Teddy is in my driveway when his story ends. He cuts the ignition but we remain silent in the car. I contemplate what to do next. My shoulder is still throbbing in pain and I now have to go tell my mother we have more guests to add to the table, which will not go over well. I also have to figure out how to deal with Lisa. What will happen with her and Liam now?

"Can you guys wait here while I go talk to my mom? I need to give her a heads up that you'll be here tonight," I ask the group and every one nods back to me with the exception of Lisa. "Sorry Lisa, but I can't think of a single reason that will convince my mother to invite you inside." I say it delicately but we both know she's not getting over the threshold.

She flits her eyes to me and says, "That's fine. But I need to speak with Liam. Alone."

Liam looks to her in protest, "Mom, I need to help Ellie inside. We can talk later."

Lisa clicks her tongue in annoyance, "Why? Her arm hurts but her legs work just fine. She can walk inside. And anyway isn't this guy supposed to be her boyfriend? He can help her." She says as she points to Teddy and I watch Liam purse his lips together. I decide to keep my nasty comments to myself and Teddy comes over to the back seat to help me out of the car. He puts his arm around me as we walk up to the front door and I glance back behind me to see Liam frowning toward us. I'm annoyed that his mom wants to speak with him alone but I also understand her concern. She was blindsided today and she probably has questions she wants answered.

Teddy continues to usher me inside and silently I tell him I have no idea what to say to my mother. He glances to me and smiles broadly Tell her Stephanie and Ryan surprised Liam because they thought he had no one to celebrate with him. I nod to him knowing I'm not going to come up with a better lie.

We find my mother in the kitchen and she is directing the caterers when she spots me.

"Oh good, you two are back. Ellie go upstairs and change and then come back here and help me finish the center pieces. I found these perfect pumpkins to place the bouquets in." She's all smiles and I can tell she's excited about how nicely the dinner is coming along. She's happy now but I also know how quickly that can change when she's in hostess mode.

"Okay, but mom I wanted to tell you to add two more seats to the table. I invited a couple friends," I say quickly as I walk toward the staircase. I'm hoping to be out of range when she responds but she's quick on my heels.

"Ellie, who did you invite? I already have the table set." Teddy continues up the stairs and I curse him for leaving me here alone.

"They're my friends from school. They also know Liam so when they heard he was going to be in Highland Park, they came out to surprise him. They thought he didn't have anyone to celebrate with but since I had already invited him to join us, I kind of felt forced to invite them too. I'm sorry mom, it was really unexpected." I twist my hands together as I'm standing midway up the staircase and I watch her think it over as she places a hand on the banister. She frowns for a split second but she buys my story. She can tell I'm not overly thrilled about the situation so she lets me off without giving me a hard time.

"Alright, but now you're going to have to bring up the small card table from the basement. You'll just have to sit alone with your friends." I nod and she saunters off toward the hustle and bustle in the kitchen. On the way up to my room, I text Stephanie telling her they can come inside in about ten minutes. Hopefully they can hang out and enjoy the fresh air while I change quickly. I tornado through my room and fling clothes all over the place while quickly putting my holiday outfit together. My brain tries to revert to fashion but I can feel the enormity of what we just accomplished while dressing. I freshen up my make-up and weave my hair into a simple braid. When I push my bathroom door back open I surprisingly find Liam sitting at the end of my bed.

"Oh...hi, I wasn't expecting to see you here already," I say, showing my surprise and he pops up off the bed and comes over to me. He grabs my hand and asks, "How are you feeling? How's your arm?"

I look to my right shoulder and grab it with my hand, "It's tender. I won't be able to lift anything probably for a couple of days. I just need to keep my pain from my mother until tomorrow. We can make an appointment to see the doctor on Monday if it's still bothering me then." Liam moves his gaze from my shoulder back to my face and my stomach flips when I stare into the familiar blue eyes. It still hasn't quite processed that he's back, in my life, standing in my room. I can't read his current expression so I ask, "How are you? What did your mom want?" He purses his lips together and looks back down to the floor.

"She's afraid of my father. Even without his powers. She wants me to help her move somewhere. She wants to get out of Highland Park." An unexpected laugh escapes me and I shake my head in frustration. I watch the confusion cross Liam's face but I realize I'm not in the mood to discuss the Greysor's anymore. They've taken up enough of my life.

"Look Liam, I actually don't want to hear about it okay? Let's talk about this another time. I need to go and help my mom," I say, showing that I'm annoyed with a head shake and I pull my hand away from him as I start walking to the door.

"Wait? Why are you mad?" Liam asks, right as I'm about to pull my door open and I turn around to face him.

"Let me guess. Your mom needs your help to move her somewhere so you'll be gone the next few weeks settling her in somewhere right? Should I just expect to see you at Christmas? New Years? Hell should we not make Valentine's Day plans then?" I snap but Liam quickly shakes his head, "Yeah that's what she wanted but if you'd let me finish, I would have told you I told her no. That I needed the next few weeks to get ready to enroll in school for spring semester."

I feel my jaw drop slightly and I remove my hand from my door handle. I fully turn to face Liam and ask, "School? You want to go to school?" Liam nods as he sticks his hands into his pockets.

"Yeah, I told you I'm ready for normal. I saw the agency and realized I didn't want to end up there. There are jobs I can do with my abilities and still be happy." I'm shocked. I realize the past twenty-four hours have been a whirlwind and we haven't discussed much. Now that we aren't consumed by Topher we can move on and move forward. The feeling is a weight off my chest.

"Really? Do you know what you want to do?" I ask him and he gives me a slight shrug, "Kind of. I think I want to go to school for criminal justice and then move on to the police academy." Another shocked laugh escapes me and I can't believe Liam wants to go back to school. A few months ago he was hell bent on avoiding college forever. Now, he's voluntarily enrolling and already knows what program he wants to enroll in. The months he's been gone he's been formulating a plan and I had no idea.

"Ellie, I told you I'm ready. I want us and I want what we had. I know I've been gone for a few months but my feelings for you haven't changed. You were always scared I'd resent you if I lived a life outside the paranormal community and now you know that I'm choosing the normal path. I'm choosing you." He closes the distance between us and he holds my face in between his hands, "I love you Ellie. I promise to never leave you again and if you'll let me, I want to come home. My home is where you are. My heart is with you. I didn't fully realize how amazing it is to have someone that knows you inside out and gets you and loves you until I didn't have it. Even when you are literally across the country you have a pull on me. I want us again." I smile to him and give him a slight nod. I watch him smile and he swiftly kisses me. I pull him closer and my heart bursts inside my chest. I've missed him so much and I'm delighted he's decided to come home on his own. That he's decided he's ready to focus on us and put off finding others with abilities for a while. Our kissing is interrupted by a knock at my door and Liam quickly wipes my lip-gloss off his lips with the sleeve of his shirt. I see Teddy peek his chocolate brown eye through the small opening before saying, "Are you two love birds ready to join the party? Your mommy is looking for you El."