Everything I Hate About Liam

Chapter Three

Aiden POV

Liam came back to the house much later. He came into my room and met me at my study desk. I was preparing for a quiz. I turned around immediately when I heard the door open.

"Hey stepbro, guess what?"

"I'm going for the hockey state championship for a whole week in Houston. This is a great opportunity for me to go global."

"Can you help me pack?"

I looked at him in total awe. Where does he get the audacity to be so chill or to think I would be so chill with him after everything he'd done throughout the day.

"Hmm?" He added, both eyebrows raised.

"Okay, but after I finish what I'm doing right now," I answered. I was shocked at myself for agreeing. There was something about the way he asked that made it hard to refuse. Or maybe it was the way it made me feel.

"Leave that boring stuff, let's go ,you can do it later, nerd," he said, dragging me from my seat.

We went into his room. I have never seen a more wrecked and disorganized place in my life. His bed was covered in pants, underwear, and even shoes. For someone as obsessed with order and neatness as me, this totally freaked me out.

I was trying to make sense of why anyone's room could look like that when he pulled off his oversized t-shirt. I was starstruck staring at his body. Did he always look like this?

He had a broad chest and visibly built abs. I looked from his face down to his waist, then paused. His shorts were sitting slightly below his waist, revealing just enough. You could tell from the abs and the line of his waist that he was big. It must be huge. I lowered my eyes just a little and saw it pressing against his shorts. It had a nice curve.

He turned around to grab something from his drawer. That snapped me back to reality. My mind drifted to the comments Dan and the blonde had made earlier.

Was I gay?

I couldn't deceive myself and pretend my stepbrother's body hadn't just done something to me. I pushed every thought to the back of my head.

I picked up one of his shirts and started folding it to add to the pile I'd already done. He was just throwing his clothes everywhere.

That's when the unexpected question came.

"Is Chloe your girlfriend?"

I looked up at him and subconsciously dropped the shirt.

"She's not. We're just friends," I said simply.

"Are you sure? Because if she was, I'd be jealous," he said, glancing at me from the corner of his eye.

Jealous? Why would he be jealous? What does that even mean?

"I'm sure," I said firmly.

I didn't have the courage to ask him why he'd be jealous though.

"Isn't she cute?" he added.

You could tell from my face I was already uncomfortable with this conversation.

"I don't know. She's just Chloe," I said, hoping that would end it.

"You two would make a good couple though," he said. I decided to stay quiet.

I folded one of Liam's shirts with military precision. Liam watched me for a full ten seconds.

"You just folded a t-shirt like it was going to a funeral."

"It's called doing it correctly."

"It's a shirt, not a document."

"Your entire room looks like a crime scene, so maybe don't give me feedback right now."

He burst out laughing.

He went on to tease me about being shy to admit my feelings. Made comments about what a bookworm I am. Asked me about my dreams. I can't believe I'm saying this, but I enjoyed it. I'd never seen this side of him before. It left me wondering if it would continue or if it was only because he was excited about the state championship.

…….

It was past seven in the morning when Liam came in. He woke me up by tapping my shoulder and calling my name like a normal person , which was unlike him. My eyes cleared as I sat up. He was already dressed. He was leaving for the championship this morning. One good thing about him was that he loved being early. He was always punctual.

"Dad's waiting. See you in a week," he said, then turned and closed the door.

My heart sank, like it had been expecting something that didn't happen. Somehow my brain or my heart felt like one week was too long.

This was supposed to be a whole week without Liam. Peace and privacy. I heard the car drive off a few minutes later and got up from my bed. I went straight to the bathroom. Knowing Liam wasn't around, I left the door wide open.

I grabbed my toothbrush, added paste, and started brushing. Then I had my bath. Through all of it my eyes kept drifting to the doorway.

No Liam. I was supposed to be happy about that, right? Somehow I wished he would walk in and annoy me the way he always did. Was I missing him? Probably just because of the moments from the night before. Nothing serious.

I got dressed and headed downstairs for breakfast. Mum was already seated at the dining table. Different dishes were spread across it. I looked at her from the stairs. My mind flashed back to her waking me up early, the breakfast she used to make exactly to my taste. But here I was, about to eat food cooked by the maid.

I sat down and picked up my fork.

That's when I heard it.

A loud thud from upstairs. Like something heavy hitting the floor.

I dropped my fork and sat still for a second listening. The maid didn't react. She just kept moving around the kitchen like she hadn't heard anything.

I pushed my seat backwards and walked up stairs.

He was coming in a rush. I stood still and calm. He walked right pass me without noticing me.

I waited until I heard him reach the bottom.

He obviously just came out of Liam's room and I don't know what tempted me to but…

I pushed Liam's door open.

I scanned the room until I saw it. A folded document half hidden under a hockey magazine on the desk. I walked over and pulled it out.

It was a medical report. Liam's name at the top.

I read it once. Then again.

"Patient has been diagnosed with a severe stress fracture of the right hand. Player is advised to refrain from all physical activity for a minimum of four months. Continued play will result in permanent damage."