I tried to say something anything, but I couldn't find my voice. I felt as if my legs were about to buckle underneath me, and I was going to crash onto the floor.

Liam didn't move. Barely even looked at me. He looked broken. His jaw clenched and his hands in a tight fist.

It killed me to see him like this. He was always the most confident and never showed his weakness. But right now, he just looked shattered.

I build whatever strength I had and walked over to him. And he still didn't look at me.

I wanted to touch him hold him, but the part of me that still loved Noah is demanding justice. I wanted all the answers. I needed to know what he meant by everything.

I opened my mouth to say something, but I at once stopped when his eyes shifted to mine.

The tears rolled off my eyes. "I'm so sorry," he said. "I blamed you this whole time when it was all because of me," he stepped closer to me. It hurt me to see him like this.

Liam was never the one to show his emotions. Always expressionless and cold, but to see him this way, I didn't know what to do?

"What happened, Liam? Please tell me," I begged.

He took a long breath closing his eyes, and grabbed my hand. "I need to show you something,"

He grabbed my hand, rushing upstairs and into his room. He rummaged through his stuff, searching frantically for something until he turned around and looked at me.

With a pair of set keys in his hand. But it wasn't keys that surprised me but the bat-winged that looked identical to the tattoo Cassian had.

"This," he pointed at the key chain, "Was the reason for everything. We're all part of an underground fighting club,"

My eyes turned wide.

"Fight Club?" I questioned

"Yes. We all started fighting during the summer of our freshman year,"

"We?"

"All of us. Noah, Isaac, Luke and even Tyler and Cassian,"

Tyler and Cassian. They all were part of it?

"When we were all exclusive members, we have to fight a rival team best player and win to be able to get access to all benefits. And once we join, we can't get out, and we have this tattoo to prove our loyalty to the club," he lifted his shirt and revealed his batwing tattoo on his torso.

But his torso did not just have his tattoo. It was covered in scars near it.

And without really thinking, my hands moved to touch it, but he quickly pulled his shirt down, and my hand fell.

"But we only get them if we fight our opponent and win. If not, we get this," he showed the keychain. "It's also our entry to the club,"

"Noah was part of all of this?" I questioned.

Noah lied to me about everything. He let out the most important detail of his life. He died because of that secret.

I thought I knew who my Noah was, but I didn't. I didn't know anything about anyone. Even my best friends lied to me.

"He only wanted to protect you," he told me.

"He lied to me," I justified.

"He lied because he loved you..." he said, his eyes filled with pain. "Noah only cared about you more than anything. He wanted you safe and away from all of this," he showed the keychain again.

I didn't want to listen to him because Noah's death was the only thing replaying in my brain.

"What happened that night, Liam?" I asked.

"That week, I was set to fight the opposite gang's best fighter. Jace's gang. He's known to be brutal, and they fight dirty. They'll kill you if it means they win," he said. "But they were cowards. The night of the fight, they broke into our rooms and destroyed everything and injured my legs so I wouldn't be able to fight," he clenched his jaw. "If I couldn't fight, I wouldn't get the price. So, Noah took my place. I warned him, but I..." he paused, taking a deep breath. "I didn't stop him because I thought maybe if they did win, I would have you,"

It felt like I couldn't breathe all over again.

"Noah won that night, but he died because of me. I should have told him to stop. I should have fought. It should have been me that died, Storm! Not him... I shouldn't have been so selfish. Noah didn't deserve any of this," he ran his hand through his head. "Worst of all, there was a part of me that thought for a split second that this was my chance to make you happy because he was no longer here, but I was too messed up even to think that way..."

The room was silent. I barely could form the words to say anything until he looked at me. He came closer to me and grabbed my face in his hand.

"I shouldn't have blamed you. It was all my fault, and you were never the reason for anything. I'm the one that shouldn't have fallen for you," he looked to the side. "Please forgive me, Storm,"

I took a long deep breath. My mind, processing everything he had told me and, I remembered the abuse I went through because he continued to blame me for so long.

I couldn't forget those nights where I believed it was all because of me. I was scared, in my own way, because of him.

That night when I went to Noah's grave, I was ready to forgive him. I was going to move past everything.

But now, hearing all of this made me feel numb inside.

I couldn't deny I fell for Liam also. I have fell for him, but being with him and forgiving him now only will should how pathetic I am.

I moved his hand off my cheeks and took a step back.

"You blamed me," I said. "You knew how much Noah meant to me, and you made me believe I was the reason for everything," tears began rolling out of my eyes.

He didn't meet my eyes. His hands dropped for his side.

"I know," he mumbled. "I am the one to blame, and as much as I want your forgiveness, I don't deserve it, and I understand if you can't,"

To have him be so vulnerable made it unbearable to see him this way. The Liam I once knew is no longer the man standing in front of me.

He never allowed me to meet this man, but now that he slowly is, I am unable to forgive him.

This was years of bullying that I couldn't just forget.

He was the reason for most of my cries and unhealthy behaviours. I didn't want to forget everything merely because I felt something for him.

It wasn't going to be that easy for me.

"I can't forgive you easily, Liam. I just want to have space," and with that, I left out of his home.

I didn't turn back to look at him because I was afraid of what I might see in his eyes.

-

"What does your tattoo mean?" I asked a sleepy Cassian.

Cassian laid on my lap and had drifted off to sleep while I read a book. But I continue to look at his tattoo plastered on his forearm; I couldn't stop thinking about the conversation between Liam and me 2- weeks ago.

Like I had asked Liam, gave me space. I haven't seen him in 2 weeks.

But I hated to admit I was suffering more than anything. I knew everything I said then was all for myself. And I don't regret any of it.

But I knew I wanted to see him. The space I had asked for seemed to be so unnecessary because all I thought about was his day and night.

Even if I didn't see him, he constantly was there in my mind.

"Nothing. I just got it for fun," Cassian said, looking up at me still on my lap.

"Don't lie to me," I firmly said.

Liam had told me that Cassian and Tyler were also part of their stupid underground Fight Club. Both my best friends had hidden this from me.

Especially Tyler, who knew Noah was part of this and never uttered a word to me. Not even the times I worried about him.

"What do you mean, Sun?" He asked, getting off my lap and faced me.

"I know your lying to me, Cas. Your part of an underground gang,"

His eyes went wide. "How do you know about that?" He questioned, shocked that I even knew about it.

"That doesn't matter. I want to know why you didn't tell me?" I crossed my arms, moving off my bed.

He sighed. "You couldn't have handled it, Storm," he said.

"Handled what, Cas?"

"That's a brutal place entirely and you being there is just dangerous," he told me.

I looked at him, contemplating everything he had said, wondering why they didn't believe I couldn't handle it.

It was not fair for all of them to lie to me. I can handle it, and they didn't have the right to believe otherwise.

"I want you to take me there,"

****

Hello, my lovelies! How are you guys doing?

I hope you enjoy this chapter! We see a new light on Liam for sure.

What do you guys think about Liam's confession? Do you accept his apology, and do you think Storm should? Why do you think Tyler didn't say anything to her?

Leave all your amazing theories and comments down below, and please don't forget to vote!

Lots of love,

Just another girl