His Sweet Lies

Chapter 3: A Night with Liam Hanson

Liam led Emma to a guest room a few rooms down the upstairs hall from his room. He watched as her eyes sparkled with awe as she looked around at the massive room that surrounded her.

He watched as those mismatched, bright, gleaming eyes found his. He looked away.

"Does this work for you?"

"Yes" she said with a chuckle. "This is more than perfect. Thank you."

He pursed his lips. "Of course" he managed to say before walking away, leaving her to herself.

Liam sat down on his bed and looked at his phone.

7:33.

They'd had a small meal in the food court at the mall to satisfy their hunger for the time being. If he stayed up much later, he'd probably hear his stomach start to growl.

Sighing, he looked around his room. He'd be lying if he said he didn't prefer his room to be this clean. His eyes drifted to his costume on the floor. Might as well try it on.

Looking in his mirror, he shifted around to get a better look of the costume on him. Not bad.

The long sleeve white shirt fit him perfectly and the blue vest was surprisingly comfortable. The pants could be better, but they could be worse. He snorted. If not for Emma, he wouldn't have even bothered to get costumes.

Liam skimmed through the pages of the play and reread their scene a few times before growing bored and setting it down on his nightstand. He normally would've invited a friend over, but he remembered that Emma was in his house. Out of all girls in the class, he had to get stuck with her.

His brows rose. At least unlike all the girls who fawned over him, Emma was smart. Especially in literature. The teacher made sure to tell the whole class whenever she'd ace a test.

The other smart kids took it as a challenge and a source of motivation to do better and be at the top of the class. Not Liam. He settled for getting C's and maybe an occasional B.

His parents were never home, so who was there to be disappointed in him or lecture him for not caring to do well in school?

He chewed on the inside of his cheek. Why was he suddenly feeling so self-conscious?

Me? Self-conscious? No fucking way, he thought to himself. He was Liam Hanson. Everyone wanted to be him, everyone wanted him.

So why did he feel so alone?

Emma jumped onto the memory foam mattress covered in purple and blue sheets. Expensive looking paintings hung from the walls and there was a vanity set up against the wall in front of the bed big enough for three people to fit on it. She couldn't believe Liam had lend her any room at all let alone... this.

She checked her phone and frowned, although not surprised that her mom had never even read her text from hours ago.

You're almost an adult, you can take care of yourself.

Her mom's words rang in her head like an annoying alarm clock that never seemed to go off no matter how hard she slammed her fist against it.

She sat up on the bed and crossed her arms. She wished she could just stay here if she was being honest. She hated her own house that greeted her with nothing but silence every time she walked in.

So, what was she doing sitting here alone once again? What was the actual difference?

Emma ran her fingers through her short black hair before fiddling with her bangs. She let out a huff. Who knows when she'd get this opportunity again?