The rays of the sunlight force Liam's senses to awaken. He drowsily opens his eyelids and forces his blue eyes to face daylight. His ears listen to a splash of water nearby. 

"Morning, uncle Liam" Isabella's voice echoes while practising cannonballs.

Liam grunts and gets up slowly, forcing himself to look up at his niece that is far more preoccupied with her swimming form, than the fact that her uncle is laying down on the grass wearing his suit from the previous night with a puddle of vomit next to him.  

A presence casts shade that offers some comfort to Liam's eyes and places a bottle of water and a white pill on the table beside him. "Morning brother." Charlie sits in the deck chair across with a mug of coffee in his hand. "You better take that if you want to have some resemblance of sanity." he looks at the puddle of vomit. "I guess you still had some more spew in you after all. Eva won't be happy about it."

Liam takes the pill and gulps it with the bottle of water. "How did I get here?"

Charlie sips his coffee. "The bartender called. Ben and I picked you up. You were barely coherent."

Liam grunts and places his hand on his temples. "Fuck, I can barely think."

"I don't even know how you are standing right now." Charlie stares at Isabella, that is still in the water. "Sweetie, go inside for breakfast."

Isabella swims nearby the two men. "Are you guys coming?" Isabella gets out of the swimming pool and takes a towel nearby and starts patting herself dry. "Is that vomit?" she scrunches her nose at the sight. 

"We'll be coming inside a minute. I need to talk to your uncle." 

Izzie walks back inside the house. 

Charlie waits until she is out of earshot to speak. "You really did it this time. Taylor Anderson called me this morning. She's pretty pissed. Apparently, you left her in the middle of the street to chase some tail. Her words."

"Fuck!" he exhales, "I'm sorry. I forgot about her." 

Charlie takes another sip of coffee and stares at the balcony where Eva stands observing the interaction from afar. "I guess you've seen Aimee." 

Liam stays silent. Her name alone makes his heart twinge. 

"Eva saw her yesterday. When we picked you up you kept repeating her name. So, naturally, it was not difficult to fit the pieces of the fucked up jigsaw puzzle. You saw her. You chased her. And, I guess she rejected you." 

Liam takes off his shirt and pants that he is still wearing from the previous night and drops in the swimming pool, praying that the cold water can cool his head, and heart. 

Charlie waits until his brother re-emerges. "Maybe it's for the best. You can't afford to repeat the same mistakes of the past." 

Liam flexes his muscles and pulls his body outside the pool. "She was not a mistake. It's not the same." Liam grabs his clothes from the floor. "It doesn't matter now. She's met someone else. It's over before it even started." 

Charlie gets up and pats his brother on his shoulder. "Take the day off. Nurse the hangover and the broken heart. Tomorrow you are going to fix the mess you created with the client, understood?" 

Liam nods and starts making his way back inside. 

"Brother..." Liam stops walking and looks back at Charlie. "I'm here if you need to talk."

Liam heads back to his room where he drops his body and falls in a hazing slumber. Liam reawakens when the sun is at its peak, and his hangover has subsided. He remembers Charlie's words, and slowly makes his way to the bathroom for a shower. Once he dozes his body in cold water, his rumbling stomach reminds him that he hadn't eaten since yesterday lunch, and he decides to eat something. He stares at his mirrored image and barely recognizes himself. He puts on swim trunks and a t-shirt and decides to catch some waves before nightfall to clear his head. His stomach grumbles again. He grabs his car keys and beelines downstairs to grab some food on his way out.

"Why? Why are you leaving?" Liam stops at the top of the staircase to his niece's words.

"Izzie, I need to go." Liam's hands clench at her voice.

"But, why? Why do you have to go to India?" Izzie raises her voice. India?

"Izzie, I'm not going to find what I need here. I need to go out there, in the world, and try to find my missing piece."

Izzie's feet come into view and Liam takes two steps back, to avoid being seen. 

"You play the piano with me all the time. I just don't understand."

"I can teach you how to play the piano, but I..." she sighs. "I haven't been able to perform in front of a crowd since..." Aimee grabs Izzie's hand. "I need to be able to perform again. Somehow, I need to be able to find the courage to play my music." 

Liam sits down and listens intently to her words. 

"But, for me to do that, it means I need to find a courage I no longer have."

"I'll help you. Just don't go." Isabella wipes her face and the stubborn tears that keep falling down her cheeks. "I won't get to see you again..."

Aimee wipes her face that is also now spilling tears. "No, that's not true. After India, I'll be back, and even if I'm not I will come to visit you. Besides, I'm still around for another ten days, we have plenty of time to hang out before I leave."

Isabella sobs and grabs hold of Aimee. "You are my best friend."

Aimee holds her tenderly. "And, you mine, Is."

Liam exhales, his eyes glued to the staircase flooring. 

"It's because of uncle Liam, isn't it?" The mention of his name perks Liam's attention. 

"What? Why are you saying this?" Aimee's voice falters at the unexpected question. 

"I heard mom and dad talk about you two kissing on my birthday. Mom said that uncle Liam would break your heart. That is what happened, isn't it? He broke your heart and now you're leaving."

"Yes," she unexpectedly says. "Your uncle broke my heart. But, that doesn't mean I won't be coming around. It just means I need to be away for a little while, and I'll come back once my heart is back in one piece."

"Do you love him?"

Aimee is stunned by her candid question. "It doesn't matter, Isabella." 

"But, if you could find your courage to play in public here, and weren't in love with uncle Liam, that would mean you could stay." 

Liam gets up abruptly, not sure he wants to hear the next words.

"But, I don't have the courage to play the piano in public..." Liam's eyes tear up at the hurt in her voice.

"And?" Isabella pushes.

"And, I'm in love with him. So I need to leave."

She loves him. Despite the guy in New Zealand. She loves him. Despite his error of judgment with her. She loves him.

He walks back up and inside his bedroom. His thoughts are full of her words. He stares at his phone that has five missed calls. He clears the log and makes a call. "Hey man, I need a favour."

Instead of the beach, Liam stands by the bar in the Northern, reading paperwork. A tall, broad man, in his early fifties, approaches him from behind the counter. "So?"

Liam sighs, "This is a big debt, George."

"It is. But, it's what it takes."

"How on earth have you managed to accumulate so much debt in this place?"

George leans on the counter. "No fucking clue man. I'm just a bartender that had a dream of opening up his own place. But, right now, I'm literally a dude that is about to lose his house." 

Liam ponders for a brief moment. "Partnership?"

"That's the only way I can survive man."

"And, if I do this?"

"I'll keep my end of the bargain." 

Liam holds the pen in his hand, "And, not a word about me, right?" 

George nods. Liam signs the paperwork.

Both the men shake their hands. "Welcome, partner," George says. 

Author's Note:

Photo by Briana Tozour on Unsplash