A Second Chance (31 page)

As she drove into the underground parking spot that came with
Laura’s apartment
, she checked her image in the mirror, anxious to make sure that her eyes weren’t red and swollen from
her
breakdown at Liam’s house. Thankfully, the cool breeze from the
ocean seemed
to have
had
a magical effect on her skin, because she looked absolutely normal.
Tired,
yes, but nothing beyond the normal dark circles under her eyes that could be easily excused from
a
whole day of work.
She locked the car and walked up the stairs to the main entrance. The hallway to Laura’s second floor
apartment
was very well lit
,
and she noticed right away a hunched figure sitting on the floor at the door. She hesitated, not sure if she should call for help or reach for the pepper spray she had started carrying with her ever since
she’d started
work at Liam’s house. She
’d only done
it to calm her mom, who was absolutely terrified of her running alone in
San Francisco
. Well, maybe it
would be
her first chance to put it to good use, she thought, her fingers searching for the familiar shape in her bag.

But then he looked up and her fingers dropped the pepper spray, suddenly numb. She stared at him wordlessly, watching him lift himself with
the
cat
-
like sinuous grace that was as uniquely his as the way he cocked his head to one side while
listening.

‘
What
are you doing here,
Liam
?’ she managed finally, the silence between
them
as heavy as lead. ‘I thought you were busy
.
And why
d
id
n’t
you ask
Laura
to let you in?’

‘
She
isn’t here
.
’
The
smile on his lips never quite
reach
ed
his eyes
as they
remained watchful and alert, measuring her reactions as she stepped closer. There was no good way to handle
this
, she thought
,
producing the key and opening the door. He waited politely for her to walk in and followed her, the click of the door closing behind him the only sound in the silence that followed.

‘
Where
is she
,
then?’
S
he
couldn’t really think of anything else to say
.
She hung
her bag on the hook
in
the hallway closet, aware of him right behind her. Slipping off her shoes, she walked
barefoot to
the kitchen.

‘
She
and Rocco went
out
for dinner, as far as I know
.
’ Liam was right there, leaning against the countertop
,
watching her with the oddest expression. ‘I thought that since tomorrow is the big night out, I should come over and talk to you, Jade.
I
tried
to call you many times, but
none of my calls went through.
’

He
couldn’t know that after sending him the pictures she
’d been
angry
enough to turn off
her phone
, aware of the constant tension she felt as she hoped for him to call. He
hadn’t done it often
in the last few days, and to regain at least some of her sanity she needed to cut herself off. Afterwards she had forgotten to switch it back on, dealing with the workers preoccupying her up to the last
moment.

‘
Oh
, I
’
m sorry
,
’ she said lightly, realizing how flippant she sounded. But she was tired, hot
,
and thirsty, aching to take a warm shower and snuggle down with a book. She didn’t need him here, his six
-
foot
-
four frame reducing the large room to barely a livable space, every inch of her skin aware of his presence.

‘
No
problem
.
’
H
e
sounded almost subdued, she
thought,
instant
empathy for him kicking in. N
o, she shouldn’t be feeling sorry for him at all, she scolded herself, remembering the way he
had
avoided her since the last time they
’d been
together.

‘
Would
you like something to drink?’ she asked instead, reaching for a glass and opening the stainless steel door of
Laura’s
fridge.
Ice-cold
orange juice was exactly what she needed
,
she thought as
he shook
his head.

‘I
’
m sorry
.
’

Upon c
losing
the
door
,
she was suddenly confronted with his face, close enough to see the lines around his mouth and eyes. He looked tired
,
as
if he
hadn’t gotten
enough sleep,
she
thought before stepping back out of the danger zone.

‘What for?’ she asked, taking a sip of her drink and watching him over the rim of the glass
.
‘
Everything’s
cool,
Liam
.’

‘No,
it isn’t
.
’
H
e
refused to be sidetracked as he watched her, something like desperation coloring his voice
.
‘
I know… that I have been…
absent for the last few days
when
I should
have been
there
to help
you with the reno
vation
. I just had so many things going on that I practically
wasn’t
leaving the office at all.’

He wasn’t lying, she could tell. And right after this thought she felt a wave of shame wash over her for the vain suspicions she
had harbored
all this time
, while
he
had been
doing exactly what he
had
told her he was up to.

‘
Don’t
worry
,
’ she said, softer this time as she walked over to the sofa and sat down, her tired body welcoming
its
firm support. ‘I hope you got my pics all right?’

‘
Everything
looked great
.
’
H
e
sat down in the loveseat opposite of her
;
she noticed the careful distance
between them
,
and
her suspicions
rose once more
. But she wouldn’t allow herself to go there again,
and she
concentrat
ed
on the task ahead.

‘I
’
m glad you
’
re here, Liam
,
’ she confessed, her reserve
melt
ing
away as she
lean
ed
toward him
.
‘I am totally freaking out, to be honest. Got my outfit and all, even allowed Laura to book me an appointment at the hairdresser,
G
od
knows what for
. B
ut I have no clue what to do and what to say if anyone asks me anything
.
I
don’t know a thing
about your job.’

‘They won’t
.’
H
e smiled at her, relaxed for the first time this evening
.
‘
W
e
’
ll stay only a while, I promise. Just
long
enough to make an impression, an hour at most.’

‘
Good
.
’
She
tried to stifle a yawn, but failed. The last few nights
had been
horrible
,
and she doubted that even the cleverest makeup
would be
able to complete
ly
conceal the telltale shadows under her eyes tomorrow.

‘Actually I wanted to show you something
.
’
T
here
it was again.
The
tenseness in his voice and
posture
made her blood rush quicker in her veins.

It wasn’t fair how quickly her body responded to every little nuance of his
mood, she
thought
sadly, as she nodded cautiously and asked
,
‘What is it?’
A
nother
sip from her glass allowed her to be busy with her hands. ‘Come on, tell me.’

‘It isn’t far at all, just a short drive
.
’
H
e
was not really responding to her teasing smile, his eyes serious and surprisingly insistent. ‘I want to show you
the
things I don’t like talking about. So you understand me a bit better.’

She could have told him she was dead on her feet, she thought for a fleeting moment, an unexplainable fear of the unknown making her hesitate. But in the end her curiosity won
,
and she nodded
and rose
from the couch.

He wasn’t lying, she thought as the car slowed down after only ten minutes, pulling gently to the curb in front of a tall,
stone
wall
. She could make out tips of dark cypress trees above its rocky top, their somber silhouettes stark against the lavender sky of the fast
-
approaching night.

‘
Where
are we, Liam?’ she asked as they
left the car
, noticing the large, wrought iron gate ahead of them. She had her answer even without him responding, the white of the stones beyond the iron gates unmistakable
. It was a
cemetery
, she realized, casting a quick glance at the man at her side. He was pale and tense, his fingers icy cold
as he picked up her hand
.

The gate was still open, a few visitors walking quietly around the many pathways dividing the large plot into neat subdivisions. She followed him as he walked ahead, his
self
-
assured stride telling her that he must have made this journey many times before. Her feet drowned in the soft green grass that divided the stones, simple rectangular plates placed in regular intervals. They stopped in front of one of those plates, her eyes going to the golden letters engraved in the white stone.

She couldn’t help gasping
.
The
strangled noise resonated through her
entire
body right to his cold fingers,
which
squeezed her
hand
even harder before letting go.

Jessica Morrison, 1980-2009. Loved forever
.

Her brain raced as she stared at the stone, thousands of thoughts chasing each other in confusion. It couldn’t have been this Jessica, she thought
.
Not the girl he
had dated
and who
had
supposedly
r
u
n
off with his friend. But even though she resented the thought, deep down she knew that it must be her. Why else would he bring her here and look as dark and foreboding as he did?

‘Liam, what happened?’
S
he
turned to him, whispering the question. She didn’t dare to speak any louder, afraid to break the peaceful silence of the graveyard. But he heard her,
even though it took him a moment to answer. Silent, dark
,
and as still as if carved out of stone, he stood in front of the grave like some mourning angel that
had come
to earth as a punishment for his sins.