The Rival's touch

The first time Liam Carter saved me, I hated him for it. Not because I didn’t need help. Because Liam Carter was the one person I was never supposed to trust. My brother had spent years making sure I knew one thing. Stay away from him. Liam Carter was dangerous. He was arrogant. He was selfish. He was the reason my brother’s dreams almost disappeared. At least, that was the story everyone told. So when my car stopped working in the middle of a storm, and a black truck pulled up beside me, I already knew who it was before the window rolled down. My stomach dropped. Liam Carter. The enemy. “Are you planning on standing in the rain all night?” His voice was exactly how I expected. Annoyingly confident. I crossed my arms. “I’m fine.” His eyebrow lifted. My car sat behind me with smoke coming from the engine. “Clearly.” I hated that he was right. “I don’t need your help.” “Good.” He stepped out of the truck. “Because I’m not asking.” I frowned. “What?” He grabbed an umbrella from his truck. “I’m helping because you’re standing in the middle of nowhere during a storm.” I stared. That wasn’t what I expected. Everyone described Liam like he was cruel. But cruel people didn’t notice when someone was freezing. They didn’t take off their jacket and place it around someone’s shoulders without saying a word. They didn’t wait until help arrived. “You’re different than I expected,” I admitted. His expression changed. Only slightly. “Everyone expects the worst from me.” The sadness in his voice surprised me. Before I could answer, my phone rang. Ethan. My brother. I looked at the screen. Then at Liam. His expression immediately hardened. “You should answer.” I did. “Where are you?” Ethan sounded angry. “Calm down. My car broke down.” A pause. “Are you alone?” I looked at Liam. The worst possible person. “Not exactly.” Silence. Then my brother’s voice became dangerous. “Who is with you?” I didn’t answer. Because Liam already knew. And somehow… I knew too. This was going to change everything.