At whatever look is on my face, Jordan puts his hand up in mock surrender, and they step into the elevator.

The doors are shutting as Moon says, "You better tell her."

Before I can respond, the doors close on him.

I'm going to tell her… just not today.

I head upstairs to grab something for my mom before heading out.

My helmet yells at me that Capri is calling. I drum my bike to the sound of the ringtone as I drive down the street and let it ring.

When I hear yelling, I glance at the side, and some old hag tells me to hold onto my bike with both hands. I almost flip her off, but my mom's voice rings in my head, so I simply nod and hold my bike before gaining speed and doing a wheelie. I'm ninety percent sure she honks from behind me and I possibly gave her a heart attack, but I couldn't help it.

Capri calls again, so I answer, and her voice fills my ears. "If you aren't going to answer emergency calls, I'll remove you from her emergency contact."

"If you called when there were only emergencies, I'd answer more often." I pull up in front of the house and see Capri's red hair from the window as she paces the hall. "What's wrong?"

"Can you-"

"Yes, I can come in today. I told you I would. I'm standing outside, but tell me what it is before I walk in there."

She turns around, and when I see the concern in her freckled face, I want to turn back around. I almost do, but Capri ends the call and walks outside. I slip my helmet off and stay seated on my bike as she closes the distance between us.

"She got worse…"

I shake my head at the thoughts of the last time I was here as I look over at the house. "Do you not notice how her bad days are becoming frequent when I visit? I don't understand why you want me here. She-"

Capri cuts me off. "It is in no way related to your presence, Liam. Trust me. You usually calm her, but if you just had a bit more patience-"

"Now I need more patience." I let out a scoff as I lift my helmet, but she stops me, and her eyes scream this is exactly what I'm talking about.

I let out a breath before resting my helmet on my lap. When I catch a glance at a figure in the window, I notice it's my mom fighting with someone.

I hate this.

"Tell her to come out here." I keep my gaze on my mom through the window as she backs away from one of the other nurses.

Capri doesn't question me as she goes back in the house, and a few minutes later, my mom walks out in a winter coat, and I don't even question where she got that shit from.

"Excuse me?!" She looks at my bike as if it just spoke and threatened to kill her. I stay seated and fight back a smile. This was her exact reaction the first time I got on a bike in front of her. I was sixteen, and it was my friend's dad's bike since my parents didn't want to buy me one. I learned to ride on his and was riding circles around his ass by the time our lessons were over.

"I got you something." I pull the bag out of my backpack and hold it to her, but she doesn't even glance at it.

"Get your behind off of that thing, little boy!" She storms off the porch, and I bite back my laugh at how she looks. I glance up at Capri, silently asking why the hell she's in this coat, but she only puts her hands up and shakes her head.

When my mom reaches me, she tries to grab my helmet, but I immediately pull it away from her. While I was messing with her two seconds ago, I'm not letting her fuck up my shit. I quickly get off the bike and shove the bag into her hands before she can touch my bike.

"Open it."

She looks between the bike and me, her motherly glare showing. "Whose bike is that?"

I shrug, and she folds her arms. She watches me, but I shrug again and bite back a laugh when she rolls her eyes so damn hard.

"Get your behind in this house, Pri and her friends are pissing me off."

I stifle a laugh as I glance over at Capri, who looks highly offended.

My mom storms off, but before she reaches the door, she turns back to me. "And get rid of the bike! You're not keeping it!"

"Yes, ma'am."

She nods, and when I hear Capri laughing, I step into the house and lock her out. She laughs harder, and with the glass door, she can see me flip her off as clearly as day.

I keep my eyes on my mom as I follow her into the house, and the nurses watch us carefully. When my mom doesn't acknowledge them, they back off.

We settle in the living room, and when she finally opens the bag, all of her anger seems to fade as she hugs Shanti's baby blanket. She doesn't say anything as she stares out the window and rocks herself while she smells the blanket.

Someone lets Capri in, but she doesn't interrupt us, and I stay with my mom for a peaceful two hours, which is our new record.