Lᴏᴠᴇ Tʀɪᴀɴɢʟᴇ (2)
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"Don't know what to say. It's just the one room. If you don't want it, I have a trucker on hold that does."
"No, no, no, no. Uh, we will take it." Belly says
Conrad hands the clerk his card. She hands it back and sets the keys on the counter, "Thank you." Liz says as she reaches for it. She looks up as Conrad reaches for it too. She backs off and lets him take it.
"You guys go ahead, I'll catch up." He says as he hands her the key
"What are you gonna do?" Jeremiah asks
"Just gonna make some calls. Didn't get a chance to say goodbye to anybody, so..."
"Okay." Belly says. Liz walks out with Jeremiah and Belly following her. As they walk into the room, Liz sighs.
"One bed." Jeremiah says, "This day just keeps getting better and better."
Liz sets her bag on the chair by the window. She immediately digs for clothes. It's silent as she looks up to Belly and Jeremiah. They share awkward glances as they set their bags down. Liz widens her eyes before she grabs her stuff and walks into the bathroom.
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Jeremiah walks out towards the vending machine and sees Conrad sitting there. He sits in the chair next to him.
"We need to talk."
"I'm too tired to talk." Conrad says as he starts to get up
"That's too fucking bad." Jeremiah says grabbing his arm, "I know what you're doing. You're acting like a dick to Liz, so that no one can see how badly you're hurting. You're upset about me and Belly and I don't understand why-"
"Because you and Belly just work." Conrad interrupts, "There's no complication with you two, it's just perfect."
"You still love her though."
"Yeah. I do." Conrad sighs
"Then you need to tell her."
"Why? She doesn't care anymore. She's done with me."
"Maybe. Maybe not." Jeremiah shrugs, "She deserves to know how you feel. If you're what she needs, then stop getting in your own way."
"She deserves to be happy. I want her to be happy."
"Me, too. So you gonna tell her?" Jeremiah asks. Conrad looks down, "Look, if you're not gonna do it for yourself... then do it for her."
"Okay." Conrad nods as he closes his eyes
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Liz sat on the bed when Belly walked out of the bathroom. Conrad and Jeremiah sat at the table with food from the vending machine. As Belly sat down on the foot of the bed, Conrad tosses a candy to her.
"Uh, fair warning, we have no idea how long those have been in the vending machine, so..."
"Yeah, all right, I'm good." Belly says as she tosses the candy back to Jeremiah.
Conrad gets up and grabs extra blankets from the closet, "What side do you want?"
"Uh, I'll take this side." He says pointing to the right of the bed. Conrad hands him a blanket, "Thanks."
"Oh, you guys should sleep in the bed." Belly says. Liz frowns, "There's two of you. I can sleep on the floor."
"There also two of us, Bells." Liz chuckles
"No, take it. Ladies first."
"Yeah... normally, I'd argue, on principle, 'cause what does me being a girl have to do with not
sleeping on the floor? But I definitely saw a roach earlier, so have at it, boys." Belly says as she takes the side closer to Jeremiah
"Yeah, definitely not doing that." Liz mumbles as she takes the right
Conrad and Jeremiah chuckle as they fix their blankets. Conrad turns the light out before he comes back to Liz's side. He lays down and faces the window.
"Night, Bells." Jeremiah says
"Good night. Night, Liz."
"Goodnight." She says. She looks down at Conrad who stays silent as he watches the rain hit the window.
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Liz tossed and turned for the next couple of hours. From what she could tell, Belly and Jeremiah were out. She knew Conrad was awake, but hadn't said anything. She sighs softly as she looks up at the ceiling.
"Liz?" He whispers. Her heart speeds up, but she stays silent, "I didn't mean it. What I said earlier, I didn't mean it. I still want you. Of course I do."
A silence falls over them again, "Conrad..."
"You don't have to say anything. Not right now. I just wanted you to know that." He mutters. She turns back to the ceiling as she sighs. She closes her eyes as she runs her hands over her face.
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"I'm gonna go ahead and warn you that she doesn't look good. She's tired. She's very tired.
But she's excited to see you." Megan says as she and Liz walk up the steps.
"I'm excited to see her, too." Liz smiles weakly
Liz sighs deeply as they walk into Susannah's room. Susannah smiles, "My favorite girl is here. Oh, you look... You look so pretty."
"Let me take this." Megan says as she reaches for her table
"Oh. No, I-I wanted... I wanted to finish some..." Susannah says as she reaches for it. The letters on the table fall on the floor
"Uh... Oh." Megan says as she picks them up, "Here. I can help you with this." She says as she helps Susannah put the letters in the envelopes.
"I'll take it. You just stay here with Liz." Megan says as she takes the letters and the table. Liz smiles as Susannah looks over at her, "I have some things to do." Megan tries to fix Susannah's pillow
"It's fine." She snaps. Megan doesn't take it to heart
"I'll get you some Pedialyte." She says before she walks out. Liz sits on the foot of Susannah's bed.
"If you're worried about running into Conrad..." She says as she sits up, "don't be, sweetie. He, uh... He's not here today."
"Did he tell you?"
"Please. That boy doesn't tell me anything." Susannah chuckles softly, "Your mom mentioned that, um... prom didn't go as we'd hoped."
"We don't have to talk about it. It's not important." Liz looks down at her fingers
"It is important. It's the most important. 'Cause you're important." She nods, "You're my treasure."
"I broke up with him." Liz says as she tears up
"Don't hate Conrad."
Liz sniffles, "I don't."
"He's having a..." Susannah grunts, "He's having a really hard time with all this. Please don't let him push you away. He needs you." Liz blinks away her tears as she looks away, "He loves you, you know."
"No, he doesn't."
"He does." Susannah nods, "Do you love him?"
Liz stays quiet as she looks at Susannah. Susannah reaches for her hand, "Will you do something for me?" Liz holds her hand, "Look after him. Will you do that ?"
"You won't need me to look after him. You'll be here to do it."
Susannah smiles, "Come here, honey. Come lie down." She scoots over and Liz lays beside her. Susannah wraps her arm around her as Liz's tears come down rapidly, "You're my special girl, Liz." Susannah says as she kisses her head. Liz hears footsteps coming closer.
"Mom?" Jeremiah says. He stops as he sees Liz
"Jeremiah." Liz says
"I'll come back later." He says before he walks out
"I'm so sorry, Liz."
"Why? I'm the one who messed it all up."
"No." She sighs, "It won't always feel this way. You'll come back together. I promise."
"Me and Conrad?"
"All of you. To each other." Susannah says as she rubs Liz's arm, "I love you, Lizzie."
Liz's eyes close as more tears escape, "I love you, too."
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