I stood on the foyer at my house as my mom continued to pile Jackson's old toys that had been lying around the house for years into a bag.

"Oh, don't forget these," she grunted as she dropped another large bag in front of my feet. It was Jackson's old train set. She glanced up at me. "Do you think they take old clothes?"

My brows furrowed, "I don't know. Probably not?"

I was about to make a drive to the Children's Hospital to donate my old toys and books that I'd found lying around in my closet. Of course, my mom thought it was a good chance for me to help get rid of Jackson's things too.

In my opinion, if Jackson wanted to get rid of those things, he could just do it himself. Now, I had to lug his things in the car while he was out with his friends.

It was still early and I'd just finished all my exams. My mom had barely gotten out of bed, dressed in a robe. Her hair was still in their curlers, and she had the reminisce of a face mask on the corners of her face.

"Oh whatever, I'll just toss them out," my mom shrugged as she tied a knot on top of Jackson's bag of toys.

"Mom please, there are tons of places that take old clothes," I rolled my eyes at her nonchalance.

Just because we were well off, it didn't mean others were. Sometimes, I didn't think my mom understood that.

"Okay, you take care of them later then," she had her lips pressed in a thin line as she challenged me. I rolled my eyes again, suppressing a sigh.

With that, she walked off, back to the washroom where she was still getting through her skincare routine.

It took me two trips to drag all the bags through my driveway and into the trunk of my mom's car. I'd have to borrow hers since my motorcycle couldn't carry all those toys and books. It was a nice car, a shiny black BMW, but I had to say I still liked my bike more.

I hopped into the car and drove off. I sat through half an hour of Los Angeles traffic, thankful that I had my own music to listen to and not my mom's playlist. I turned into the hospital and slid into the loading zone.

There was no way I was going to pay fifteen dollars to park, and the lot was still so far from the actual hospital.

I opened the trunk to my mom's car, and the four bags of toys and books stared back at me. Damn it, I'd have to make two trips. But, there was no way I would.

I hooked two large bags in each arm, cursing at how heavy they were. I slammed the trunk shut, almost toppling over at the weight of the bags. I began waddling my way over to the main entrance of the hospital, grunting and groaning under my breath when someone brushed past my shoulders, walking on ahead of me.

My brows furrowed at the sight of the familiar dark hair I'd known for so long. He was in a pair of dark jeans and a white t-shirt.

"Liam!" I called after him, irritated that he managed to bump into me as he walked, but didn't greet me.

"Ophelia!" he mocked, turning around with an amused expression on his face. He eyed the four bags I was holding in my hands before he chuckled, shaking his head. With that, he turned and continued on his way. He entered the hospital, disappearing behind the automatic doors.

My mouth slackened at how he hadn't even offered to help, and I rolled my eyes. Not that I needed his help. He was the last person I wanted help from.

It was getting ridiculous how I was seeing him literally everywhere I went. I couldn't catch a break.

I stumbled on for another few feet until my arms began to burn where the handles of the bags made contact with it. I set the bags down on the ground, letting out an annoyed sigh as I realized that I should have taken two trips.

The automatic doors opened again and Liam stepped out. Within a few strides, he was in front of me.

"Need some help?" he asked, with an amused eyebrow raised.

I frowned, "No."

Not from Liam anyway. Anyone, but Liam.

To make a point, I hooked all four bags over my arms and continued to walk. It was a struggle but I would make it alone. He sighed, cutting me off from my path and taking two bags from my one of my arms. He flawlessly ignored my protests.

"You're too stubborn for your own good," he shook his head, not even bothering to suppress his smile.

"I'm not," I shot back.

He ignored my comment, glancing into the bags, "Jeez, what's in here?"

"Like fifty books and some toys," I replied.

"What are you doing with that?" he asked as we began making our way back to the automatic doors. I swallowed hard when my eyes drifted to his arms.

They were toned, and his shirt hugged them perfectly. My stomach did multiple backflips.

"Ophelia? You good?" Liam's voice snapped me back into reality. I blinked, forcing my eyes to meet his dark ones. I rolled my eyes at the smirk he held on his face, ignoring his question.

"They're all old books and toys, I'm donating them to the hospital," I answered as we entered the hospital.

"Oh... that's nice of you," he said quietly. He glanced up at me, giving me a small smile.

It wasn't a teasing one like usual, it was a genuine one that sent me spiralling. Blood rushed up to my cheeks as I diverted my gaze to the floor.

"What are you doing here?" I asked after a short moment of silence.

"My cousin broke his arm, I took him to the hospital from his house cause no one else would," he explained. "I was just parking my car over at the lot since he's staying overnight."

"Well, your cousin is lucky to have you," I admitted just as we made it to the front desk. I'd broken an arm before. It hurt like hell and it was just me at the hospital for a long while. My mom was out with her friends and my dad came to see me after work.

We set the bags down onto the floor, letting out a relieved sigh.

"Of course," he scoffed, a crooked smirk spreading over his lips.

"I'm never complimenting you again," I groaned.

He let out a laugh, "We'll see about that."

I turned my attention to the front, resisting an eye roll at Liam's comment.

"Are those donations?" a nurse asked, glancing down at the bags on the floor.

I nodded, "Yes, there's some books and toys."

She beamed, "Great, I'll get someone to take care of those. You can sign your name here."

She took out a clipboard, pushing it towards me. I quickly scribbled down my signature and the date and set the pen down.

My breath stuck in my throat when I turned my attention back to Liam. He immediately turned away from me, glancing around the room. Two pink dots were prominent on his cheeks.

"Liam, there you are," a voice sounded from behind us. I turned to see Sam approaching us, his hands stuck within the pocket of his shorts. "The little dude has been crying for the past fifteen minutes. Can't calm him down."

"I'll be there soon," Liam told him. "He can handle a few minutes alone."

True, I had been all alone when I broke my arm. Not that I should have been, or that Liam's cousin should be.

Sam glanced over at me, a wide smile immediately spreading over his face. I swallowed hard, shifting on my feet.

"I'm Sam," he gave me a toothy grin.

"I know," I said without thinking and a moment later, my eyes widened when I realized what had come out of my mouth. "Wait, no. I didn't know that."

My cheeks grew warm as I mentally scolded myself. That was now the weirdest thing I'd ever said to anyone.

Liam laughed, "Oh yeah, it's fine. We all know Thalia stalks me."

"I-I don't!" I managed to say. Much to my dismay, my cheeks grew even hotter.

"Aww, are you blushing?" Liam teased, he brought his hand up to my face, his thumb lightly brushing over my cheek.

My heart skipped a beat from his soft touch and as embarrassing as it was, the blood rushing to my cheeks intensified. I placed my head in my hands, groaning.

"Okay, leave her alone Liam," I heard Sam say, even though there was a hint of laughter in his tone.  "Thalia, if it makes you feel any better, Liam never shuts up about you."

I took a peek from over my hands, a slow smirk spreading over my face.

"Gee, thanks Sam," Liam gave him a flat look.

"You're welcome bro," Sam offered me a smile. He turned back to Liam. "Anyways, I'll get back to the little dude before he makes the nurse cry."

He gave me a small smile and walked off back into the direction of the rooms.

"So you do talk about me!" I laughed, silently thanking Sam for confirming what Liam's mom had said.

"No," he grunted, turning pink from my words.

I let it go, satisfied at the reaction I got from Liam. Together, we moved away from the front desk, following Sam into the direction of the patient rooms.

Liam stopped walking, turning to face me. I followed his lead, my brows furrowing.

"You know, you're different than before," he started,  "but also the same in so many ways."

His words only furthered my confusion.

Liam's eyes met mine, and like always, I found myself captivated by them. The ocean of stars sucked me in once again. Everyone else walking through the hospital became a blur.

"It's not a bad thing," he continued. "You've always wanted to help."

"W...what?" my voice sounded shaky.

I didn't know what he meant by that. I'd always wanted to help. I guess in some ways I did, but only because I had the resources to. If I didn't need something, someone else would.

Liam chuckled, "Never mind. I'm gonna go see my cousin, wanna join?"

I pondered for a moment, "Sure, why not. I'm here anyway."

With that, I followed Liam to the elevators.

I'd loosened up with Liam much more than I'd anticipated. So much, that I wasn't even sure if I was still angry at him for what he'd done.

Liam had never confused me before. He'd always been straightforward with what he had to say and how he felt two centuries ago. I'd also never been confused about how I felt about him.

I'd liked him and I'd hated him.

It drove me insane not knowing which I felt now.

★★★

𝐻𝑒𝑦 𝑔𝑢𝑦𝑠! 𝐼 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑒 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑙𝑖𝑘𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟. 𝐼𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑑, 𝑝𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑡𝑒, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤! 𝐼𝑡 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑙𝑦 𝑚𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑠 𝑚𝑦 𝑑𝑎𝑦!

𝑊𝑎𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝑐𝑢𝑡𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑛𝑜𝑡? 𝐼 𝑎𝑙𝑚𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑐𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑑 𝑤𝑟𝑖𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑖𝑡!!

𝐴𝑛𝑦𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠, 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔!

~ 𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝐼𝑛𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑡