Avery had stopped talking next to me and I glanced over at her to see her hand clasped tightly around her coffee, her eyes shooting a smoldering glare at Liam across the hall.

"Let's go, Avery," I said in an even tone, thankful that my voice hadn't given me away. I blinked again, clearing up my blurry eyes.

"That's Liam!" she exclaimed, her jaw clenching. "He's such a skank. You guys haven't even broken up for a week yet and he's already cozying up to another girl."

My lips pressed flat as the dull ache in my heart intensified into a sharp pinch.

"I'll show him," she muttered, taking a step towards him. I interrupted her mission, my hand grasping onto her arm as I tugged her back.

"Don't. He's allowed to talk to other girls, you'd just embarrass yourself, and me," I told her. My voice sounded dejected as I shook my head.

"Fine. He got lucky," she huffed, taking a monstrous gulp of her coffee.

"I'm gonna go to class, will you be okay?" she studied me with cautious eyes, forehead creased. She pitied me, and I didn't want to be pitied now, that was what the weekend had been for.

"Yes, go on. I need to go too," I said, giving her a light shove. She nodded and turned around, heading to her class. She disappeared from my vision, slipping between two different crowds standing idly in the hall.

My eyes trailed over to Liam again across the hall. The beautiful girl was nowhere to be seen now, and he stood alone, his phone in his hands. He seemed to be killing time.

We were both more than late for our lecture now, and Liam made no sign to be heading to class.

Slowly, he tore his eyes away from his phone and they locked with mine.

I swallowed hard. No matter how much my brain demanded that I look away, my body would not listen.

He watched me for a short moment, his eyes conflicted. My feet walked over towards him without my consent. Time slowed when his eyes flickered over to me, and then away and then back to me as he bit down hard on his lip.

His eyes looked just as red as mine were when I looked in the mirror this morning, dark circles were prominent underneath.

I wanted to run to him, and wrap my arms around him. But he didn't give me a chance to.

Liam ran a hand through his hair roughly as he broke his eye contact, walking off.

I blinked, taking a deep breath in attempt to alleviate the sinking feeling in my chest. It didn't work.

With a sigh, I began making my way to class. My body felt numb and reluctant, on autopilot, my brain anywhere but at school.

Our relationship must have really meant so little to Liam that he didn't even want to speak to me, or to work things out. So little that he didn't even bother to text. Tears prickled in the rim of my eyes again, and I swiped them away with the back of my hand.

Blood rushed to my cheeks as I gritted my teeth. I had loved him with all I had, it was clear who fell harder in this relationship.

I scoffed to myself, knowing that it couldn't be true. No one had ever cared about me like Liam had. I refused to believe he didn't like me as much as I did him.

When I reached the class, I was surprised to see Liam's usual desk empty. He was nowhere to be seen. Sam glanced up from his laptop, his eyes meeting mine. He gave me a small smile with heavy eyes, and that was enough to tell me that Liam had told him about what happened.

Throughout the class, I glanced over at Liam's cold, empty desk dozens of times. Each time, my stomach plummeted when I remembered all the laughs we had together.

The day passed by painfully slow after that, and I didn't dare skip any classes even though I was itching to. My brain would drift off at random more often than not.

When I finally escaped the school after my last class, I hopped onto my motorcycle and drove off. I sped down roads and highways, weaving around other cars. I didn't know where I was going and I didn't have anything planned.

All I felt was the rush of the wind combing through my hair and brushing past my limbs. The sun brought warmth after how cold and empty I'd felt all day. I didn't think about Liam, or the girl he was with.

Eventually, I slid my bike into a spot in the parking lot of Malibu beach. The lot was only half filled considering that it was a weekday.

I stuffed my helmet into the compartment in my bike and I made my way over to the beach. My feet sunk into the cold, golden sand and it seeped between my toes. The waves crashed against the shore and I almost shivered from the harsh winds that blew past me wildly.

I plopped down onto the sand and immediately, my bottom felt cold and wet. My jeans were now plastered with an extra layer of sand.

I could almost see Liam running into the ocean with his surfboard. I could remember clearly how we raced from the shore all the way to that exact buoy. I could remember Liam pushing me out of my boundaries that day in the yacht when we jumped into the ocean. He was right, I wasn't as freaked out about it anymore.

A stray tear trickled down my cheek and I swiped it away quickly with a hand. It was useless, because in the next second my lip was quivering and I sniffled. More and more tears raced down my face, lining the tip my nose and chin. It dripped onto the ground creating dark spots on the bright yellow sand.

I tucked my head into my knees, my shoulders shaking as I let out sob after sob.

I was lost. I didn't know what to do anymore. I wanted Liam and would only ever want him, but I was too scared to tell him. He was special and different, kind and loving. I'd known that since I met him two centuries ago.

I didn't want to know that he wanted nothing to do with me. After all, it didn't seem like he missed me like I missed him. If that was a possible outcome, then I couldn't try.

I jumped in surprise when another sat down next to me, brushing against my shoulder.

"Hey," Avery said softly, wrapping her arms around her legs. "Thought you might need a shoulder to cry on."

"H-how did you find me?" I sniffed. I wiped my cheeks roughly with my palms, drying it the best I could.

"Lucky guess," she shrugged, smiling cockily.

"I'm fine," I shook my head. Then, I sighed. "Remember how much fun we had with Liam and Sam here?"

"Yeah, had a mean corn dog that day," she grinned, peering over my head. "Maybe I should get one now... where's the stand?"

"The other side," I nodded behind her.

"Nice," she started to get up, before she sat back down again. She turned to face me. "No, the corn dog can wait. Do you want to talk?"

"No," I said bluntly.

"You don't need to say anything, I know you well enough," she chuckled, rolling her eyes. "Look, if you really love Liam, you need to go to him."

"Who said anything about love?" I raised an eyebrow at her.

"You didn't need to say anything," she grinned. "A relationship always takes compromise. You know how you feel about him, if you don't take this chance now, you'll never get it back."

I stayed silent, watching the waves crash into each other, encouraged by the wind.

"And if he's already moved on, then he's a skank," she added firmly.

"Avery," I gave her a flat look, resisting a smile on my own.

"Oh my gosh, you get the point. If you really love him, go to him before it's too late," she nudged me, with a knowing expression plastered on her face.

Love was a strong word, but it didn't scare me. Not if I was with Liam.

"While you make your decision, I'm gonna go get my corn dog," she grunted as she stood up, dusting the sand that was stuck to her backside while she walked off to the food stands.

I sprung up after her, dusting my own butt off as well. Avery was right. I was being an idiot — again.

Liam and I were given a second chance already, and I blew it. I had to fix things, or at least try because we wouldn't be getting a third one.

With him, I was willing to let go. I was willing to let go with the people I loved. I was willing to depend on Liam with all of me. Like Avery said, a relationship took compromise. I'd rather let go of the past, depend on him and trust him than to lose him. And I felt the same about everyone I loved.

"Avery!" I called after her retreating body. She turned back questioningly. "I'm leaving, I'll call you later!"

She gave me a toothy smile and nodded, and with that, I sprinted back to my motorcycle. My foot sunk into the sand with each step, making out the run to be much harder than it should have been.

I'd never noticed it before, but the sun was beginning to disappear behind the horizon. Leaving shades of oranges, yellows and reds lining the sky.

I was embarrassed to say I was winded when I reached my vehicle. In a haste, I slipped on my helmet, clipping it over my chin. Safety first.

Within seconds, I was off, speeding down the highway. I didn't know where Liam was, but a good bet would be at his house. He must be studying in his kitchen. The only thing was that I hoped he'd be alone, and that the beautiful girl wasn't with him.

My heart thumped against my chest as I drove as fast as I could, passing slower cars and trucks. The wind almost gave me a windburn with its force. I took the outside lane, hoping that it would be faster.

Only a few cars were next to me in all of two lanes and I paid little mind to them. I also paid little mind to how fast I sped down the highway. All I knew was that I had to get to Liam. I had to apologize for being an idiot, promise to never push him away again and then tell him how I felt.

I knew I loved Liam and I'd never been more sure of anything. I hoped Liam would take me back.

A truck in the next lane maneuvered, closing the gap between us in an attempt to overtake my lane. I gasped, attempting to swerve away but I was too late.

My mind couldn't register what was happening fast enough. All I knew felt was the force of the truck colliding with my front wheels and the momentum knocked me off course.

Within a flash, I lost grip and my bike flew meters away from me as my side collided with the road. I pressed my eyes shut, biting back a cry when an immediate, sharp pain spread up from my wrist, up my whole arm and to my chest.

I whimpered and let out a strangled groan that was cut off when my head smacked against the pavement. My breath was knocked out of my lungs as a dull, piercing ache in my temple took over all my senses.

I stopped moving. With my head spinning and throbbing, I didn't know how far I had rolled. But the soft grass prickling at my fingers and back told me all I needed to know. Something warm, thick and wet dripped down the side of my head.

My eyes drifted up to the orange sky, peering at it through my cracked helmet. I willed myself to move, to get up. I needed to climb back on that bike to find Liam.

But my body didn't obey my mind. My limbs were heavy and weak. All I knew was the burning, searing pain all over my body.

The bright orange sky began to blur and dark dots spotted in my vision.

No, please no. I need to find Liam... I thought hopelessly, just as the dark spots took over and I faded away into oblivion.

★★★

𝐻𝑒𝑦 𝑔𝑢𝑦𝑠! 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑑𝑜 𝑣𝑜𝑡𝑒, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑒𝑛𝑗𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟!

𝑊ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑑𝑜 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑘 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑝𝑒𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑙𝑖𝑎?

~ 𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝐼𝑛𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑡