19. Chapter Nineteen

Chapter Nineteen

Sage

I pull my phone away from my ear when I hear another call coming through, and my jaw slightly drops as Angie goes on. "Was there anything else—"

"No, that was all! Thank you, Angie! Vincent is calling. I'll call right back!" I hang up to answer Vincent's call. "Hey, Mr. Moore."

"Sage, how are you?"

I look around the room; although I'm alone, but I have no clue why he's calling me.

"I'm good, how are you?"

"I've been better. I'm not sure if you know, but I'm having a show at the end of next month, and there's been some hiccups."

I tell him I'm sorry to hear that before he goes on.

"I'm working on the last few pieces and tying up some loose ends with models. I had castings last week and was surprised you weren't there." His voice is accusing, and I feel like I'm in trouble, although I'm not sure why because I'm certainly not obligated to go to all of his castings, but I definitely wanted to be at the one he had last week.

"My agent was trying to get me a spot, but when she called, someone told her it was a private casting for certain models."

"Did Angelica tell them it was you calling?"

I tell him she didn't get the chance, and I can hear the mood change in his voice. Angie was also pissed when they hung up on her before she could even tell them who she was calling for.

"Thank you for telling me. I'll be sure they're dealt with."

I try to tell him it's okay to save this person, but he clearly made up his mind, and I'm sure he's going to fire them.

"Back to serious matters. Are you available the week of the twentieth to be in the show? The casting was to eliminate some girls since I had too many in mind, but I would still like you to be in it."

I don't even check my calendar, but I'll move whatever I definitely have that week for him.

"Yes, I'm free! It's in New York, right?"

He confirms and gives me the rest of the details, and when he hangs up, I literally scream.

I jump at the banging on my door and race over to check who's banging like the cops.

"Sage!"

I check the peephole before quickly opening it for Liam.

"Are you okay?" He looks around the room, and I look behind him to see who the heck was chasing him.

"Are you okay? Why do you look like you ran here?"

"I heard you screaming from inside the damn elevator like you were being murdered."

I laugh at his exaggeration and close the door behind him. "I'm fine."

"So you casually scream like a crazy person."

I tell him why I was screaming, but it doesn't look like that explains much.

"Maybe you are a crazy person."

"Liam, this is a big deal."

"I can see that, Dory."

"Like an actual dream come true."

I explain to him that I've been trying to impress Vincent since we were working on the photo shoot contest earlier this year. He watches me for a few seconds before closing the distance between us and planting a soft kiss on my lips. "Congrats."

I smile up at him and watch as his eyes glance down at my outfit.

"You're so pretty. Where are you going?"

"Thank you!"

He kisses my cheek.

"I'm going out for August's birthday. I didn't know you were coming over? What are you doing here?" I haven't seen him in a few days, so I'm glad he decided to stop by because I want to see pictures of the cats.

"Today's August's birthday?" He turns his head to the side as I nod with a smile. "It's your twin's birthday?"

"Yes." I let out a soft laugh, but he still looks confused.

"Why are you saying it like it's not also your birthday?"

"Because it's not." I walk to my room, and I hear Liam follow behind me as I explain. "I was born five minutes after twelve, so my birthday is tomorrow. August likes that he's older, although I feel like he pushed me out the way or something so he'd be born first."

I lay on the bed, and he flops beside me. "What are you doing tomorrow?" He wraps an arm around my waist before dragging me closer, his lips finding my cheek.

"My brother arranged a rooftop party downtown." I try to glance down at him, but he moves his face so he can smother my neck. "Do you want to come?"

He shakes his head softly before pulling away to look at me. "I can't, Dory." He kisses me softly. "But text me when you get home, and I'll come over to give you your gift."

I feel a smile touch my lips, and he kisses my cheek.

"What gift? You didn't know about my birthday until a minute ago."

"Obviously, I'm going to get something before tomorrow, smart ass."

I let out a laugh, and he buries his face in my neck again.

"When do you have to leave?" His voice comes out a bit muffled but I hear him just fine.

"He's going to pick me up in an hour."

He lets out a long breath, and I run a hand through his hair. He pulls my legs, so they're wrapped around him but doesn't say anything else.

"Are you okay?" I try to glance at him again, but he doesn't move.

"I'm just tired." He doesn't just sound physically tired but also drained… mentally.

"What's wrong?" I pull away more, forcing him to look at me, but he only shakes his head.

"Nothing you need to worry about." He leans forward to kiss me, but when he pulls away, he looks… sad almost.

"You can tell me, you know." I keep my gaze on him, and he buries his face in my neck again before letting out a sigh. I rub his back in circles, and he doesn't say anything for a while.

"It's just family stuff. I don't want to talk about it."

I nod in return and continue rubbing his back. "I'm here if you ever want to talk about it." I lean to kiss his hair. "You know that, right?"

He nods before pulling in a breath. "Yes, Dory." He kisses my neck before his entire body relaxes on top of me.

"Did you settle on names for the kittens?" I badgered him about keeping them when he came over the day he adopted them, and he caved very quickly.

He takes a minute to respond, and I think he's going to ignore me, but then he mumbles, "Periwinkle for the girl."

I feel a smile touch my lips, and I try to pull away to see if he's serious, but he forces his weight on me, and I let out a soft laugh. "You couldn't pay me to believe you came up with that on your own." I poke his side, but he doesn't move. "Who helped you name her?"

"Why does it matter?"

I let out a gasp and bite back my laugh when he sighs. "Are you naming my cats with other women?" I poke his side, and this time, he raises his head.

"No." He seems confused but also offended. He studies me for a beat as if he either wants to ask me something or confess something. I simply lay there and wait for him to make up his mind. He buries his face in my neck again and brings my legs around him. "My mom named her." His voice is just above a whisper.

"Aw, that's sweet! Okay, we can keep Periwinkle." I run a hand through his hair before hugging him tighter with my legs. "I still want to name the gray and black one Meeko."

He says, once again, that he hates that name but it's just because he hasn't seen Pocahontas and hasn't been graced with the presence of her raccoon.

"It'll grow on you." I tap his head. "We're keeping Meeko, and since Moon is their Godfather, it's only right we consider his request and name the third one Mars."

"I returned that one. He's a menace."

I try to sit up, but Liam forces his weight on me again, and I can't budge. "You did what ?"

He doesn't move.

"Liam, please tell me you didn't really take him back there!" I feel my throat tightening, and he quickly sits up.

"Jesus, I was joking." He leans down and catches my lips with his. "Please don't cry. He's safe in my bed." He kisses me again, and I pull away with a smile.

"I thought you said they're too nasty to share a bed with you?"

"Well, you harassed me to sleep with them, so did I have a choice?"

I turn my head to the side as I smile up at him. "No, you didn't."

He shakes his head at me, and before he can respond, my phone is ringing.

My face lights up on the FaceTime call when I notice Helena's name. We've been mostly normal since we've been working together. It's kinda like whatever that argument was, never happened.

"Hello, babe." I tap Liam, and he rolls off me as I sit up.

She smiles at the phone before setting it up against something. "You look so beautiful! I love the birthday hair!"

"Thank you, thank you." I flip my hair over my shoulder with a smile. "What's up?"

"I'm just returning your call. You called me earlier?"

"Oh, right!" I get up from the bed and place my phone on my nightstand so she can see my outfit. "It was to help me style this dress. I couldn't decide on the shoes."

She tells me the ones I'm wearing are perfect, and I'm glad I switched them.

I study myself in the camera and run a hand down my frame. "How do you think I look?"

"Perfect."

My head turns at the sound of Liam's soft whisper, and I feel a smile touch my lips.

"You look great!"

I look back at Helena, and she watches me with a bright smile as if she really means that.

"Are you sure?" I turn to the side as I take in all of my curves. "You know I've been trying to lose weight, but I feel like it's not working." I've been following her meal plan to the T, but haven't lost any weight. I'm just hungry, which is annoying.

"Why are you trying to lose weight?"

When I look back over at Liam he's sitting up now as he watches me.

"Maybe it's your birth control." Helena pulls my attention before I can respond. "Remember when I was putting on weight with my old one?"

"Sage."

I don't turn back to Liam and grab my phone instead. "I didn't even think about that."

"Sage Loana," Liam voices again, and I can hear his short patience slipping, but he doesn't sound annoyed or angry.

I thank Helena with a smile before hanging up and turning to Liam. "Yes?"

"Why are you trying to lose weight?"

I shrug in response before sitting on the bed, but I feel him watching me.

"I think you do know why. Don't lie to me."

"I'm not lying…" I steal a glance at him, and he's watching me, but I turn forward again. "I just gained weight and want to lose it." I sort of shrug, and when Liam doesn't say anything, I turn to him.

"Who told you that you gained weight?"

"I did." And my best friend… and the mean comments under my post.

"When was the last time you even weighed yourself?"

I try to think, but I can't remember that far back.

"Exactly."

"Okay, you know I have a bad memory, but even my followers noticed."

"What are you talking about?"

I let out a sigh and open Famoura. When I click on my last post, I open the comments and hand the phone to Liam before I even look at them. He sits in silence for a few seconds, and I try not to look at him.

"You look hot in these pictures. I took these of you."

A smile creeps onto my face, and I turn to look at him.

"Fuck what everyone else thinks." He says it like it's so… simple .

"Easy for you to say." I stand from the bed, but he grabs a hold of my hand.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Only that you're unbelievably fit and don't post on social media, so you don't have hundreds of hate comments body shaming you. Of course, you don't care what people think about you, but I get told things like that daily."

I let out a breath and a sense of relief washes over me after getting that off of my chest. I posted that picture of me in the prettiest dress a few days ago, and I've been fighting back tears and resisting the urge to delete the entire post.

Of course, I got a lot of love on the post and my supporters are thankfully defending me, but I still see the bad comments and it's becoming exhausting.

I keep my eyes down as Liam stands from the bed and wraps his arms around my head. My arms immediately go around him, and his hug alone somehow makes me feel better.

"You're the most beautiful person I've met, beloved."

I pull away to look at him, but my vision blurs. "Really?"

"Don't cry."

I blink my tears away, and he leans in, planting two soft kisses on my cheek.

"I'm sure you've met thousands of people as a professional baseball player. You-"

"And none of them are even a fraction of perfect as you."

I can't stop my tears from spilling any more. Liam cups my face softly and wipes my tears with a sigh. "You're ruining your pretty makeup."

I laugh softly as I dab my face, but I know I'm going to have to touch up my makeup. We settle onto my bed again, and he pulls me into his embrace. "In how long do you have to leave?"

I smile at his words before glancing down at my watch. "It's been… less than ten minutes since you last asked so-"

He pokes my side before telling me not to get smart with him. I try to squirm away, but he keeps me in place before hugging me again. I think he's going to start taking my clothes off, but he just lies there hugging me. I'm not complaining, not one bit, actually, since he seems like he needs a hug, but he doesn't normally show up without notice, and my heart hurts because it's clear something is bothering him. Not because he doesn't want to have sex with me. We can just hang out, but… something feels wrong.

I rest my face on top of his head before hugging him closer. "Can you please tell me what's up with you?" I whisper.

"It's nothing, Dory-"

"It's something, Lee." I rub his back and try to get up to pull away, but he doesn't move. "You seem sad; just tell me."

"I'm not sad, beloved. I'm just tired."

"Okay… well, you look mentally tired." I try not to worry, but growing up with a sister who battled depression her whole life, I'm a little worried.

He lets out a breath before kissing my neck. "I'm fine."

"Promise?"

He starts to nod, but I force him up. When his eyes meet mine he really does look tired. "I promise. It's not a big deal-"

"So it is something?"

He lets out a breath before rolling off of me.

"Wait, no. Come back. I'm sorry for badgering you." I try to pull him on top of me again, but he doesn't let me and sits with his back against the headboard.

"I need to go anyway-"

"Please stop." I grab him before he can stand and I crawl over to him. I straddle him instead, and he looks off to the side. "We don't have to talk if you don't want to. We can lay down if you're just tired."

His eyes meet mine, but I pull him to lie with me before he can voice a complaint. He feels tense at first, but I wrap my legs around him again, and as his arms come around me, he relaxes again.

I'm rubbing my hand down his back when I feel him kiss my neck.

"I just came from seeing my mom." His voice is just above a whisper, but he sounds numb again, so I lean forward to plant a soft kiss on his head.

"Is she okay?" I tread lightly and rub a hand down his shirt when I feel him tense.

"She's sick, Dory…" He holds me tighter.

"Is it like… terminal? Because I know amazing doctors, and we can-"

"There's no cure, baby."

I can barely hear his voice now, and I try to pull away, but he keeps his face in the crease of my neck.

He pulls in another deep breath before kissing my neck again. "I just need a break, Dory. She wasn't having a good day, and I'm going to go back later, but I just need a break."

"Okay. Just rest so you can reset." I kiss the top of his head again, and when I lay back down, I feel him relax again. We lay in silence for about an hour until my phone is ringing.

"That's my brother…"

Liam doesn't move, and I kiss the top of his head. As much as I don't want to leave him, I can't miss my twin's birthday…

"I need to go, babe, but you can stay and sleep if you want?"

He tells me he needs to go back to his mom, so he gets up. Before he stands from my bed, I cup his face and plant a soft kiss on his lips. "Thank you for opening up to me." I steal another kiss before hugging him, and his arms immediately come around me. "If it gets hard and you need more breaks, you can always come to me."

He only squeezes me tighter before we get up without a word.

I fix my makeup and grab August's gift, along with my spend-the-night bag since we're having a sleepover. When we get to the lobby, I stop when I realize Liam stopped following me.

He has his eyes on August's bright orange Lamborghini before looking over at me.

"What?"

"Nothing, go ahead, Dory. Call me tomorrow night." He doesn't make a move to hug or kiss me goodbye, but I tell him I'll call him before walking out and climbing into August's car.

"Hello, birthday boy!"

"Hello, almost birthday girl!"

I let out a soft laugh and lean over to hug him. Everyone else is already at the bowling place August wanted to go to, so we're the last two left.

When we walk in, it's clear Hazel rented the place out since it's just our friends. August loves balloons, and it's clear his girlfriend remembered that because every square inch is covered with huge balloon arcs.

The minute we walk in, they all yell in surprise, and I step aside so he can have his moment to shine since today is technically his, but like always, he grabs my hand, and we walk over to everyone together.

After saying hi to everyone, we start bowling, and it ends up being a competition between Sire and Vidia because they're insanely competitive.

"This reminds me of their first date," August whispers to Hazel and me, as we watch Sire and Vidia tease each other a few feet ahead of us. When Sire gets a strike, Vidia goes on about how he's cheating, and we break into a laugh before quickly hiding our faces when they turn to us. They still bicker like a married couple, but now it's just funny because it's clear half of it is just to piss the other off.

After a few games and about an hour at the arcade, we head to August's place and play a few games they set up. I hear a sizzling sound going off, and when I turn, August is walking in with a cake and sparkly candle, and I realize it must be twelve.

I rise from my seat as they sing Happy Birthday to me, and when the candle goes out, there's still one left for me to blow out, so I do and silently make my wish.

"Thank you, guys!" I hug them all, and my phone starts blowing up with calls and birthday wishes.

After a few minutes, I'm still getting messages and smile down at one in particular.

Liam Leslie

Happy birthday, Dory baby.

12:05 am

I heart his message, and a second later a few pictures of the kittens in birthday hats flood my phone.

I laugh quietly to myself as I heart all of the messages before thanking him.