I met Liam a few days after I got to my grandma's house in Saskatoon.

He was a friend of Chuck's.

We were introduced and early on I saw that he was interested in me.

I wasn't.

There was a lot going on in my life at the time.

I was still reeling from the fact that I actually left my parents house without even saying goodbye.

Not that they would care where I go or what I do.

My parents were deep into their vice and was passed out most of the time.

They don't notice me anymore.

Hell.

They don't even know themselves or cared to find out what was going on around them.

Liam and I got to know each other better during a party.

My cousins were not having any of my drama.

They practically dragged me to the car to go with them.

Grandma took their side.

She said I was young and should have fun.

I was sitting on a porch swing when he saw me.

He reintroduced himself again, we talked and he made me laugh with his stories of farm life.

There was one particular incident involving a tractor race where he almost fell on a ditch face first.

Liam made a catastrophic situation a laughing matter that before he was done with his story, tears were rolling down my face.

Just like me, his family didn't have much.

He always bemoaned the fact that he has seven siblings because his parents did not believe in contraception.

Liam would go to school hungry because there wasn't much to go around.

Instead of eating his share, he would give it to the younger kids.

When Liam and I broke up, he made it clear that it was the end of us.

Now, here I am standing in front of him.

He looked older somewhat.

But his laser blue eyes and honey colored hair were brighter than ever.

"Destiny?" He was as surprised as I am.

"I thought this Liam guy was just your namesake."

"Yeah. Liam Smith is a pretty common name isn't it?"

"I guess."

He smiled.

I gave him the bags of food.

I was about to turn around but he gently pulled me by the wrist.

"Here," He fished his wallet from the back of his jeans but I held up my hand.

"No. It's fine. I really have to go. I have another delivery waiting."

"Can I at least give you my number?"

"What for?" The words came out sharper than I expected.

"Look, I felt bad for what I did. Leaving you like that."

"It was for the better. I mean, look at you now." I glanced at the house he was living in.

"Yeah but it wasn't the same without you."

There was a knot in my chest when he said that but then I was reminded of what he did to me.

"I'm sorry but I really have to go."

"Okay."

I wanted to run back to the car but I slowed my breath and my steps.

It was bad enough that I saw him out of the blue.

I didn't want him to see how affected I was.

The sudden meeting with Liam threw me off.

When he came over to my grandma's house that night, I had no idea that he was breaking up with me.

I knew he had grand ambitions.

What I didn't know was it would be too soon for him to leave.

Or that part I was not part of his plans.

That same day, grandma told me that my mom was taken to the hospital.

She was bleeding.

My mom put my grandma as her emergency contact and the hospital called her.

It was messed up how the person she added to come to her aid was miles away from where she lived.

When Liam came over, I was still worried.

My mother may not be the best one in the world but I am not a bad kid.

Even when she hit me if I didn't do things right, I did not let hate get the best of me.

I had terrible thoughts but it does not mean I'm a terrible person.

Leaving was probably the kindest thing I could do to my awful parents.

Liam asked if we could talk.

We sat down on the bed.

Before he even said anything, I sensed that something was off.

He wasn't usually this serious when we see each other.

His way of coping with his miserable home life was to make a joke of everything.

He told me he didn't want people taking pity on him.

"I got a job at Fort McMurray." He declared right off the bat.

"Good for you." I was happy with the news.

He had an uncle working there and he always wanted to go.

"I have to leave, Des."
"Okay." I still couldn't figure out why he looked so sad.

"We have to break up." He dropped the news without warning.

"What? Why?" I asked, stunned.

"It's not like Fort Mac is on the other side of the world?"

"I know that but don't you see? This is my chance."

"You can leave, Liam. I'm not stopping you."

"Even if you do, I'm not going to let you."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I did not like his tone.

"I waited so long for this. I didn't want anything or anyone holding me back."

"Is that what you think I'm doing?" The pain was starting to sink in. "That I'm holding you back from making your dreams come true?"

"No. I don't know." He looked conflicted.

"But you have a lot going on in your life. I can't be a part of it if I want to focus on what I want. I want to do this on my own."

His words cut deep.

It was short of saying I have a lot of drama.

"Is that how you see me? Like I'm sort of hopeless girl you have to save?"

"I didn't say that. Chuck told me what happened to your mom. I know they were awful to you but you have a big heart, Destiny. You couldn't help but worry about them."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"No, it's not. But you get so affected and I worry about you. I can't do that anymore. I have to concentrate on myself this time."

"Why didn't you tell me that this was your plan all along?"

"I don't want to hurt you."

"But that's exactly what you're doing. I thought you understand me. I thought you were my ally."

"I am but if I want to do this right, I can't have any distraction. I'm sorry but you know this is what I want. I finally had the chance to go after my dream."

"Then go." I yelled then pointed towards the door.

"I'm sorry." He stood up and without looking back, opened the door and left.

I always thought we would be together longer.

Forever.

Liam made me believe that I was the one he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

We were young and didn't have a clue but it didn't matter.

It was nice to build dreams again, to hope for a better future.

I believed him when he said that he sees himself getting married one day.

That the woman he saw walking down the aisle was me.

He was the first guy I was serious with.

I didn't realize that once the right opportunity came knocking, he would leave me just like that.

Seeing him again after years of no communication was unnerving.

It's been years since I last saw him.

Once he was gone, I still get updates on him because he kept in contact with Chuck.

I stalked his social media account.

Liam looked like he was having fun.

He posted about parties during his days off.

When I saw his arm around one of the girls, it broke my heart even more.

Annie had to snatch and hide my phone to keep me away from creeping Liam's account.

It was not easy to forget him.

I felt betrayed.

When Jack got home, he found me on the couch drinking beer.

He turned down the music on the record player.

I didn't even notice that Adele's Hello was still playing.

Perhaps it was the sadness in my eyes or my face that was drenched with tears.

Jack took the bottle of beer then sat down and wrapped me in his arms.

Just like when Liam left, I cried until I couldn't breathe.

When I calmed down, I told him what happened.

"I really thought I moved on but I guess I didn't." I took a swig and swallowed it fast.

"You were together a long time. I don't think we forget the people and the things they did. The pain just fades."

"Back then, I really thought we had a shot. I mean, we loved each other and he took care of me but people are unreliable. Give them an opportunity and they leave."

"Ouch." He covered his chest.

"I didn't mean you."

"I am capable of doing the same thing. Last time I checked, I'm still human."

I laughed.

Somehow, the heaviness I felt was lessened after pouring my heart out to Jack and drenching his shirt with my tears.

"Did you know that I only started to feel better when you got here?" He played with my fingertips.

"Is that why the house was messier than usual?"

It was his turn to laugh.

"Before I told Kate about me, I was planning to propose."

"What?"

This was news to me.

"Yeah. I have the ring and I planned everything. I was going to get down on one knee because not only was it the proper thing to do but also because it was romantic." His smile was sad.

"I wrote down my speech and I was probably going to forget most of it when I look into Kate's eyes but whatever. Then one morning I woke up. Before I thought of proposing, there was always the nagging feeling that I was not doing something right. Kate knew me as a lesbian but deep inside, I knew it doesn't fully capture who I am. Something was telling me that before I get that down on that knee and promise her forever, I should do the one thing that would make me happy. As you know, my life was turned upside down after that."

He looked at me and took my hands in his.

"I thought I was never going to come back from that but one night, there was a knock on my door and there you were."

"Jack," I lifted my hand and touch the side of his face.

"Everytime you're with me, life is less lonely."

He looked so earnest and I really wanted to kiss him but I didn't.

"At least someone is happy to have me in their life." I said.

"Do you still love him?"

"I don't know."

"What if he wants you back?"

"I doubt it. He was very clear that he does not want me."

"That was before. Things may have changed."

"I won't bet on that."

"But what if he does?"

I didn't have an answer.

Before, I thought I knew Liam.

When he broke up with me, I realized I didn't.