Chapter 4

Liam

After finding Ryan and giving him shit about going to get stuff for margaritas, for a girl he's apparently only met once, I walk around the party for a bit nursing a beer. I talk to a few of the hockey players on Ry's team and chat with some guys on my team. Some of them playing beer pong on our dining room table. I play a round with them but my game is shit. The side of the table I"m playing on looks directly into the living room and I can see the girl I met earlier, her strawberry hair swaying down her back, heading towards the dance floor with her friend. She looked nervous at first, it was cute, but once she started moving and getting into it she was actually really good and she looked freaking gorgeous swaying her slightly curvy hips. If I had half a mind I would go up there right now, look into her beautiful ocean blue eyes and ask her to dance.

"Hello, earth to Mills." Dylan waves his hands in front of my face.

"Shit, sorry." I throw my next ball and miss, again. Dylan makes his next two throws winning for this team. "Good game, Dyl."

"More so yours was just bad."

"You're not wrong there." I force out a laugh.

"Wanna go again, we can be on the same team this time?"

"Nah, I'll let some of the other guys play. I'm going to do a lap." I say and head off. I want to find Emilia, maybe ask her to dance. I look into the living room where she had been dancing but more people are dancing now and I can't spot her through the crowd. Some girl I don't know comes up to me and asks me to dance, I just shake my head and walk away, my sights only set on one girl tonight. I head to the kitchen and grab a bottle of water subtly looking around and finding myself slightly upset over the fact she wasn't in here either. Maybe she left. I don't see her friend either so they definitely could've gone home. Even though it's barely been forty minutes of them being here, she didn't seem like the party type so she could've had her fill.

Deciding I've also had my fill, I head up the stairs and into my room. It's not that I don't like a party, they can be fun, I just prefer smaller groups and the one downstairs has grown into a little too much for me. I'm also exhausted since I was up late all week studying for finals and then having a game today. I change into some sweats and take off my collared shirt. Turning the tv on I scroll to Netflix and watch the first thing it recommends.

I hear a loud rasp coming from outside on what must be the bathroom door. What the heck? Most people don't come upstairs at our parties, they know it's a no-go zone. Then, suddenly there's the girl I've been looking for all night coming into my room through the bathroom.

"Emilia?" I ask, stunned, as if I summoned her with my thoughts.

"I - I - I'm sorry." Her voice sounds weak, shaky and she looks like she's seen a ghost, her body visibly trembling. I shoot off the bed and over to her.

"Are you okay? What happened?" That's when the tears start to fall and she starts hyper-ventilating. I reach out to hold her as I'm scared she's going to collapse but she flinches. It stings but I try not to take it personally, something is clearly very wrong right now. I search her face for any physical harm and then scan her body, my eyes catch on her wrist. Wrists that are beat red and forming bruises. "Who did this to you, Emilia?" She takes a few deep breaths trying to collect herself, to give me the name of the person I'm about to pummel, but before she can there's more knocking on the bathroom door.

"Bitch, I told you to hurry up." Emilia flinches, tears silently streaming down her face.

"Was it him?" I ask her, she gives me a weak nod. That's all I need before I'm on the move. I head over to the door, ready to give this person what they deserve. I've never been one for violence, but who the hell does he think he is?

"Liam…" Her voice sounds like a plea, so I turn around, grab her hands again, and lead her to the other side of the room that will be blocked when I open the door.

"Shhh, it's okay, sit on the window seat. I won't let him hurt you. I'll get rid of him okay?"

"Be careful." She lowers herself and curls her knees up to her chest. I nod, then I tear open the door, anger coursing through me.

"Can I help you?" I ask the man I vaguely recognized as John. He's on the football team, barely, he's a benchwarmer.

"Oh, uh sorry man just waiting for my girl."

"I think you should leave."

"Yeah, once she comes out of this damn bathroom we will be."

"No. I think you should leave now."

"Oh, you have that slut in there?" That's when I punch him square in the nose. I don't know who this man is to Emilia, an ex, someone she's dated, a stranger, but it doesn't matter. You don't get to disrespect a woman like that.

"What the fuck dude?" I punch him again, at the same time Ryan is coming up the stairs.

"Woah, what the hell is going on?"

"This fucker thinks it's okay to take advantage of women that's what." I tell Ryan without taking my eyes off John.

"Oh hell no, you've got to go man.

"I'm not leaving without her." John has the audacity to try and claim Emilia.

"Like hell you aren't."

"What is up with all this screaming?" Garrett is standing at the bottom of the stairs, I'm ready to punch John again but Ryan beats me to it. "Fuck." Garrett mutters and bounds up the stairs two at a time. "It's time to go." Garrett grabs John by the back of the shirt guiding him down the stairs, Ryan goes with them opening the door while they practically throw him down the front steps. Ryan cuts the music that's been playing over the speakers and yells over the crowd telling everyone to get out. People groan but then everyone starts to gather their things and leave.

Heading back into my room, Emilia's still curled up in a ball on the window seat. I sit next to her, assessing the girl in front of me.

"He's gone. Ryan asked everyone to leave." She finally peels her gaze off the spot on her shoes she's been looking at and looks at me. Those beautiful blue eyes now red, mascara smudged underneath. She still looks breath-taking.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to barge in here and ruin your night. I - I just didn't know what to do and I had to get away from him."

"Hey, hey it's okay. I'm glad you're safe." I hold onto her elbows unsure if she wants to be touched but needing to comfort her and myself.

"I totally ruined your party. You don't have to make everyone leave. I just need to find Rosie and I can go." Her voice is still weak. She looks back down, that's when she must notice my hand bruising and cracked knuckles. "Oh my gosh your hand! Are you okay, what happened?"

"I may have punched him. Twice." I shrug, her mouth falls open and she quickly snaps it shut.

"You shouldn't have done that."

"He had it coming. He was trying to take advantage of you. Do you know him?"

"No, never seen him before. He just kinda came up and started dancing with me. Then it all escalated as I tried to get away."

"I'm sorry." It doesn't feel like the right thing to say but what is in this instance? It makes me sick that this happened in our house.

"It's not your fault. We should get you some ice."

"Only if I can get some for your wrist." Emilia winces as she looks at her own wrist, which has even more blue and purple forming around it now.

"Yeah, probably a good idea."

I stand up and offer her a hand, she takes it getting up and pulling at her clothes. Her black denim shorts and tight blue top probably aren't the most comfortable thing to be wearing right now, even if she looks amazing.

"Here, let me get you something comfy to wear."

"Oh it's okay, you've already done so much."

Ruffling through my drawers I find a pair of older sweatpants and one of my hoodies from the past season on the baseball team. "I insist."

"Really, I'm fine."

"Emilia please don't fight me on this, okay?" There's a strong urge in me to protect this girl. Granted, I would never knowingly let another man take advantage of any girl, but something about her pulls me in.

"Okay." She takes them from me with a shy smile, stepping around me back to where she came from. She emerges from the bathroom two minutes later, she looks adorable in my clothes. They swallow her short frame. "I had to roll these sweatpants at the waist a few times." She laughs, it's a sweet sound to hear after the unfortunate events of the evening. I think I would do anything to hear that sound again. "But this is much more comfy and I already feel better. So thank you." She smiles at me, a real smile that takes my breath away.

"You're welcome. Now let's get both of us some ice." I force myself to stop staring at her and gently take her uninjured hand in mine. Leading the way down the stairs.

"I don't know where she is!" I hear a girl screaming from somewhere downstairs. "She isn't answering her texts. The last text she sent me she said she was trying to avoid a creep and now she isn't answering!"

"Wait a creep?" I hear Ryan interject. "We threw someone out just before we told everyone to leave, some guy was trying to take advantage of a girl. I think that girl's with Liam. We reach the bottom of the steps and round the corner into the kitchen where they"re all standing, Rosie's back to us but Garrett and Ryan are facing us.

"Em…" Garrett starts but is interrupted.

"Yes of course I'm looking for Emilia, who else would I be looking for?" Rosie shouts.

"Rosie…" Emilia's voice, still soft but less shaky has the girl turning around so fast she could give herself whiplash.