It All Started With A Deal

Chapter 4

I shook my head, turning away from him further. "It's nothing, Liam, really."

He sat beside me. "It's not nothing. It looks like that guy just locked you out of your own house."

"You should just go." I was already embarrassed enough.

Liam stood up and, instead of leaving, held his hand out to me. "Come on, you can stay at my place for a bit."

I debated my options: sit in the freezing cold for a few hours till Chase got out of school, or stay in a warm house. The decision was not difficult. I took his hand, letting him help me to my feet. He even opened the car door for me.

Liam's house was just as big as I remembered it. He unlocked the door with his, still working, garage code. I awkwardly swayed from side to side as I waited. "I'll grab you some dry clothes, my siblings will be home soon so you can meet them." He led me inside.

I nodded and waited at the bottom of the staircase. Liam returned with a pair of sweats and a t-shirt. He handed them to me and directed me to the bathroom. The sweats were huge on me but after some fumbling around with the drawstring I managed to get them to stay up. The shirt was equally as big and, in all honesty, I probably could have used it as a dress. I sauntered out of the bathroom looking like a trash bag, a cute trash bag. Liam took one look at me before bursting out in a fit of laughter. "Okay so maybe my clothes were a bit too big."

I nodded, gesturing down my body. "You think? I could fit a second person in here."

The two of us joined in a melody of laughter that faded off as we moved to the next point of conversation."So, I was thinking," Liam began, "we should make this a date night."

I chuckled. "Oh really? And who are we trying to fool?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, just seems like a good night for one, plus you can send pics to Athena."

I pursed my lips. "Alright, I'm in, but you have to feed me."

Liam dragged me over to the kitchen. "How about pasta?"

It had been weeks since I had eaten something other than school or microwaveable food. Pasta was enough to make my mouth water. "Perfect."

I filled the pan with water and handed it to Liam. The second he turned the stove on, his front door opened. The chatter of two teenagers filled the room. "This is bogus, I don't want to write a three-page paper," a young boy complained.

Me too, buddy, me too.

"Agreed, I mean that should be considered child abuse," a girl added.

The two made their way into the kitchen. Their resemblance was uncanny. They looked to be about Chase's age and I wondered if they might have known him. Holding the boy's hand was a little girl. Her blue eyes sparkled, matching Liam's almost perfectly. She tugged at one of her pigtails as the three halted in their tracks at the sight of me.

"Is that a girl?" The teenage girl gaped.

The boy raised his eyebrow. "I never thought I would see the day Liam brought a girl home."

The little girl, who couldn't have been much older than a first-grader, looked around, thoroughly confused. Liam rolled his eyes. "This is my girlfriend, Sapphire. Sapphire, these are my siblings, Mia and Henry—" he gestured to the two teenagers—"they're twins. And that little munchkin is Clover."

I gave them a warm smile. "It's so nice to meet you."

Mia approached me, invading my personal space bubble, not that I really cared. She walked a small circle around me, examining me. I chuckled nervously. Mia came to stand in front of me. "She's pretty."