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Chapter 8 - Liam

Liam couldn’t explain the feeling he had when he looked out of the diner’s kitchen door and saw one of my Probies approach Ellie. She was obviously uncomfortable. Danny was harmless enough. An addict, but all of us were at some point.

“Here, Ana,” Liam said as the waitress was about to walk Ellie’s order out to her. “I’ll take that.”

“Oh, okay,” she said, looking out of the window and handing him the plate. He took it from her and dropped the clipboard on the counter before pushing the door open. The guys who were sitting with Danny, Big Guy and Jake, turned toward Liam and then to Danny.

“Leave her be, Proby,” Liam said. When Danny locked eyes with him he stood up immediately and went back to his table as the other guys laughed at him. I looked at Ellie, who was staring at me. Liam was taken aback by how stunning he still found her. He had already seen her earlier, but she still made his breathing hitch and made him nervous.

He walked up to her and placed the food down in front of her. “Sorry about that,” he said. He rubbed the back of his head, “He’s an i***t, but harmless. He won’t bother you anymore.”

Liam sat down with Ellie and they talked for a bit whenever he realized she had been walking around town. i***t, he thought to himself. How else would she be getting around? She doesn’t have a car…

“Do you want a lift to the motel when you’re done?” He heard himself asking before he realized what he was saying. Her eyes were intoxicating, and he couldn’t explain the protective feeling he was developing for her.

Ellie tried to back out of it, but he used his ma as an excuse and she accepted easily. He stood up to let her enjoy her meal in peace and went back to wrap up inventory and scheduling for the diner.

“She looks like a sweet girl,” Ana said, leaning against the door to the manager’s office in the back. “Are you two dating?”

“No, no,” Liam said quickly, hanging the clipboard up on a hook in the office. He stood to leave. “She’s staying at the motel with ma, is all”

“Alright, well, tell Sylvia I said hi,” she said with a smile and a wave as I walked out.

Liam left the kitchen and saw Ellie had finished her sandwich and had placed the money for the check on the table. “Here, don’t worry about that,” Liam said, taking out his wallet.

“No, no,” she said, trying to wave him off. “Please, I have it.”

Liam shrugged and out his wallet back. “Okay, if you insist,” he said. “But I will carry your bag for you.

She looked up at him with wide eyes, and he could tel she was questioning his motives. “You’re fine with me paying?”

Liam shrugged, getting slightly irritated. “I mean, I would pay… I offered but you said no, so…”

She smiled, standing up and handing him her bag from the boutique.”I’m just not used to being listened to,” she said as he took her bag. “So, thank you.”

Liam knew he was looking at her like she had two heads. Liam, you i***t, he thought to himself. He immediately regretted being irritated. “Of course,” he said and turned to walk out of the diner with Ellie following behind. He held the door open for her and then led the way to his truck, parked around back.

When they got to his lifted truck, it became clear Ellie wouldn’t be able to climb in herself, so he opened the passenger door and offered her a hand. She took his hand and the door handle in the other and pulled herself up. When she winced, Liam paused. “Are you okay?”

“Oh,” she said, immediately becoming nervous. “Um, my ribs just hurt a bit. I had an accident before I got here and I’m just still a little sore.”

Liam was furious, he clenched his free hand, his knuckles turning white. “Anything I can do for you?” He asked.

“No, no, I’ve done worse, I’m okay,” she said before he closed the door.

“f**k,” Liam whispered to himself as he walked around the truck. “What have a I got myself into?”

He climbed in the driver side and turned on the engine. They pulled out of the parking lot and he turned down the road that would take them to the motel.

“So,” he said, not sure where to go with the conversation. “Are you looking forward to your first shift tomorrow?”

Ellie smiled, which made him smile, too. “Yeah,” she said, looking out the window as they drove. “A little nervous but, I always loved the bar I worked at before.”

“Well, if anything, having a pretty girl behind the bar again will have customers coming back in,” he said. He noticed her blushing and he lifted his free hand to rub the back of his head. Then he added quickly, “But, if anyone bothers you let me know… I’ll take care of them.”

She turned to look at him. He couldn’t read her expression. “Why are you being so nice to me?”

Liam sighed. They reached the motel and he put the truck in park. “Look… I don’t know your story, but I know you’re here for a reason and not wherever you came from. I’m helping because I don’t like seeing a woman, any woman but, especially you, hurt or in trouble.”

Ellie didn’t say anything. She just looked down at her hands in her lap for long enough that Liam got out of the truck and walked around to the passenger side to open the door. When he did, Ellie had a small smile on her face and her bag in her hand while she looked down at the ground.

“You said you like to help… and to be honest, I’m not sure if I can get down by myself,” she said with a small laugh. Her laugh was sweet, and it made him laugh.

“Here, do you mind?” He asked, reaching his hands out to her. She shook her head and put her hands on his arms. He grabbed her by the waist, below her ribs and as gently as possible, lifted her from the truck to the ground. She weighed close to nothing and when he let go, he wanted to touch her again right away.

“Thank you, Liam,” she said. “For everything.” She smiled, said goodbye and walked to her door.

Liam sighed. I’m in trouble, he thought before he got back in his truck. He made sure she made it in the door before pulling out of the lot.