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Chapter 9 - Wren

Wren’s body was alight with tingles. Liam had a way of stealing her breath, giving her butterflies, and making her head feel clouded. He showed her a kindness she wasn’t expecting, but she was expecting it to end. Nick was nice, too, she thought. Maybe not this type of nice, but… he was nice at first.

He wasn’t nice like this, though, she argued with herself. He bought me nice things and took me nice places but he always made the decisions.

Wren was still wrapped up in her thought when she laid down on her bed and her phone buzzed in her pocket. Remembering the texts from Nick earlier, she hesitated before pulling out her phone.

That’s amazing news! Julie had texted back about the job.

And… I think I made some friends here? Wren texted, hesitant to say she had a crush on Liam but needing to talk about it.

Of course you did. Everyone has always loved you, Julie texted.

How am I supposed to trust again? She asked Julie. Now her phone rang, and Wren answered.

“Are you still talking about a friend, or are you talking about a friend-friend?” Julie asked, whisper yelling. She could hear noise in the background and knew Julie must be at work.

“Well, I don’t know,” Wren said. “Theres this guy, whose my boss now I guess? He’s just really nice to me…”

“Oh my gosh, I’ve got to go… you know who just walked in. Love you, Wren!” Julie said before quickly hanging up the phone. Wren’s stomach was in knots.

She paced her room for an hour at least before the room phone rang. Her heart dropped and she fet sick. There’s no way he knows where I am, she reminded herself before picking up the phone. She didn’t say anything, just waited.

“Hello, dear,” Sylvia’s voice was on the other end of the line. Wren let out a breath she didn’t know she was holding. “I was just calling to see if you wanted to join me for dinner or if you wanted me to stop by with a plate?”

“Oh, I’m sorry I didn’t realize the time,” Wren said, looking at the clock at seeing the red 6 blinking on the face of it. “I would be happy to join you. Thank you, I will be over in a moment.”

“No rush, dear,” Sylvia said. “I’m in Room 1 you can just walk in.”

“Okay, thank you,” Wren said as she hing up the phone.

After straightening her self up a bit, fixing her hair and her makeup, Wren walked out of her room and walked the short distance to Sylvia’s room she opened the door and was greeted with the sounds of grease frying and the smell of pork chops and mashed potatoes.

“Hello?” Wren called into the apartment. It was much bigger than her single room, and complete with a kitchen and a sitting area separate from the bedroom area. Sylvia came bustling out of the kitchen, a towel over her shoulder and an apron tied around her waist.

“Hello, dear,” she said, smiling warmly. “So glad you came to join me. Please, sit, sit.”

“Thank you for having me, could you use a hand,” Wren asked. “I would fee awful not doing anything after you have been so kind.”

Sylvia gave her a motherly smile. “You could help me with the potatoes, they just need mashed up some more,” she said, taking Wren by the arm and leading her into the kitchen.

Sylvia got everything together while Wren drained the potatoes and put them in a bowl. She laughed as Sylvia recalled a story from when Liam was young. “Oh, Liam was a little Hellian. When that boy set his mind to something, nothing in the world could tell him no.”

Wren giggled. “That’s hard to believe, he seems very quiet and in control,” she said. Thinking of Liam made her blush.

“Well, when he got back from Iraq he was changed a bit,” she said, her smile slipping a bit. “Bit, he’s still just as stubborn as ever. If there’s something he wants, nothing can get in his way.”

As the two were finishing up, the door swung open. “Ma! You’ve got to lock this door!”

Wren nearly jumped out of her skin. Sylvia tsked at Liam. “And you almost frightened us to death!”

“Us?” Liam said as he made his way inside. Wren poked her head around the corner. “Um, hi,” she said. “Sorry, your mom invited me over for dinner.”

Wren was nearly giddy when she saw how flustered Liam became. He rubbed the back of his head and looked down, but Wren caught the blush on his face. “Ah, don’t apologize, sorry for scaring you,” he said.

“As you should be,” Sylvia said, walking up to him and giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. Wren thought they were adorable, and was baffled someone as tiny as Sylvia could have birthed a son as tall as Liam.

“I’m not apologizing to you, ma,” he said with a serious expression. “You’ve got to lock the damn door.”

“Language!” His mother said, snapping a towel at him before joining Wren in the kitchen to make the plates. She pulled down three of them and filled them up with pork chops, potatoes and green beans. Wren’s mouth was already watering.

“Sorry, ma,” Liam said, defeated, as he removed his jacket and hung it by the door.

The three ate and talked for a while, with Sylvia telling stories of Liam when he was little and Liam, looking embarrassed, would try to change the subject. After an hour, Wren felt herself getting tired, and even though she was enjoying the time with Sylvia and Liam, she decided to call it a night.

“I’m so sorry but, I’m starting to get tired,” she said, standing and taking her plate. She carried it into the kitchen and rinsed it off before placing it in the dishwasher. She felt Liam walking up behind her and rinsing his plate at the sink, as well.

“Um, so,” he said, clearing his throat. “I’ll walk you back down to your room, if that’s okay with you?”

“That would be nice,” Wren said, turning to him with a smile. She found those coming easier now, and she was happy for it. She said goodbye to Sylvia and she and Liam grabbed their jackets and left, with Liam urging her to lock the door behind her. He even waited until he heard the click of the lock before stepping away.

Wren hugged her arms around her body. He was walking close to her, close enough that she could smell him and could feel his body heat. He walked with her slowly, as if he was delaying leaving her side the way she was.

“Your mom is wonderful,” Wren said. She glanced up at Liam and found him blushing with a smile on his face.

“Yeah, she’s the best mom I could have asked for,” he said, looking back at her. Her stomach did a flip and her breath caught in her chest.

“So, will you be training me at the bar tomorrow?” She asked as they approached the door. When they got outside, they both stopped.

“Yeah,” Liam smiled. It made Wren happy she was able to make him smile so easily. “And Finn, he’ll be there, too.”

Wren smiled, hugging her coat closer and looking down. “Thank you, for everything you have done for me,” she said, her voice breaking slightly.

Liam looked down at her and rubbed the back of his head. “Look, you don’t need to tell me what happened to you. But, you’re safe here…”

Wren looked up at him, tears held behind her eyes. “I hope you’re right,” she said. “Because I’m really starting to like it here.”

Liam smiled, kicking his boot on the ground. He was opening his mouth to say something when a car backfired in front of the motel and suddenly, Wren found herself behind Liam as he backed her up against the door, one hand holding her back and the other reaching for a gun at his waist. His breathing was quick, and Wren could feel the panic radiating from his body.

She carefully placed a hand on his arm. “Hey, it’s okay…” she said quietly, afraid to set him off. “It was just a car.”

Liam cleared his throat, placed his gun back in the holster. He stepped away from her, refusing to meet her eyes. “Sorry, I have to go…” he said as he hurried back toward his truck. Wren watched as he climbed in on the driver side before she turned and went inside her own room.