17. Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Seventeen

Sage

I swing my curtains open and smile with my eyes closed as I soak up the sun. When I open my eyes, they land on the Peach sticker on my window, and my smile widens.

"It's morning, everyone! Today's the day, the sun is shining, the tank is clean, and we are getting out of–" I let out a fake gasp, and I notice Liam jump up from his sleep. He looks around frantically before his eyes land on me.

"The tank is clean!" I fake my shock again.

"What the fuck are you talking about right now?" He flops back onto my pillow and covers his face with the blanket.

"You don't know that line from Finding Nemo? " I point at Peach, the starfish, although Liam isn't looking at me anymore. "It's one of my favorite movies."

"The dumb blue fish?"

I let out a laugh and climb back into bed. "That's Dory, not Nemo." I think for a second and turn to the Dory sticker I also have on my window. "And she's not dumb; she has short-term memory loss."

"Okay, Dory."

I turn to Liam and he's shaking his head. "Sage," he corrects himself, and I bite back a smile. "Fuck, what time is it?"

I pick up my phone. "It's almost seven-thirty."

He lets out a very big sigh and covers his head with another pillow. "I'm never staying over again if you wake up this early."

"Well, that's rude. I thought we had fun." I feel a smile creep onto my face as I lean down to him. "My two pump–"

In a quick move, he slams the pillow over my face and keeps it there as he suffocates me!

"Dory—fuck, Sage."

I let out a muffled laugh, and he pushes the pillow onto my face harder, which only makes me laugh harder.

" My brain is barely awake, so I'm going back to sleep, but tonight, you're in trouble."

I feel the bed shift as he flops back down, and when I move the pillow, I see him already falling back to sleep.

"Whatever you say, Liam Leslie."

" Stop calling me that!" He pulls the blanket over his head, and I break into a laugh as I hop out of bed.

As I'm crossing out the days on my calendar, my heart drops.

"Oh no!" I race for my phone and pull up the shelter's page, and when I see there are still a few animals that weren't adopted in time, I grab all of my things to leave. I posted about it when I walked past the shelter and noticed a few animals were going to be put down but, so many people are opposed to cats.

I'm looking for my car keys when I remember it's in the shop. "Dammit!" I try to order a car, but none are available, so I run back to my room. "Liam!" I pull the blanket off of him, but he immediately pulls it back over his face.

"Shut the curtains. You–"

"Liam, please let me borrow your car!"

"Are you insane?"

"Excuse me–"

He pulls the blanket off and looks me dead in the eyes. "I'm not letting you near my car with the way you drive."

I'm offended, but there's no time to argue. "Fine, then please drive me to the animal shelter."

He stares at me for two whole seconds before turning back around.

"Liam! Get up." I pull his arm, but he pulls away from my touch like I just burned him.

"You're going to yank my arm out of its damn socket. Don't fucking pull me."

My hands go up at the way he glares at me. " Sorry. "

He rolls his eyes before sitting up straight.

"Please drive me, Liam. I'd call my brothers, but they–"

"Alright." He stands from the bed, and I somehow just remember he's naked. My eyes slowly scan his body, and every inch of his body is covered in ink. I shake my head, turn on my heels, and rush into the living room to get his clothes. When I make it back to my room, he isn't there, so I hurry into the bathroom.

He's still naked, and I have no clue how he stands there, brushing his teeth with my spare toothbrush in zero shame.

"You're staring."

I blink, and when he wipes his mouth, he has a smile on his face. I study him for a breath, and I feel my shock pass as I try to memorize the way his lips curve.

"You're still staring."

"You have such a pretty smile."

His face is stone cold again just as the words leave my mouth.

"You should smile more."

"I'll think about it."

I shake my head at his bored tone but smile anyway before placing his clothes on the counter. "Please hurry."

"Mhm."

I leave him to get dressed as I pace the living room impatiently. When he walks out, he heads for the kitchen, and I stare at him dumbfounded as he opens my cabinets.

"Why don't you have any real food in here?" He opens another cabinet, and I think I lose my mind.

"LIAM!"

He turns so fast, he's a blur. His eyes widen as he searches me. "Why are you yelling?"

"We have to go!"

"Okay!" He walks out of the kitchen, and I hurry to the door. "Jesus Christ, you're dramatic ."

I tap my foot impatiently as I wave for the door.

"I am not about to run, Sage. Calm–"

"Do not tell me to calm down. They are about to kill three innocent kittens, and you're taking your sweet time like you don't care!" I pull his hand when he's within reach, but he immediately snatches it away.

"What did I tell you about pulling me like that?"

I ignore him as I head for the stairs, and when I turn, he's at the freaking elevator . I open my mouth, but he's already making his way towards me.

"Alright, alright. Don't have a damn stroke."

We race down the steps, and by we, I mean me because Liam complains his legs hurt like a baby. He tells me not to call him that and goes on about his baseball game or practice or something else I don't listen to because all I can think of are those baby cats.

I posted the flyer I saw earlier this week, and most of the animals got adopted, but these three kittens are somehow left. I've been calling everyone I know, but no one can take them.

I jump out of the car the minute Liam slows down, and he yells for me to watch where I'm going when I cross the street without looking. The light isn't for me, but I think the cars slow down as they see me.

I make it to the front desk of the shelter and ring the bell a few times.

"Are you a fucking maniac ?"

I turn at the anger in Liam's voice, and when I realize it's pointed at me, I feel my brows furrow. He makes it to me in a few long strides, and when I take a step back, I hit the desk behind me.

"Do not run across the street like that ever again. That road is–"

"Okay."

"Do not cut me off."

" Okay ."

He lets out a breath, and I turn back around. "Jeez, don't have a stroke."

"Sage, I swear-"

"Excuse me!" I wave down one of the workers just as I see them passing behind the doors. I ring the bell a few more times, and he comes out almost immediately.

"Hi! I saw you guys still have three kittens that need to be adopted. Are they still…" I can't find the right words, but thankfully, he knows what I mean.

"Yes, we still have them. Were you thinking of adopting one of them?"

"Oh, well, I can't, but-" I turn to Liam with a smile, and he's staring at me like he wasn't listening to a word I just said. "-would you-"

"No."

"Oh, okay. How about you let me-"

"No."

"Okay, thank you so much for that!" I give him a tight smile, and if he picks up on my sarcasm, he doesn't let on. "I think you should recons-"

"No."

"Alrighty then!" I turn back to the worker with a smile. "Can you bring them out for us?"

He glances at Liam for no more than a second before he rushes off. When the door closes, I turn on my heels towards Liam, and he's already watching me.

I cross my arms across my chest as I wipe my smile clean. "Why are you being so rude?"

"It stinks in here, and you just ran across that street as if a truck wasn't making its way down the fucking road."

"I—"

"It's still my turn."

My mouth falls shut.

"If you want to run across main roads and play with your life for nasty cats, do so when you're not with me. Police reports take long."

My jaw is ajar, and he just stands there like he'd honestly rather be elsewhere. "Okay, I get you're not a morning person, but you don't have to be so mean." I turn back around. "I can find a ride home since you clearly don't want to help."

He doesn't answer me, but I don't hear him walking away. Either way, I don't care anymore.

I stand there for a few seconds, but I can't help myself, so I turn back to him.

"You know, I can really see those anger issues that got you into trouble with your coach. You should work on it."

He blinks twice before taking a step back. "Find a ride home, Sage," he practically spits out.

"I was already planning on it!" I turn around, but he grabs my arm and turns me back to him just as fast.

"Yell at me again." His eyes bore into my soul, and if he was angry before, he's furious now. I know he just told me to yell but I can no longer find my voice with the way he watches me. "Go ahead."

I swallow slowly, and he doesn't even blink as he watches me.

"You should go to anger management or something."

He pulls in a deep breath, but it looks like he can no longer breathe.

"You're turning red." My voice falls into a whisper, and he takes a few steps away from me.

Before either of us can say anything else, the back door opens again. I turn to find the worker with three baby kittens. I feel my previous annoyance fade as my eyes land on them. He places them on the counter, and I take a step closer but make sure not to touch them.

"They are so perfect." I feel a knot form in my throat but force it down.

The smallest one just lays there like she's falling asleep, and her brothers climb over her. I smile when she yawns and catches the other's tail in her mouth. Her brother turns like he's about to hit her, so I grab him, and he barely misses her small face.

I stroke his white fur, and the bigger one of the three walks over to me, greedy for attention. I pick him up next, and when they purr against my chest, I almost lose it, but I keep my tears at bay.

"Can I pay you to keep them a bit longer?"

The worker watches me carefully but shakes his head no.

"Name any price. Please?"

He looks intrigued now, but before he can tell me how much it's going to cost to let them live, Liam speaks up from behind us.

"How do you know he won't take your money and kill them anyway?"

My eyes widen when I notice the guilty look on his face, but he only lets out a sigh as he shoves his hands in his pocket. "I'm just doing my job."

I want to tell him he has a cruel job, but I keep my thoughts to myself and turn to Liam. He has his eyes on his phone when he speaks before I do. "Do not ask me again, Sage."

I look back down at the cats in my hands and hug them a bit closer.

"You want them so bad, you take them."

"Don't you think I would if I could?"

Liam doesn't even look up from whatever is so important on his phone.

"My complex doesn't allow pets and either way, I'm allergic to cats."

Liam's head snaps up to me now and a weird look crosses his face. "Put them down."

"No." I hold them closer, and Liam takes a step forward, his eyes slightly widened.

"Your face is breaking out, Sage. Put. Them. Down ."

"I'm–" I sneeze, and when I rub my eyes, Liam pulls my hand away.

"Stop touching your face."

I itch my cheek on my shoulder but hold the kittens a bit longer.

"Sage, your eyes are starting to swell. Put those nasty shits down, now !"

When one of the kittens jumps, I take a step away from Liam. "You're scaring them."

"I don't–" He lets out a breath when I turn away from him. The smaller one is still on the counter, and I realize she's not sleeping, but she looks really weak.

"Is this one sick?" I sneeze again as I rub her head.

" You're sick."

I ignore Liam.

"We believe she is, yes."

"Can you just wait one more day before you put them down? I can–"

"I can't."

I can't hold back my tears anymore and I pull all three of them closer as I cry.

"Jesus fucking Christ. You–" Liam cuts himself off and snatches all of them away.

"What–"

"Go wash your hands."

"But–"

"Do you have your medication with you?"

"Yes, but–"

"Take it and go wash your hands." He shoves the kittens back into the arms of the man who's going to kill them. I try to reach for them, but Liam steps in my way. He opens his mouth to say something, but he goes still as he watches me. A few more tears trickle down my cheek, and it's mainly because I'm crying, but my eyes are also watering from my allergies.

"Fuck." Liam turns around and grabs all of the cats.

"What are you doing?"

"I'll take them if you walk out right now and take your damn medicine."

I look up at him from the kittens, and I feel my smile widen. "Really?"

"If you don't wash your hands and face and take your medicine in the next five seconds, they're staying."

I hurry off into the bathroom and get myself together. The cold water feels good on my face, and I drink some when my throat feels scratchy.

When I look into my bag, I realize I actually don't have my eye drops or Benadryl. Oops… There's not much I can do now so I blow my nose a few times and walk back out.

When the door closes behind me, Liam turns with all three kittens in his arms."Did you take your medicine?"

"Mhm." I reach to pet the sick one, but Liam takes a step out of my reach.

"Sage."

I keep my eyes on the kittens.

"Sage, I promise you I will snap their necks in an instant if you're lying to me. Did you take your medicine?"

"You don't have to be so violent."

He turns to the man, and I blurt out the truth. "I'm sorry! I forgot that I switched purses and didn't transfer all of my things."

He lets out an annoyed breath as he watches me, and if looks could kill, I think I'd die faster than these allergies are killing me.

"Jesus Christ, Dory."

I smile up at him, but he doesn't look pleased.

"Let's go." He walks ahead before I can respond, and I follow after him with a smile plastered on my face.

I sneeze three times before we even walk out, and my eyes begin to blur from how watery they get, but it doesn't bother me. Liam opens the back seat and places the cats down as he shakes his head at something.

When he turns to face me, I'm already watching him with a smile. His eyes roam my face, and he shakes his head again. "You look like you can barely see."

"I can see how happy you are to have three new kittens." I turn my head to the side as I look up at him.

"So you can't see." He nods once and opens the passenger door for me. "Get in and don't touch them."

I walk over to him and look up with an even bigger smile. "Thank you for taking them."

"You're a damn headache and a half ." He shakes his head, and he looks very upset, but my smile doesn't falter.

" Thank you," I voice again for the kittens. He doesn't answer me, and his cold expression doesn't falter, but I get on my tippy toes to plant a kiss on his lips. He kisses me back firmly before literally pushing me into his car and slamming the door.

I think he's mad, but I know these kittens won't be put down, so it's worth his anger. I look at myself in the mirror, and my eyes widen at my reflection. I don't feel as bad as I look, but my eyes are almost swollen shut, and I have hives on my cheeks and neck. I turn around to look at the babies, and when one of them yawns, I decide it was definitely worth it.

Liam climbs in, and I hum to the music as he speeds down the street.

"Can you breathe alright?"

"Yeah." I look over at him to find him already watching me, and he looks so disappointed about something.

"You're a headache, you know that?"

"You've mentioned it." When I smile, he rolls his eyes at me and looks back at the road. He ends up putting all the windows down when I don't stop sneezing.

I'm scratching my neck when he turns my face towards him. "Are you sure you can breathe?"

" Yes , Liam."

He looks between my eyes, and I feel myself smiling.

"Aw, are you worried about me?"

His hand drops from my face, and he turns back to the road.

"I'd have to care to worry, and I don't." He sounds bored of the topic at hand, but I don't let his lies get to me. "Police reports are long, remember?"

"Don't lie to me, Liam Les-"

" Stop calling me that, Dory."

I break into a laugh, but I start sneezing again. Liam leans forward for the glove compartment and hands me some tissue.

I thank him before blowing my nose. "Am I Dory now?" I look over at him, and he looks angry about something else.

"You forgot your medication for an allergy that's clearly serious?"

I don't answer him.

"And you forgot you didn't have it with you when you decided to rub those nasty shits all on your face?"

I don't answer him once again, and his anger seems to grow.

"Sounds like something a dumb blue fish would do."

"She's not dumb. She has–"

"Short-term memory loss, yeah. You clearly do, too."

I stifle my laugh and turn away from him so he can't see me smiling at him. We're quiet for the remainder of the drive, and I thought he was taking me home, but then he stops in front of the emergency room.

"Liam, I'm fine–"

He climbs out of the car and is already opening my side.

"Let's go."

I let out a sigh and climb out, but when he walks off, I plant my feet.

"You're forgetting something."

He turns to me and looks around for something. I wave to the back seat, and he doesn't move.

"We can't leave them in there."

"Well, we can't take them in there."

Is he serious right now? I stay put but so does he. When I cross my arms he sighs so loud, I have to bite my tongue not to laugh.

"Fine. Are you capable of going into the hospital alone, or will your short-term memory get you lost?"

I laugh at him, and he doesn't look amused as he walks over to me.

"I have to go do something anyway. I'll see you tonight." He walks over to his side of the car, but I turn back around before going into the emergency room.

"Can I get a picture with them?"

"You can take a picture of them, but you're not going to hold them again."

"Can you hold them?"

He sends me a bored look, and I tilt my head to the side as I smile up at him. "Please?"

"Fine." He caves, and I steal a quick kiss before he grabs them. He holds all of them in his arms and they look even smaller than they are with how big his arms are. I try to get him to smile, but he tells me not to push my luck, so I don't.

"What will you name them?"

"I won't be naming them since I'm not keeping them."

"What?" My head snaps up to him, and he looks serious.

"Go inside, Sage. Your breakout is getting worse."

I'm also starting to feel worse, so I decide to argue with him about this later and get a few more pictures.

" Enough . Go inside before I–"

"Okay, stop threatening them."

He puts them in the back seat again before shutting the door.

"Thank you again." I smile up at him before planting a kiss on his lips.

"Go." He pushes me away, and I walk off before he actually drags me inside. "Call me when you get out."

I tell him I will, and when the sliding doors close behind me, I turn and expect him to be gone, but he's still standing there, watching me.

He nods for me to keep walking, so I turn back around. When the front desk lady sees me, she immediately gets up from her seat and opens the back door for me. I'm unsure why, but I steal a glance behind me, and Liam still watches me.

I give him a small wave, and he shakes his head, but I swear I see him smile before he turns for his car.