Zach's POV
As soon as we swing the doors open to Theo's pub, his broadly grinning face already comes into my view.

"You have a face as long as a fiddle, darling!" Liv states whispering, sliding her hand into mine.

"I just don't know what to think of him," I murmur unwillingly, but the soft giggle escaping Liv's lips puts a smile on my face as well.

I stop and wait until Callie, Logan, and Jude have walked by us before I pull Liv closer and smirk into her bright eyes. "Are you laughing at me?"

Out of the corner of my eye, I notice Theo is watching us, so I lean down and passionately kiss my girl, sliding my hands down to her cute ass.

"Zach, stop!" Liv pulls away and grabs my hands, placing them a bit further up. "My family is right next to us."

"And?" I ask in a low voice, cocking my head. "You're my girlfriend, I'm allowed to kiss you, right?"

Liv turns her head, looking at the dark wooden bar where Theo is waving at her before facing me again.

"You're jealous, right?" A knowing smirk appears on her plump lips, and she raises one eyebrow.

Clenching my teeth, I flare my nostrils but can't hold back a light chuckle.

"Come on, jelly boy," Liv teases me, standing on her tiptoes, brushing a quick kiss on my lips. "Let's join the others."

Without waiting for my response, she turns away and walks over to her mom, Logan, and Jude. It doesn't escape me how she's swaying her hips, gracefully moving her lithe body, and whimsically shooting me a mischievous glance over her shoulder. Little minx!

I have to admit I love that little naughty side on her. When I met her, I never would have thought that this side even exist, but the longer I know her, the more she surprises me. In a good way, of course. I never felt more attracted to anybody in my whole life. And it's not just her physical appearance, I mean, yes, she is beautiful, and the way she manages to look absolutely stunning wearing just a pair of light blue, skinny jeans and a white pullover amazes me, but nothing beats her personality. Her big heart and her sensitivity paired with her slightly cheeky side and her sense of humor has cast a spell on me. Right from the start. And I don't think I ever want to break that spell again.

"Zach," Logan calls out to me, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Are you up for a little game with Jude and me?"

Looking in the direction he points, I spot a billiard table in a darker corner of the bar.

"Sure, why not." I shrug my shoulders and smile at Olivia before I follow Logan and Jude, leaving Liv alone with Callie.

Actually, I think it will do her good to have some time with her mother alone. After all the trouble of the past weeks, Franco's death, our break-up, and the sudden return of her father, an extensive, private talk with Callie will help Liv getting things out of her system for once. I know how much she misses her family, especially her mom, and I'm beyond happy for her that she still has the opportunity to meet them in person. How I wish I could do the same. Talking to my mother. Simply seeing her once again would be enough for me, honestly. But well, you cannot bring the dead back to life.

"Look who's here!" Theo approaches us with a wide grin on his bearded face and three beer bottles in his hands. "I'm actually a bit surprised to see you here, buddy."

"Hey, Theo," I say, ignoring his allusion to my slightly jealous behavior last night. "All good?"

"I'm fine thanks. Everything alright with you two?" He nods in Liv's direction and hands me one of the beer bottles. "Liv seemed to be a bit pissed when I left yesterday."

I take a swig of my beer and glance at Logan and Jude to make sure they don't catch what we're talking about. After all, they already left when shit went down last night.

"We talked. We're good. Thanks for your concern, Theo." I make sure to let a hint of defense resonate with my voice.

"Alright then," he hands Logan and Jude one beer each before heading back to the bar. Back to where Liv and Callie are already immersed in a conversation.

With a sour smile, I take another sip of my beer and watch Theo serving them two Gin Tonics before making a remark which must be super funny considering the loud laughs of the two ladies.

"Zach?" I nearly drop my beer as Jude taps my shoulder. "Are you coming?"

"Uh, yea, sure," I mumble and shoot one last glance at Liv before I join her brother and stepdad at the billiard table.

The next hour, I play one game of billiard with Logan and one with Jude and then order another round of beer when the two of them play a third one against each other. Admittedly, I'm not a good billiard player, never was, never going to be, and so it's no surprise for me that Jude as well as Logan easily manage to defeat me. Jude also keeps interposing questions about my life as a gambler and I seriously start worrying about his motives for this curiosity. Maybe I should have a talk with Liv about it at times, but then again, I don't want to burden her with another sorrow on top of all the bullshit she's going through at the moment.

After we put away the billiard cues, Logan and I join the ladies at the bar again whereas Jude heads for the men's room. Liv tilts her head and beams right into my eyes as I wrap my arms around her from behind.

"You had fun?" she asks, leaning back against my chest.

"Yea," I bury my nose in her caramel brown hair and soak in her sweet scent. "Logan and Jude totally destroyed me."

Chuckling softly, Liv counters, "So there are more things you're not good at besides taking photos and mixing cocktails?"

I laugh, planting a gentle kiss on her hair. "Billiard has never been my strong suit actually. I used to play on occasion with some friends when we were at high school, but I hardly ever won. To be honest, I already had quite a hard time trying to sink the right balls. Of course, the others made fun of me. Specially of the grumpy mood I was in whenever we played."

Callie as well as Liv laugh along, and it doesn't take Logan long to join in.

"Callie?!"

All our heads snap around at the sound of the deep male voice, and I immediately feel Liv's body tensing in my embrace.

"So, it's true? You're seriously stalking Olivia, Carter?" Callie keeps a cool voice, but I notice how pale she went.

"I'm not stalking her," Liv's father shakes his doughy head and takes a step towards Callie. "You look pretty, Cals!"

"Don't come any closer!" Logan steps defensively in front of his wife and crosses his arms. I have to admit he looks quite intimidating. The angry glint in his dark green eyes even scares me a bit to be honest

"And you are...?" Liv's father raises his eyebrows and sizes Logan up with a disparaging expression. "Her fucking bodyguard, or what?"

"I am Callie's husband," Logan spits, puckering his lips. "And looking at your sleazy appearance, you must be her ex-husband, Carter, right?"

Everyone is watching the two men throwing daggers at each other with their eyes, and nobody says a word. I notice how Liv's breathing accelerates and her body starts trembling.

"Hey, it's okay," I whisper in her ear, pulling her closer. "I'm here!"

"What is this, Cals, huh?" Carter suddenly barks, causing even Theo to raise his head and look over to us.

"Playing happy family, or what?" Carter booms further, obviously losing his temper. "I still can remember when you vowed eternal fidelity to me, and not to some pathetic loser like him!"

"Dad?!"

We all turn around hearing Jude's croaky voice. He's standing in front of the toilet door, staring at his father with widened eyes and looks more like a five-year-old boy than the almost adult teenager he actually is.

"Jude, my boy!" Carter rushes towards Jude and tries to pull him into a hug but Jude yanks his hands away.

"Don't you dare touching me!" he hisses with tears glistening in his eyes before he storms off towards the exit.

"Jude, baby, Wait!" Callie runs after her son, leaving Logan, Liv, and me alone with that shithead.

I have an extremely bad feeling about this whole situation. Liv is trembling like a leaf, holding on to my around her body wrapped arms for dear life and Logan is glaring at his wife's ex-husband with flared nostrils and a bright red face, looking like he's about to explode any second.

"So, you're the guy who's fucking my wife now, huh?" Carter growls through clenched teeth. "Seems like Callie fell to a critical low level."

"You asshat beat the shit out of her, remember?" Logan fires back taking a step towards his rival. "I don't think there's any possibility of sinking lower than that!"

"Hey, guys. What's the problem here?" Theo finally comes over from behind the bar and looks between Logan and Carter with a stern face.

"Actually, I don't give a fuck about that useless slut and the spoilt brat!" Carter ignores Theo and narrows his eyes. "All I want is to spend time with my daughter!"

The next moment, Logan's fist connects with Carter's cheek. The powerful and surprising blow causes Carter to fall to the floor with a loud thud.

"Who do you think you are?" Logan uses Carter's short moment of confusion and climbs on top of him, starting to throw punch after punch into his face. "Calling the woman a slut who always tried to protect her children against her abusive and alcoholic husband!"

"Hey man," I let go of Liv and hurry over, pulling Logan off Carter's writhing body. "He's not worth it!"

Thank god, Logan is a decent guy and immediately stops his attack against Carter once I managed to get him out of his state of trance.

"You're right. I shouldn't have lost it like that." He looks at his bloody hand and scrunches his face up. "Theo you've got some ice for me?"

"Come on, get up!" Reluctantly, I reach out my hand for Carter, who's still sitting on the floor, holding his bleeding nose.

When he notices my hand, he actually grabs it and lets me help him getting to his feet. Just when I'm about to pull away my hand and turn towards Liv again, he tightens his grasp and before I know it, he directly punches me into the face.

"Without you I would have had the opportunity to speak to Ollie before!" he shouts in total rage. "You all act like superheroes looking after her like some holy motherfuckers!"

Only a heartbeat later, after I recovered from that little shock, thankfully Carter's strike wasn't that bad, I furiously pounce on him and drag him to the ground again. This time it's me who's climbing on top of him and start relentlessly beating him up. Not even the quiet whimpering coming from Liv stops me from doing so. Right in that moment, I'm blind by rage.

"You little...piece of...shit," I bark, throwing a punch into his face after every word. He doesn't even get the chance to hit me back once. Fucking Weakling!

"You better leave Olivia alone or the next time I catch you sneaking up on her like a little pussy, I will kill you!"

"Zach, stop!" Suddenly, I feel Liv's hand on my shoulder and turn around.

Carter uses my moment of carelessness and pushes me off him with all his strength, causing me to fall on my butt.

"You're just as useless as the rest of this fucking rabble!" he spits and shakily gets to his feet. Seems like I've hit him hard. "Fuck you! Fuck all of you!"

He turns to leave, but before he actually heads for the exit, he faces me again and firmly kicks me into my stomach. Three times. In an instant, a sharp pain rushes through my body and my head starts to spin.

"No! Stop! His spleen!" Liv shouts with clear panic in her voice. She pushes her father away from me with all her might, causing him to let up on me and finally trudging out of Theo's bar.

Falling onto her knees next to me, Liv takes my head in her hands and searches my eyes. Only blurry, I can see her staring at me with torn-open and with despair filled eyes.

"Zach! Fuck, we need an ambulance!" is the last thing I hear before pain takes over and pulls me into the darkness.

*****

Finally, a new update, guys. I'm so, so sorry for the long waiting time. ❤️

So, we have a huge escalation in this chapter and a bit of a cliff hanger at the end. Sorry for that! 😌

I promise the next chapter will come until Sunday. After that, I'm on vacation for 11 days, so there will be no updates in this time.🌞

Please comment and vote.✨

Katie🤍