I laid on my bed, finally out of my wet swimsuit and into a black floral dress. Avery sat next to me, dressed in one of my sweatshirts. She had her textbook out as she crammed for a quiz she had coming up.

We'd just got back from the beach after leaving Liam and Sam, they'd decided to stay for a bit of night surfing. I thought that was ridiculous, the water was cold enough already during the day.

Avery glanced over at me frequently, her mouth opened and shut as if she wanted to say something but was too afraid to.

I smiled, sitting up, "What's wrong, Avery?"

She set her textbook aside, seeing her opening, "I just think you and Liam are really weird together."

"Define weird," my brows furrowed as I leaned back on my headboard.

She cleared her throat, swallowing hard, "You guys act like you've known each other for like forever, and you just met at the beginning of school. You guys always look at each other like that too."

"I don't know what you mean," I let out a small laugh. To answer Avery's question, it was because we've known each other for a long time, not that I could tell her that.

"Oh, you know," she wriggled her eyebrows, smirking. "You can tell me anything, you know that right? That includes Liam."

"Yes, I know that," I told her, sighing. "You just might think I'm crazy." I wrung my hands together.

"I already think that," Avery raised an eyebrow.

"Gee, thanks. I feel so much better," I said sarcastically, even though a smile creeped on my face.

"I'm just saying, what you tell me isn't going to change my opinion of you. I've known you for more than ten years," she elaborated.

I could tell Avery, and risk her thinking I was a psychopath. After all, I had no real explanation as to why I remembered so much from two centuries ago. It just was the way it was.

I'd done stupid things before, but telling Avery about Liam and I would be at the top of the list. I knew I could trust Avery. I just hoped it wouldn't be a mistake.

"Liam and I act like that because... we have known each other a long time," I started, and her brows drew together in confusion.

"You've known him before this year and you never told me?" her eyes glistened, a slow smile spreading over her face.

"No, not like that," I rolled my eyes. "I mean, we knew each other two centuries ago."

"Come again?" she leaned in closer.

"You heard me right the first time, Avery," I stared at her as her confused expression deepened.

I explained to her what happened from the beginning. How Liam's name was actually Noah back then, and how we'd met at a ball and gotten engaged, all the way to how he'd told the King what I'd done. I even showed her the old photo of Liam and I to back up my words.

When I finished, Avery only stared back at me with her lips pressed in a thin line. She stayed in her spot on my bed.

"Say something?" I grimaced.

"Calm down, I know you won't make something like this up. You play jokes on me, but not like this," Avery said and I let out a relieved breath. Then, she laughed, "I'm just trying to figure out what to say."

I nodded, "Yeah, makes sense."

"Look, I can't speak for Liam — or Noah, whatever his name is," she started, "but I don't think you're mad at only Liam."

"Huh?" my brows furrowed.

"Yes you're mad at him for what he did, but from what it sounds like I think you're also mad at yourself," she explained, sitting back to lean on the headboard on my bed. "You're mad at yourself because you left your old family. You ran off instead of facing the consequence with them. A consequence you didn't even deserve."

I focused my gaze on my hands as Avery's words sunk in. My hands were now red from all the nervous wringing I'd done.

"You might be right," I finally said after a long moment of silence. "But there's still no way I can forgive Liam. And even if I can, I can't just forget what he did. How can I still trust him?"

"I'm sure you'll know what to do eventually," she said. "You're going to be spending time with Liam no matter what since your parents are friends with his. You'll have to find a way to accept what happened, one way or another."

I only nodded, even though my brain was reeling. I'd always thought that I'd already accepted what happened. If not, I didn't know how I could move past it. I didn't know how to pretend that I'd never met Liam before, and that what had happened was okay.

"I'm glad you've changed, and that you know better," Avery continued, a soft smile spreading over her face. "Just don't forget the people who care about you, like me and Liam."

My eyes met hers as the corners of my mouth curled up. I knew Avery was there for me, but I'd never thought that Liam really was too.

Maybe I had been to harsh on Liam, especially for punching him the first time I saw him. I just didn't want to let myself fall for him again, especially after what he did. But like Avery said, maybe I did have to move on.

I sighed, turning to her, "Yeah, I know."

____________________________

I walked down the stairs at the pace of a snail, still rubbing sleep off of my eyes. I had been cramming for a test the night before and got a total of four hours of sleep. In a haste, I'd thrown on a pair of leggings and a sweatshirt.

I entered the kitchen, to see my mom and dad eating their breakfast, all scrolling through their phones. Jackson was digging around in the fridge.

"Morning," I grumbled. Jackson ignored me, not even sparing me a glance as he took out a jug of milk from the fridge. My mom however, perked up from the sound of my voice, looking up from her phone.

"There you are Thalia, I've been wondering when you'd come down," she said, setting her phone aside. My brows furrowed slightly at that since she usually didn't pay me any mind in the mornings. Unless, she was hounding me about some event or dinner we had to go to.

"Its eight in the morning," I told her, rolling my eyes as I opened the fridge myself, brushing past Jackson. He was now chugging milk directly from the carton, which I crinkled my nose to.

"Hunter reached out to me," my mom said, standing up from her seat as she began making her way over to where I was.

"Okay..." I blinked, turning around to face the fridge again. It seemed as if Jackson had devoured everything. He'd even violated the milk.

"He says he's reached out to you many times but you haven't replied?" my mom raised an eyebrow at me as I turned around, shutting the fridge empty-handed.

Hunter had messaged me about three or four times in total, all of which I'd ignored with little effort. His messages were pathetic and I didn't want to hear any of what he had to say.

"Why would I? We broke up," I said simply.

"How could you say that Thalia, he was good for you," my mom snapped, her nostrils flaring.

"No mom, he was good for you because you liked him," I shot back, and her jaw clenched as she watched me, furious. "You didn't even know anything about our relationship, so I don't think you have the right to make any comments on Hunter's behalf."

Jackson glanced between my mom and I, swallowing hard, "I... I'm gonna get to school."

He shot me a sympathetic smile as he slipped past me and out the kitchen. Oh, how much I wanted to run off like Jackson did. My mom opened her mouth to retort something when my dad beat her to it.

"I didn't really like this Hunter kid anyways," my dad shrugged, finally tearing his eyes off his phone. "He's very full of himself."

"Thank you, dad," I let out a relieved breath.

My mom shot daggers at my dad, "You're not helping."

I rolled my eyes, leaning against the counter. I wanted to blast and leave for school so I didn't have to talk about my love life with my parents, but obviously that would be a bad idea.

"Look honey, Thalia is old enough to make her own decisions, especially when it comes to who she may want to marry eventually," my dad explained to my mom, crossing his arms over the table. "And if she's not ready or doesn't want to, it's not our business."

My heart swelled with pride at my dad's words. I never knew he thought that way, since he rarely ever spoke to me on a regular day. I beamed at my dad.

My mom's mouth hung open slightly and she shut it, speechless.

"Besides, if Thalia is going to work and inherit the company, she doesn't need a husband," my dad winked at me, speaking my exact thoughts.

"Thank you, dad," I said. My mom diverted her gaze to the floor, her mouth curved down into a deep frown. "I should get to school, I'll pick up breakfast there."

With that, I hurried out of the kitchen and down the hall to the main doors. Thankfully, the kitchen was just down the hall from it. My hands hooked around my backpack as I stepped out the door, all before my mom could get a word in.

The ride to school was a typical one, with my headphones plugged into my ears as I weaved around heavy traffic to get to school. The sun warmed my skin and the wind combed through the strands of my hair as I drove.

I was still early for class when I pulled into a parking spot directly in front of the school's main doors. Conveniently, it was right next to a familiar Jeep Wrangler — Liam's car.

I shoved my helmet into the compartment in my motorcycle, exchanging it for my backpack. I peeked into Liam's car window, to see it was empty. Liam was already inside.

My feet moved to the school and my hands made contact with the heavy metal doors as I pushed my way inside. The cool blast of air conditioning was the first thing I felt.

The halls were already bustling, full of students running to get a morning coffee, breakfast, or to class. I maneuvered smoothly around them, hooking my hands around the straps of my backpack.

I stopped short when I spotted Hunter walking down the hall, heading straight towards me. He was dressed in his usual white polo shirt and khakis, his blond hair combed back. I did not miss him one bit. He hadn't noticed me yet, his eyes still scanning the hall. He was in Business, so he had no reason to be in the Law building.

Quickly, I turned back the other way, speed-walking down the hall. I'd have to make a detour to the food court. I shrunk my shoulders, slouching a bit in hopes to blend in with the crowd easier.

I didn't know what Hunter wanted from me, and I didn't want to find out. I forced my feet to move quicker, keeping my head down as I walked.

My path was obstructed when I bumped into another's shoulder, taking two steps back from the momentum.  My hand flew to my forehead, rubbing it to ease the throbbing pain from the collision.

"Ow," I grunted, irritated. I glanced up, meeting Liam's amused gaze.

"Where are you going on such a hurry?" he asked, an eyebrow raising slightly.

"It's not about where I'm going," I rolled my eyes, glancing back. Hunter had gotten closer from this setback.

I almost grimaced when Hunter's eyes landed on me through the crowd of students. His face lit up and he started on his trajectory  towards me, swerving around other students in his path.

"Oh no," my eyes widened. I glanced up at Liam, forcing a smile. "Gotta go."

I brushed past him, jogging in the direction of the main doors. At this point, that was my only way to escape. No one in the hall was fazed by my quick, distressed steps.

"Hey, what the hell man?"

I stopped short in my tracks when I heard Hunter's irritated voice behind me. I turned to see Hunter's lip turned up in distaste, with Liam standing in front of him and his back facing me. Hunter glowered at Liam.

"Watch where you're going," Hunter growled, straightening his shirt and pants.

"Sorry, didn't see you there," Liam replied, nonchalantly.

Liam turned around, meeting my eyes. A smirk spread over his lips as he gave me a wink. I returned his smile; I'd never been more grateful for Liam.

He didn't have to tell me twice. I bursted out into a jog out of the school, away from Hunter. I would need to thank Liam after.

I hated to admit it, but I owed him one.

★★★

𝐻𝑒𝑦 𝑔𝑢𝑦𝑠! 𝑇ℎ𝑎𝑛𝑘𝑠 𝑠𝑜 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑓𝑜𝑟 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼 ℎ𝑜𝑝𝑠 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑒𝑛𝑗𝑜𝑦𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑠 𝑐ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟. 𝑃𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑒 𝑣𝑜𝑡𝑒, 𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑓𝑜𝑙𝑙𝑜𝑤 𝑖𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑖𝑑, 𝐼'𝑑 𝑏𝑒 𝑣𝑒𝑟𝑦 𝑔𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑓𝑢𝑙!

~ 𝑆𝑤𝑒𝑒𝑡𝑛𝑒𝑠𝑠𝐼𝑛𝑇ℎ𝑒𝑆𝑎𝑙𝑡