“Next time?”
“Yes,” I said firmly. “These storms happen here more than you might think.”
“Cool,” he said. I almost threw my phone across the room.
“Promise me. Right now,” I said.
He paused for a moment. “You do realize that less than an hour ago, I thought you were never going to talk to me again?” Liam said.
“I’m sorry I couldn’t… I didn’t know what to say,” I told him. “It doesn’t matter. I need you to be safe.”
He let out a frustrated groan. “You can’t have it both ways,” he spat, the anger rising in his voice.
He was doing something that most people never did with me. He was challenging me. It was maddening but also refreshing like an icy cold pool in summer, somehow. I wanted to wring his neck right now, but I also couldn’t help but notice that Liam still had the backbone he always had with me in the past.
He wasn’t afraid. And right now that was a problem, but also something I admired.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, trying to stay calm.
He sighed. “You can’t… say you never want to talk to me again, then act like it’s the end of the world if I’m in a storm alone.”
“You were being reckless, clearly—”
“I’m an adult, believe it or not,” he said. “I know I haven’t owned up to it until now, but I am. I can handle a storm. I can handle… a life without you, even if I really don’t want it.”
His words stirred so many emotions in me I barely knew how to react. For once, I didn’t have an answer. I didn’t have a solution.
I just had a whole big murky bucket of feelings, all of them centered around Liam.
I pinched the bridge of my nose, hanging my head. “I just wanted you to be safe.”
He was silent for a moment. “I’ll be okay,” he finally said. I didn’t know if he was trying to convince me or himself.
The phone clicked, and he was gone.
Liam was all I could see. His hand was clasped in mine, warm and perfect like my human puzzle piece. We were outside taking a walk under the canopy of green leaves, on a nice, sunny day. We found a patch of grass shrouded by a field of corn behind us, with a peaceful creek in front of us.
I got hungry for more. I leaned over him, claiming him with my mouth and hands. I was running purely on instinct, and the instinct was strong. We both ended up naked, our lips locked and his tongue hot and wet against mine.
I wanted absolutely all of him.
Around then was when I realized I was dreaming—everything was surreal and too perfect. I wanted to stay in it forever.
So I let myself indulge in the dream. I knew I only had another few minutes before I’d inevitably be woken up, so I was going to let my mind run wild. I was going to take Liam, the only place I could really have him.
Liam was completely there with me. I wasn’t worried that he was going to go off and get drunk, get hurt, or make me promises he wouldn’t keep.
He was mine.
And then the clouds came in. In the dream, the storm came on so much more quickly and abruptly. One moment I was kissing Liam with my eyes closed and the next, I opened my eyes to see a dark, swirling tornado behind him, so close.
I knew I wasn’t going to be able to protect him. And I watched as the tornado came closer and closer behind him, until Liam looked so afraid, reaching out to me. I tried to hold onto his hand but the storm kept tugging him harder and harder away from me.
I couldn’t hold on. I watched him slip away.
Finally, mercifully, I woke up, shooting upwards in bed. I was covered in sweat, my T-shirt clinging to my chest and back. My stomach felt too empty and too full all at once, twisted up inside me like a knot.
“Fuck. Fuck,” I grumbled, my voice hoarse. I tore off my shirt, catching my breath, letting the fear of the dream dissipate. I swallowed hard, my heart slamming against my chest.
It was horrible. The clock on my nightstand told me it was nearly five in the morning, but I was on autopilot as I reached over to the phone and opened Liam’s contact page.
I knew I shouldn’t call him.
I wasn’t supposed to talk to him to begin with, and it was so late at night. But it was the only thing I knew would make me feel something close to normal right now.
I dialed his number and I was startled when he actually answered, right away.
“Red,” he said softly. “You’re up?”
I swallowed. “I am now,” I said. “I’m sorry if I woke you.”