I follow behind Liam as he leads me out of the building and up the sidewalk to the common area. There isn't a great place to talk in the middle of the night and I am glad I snatched my sweater off my bed before coming out side. Between my anxiety and the air off of the ocean I am shivering. He's walking quickly so I'm not prepared when he suddenly spins around to face me. I bump into him and he puts his hands on my shoulders to steady me. From the horrific look on his face I know whatever he is about to tell me is going to be bad.

"What's wrong Liam?" I suddenly ask him and he starts pacing in front of me. He runs his hands through his hair before looking back to me.

"I lied to you Ellie." Is all he says to have my heart sink. I don't know what he is talking about.

"Lied to me about what?" I repeat and he shakes his head.

"The other day, I said I wouldn't leave you. I said you were still mine and that's no longer true. I lied." My breathing starts getting heavier and panic fills my voice as I ask, "What are you talking about Liam?"

His voice is uneven as he quietly says, "I have to go." I shake my head at his words but my eyes never leave his.

"Go where? What's going on Liam?"

"I'm leaving in the morning. To Virginia with my dad. I don't have a choice Ellie, I have to go." He shakes his head and rubs his hands down his face, telling me this is clearly torturing him.

"No! No...You said you wouldn't leave me Liam. Tell your dad to fuck off!" I yell but Liam grabs my face with his hands.

"It's not that easy Ellie. I don't have a choice!"

"That's bullshit Liam. Tell him you're not ready to go!"

"Ellie he is forcing me to go! He's not leaving here without me," Liam confesses and he's still holding onto my face.

"He can't do this. He can't force you into anything," I choke out and tears are already rolling down my cheeks.

"He can and he did," Liam says in horror. He drops his hands from my face and takes a step closer to me as he says, "You wanna know what he did to me? You wanna know what he's capable of? I watched you walk into the ocean and continue walking until the waves washed over your head. I watched you struggle against the water until your lungs filled with water. I watched your lifeless body float to the shore Ellie! He showed me what he'd do to you if I didn't leave with him in the morning. He threatened you Ellie, he threatened to eliminate anything that stands in his way. He showed me that you're just an obstacle. I won't let him touch you. I have to go." Liam is now crying and his hands are in my hair. I shake my head against his hands and I am sobbing out cries. I feel like I've been punched in the stomach and am gasping for air. I can't believe Topher threatened my life.

"We'll figure this out Liam. We can beat him. You can't leave me here!" I sob and Liam pulls me into him. He has a tight hold against me and I sob into his soft sweatshirt. After a few minutes of both of us crying, he pulls me away from him. I notice the streetlamps flickering around us and realize I am having deja vu. I saw this happen in a dream.

Liam wipes his face with his sleeve and then pulls my forehead to his lips. I'm still crying when he says, "I love you Ellie. I'm going to do everything I can to get back to you but if you decide you can no longer wait for me, I'll understand. Just know I love you. I love you so fucking much that I can't let anything happen to you. I'd never forgive myself if he hurt you."

"I love you too Liam. I'll wait for you. I promise I'll wait." I sob and he brings my face up to his before kissing me harder than he has ever kissed me. He reluctantly pulls back and drops his hands from my face. I reach out to grab his arm as he turns away from me. I can't let him go. He shakes his head and moves my hand off of his forearm. He takes a step away from me and turns around again to say, "After the labor day carnival, go straight back to your dorm."

I look to him confused, "Why? What did you see happen?" He takes one more step away from me and says, "Just...go straight home okay?" I'm about to ask him to elaborate when he disappears in front of me. I try and hear his footsteps but he's gone. I run up the sidewalk looking for his car but I don't see it. I spin around trying to find any sign of him but he's gone. He literally disappeared right in front of me.

The reality of this hits me and I drop to my knees. A sob bursts from my mouth and my hands rest against my chest. The wind has been knocked out of me and I can't breathe. I shake my head and try my best to inhale but my crying is making it impossible.

I somehow manage to make it to my feet and I sprint back to my dorm room. I snatch my phone off the charger and run down to the girls bathroom so I don't wake Zoe. I try calling Liam but it goes straight to voicemail. This can't be happening.

I'm still sobbing when I slide down the bathroom stall and sit on the cold tile floor. My broken heart is hurting my chest and my face stings from crying. I don't know what to do.

I look back to my phone and realize there is only one person I can call right now. Harper.

I know it's almost three in the morning her time but I beg for her to answer. I cry out when I hear her groggy voice answer, "Ellie, you better not be drunk dialing me or I swear-"

"Liam left me!" I choke out and I am still ugly crying. My shoulders bounce up and down and I can hardly sob out any coherent words.

"Left where? Ellie what's wrong? You're scaring me." She sounds more awake now and I hear a rustling on her end like she's getting up from her bed.

"Topher. He forced him to go to Virginia. He's gone Harper, Liam is gone!"

"Oh my god! Are you fucking serious? Holy shit Ellie! Okay, deep breaths. It's going to be okay. Maybe not right now but Ellie, it's going to be okay." I'm frantically shaking my head even though she can't see me and I throw my hand up over my mouth to suppress a sob, "No it's not Harper. It won't be okay." She's quiet for a few minutes and then I hear a clicking of keys. I'm about to ask what the hell she's doing but as soon as I open my mouth she comes back onto the line.

"What are you doing tomorrow at 2:45 p.m?" Harper asks me and I am stunned by her change in topics.

"Umm, probably crying in the dark why?" I snap back to her.

"Well cry in the car on your way to pick me up from LAX. I can be on the flight that lands a 2:45 tomorrow." She states very matter-of- fact and I'm still too stunned to process what she just told me.

"Wha- You're coming here? In like a few hours?" I ask her.

"Yep. Just booked a ticket out. I don't need you doing anything stupid and it looks like you need your Harpy right now." I hear her still clicking at her keyboard when she adds, "Now go take a sedative, ONE! and force yourself to go to sleep or you're going to be miserable. Take deep breaths and I will see you in the morning." My sobs have subsided and I nod my head to Harper's words.

"Okay. Thank you Harper. I mean it." I hear her kiss into the phone and I stay slumped over on the floor as the line goes dead. I reach to the side of me to pull some flimsy toilet paper off the roll and manage to blow my nose and dry my face. I glance to my reflection in the mirror before shutting the light off and my face is tomato red. My eyes are almost swollen shut and my hair is a wild mess. I take Harper's advice and find one of my sedatives before crawling into bed. Tears still manage to slide down my cheeks and create small wet rings on my pillow. I'm not sure when it happened, but the sedative finally kicks in and forces me to go to sleep.