The Things You See In Me

Chapter 5

"Nobody asked you to watch, you ass." Liam snips after Bodhi closes the door behind her.

"Oh, is this the hello you gave her after a year?" Xaden snips back, but he's missing the bite to his tone that "little brother" shot at him.

Liam groans quietly, pleading eyes thrown on as he says, "Please don't start."

Xaden chuckles. "OK." He nods, relenting with a small pat to the younger man's back. "Seeing as it's your first day, I'll cut the bullshit."

When Liam smiles and thanks him, Xaden almost feels bad.

Xaden smiles pleasantly while just blurting out the question, "So, have you confessed your eternal undying love for her yet?"

Liam snarls and flips him a middle finger.

Xaden laughs. "What? That wasn't bullshit. That was straight to the point."

Liam glowers at him before turning and stalking over to sink back onto his bed. He glares up at the ceiling as he says, "You're not funny."

"Oh, but I am." Xaden says just as someone knocks loudly on the door. He doesn't get to open it as Garrick barges his way in.

"Yes!" Garrick exclaims excitedly, throwing his hands up in the air.

Liam pulls himself up to sit. He grins when he sees that big ox of a man. Fuck, he's gotten more jacked since Liam last saw him.

"There. He. Is!" Garrick sing-songs as he marches right over to grab the younger man into a tight hug.

Liam coughs lightly when the bigger man gives him a rather hard pat of affection to the back, but squeezes him back before they separate.

"Oh, man, now the gang is all finally back together, huh?" Garrick says. He glances around, arches a brow and asks, "Where's Bodhi? I thought she'd be the first person that came to see you."

Before Liam can hide his pink cheeks, he's glaring at Xaden, who eyes him with a smirk.

"She was." Liam says after clearing his throat and composing himself as best he can.

Thank fuck Garrick is either oblivious or doesn't give a shit. He simply grins again, nods enthusiastically and says, "Well, I tried to ask Imogen if she wanted to join me, but she told me to fuck off before I even opened my mouth, so...yeah. Hey, I know it's your first night and all, but you have got to come get a least a little bit wasted with us later."

"Oh, uh..." Liam really doesn't know what to say.

He's not that big of a drinker, never has been. And also, he really would rather go find Bodhi again if he even can.

It's not like that's some big secret, but knowing Garrick's goofy ass, he'd probably ask to join them in hopes of another wild (drink fuelled) adventure.

Xaden jumps in with, "Not tonight," in a tone that leaves no room for arguments.

Still, Liam doesn't miss the odd look he throws Garrick.

Garrick huffs, pouts dramatically for a split second, but nods and says, "Fine. Tomorrow, then."

Liam smirks, nods, promises, "Tomorrow."

"You better." Garrick warns, leaving him with a playful punch to the shoulder before making a swift exit.

Liam clears his throat and finally forces himself to ask, "The marks that the signets leave on you—are they...I don't know—sacred?"

He asks Xaden, because the man is practically his big brother. And he knows despite all the teasing, Xaden has his back, no matter what.

"Sacred?" Xaden repeats, tilting hid head and looking so much like Bodhi that Liam can't help smiling a little as he nods in response.

Xaden chuckles. He didn't expect that question, of all questions. Liam continues to surprise him. "Um," He blows out a sigh, gives it some thought before he says, "Define 'sacred.'"

Liam huffs, folds his arms over his chest. "Really, man?"

Xaden rolls his eyes, but is smirking as he gives it a little more thought. His smirk grows slowly to a grin when he realises why Liam's even asking. "You touched Bodhi's signet mark, didn't you?" He asks with utter glee and mischief marring his face.

"What? No."

Xaden snorts at how quickly and twitchy that answer was.

Liam sighs, head hanging low between his shoulders and arms falling to his sides as he mumbles, "Yeah."

Xaden laughs, loud.

Liam just stares miserably back at him while mumbling, "Yeah. Cool. Laugh at me. Just what I needed after pissing her off."

Xaden stops laughing immediately at that.

At the oddity, Liam glances up, confused to see Xaden looking just as confused.

"You pissed her off?" First of all, Xaden finds that part all by itself beyond hard to believe.

Still, Liam nods glumly as he shuffles back to sit on the end of his bed.

So, he must have done something and just doesn't know it.

Xaden thinks for a moment. Then, carefully, he asks, "Did she...push you away?"

"No, but she might as well have." Liam flops onto his back with a sigh. "She pulled away from me." He finally explains, "She was talking about the room," Without lifting his head to look, he lazily motions a hand around his new room. "And the idiot I am, I saw her signet mark poking out of her collar and the next thing I know, I'm standing right next to her with my hand on it."

It was like a fucking fever dream. Which is how he feels whenever he's trying to snap out of letting himself grow so lost in everything Bodhi.

Xaden is thoroughly lost by this point. None of what Liam has told him makes sense. Not with all the context Xaden has. Alas, he powers through for his brother, helping him figure this out, helping him figure out the mystery that is women.

"OK," Xaden nods through a sigh and asks, "And then what happened?" He moves over to grab the chair by the desk, dragging it quietly across the wooden floorboards and sitting himself beside Liam on his bed.

"Well, she froze for a second. But I think that's because I startled her." Liam blows out a breath of defeat even as a smile tugs at his lips while he recalls every second as he says now, "But I thought I—no, I know I felt her lean into me, just a little bit. Like...like she knew it was just me there with her. That is was just...us..."

He groans helplessly as he drags himself to prop up onto his elbows. "I'm pathetic. I am pathetic, aren't I?" He asks like he's just asking for support.

Sadly, Xaden can only give him truth. "Just a tad."

Liam looks hopeless then as he flops back onto the bed with a soft bounce.

Xaden chuckles and reaches over to drag him back up by the collar. "So, how did she get from leaning in to her pulling away from you?"

"I don't know." Liam scowls softly as he thinks it over. "All I said was that her signet was beautiful, and then, she pulled away from me like I'd burned her or something. It was horrible." He shivers lightly.

Good grief, he has it bad, Xaden thinks as he sees Liam's rather distraught expression.

Clearly though, the mystery of women remain to even Xaden, because he can't see the problem. He thought Bodhi would be over the damn fucking moon. Neither her or Liam have ever really been shy about putting their hands on one another in public.

"She said it was fine when I questioned her about it." Liam goes on to say, "But I feel like there was something she wasn't telling me." He's never felt that way with her before—uncertain. And he really doesn't like it. He shrugs, adds, "Maybe she didn't want me touching her."

Xaden scoffs loudly before he can stop himself. Followed by him turning the sound into a rather unconvincing cough.

Liam eyes him when he mutters some bullshit about allergies.

Xaden blows out a sigh, leans back in his seat, hands on his knees, and says, "Maybe you should stop wallowing in your pity here and go find Bodhi and ask her instead."

Liam shoots him a no fucking way look.

"Coward." Xaden laughs when Liam flips him a middle finger.

Because to Xaden, there has never been anybody more courageous and loyal than the man sitting in front of him right now.

"What was in the box then?" Xaden asks.

He's only mildly curious. He's just hoping to either distract Liam from his meltdown, or motivate him to get his ass off that bed and after Bodhi.

Liam scowls and rather snootily tells him, "None of your business."

Only Liam could get away with talking to him like this. The others wouldn't dare anyway, but that's what he's missed with Liam. Garrick is a laugh, but he follows Xaden too blindly. Though, the older man is no less loyal.

Xaden scoffs quietly, though, he has to admit, he's rather intrigued now.

"Fine." Xaden says, "Well, I have shit to do. And I've just covered for you so Garrick and the others don't come looking to party with you tonight." He slowly rises and heads to the door, but not without pausing to send Liam a stern look as he adds, "Don't let tonight go to waste."

Liam stares after him and as the door closes behind Xaden, Liam panics slightly and thinks, what the fuck does that mean?