Can't Let You Go

***TALLY***

For the first time since Liam showed up at l' abri, I went a whole day without seeing him. He never even replied to my messages. After dinner, I call his Korean number followed by his new one, getting no answer on either. I repeat the calls, but leave a message on each this time.

"Heyyy. I haven't seen or heard from you all day. I'm guessing either something huge went down or you're sick. Either way, call me and let me know how I can help. I wanted to bring a care package by your apartment, but I just realized I don't know where you live. That's kind of crazy, isn't it? Anyway... let me know if you're alright... bye."

On the second, I ramble less. "I left a longer message on the other phone. Listen to it if you want or just call me back. I missed you today."

I fall asleep in Jake's tree fort bed while reading to him. It's after eleven when a text notification wakes me.

{sry bzy day up snce 5 jst hm nw zzz}
Liam has never abbreviated words to this extent, so he must be exhausted.

{sweet dreams}
{Will I see you tomorrow?}

It's mid morning before I hear from him again.
{out of contact again today}

He's lucky I'm just his fake fiance or I'd have some choice words to say about being shut out immediately following the proposal. As a friend, I'd like to complain about my hurt feelings, but I went AWOL on him not that long ago, so I can't. It's not as though I need to see him every day. We weren't doing that prior to L' Abri. It's just that once he established that pattern, I appreciated the special effort he must have gone to and looked forward to it.

During my time slot for checking email, I scroll through for anything I don't want to pass on to my new assistant. One in particular catches my eye that has a blank sender name and the vague subject of "news", but the email is ACS@ScottConstructionDOTcom so it must be from Ashton - Ashton Christopher Scott.

"Dear Honey,
I hear from Emily that you have some news to report. She says that you're engaged to Liam. Does this mean we'll be seeing each other more in the future? I hope so. I miss you. Emily misses you, too.
Love,
Ashton"

I don't quite get what he means, but I delete it without a reply. If Emily misses me, she has an insulting way of showing it. Anyway, this message certainly doesn't make me miss either of them, but it does make me miss Liam.

Just because Liam can't get away, doesn't mean I can't go to him with a stop at L' Abri on the way. At HH I check in with security at the main reception.

"Hello, can you please call William Bennet and let him know Tallulah is here for our lunch meeting?"

The older man behind the counter nods and I thank him. He turns away so I can't hear either end of the conversation. "I'm sorry, but Mr. Bennet said he will be unable to meet you for lunch today. He's currently in a meeting and won't be done until late in the afternoon."

"Well, that's a shame. Doesn't mean he needs to go hungry, though. Do you have a paper and envelope I could have? Oh, and a stapler or tape?"

The man passes me the supplies and I write Liam a note and staple it to the bag, with my business card on the other side.

"Please send this to his office. The sooner the better so it's still edible. Thank you!"

Not far from the building is a little stretch of greenspace with rows of benches where I sit to eat my lunch. It would have been better if Liam could join me in person, but when he eats the lunch I left, he'll be with me in spirit.

***LIAM***

Maybe I shouldn't let it bother me this much, but I'm pissed at Tally. It's not like she never annoyed me in Korea or I never had a grumpy-for-no-reason day, but I never actually got mad at her until I discovered that she'd left.