The Boy Who Sneaks in My Bedroom Window (21 page)

Jake walked
over and pulled me from Liam’s arms,
making me whimper. He wrapped me in a tight hug. “Damn it,
Amber. Don’t ever do that to me again! I thought you were going to
die! Shit, you scared me,” Jake ranted, as he rocked me back and
forth gently.

“
I’m OK,” I
said weakly. I looked back to Liam for reassurance and saw that he
wasn’t there, the panic started to rise in my chest as my breathing
started to get shallow. “Where’s Liam?” I choked out, tears flowing
down my face again. Oh God, he left me!

Jake hugged
me tight
ly. “Shh, it’s OK. Just breathe,
Shh,” he murmured, but I couldn’t, my lungs were too tight. “Shit!”
Jake gasped looking at me. “Liam, get in here quick!” he almost
screamed.

Liam ran back
into the room, holding a glass of water which he put down on the
table roughly, spilling half of it, before wrapping his arms around
me. “It’s OK, Angel,” he whispered, putting his lips to my neck
again.

After a
couple of minutes
, when I could pull
back, I smiled at Liam gratefully.

Jake looked
murderously angry. “What the fuck? You two are together, aren’t
you?” he roared.

Liam
just
held up a hand to stop his rant.
“Look, Jake, you and I will talk about this, but now’s not the
right time after what just happened. I need to make sure she’s OK,”
he said sternly, ending the conversation.

Jake looked
at me apologetically and nodded. “I’m sorry
, Amber, but I had to tell you, to make sure you knew, but
I promise I’ll never let him hurt you. You don’t need to worry
about anything. I’ll kill him before he touches you,” Jake said,
taking my hand.

I smiled but
I had a feeling it
would look more like a
grimace. “I know that, Jake. I’m sorry I freaked out and scared
you.” I raised a shaky hand and swiped at my tears
again.

“
That’s OK.
Just don’t do it again,” he said, smiling at me. I laughed weakly
and nodded.

Liam handed
me the glass of water and I drank it gratefully. I noticed that
Jake was watching Liam’s every move
,
glaring angrily. “Stop looking at him like that, Jake, he’s done
nothing wrong,” I said, frowning.

He shook his
head and clenched his jaw, taking a deep breath
, obviously trying to calm himself before speaking. “You
two are together,” he said simply, looking between the two of us
for confirmation. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. OK, so much
for a couple of weeks.

“
Yes
,” Liam answered, nodding. His
arm wrapped tightly around me. I cringed into him, wanting this to
be a dream. Not only is my abusive father coming back, but my
brother was now going to beat the crap out of my
boyfriend.

“
How long?”
Jake asked
. His jaw was still tight but
he seemed to be doing well with his control.

“
Since
Friday,
” Liam replied quietly. He looked
really guilty, and I knew it was my fault because I asked him to
lie about it.

“
He wanted to
tell you straight away
, Jake, but I
wanted to wait. I don’t want you two fighting. Please?” I begged,
looking at my brother, giving him my puppy dog face.

“
You like
him, Amber?”
Jake asked, closing his
eyes, looking sad and disappointed.

“
Yes,” I
admitted, still begging him with my eyes to accept it and not
go
off on one or blame Liam for it. I
would hate it if they fell out over me.

He nodded but
didn’t open his eyes. “What was that what you did, Liam? How did
you do that? Calm her down like that?” he asked,
opening his eyes and looking at him gratefully.

“
I don’t
know. It’s just something that calms her down that’s all. I’ve
always done it,” Liam said with a shrug.

“
Always done
it? You’ve done that before?” Jake asked, looking
confused.

“
Yeah, I’ve
had to calm her down a few times
,” Liam
replied sadly. I thought about what he meant, all the times that he
had seen me cry, probably every single night up until the age of
fourteen.

“
What? When?
I’ve never seen you do that,
” Jake
protested, shaking his head, looking confused. I drew in a shaky
breath. Now he’s going to find out that Liam sleeps in my room. I
crossed my fingers and prayed that this went well, that Jake was OK
and not too angry with his best friend. Liam looked at me for
permission to tell him, I nodded and chewed on my lip knowing this
needed to be brought out into the open sooner or later.

“
Jake, please
don’t freak out,” I begged, moving my body so it was in front of
Liam’s slightly, in
case Jake lunged for
him or something. My small move might just deter him from beating
the crap out of my boyfriend.

“
Jake
, man, nothing ever happened,
I swear,” Liam promised. Jake looked at him, his expression even
more confused. “When I was ten, I saw her crying on her bed through
my window. So I snuck over to make sure she was OK, and I ended up
falling asleep in the bed with her.” Jake glared at him like he
wanted to murder him there and then. “It happened again the next
night, and the next. She would be crying, so I would sneak through
her window. After a while it was just a habit,” Liam said, frowning
slightly.

Jake
ju
mped up with his fists clenched. His
eyes tight, and glaring at Liam. As quick as lightning, Liam
grabbed my arm and pulled me behind him protectively. Jake’s eyes
flashed before his face calmed. “Why did you just do that?” Jake
asked, sighing and looking at Liam intently.

“
Do what?”
Liam asked confused
, still holding me
behind him.

“
Move my
sister behind you like that,” Jake said, his face
completel
y calm now.

Liam shook
his head as if he
didn’t understand the
question. “I didn’t want her to get hurt, that’s all.”

Jake sat back
down and dra
gged his hand through his
blond hair. “You really like my sister?” he asked, looking at the
floor.

“
Jake, I’m in
love with your sister, you know that.” Liam sat back down on the
sofa and pulled me to sit down next to him.

Jake nodded.
“And you’ve slept in her bed before, when we were kids,” Jake
stated, as if trying to make sure he had the facts
straight.

“
Not just
when we were kids, that’s what I was trying to say. She
u
sed to cry, and so I would sneak over to
comfort her every night. It just became a habit, and now neither of
us can actually sleep properly without the other there,” Liam
admitted, frowning.

Jakes face
s
hot up. “You still sleep in her room?
Every night since you were ten? Damn it, Liam. Shit! Motherfucking,
stupid asshole!” Jake ranted, not really able to get the words out,
taking a step forwards his fists clenched again. I winced. Oh God,
here it comes!

I held up my
hands, trying to stop him. “Jake, remember when I used to wake up
screaming all the time?” I asked desperately. I needed to make him
see reason fast before they ended up fighting.

He nodded
and
winced. “Yeah, that stopped though
when you were like eight or something.”

I
nodded
. “Yeah, I was eight. That was when
Liam started sleeping in with me. I don’t have nightmares anymore,
because of Liam,” I said, smiling and squeezing Liam’s
hand.

“
You do! I’ve
had to sleep in with you a few times since then,
” Jake protested.

“
Yeah you
did, but I still had the nightmares even though you were
there
,” I countered. Jake flinched and
nodded, probably at the memory of me screaming the house down in
his bed. “I’ve only had a few nightmares since then, the only times
I ever have them is when Liam’s not there. Like if he’s on vacation
or something,” I explained, looking at Jake, watching as
understanding shot across his face. We were all silent for a while.
Liam was stroking the back of my hand; Jake was just staring at the
floor.

After what
seemed like forever
, Jake looked at Liam.
“Liam, if you hurt my sister, best friend or not, I will kill you,”
Jake warned. I could see that he meant it.

“
I won’t, I
promise,
” Liam vowed, smiling
reassuringly.

“
Right
, well, I’m going to bed. I
guess I’ll see you in the morning, make sure you lock the door
before you two go to bed,” Jake instructed, getting up and leaving
us sitting there on the sofa, shocked.

I looked at
Liam;
he just looked stunned as I felt.
“Wow, that was easier than I thought,” he mused, smiling at me and
putting his hands either side of my face.

I smiled,
just pleased that it was finally out in the open. “Want to go to
bed
, Liam? I’m not in the mood for
homework; I just want to go to sleep.” I just needed to lie in the
bed and have him hold me for a little while.

He nodded and
kissed my nose. “Yeah
, I just need to go
back home first. Jake called and said you were freaking out, so I
just ran out of the house without even telling my parents where I
was going.” He stroked my face with his thumbs softly, just looking
at me with a sad smile.

“
OK. I guess
I’ll just go to bed and see you when you’re ready,” I said, getting
up and pulling him towards the front door.

“
Hey, can I
use the door now that
Jake knows?” He
grinned.

I
laughed
at his excitement, but shook my
head. “No, your parents might see…. unless you tell them you’re
staying here,” I suggested.

He smiled
happily. “I would love to walk through your front door and get in
your bed; I’ve never done that before.”

I took out my
k
eys and gave them to him. “Make sure you
lock it after, OK?” I kissed his cheek and made my way to my
bedroom.

It was
nearly ten o’clock but my body felt so exhausted
from all the emotional drama that it felt like I hadn’t slept in
days. I pulled off my clothes and slipped on my favourite t-shirt
that used to be Liam’s. I fell asleep instantly. A couple of
minutes later I felt two arms wrap around me and a heavy leg slung
over mine. I smiled and pressed back into him. My boyfriend. The
one I needed when things went wrong.

It’s
weird
, but when Jake pulled me away from
Liam tonight, I felt strange, like I’d left my heart behind. I
didn’t realise up until then, how strongly I was connected to him.
He literally was everything to me. When I felt his arms wrap around
me earlier, I felt like I was home, all my panic started to recede.
I felt like, as long as he was with me, I’d be alright.

I snuggled
into him and heard him whisper
, “I love
you,” right before I fell back into a deep dreamless sleep; I
didn’t doubt his words this time.

Chapter 13

I woke at six with my alarm going off. I groaned
because I'd forgotten to cancel it. I guess I don’t need to kick
him out of my bed early anymore. I rolled over and hugged Liam. He
always slept through the alarm; I swear he would sleep through an
earthquake. I nudged him gently, deciding to play a joke on
him.

“
Six
o’clock,” I said,
nudging him
again.

He groaned
and slowly got up out of the bed
, still
half asleep. “OK, Angel. I love you; I’ll see you later.” He kissed
my forehead and got out of the bed, his eyes only half open. I
couldn’t help myself, I burst out laughing. He looked at me,
confused. “Shh! What are you laughing at?” he asked, frowning,
pulling on his jeans.

“
You,” I
teased, smiling happily
.

“
What about
me? What have I done?” he whispered, climbing back onto the bed and
crawling on top of me
. He pressed every
inch of his body to mine but still keeping all of his weight off of
me somehow. He looked into my eyes, smiling happily for a little
while, and then understanding crossed his face. “Shit! Your brother
knows! Then why the hell did you wake me up, Angel? I don’t need to
leave,” he whined.

I wrapped my
arms around his neck an
d pulled him in
for a long kiss. “I was just kidding around. I forgot to cancel the
alarm so I thought I’d use the extra time and we could make
out.”

He grinned.
“You wanna make out?” he teased, kissing down my neck. I gasped as
he reached the sensitive spot near my collarbone.

“
Mmm,” I
breathed, running my hands down his back, scratching slightly with
my nails, making him moan. He climbed back under the covers, and
kissed me tenderly and softly, holding me close
. He made no moves to take things any further than that,
which I loved. He really was adorable.