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Chapter 16
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"Please, tell me you didn't just blow up your entire career because of me." I state in disbelief, staring at Liam as if he's insane but he doesn't seem fazed because all he does is smirk at me just like he did all those years ago.

I swallow hardly as I see his phone lighting up with a bazillion and one notifications."You're actually insane, you know that, right?"

"My life has never been the same without you in it, and I know I've screwed up—"

I cut him off as I blurt out the one thing I've been keeping to myself for quite some time now. "I came to see you."

I think he got whiplash with how hard his neck snapped back to stare down at me.

He questions in disbelief, his voice almost at a lost for words at this point. "What?"

"I came to see you, Liam. I wanted to make things right, I really did." I admit. "Five years ago." I clarify.

"I think you and I both could sense my surprise when I first saw you and Sierra in your backyard." I let out a sad, useless laugh at the memory of how crushed I was that day.

As much as I want this, we have too much history, too much damage has already been done. I don't think I could forgive him for putting me through all of this.

He easily could've told me this was a publicity stunt and I would've responded. He could of told Logan to tell and I still would've responded. He had so many chances to tell me but he didn't!

He never tried. Not fully at least.

"I want to be with you, I really do—" now it's his turn to cut me off. "Than be with me." He states simply.

"It's not that easy!" I shout in frustration, not getting how he can't understand where I'm coming from. I can't just jump back to how we use to be in high school, a lot has changed, I've changed.

"You left me when I needed you the most, and I feel like I can't trust you anymore after all of this." I confess, feeling like all I ever get from Liam is a lie. He lied with Jessica and he lied with Sierra. He could love me all he wants, but he's still a liar.

"You and I," I point between us for him to understand. "Are toxic, us together is toxic, us together does not make any sense whatsoever!" My voice so loud, fueled by anger that's been waiting to explode, and now it's starting to cause a scene, and if I wasn't so frustrated I would be humiliated at how I'm acting right now, but I don't care. I've waited too long to care.

I know I'm hurting him, it's written all over his face.

The pained expression painted in his eyes, how tight and pulled the lines are in his forehead from how upset he is getting— I'm hurting him, but I guess we can call it getting even.

"You've let Jessica and Sierra ruin us. Every. Single. Time. You've never stood up for me— for us." I croak.

"I didn't know you felt that way." He mumbles lowly, cameras now on full display, filming our every movement, ready to be shared with the rest of the world once we're out of here.

I can see it now, cruise blowout between college quarterback and upcoming fashion designer, who will win?

Neither.

We both get hurt in the end. Someone always does.

My eyes linger down at the phone in Liam's hands and the video I just witnessed. He recorded his conversation, Sierra's manager blackmailing him to stay in their fake relationship even when he tried to call it off. He posted it and within the first minute, over two thousand people streamed it, he's going to get a shit ton of hate for faking, for pretending to be someone he's not for years.

But than again, he's played the part so well, I would hate him too.

An all too familiar voice screeches from behind. "You idiot!"

Liam's eyes widen as Sierra marches across the lido deck, her hair swaying back and forth in the wind until she becomes eye to eye with her supposedly 'fiancé.'

"You just ruined everything!" She growls in frustration. "Liam Palazzesi, you're most certainly going to regret this."

"No, I won't." He replies all too confidently, sliding the giant rock off her finger and continuing to brew the anger inside of her as the crowd watches in integument.

Liam swiftly brings his arm back before flinging it into the blue ocean waves, gone with a plop.

My eyes widen and so did everyone else's, a few even flying over towards the railing to see if they could catch it. That ring costs more than most people's yearly salary without a doubt.

"Don't forget who's in control, Liam, you're about to loose everything." She whispers harshly, and he shrugs his shoulders in response, not caring what she does next.

"I've already lost everything," he replies, his eyes swarming mine but I don't dare to feel a thing, scared if I feel, I might feel everything I've been suppressing.

- Flashback to beginning of senior year -

"You know one of these days you're going to fall in love with me, Russo." He winks smoothly and I can't help but scrunch my nose in disgust, not even wanting to think about me and him together. Nope, not in a million years. We'd be the most toxic couple ever, we're too stubborn to see eye to eye.

"Keep on dreaming." I say with a casual roll of my eyes, turning to the next page of our chemistry assignment.

"I do and in every dream you're clearly in love with me." He grins arrogantly, making me slap the hard textbook over his hand on purpose, and I knew it hurt, not that he would ever admit that to me. But I can tell just by the way his knuckles are turning a bright shade of red. Not to mention the fact that he's currently biting on his bottom lip as if his life depended on it, it's practically turning purple at this point, ready to bleed from the pressure he's putting on it.

"And in my dreams you're in love with me." I bite back, only to realized that it would completely backfire on me.

"I'm glad we're both dreaming about each other, babe." He winks and I fake a gag, throwing my yellow pencil onto my kitchen table in defeat as I've come to terms that he's not going to finish his homework with all this talking.

"Don't call me babe, it's creepy." I grumble and he laughs in amusement at my misery.

Tutor him, they said. It'll be fun, they said. You most certainly won't get a headache, they said!

Liars! Every single one of them.

"You know with all this flirting, I'm really starting to feel the tension between us." He chorused in pure enthusiasm for me to only destroy.

"That 'tension you feel?" I say sweetly with a fake smile playing on my lips, making him nod, liking the direction in where this is going.

"Yeah, well, it's called anger, not love, get you're emotions straight." I snap, dropping the fake smile for him to only grin like a lunatic at me.

Is he okay? I don't think he's okay.

I'm offending him in every possible way and he seems to be more into it? How is that possible?!

"You're cute when you're trying to deny you're love for me." He smirks cockily, and as if he didn't get the clue the first time, he starts to lean in slowly until we were face to face, making my cheeks flare red and my heart begin to race.

He briefly looked down at my lips and I feel myself grow embarrassed at the fact that my parents can walk into the kitchen at any given moment.

This is what they get for making me tutor this imbecile.

"You want a kiss?" I giggle innocently and that certainly makes his cocky smirk widen.

I don't take my eyes off him as I swiftly reach for the chemistry book that I just hit him with minutes ago, slamming the book into his lips.

"Oops, I just wanted to give you what you wanted." I remark kindly with a simple bat of my lashes, only for him to glare at me back in response.

- Flashback to mid senior year -

As much as you can give someone your love, you might never get it back. You give, and you give, but end up alone anyways. I fear that loving him only leads me to disaster, that every time I even think of the idea of us, it only causes more heartbreak. He has my whole heart and he might even know it at this point, but it's still not enough for him to care. For the boy who seems so sweet at times, he's so cruel.

Loving those who'll never be able to love him as much as I do.

From his chocolate eyes that memorizes me every single time we lock eyes, to his perfect, soft grin that makes me feel noticed, to the way he taps his foot against the floor nervously to the beat of my heart, to the simple way he laughs— laughing with his whole heart, his chest rising with every chuckle he makes.

Everything he did around me I noticed, I noticed more than I spoke but all he thinks of me is the fool who tutors him. The girl from middle school who was too shy for words, when that is far from the truth now.

A girl with a lot to say with the fear of rejection, only to be rejected anyways. Because no matter if I was the most outgoingness person or not, he'd never choose me— correction, he never chooses me.

In his eyes, he sees everyone but me. Maybe it's for the best, loving him is heartbreak any way you look at it.

But I guess I wanted my heart to be broken, I wanted to play with the fire and not care if I get burned, because if I got burned once at least I know how it feels.

Feels to be burned by him, but instead I get burned from afar— too far to reach but close enough to get burned. Not enough words spoken and not enough lines crossed, his stare enough to get to me but his words too far gone to be spoken.

- Flashback to late senior year -

"Did you forget that you sprayed me with a hose this year?" I utter in disbelief, confused if he's messing with me or not.

"Yeah, not the best thing I could've done to get your attention." He laughs lightly, running his hands through his hair nervously.

"Get my attention?" I raise a brow curiously. "You hated me." I remind him, playing with the green grass below us, our favorite spot no matter the time of year.

Reminiscing over the year that changed my life before we kiss it all goodbye, before college, because college is going to change everything we've grown to know.

His eyebrows crinkle together in confusion as he turns to look at me with a cute boyish grin, his left arm behind him to hold himself up as we continue to sit on the ground, his eyes now boring into mine.

His opposite hand goes out to rub soft circles on my hand that was lying in the grass and I lightly bump my shoulder into his with a tiny grin.

"Hate you? I can never hate you." He reassures, but he says it in such a way that I know there's nothing but the truth in that statement. Liam's a good liar, but a bad one when it comes to me.

"I knew I loved you, a part of me has always loved you. I was just to stubborn to admit it at the time." He confesses and right here in this moment, I don't care what the future holds for us because right now is all I really need.

(A/n- Chapter sixteen is officially out!

- What are your thoughts on this chapter?
- Do you think Giana should forgive Liam or walk away from him?
- Which Flashback was your favorite?
- What song reminds you of Liam and Giana?

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