The Road That Leads to Us (Us 1)

Clank.

Clank.

Clank.

He continued to move the spoon around the bowl, but his eyes never lowered from mine.

Dean was taking a shower, so at the moment he was free of my cousin’s wrath.

“Are you going to say something?” I finally asked when I couldn’t take another moment of that awful sound.

“Nope. I’m just going to sit here and hope my disapproval sinks through that stubborn brain of yours.”

“Liam,” I glared right back, “you’re being ridiculous.”

He raised a brow, urging me to explain.

“You’re also a hypocrite,” I continued.

His brows inched impossibly higher.

“You act as if I’m some virgin that needs to be locked away in a tower for all of eternity.”

“That sounds like a great idea.” His voice was bland with no emotion.

“Only, I’m not a virgin.”

He tossed his head back and let out a loud groan.

“And Dean wasn’t my first.”

“Shut up.” He pressed the heels of his hands to his eyes. “I get it, okay?” He lowered his hands. “You can do what you want. I’m not a saint either. But as your self-imposed big brother I feel it’s my duty to hate any guy you date, but this is Dean. I might not be that close to him, but he’s still a friend, and a good guy, but it’s really fucking—”

“Weird,” I finished for him. “I know.” I spun the saltshaker that sat on the middle of the table. “But I love him, and he’s not going anywhere, so you need to get used to it. I’m an adult.” Laughing, I said, “I know I don’t act like it most of the time, but I am, and I can be responsible…sometimes.”

Liam nodded at this, a lock of dark hair falling across his eyes. He flicked it away hastily, like it was an annoying fly he wanted gone.

He took a deep breath, and thankfully changed the subject. “What do you want to do today?”

Glancing out the window at the bright shining sun, there was only one answer. “Go to the beach.”

Liam tapped his hand against the table in an uneven beat—my dad would be appalled—and nodded. “Sounds good. That’s what I do most days anyway.”

“Do you get lonely here?”

Liam startled at my sudden question, his eyes widening in surprise.

I looked around the pristine empty space. His home was large, and so…empty. Yes, it was filled with furniture and odd knick-knacks from his travels, but there was something about it that was cold. It lacked a heart.

“No,” he answered. “I like being alone.”

I sighed. “Liam, I worry about you,” I whispered, hating to give voice to the words. “I don’t want to see you shut yourself away from the world and only emerge when a wave beckons you. Is it really that hard to show people who you are?”

Liam lowered his head, shaking it back and forth slowly as he stared into the depths of his cereal bowl. “People don’t want to know the real me. They want to imagine me in their own way.”

“Because you never give them the chance.”

He raised his head and stared out the window behind me. “Why should I? They’re all a bunch of nosy fucks anyway. Is it not my right to keep some things to myself?”