FALLING FOR TROUBLE PART 1
858 Words
Chapter Four: Falling for Trouble
Part One — Fire and Fractures
The first thing Ava noticed when she woke up that morning was the bruise-colored sky outside her dorm window — the kind that promised rain, maybe even thunder.
It felt fitting somehow.
She’d spent the night thinking about Liam — about his words, his confession, his pain. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw him sitting by the fountain, the smoke curling between them like unspoken truth.
Her roommate, Mia, rolled over in bed and squinted at her. “You didn’t sleep, did you?”
Ava shook her head, pulling her knees to her chest. “Not really.”
Mia yawned. “You’re thinking about him again.”
“I’m not—”
“Yes, you are.” Mia smirked, propping herself on one elbow. “Everyone’s talking about Liam Hayes. Half the girls think he’s dangerous, the other half think he’s a misunderstood god.”
Ava blushed. “He’s just… complicated.”
“Complicated is code for ‘I’m falling for him but I don’t want to admit it,’” Mia teased.
Ava threw a pillow at her.
Mia laughed and rolled out of bed. “Just be careful, okay? Guys like that — they burn bright but they don’t last.”
Ava didn’t respond. She just stared out the window at the first drops of rain hitting the glass and whispered to herself, “Maybe he just needs someone to remind him that he can.”
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The rain fell harder by noon, drumming softly against the windows of the art studio where Ava was working on her project. The room was quiet except for the rhythmic tap of pencils and the occasional thunder outside.
She didn’t hear Liam come in.
“Hey,” he said, voice low and rough.
Ava looked up sharply. He was soaked — hair damp, jacket dripping, a bruise darkening his cheek.
“Liam,” she gasped, standing. “What happened?”
“Nothing,” he said quickly, brushing it off. “Just… a disagreement.”
“With who?”
He didn’t answer, just dropped into a stool across from her and rubbed a hand over his face. “You shouldn’t worry about me.”
“Too late for that,” she said softly.
He glanced up then, eyes flickering with something unreadable. “Why?”
“Because you matter,” she said simply.
The words hung in the air, heavy and quiet. For a long time, neither of them spoke. Then, finally, Liam exhaled a shaky laugh. “You really shouldn’t say things like that, Ava. I don’t know how to handle them.”
Ava moved closer, sitting across from him. “Maybe you don’t have to handle everything alone.”
He looked at her then — really looked. “You don’t get it. I ruin things. Everyone I get close to ends up hurt.”
“Maybe you don’t ruin people,” she said softly. “Maybe you just don’t believe anyone could stay.”
The rain outside grew louder, a steady drumming that matched the rhythm of her heart.
Liam’s eyes softened. “You shouldn’t care about me.”
“Maybe I shouldn’t,” Ava said, her voice trembling. “But I do.”
And before she could say anything else, Liam reached for her.
It wasn’t a kiss. Not quite. It was a desperate pull — his hand brushing her jaw, his forehead resting against hers, his breath shaky.
“You make me forget,” he whispered.
“Forget what?” she breathed.
“That I’m supposed to be broken.”
Her heart clenched. “You’re not broken, Liam.”
He gave a small, pained smile. “Then why does it feel like every time someone gets close, I bleed?”
Ava wanted to tell him that pain didn’t make him unworthy, that scars didn’t define him. But the words caught in her throat as he leaned closer, his voice low and trembling.
“You scare me, Ava,” he said.
“Why?”
“Because you make me want to be someone better. And I don’t know how.”
The space between them was charged, fragile, electric. Ava could feel every beat of her heart echoing against his chest. She didn’t pull away.
Then, as suddenly as it came, Liam stepped back, eyes hardening again. “I can’t do this.”
Her chest tightened. “Do what?”
“Feel,” he said simply. “It’s easier not to.”
“Liam—”
“Don’t,” he warned softly, voice breaking. “Don’t try to save me. I told you… I ruin things.”
He turned and walked out into the rain, the door slamming shut behind him.
Ava stood there, staring at the empty space he’d left behind, her pulse still racing, her eyes burning.
She wanted to chase him.
She wanted to scream.
She wanted to understand why he kept running from the very thing he needed most.
Instead, she just whispered to the empty room,
“Then I’ll find a way to reach you… even if it breaks me.”
- Writer
