The Unexpected Twist, Marline [e book reader pc .TXT] 📗

were made for each other and every second became more passionate. His grip on my waist strengthened and he pulled me closer to him, until there was not even an inch of separation between our bodies. I could feel his strength but this did not frighten me, instead, it made me feel safe. His lips were so incredibly soft and his touch so gentle that I could hardly believe it was him. Then it suddenly struck me. This was Liam whom I was kissing. The same Liam who had ridiculed and embarrassed me, who had sneered at me and who had undoubtedly kissed dozens of girls before me. I pulled away from him. He seemed to realize why I had done so and made no attempt to kiss me again. I looked away from him, embarrassed and angry at myself but I could not take my arms from around his neck and I didn’t want him to release his grip on me. It took me a few moments to convince myself that I had to let go of him and that this had all been a huge mistake. I took my arms from around his neck and he immediately let go of me too. I crossed my arms in front of my body so that I had full control over myself and would not touch him again. I didn’t know if I could look him in the eye but eventually managed to.
“Ok, I flirted, will you help me now?” I tried to keep my voice steady but could not help the fact that there was a slight quiver in it. I looked away from him again as soon as I could.
“Yes, I’ll help you.” With that he turned around and walked out the door.

Things did not improve between Liam and me. If anything, they got worse. We did not say a word to each other for a week after the incident and I completely ignored him. He, on the other hand, had not ignored me. He had done the opposite, at every possible opportunity he made fun of me, ridiculed and annoyed me. I had needed to stop myself from slapping him. It was so unbelievably tempting to wipe that sneer from his face. But at the same time I knew I needed to know the answer to the quest on which I had sent him and therefore I had managed to keep my temper in check.


That Saturday, we were invited over to his house for lunch and I knew from experience that my family would also stay for dinner. I dreaded the evening and made every possible effort not to go. I told my mom that Cam had invited me over but she told me to cancel, I told her that I had homework to do but she told me that I could finish that in the afternoon. I told her I didn’t feel good and she said I could rest at Liam’s house. Then I played my last card.
“Liam and I have been in a fight. I really don’t want to go. Please, let me stay home.”
Instead of sympathizing with me, the only thing my mom answered was: “Well, then this is a perfect opportunity to put things right again.” I did not know what to do. I had tried everything possible and all my ideas had failed.

We walked up the porch steps to his house. My mother was carrying a casserole type thing as an addition to the lunch, whenever we went to Liam’s house, we always brought something. Although the house was beautiful, I had never managed to appreciate it, probably because my arch enemy lived in it. I knew the house inside-out which was a little freaky considering the fact that Liam lived in it. My dad rang the doorbell and the door was swung open by an enthusiastic and beautiful woman; Liam’s mother.
“Come in,” She invited us heartily. We stepped into the spacious hallway and my mother gave me the casserole.
“Claire, would you heat this in the oven please?” My mom asked.
“Sure.” I answered and turned left into the kitchen. My parents and Liam’s parents walked into the living room. I was taking the tin foil off of the casserole when Liam came in. His face darkened when he saw me.
“Why did you have to come?” He asked, annoyed.
“Trust me, it wasn’t my choice.” I snapped back at him. With ease he leapt onto the counter and sat there, watching me. I opened the oven and placed the casserole inside but when I tried turning it on, the oven would not respond. I tried a couple of different switches but none of them would work. I turned around to Liam, not bothering to hide my annoyance with him.
“Would you care to help?” I asked sarcastically.
“Women do the housework; they should know how to handle ovens.” Was his reply. I could not believe this! I was a guest in his house and he was treating me as if I were the maid! I took a sharp breath to stop myself from yelling at him and turned my concentration on the oven again. After turning a few more switches, I finally managed to turn it on. I closed the oven door and then stood there for a few seconds, with my back turned towards Liam. I knew I would have to ask him about the information which he had obtained from Jennifer and I also knew that I would have to swallow every ounce of pride which I possessed. I turned around and looked at him.
“Did you get any information about where Stan was at the party?” I asked.
“Wait, you don’t honestly expect me to tell you that did you?” My temper started rising again until I realized what he had implied; he had asked her the question, he just refused to tell me now.
“Why wouldn’t you?” I asked.
“Maybe, it’s because of the fact that I can’t stand you, or maybe it’s just because it’s fun to annoy you. Your choice.” The expression on his face was so arrogant, so annoying that again I longed to wipe it off. But I knew I could not because he was my only link to finding out who had raped my best friend. I knew that I needed to know. At that point Liam’s mother came into the room. She momentarily looked from Liam to me and back again and then got some cups out of the cupboard.
“So, what have you been doing lately, Claire?” His mother asked me.
I had to admit, I did not feel like making small talk with Liam’s mother at all. My blood was boiling but I had to appear calm in front of Liam’s mother, which was practically impossible.
“Nothing special. I’ve been concentrating on my school work because I want to get my grades up.” I told Liam’s mother. From the corner of my eye I could see that Liam was sneering at me. “Jerk.” I muttered under my breath.
“Did you say something, dear?” Liam’s mother asked.
“Oh no, I was just noting how beautiful the weather is today.” I lied quickly. My conscience started nagging on me and the fact that Liam snorted at my quick, but slightly failed improvisation, did not make me feel any better.
“Well, don’t hesitate to ask me if you need anything!” Liam’s mother told me as she walked back to the sitting room with a plate of cookies.
“Thank you.” I smiled. Then a deadly silence fell in the room and I started shuffling uncomfortably. I felt that Liam was looking at me and it was not a pleasant feeling.
“Come with me for a walk outside.” Liam suddenly said. My first reaction was to say no, especially since he had demanded it instead of asked. But when I looked up into Liam’s eyes I saw that something had changed, his eyes were softer and somehow also more compassionate. Without a word I walked towards the glass doors which led towards the garden. Liam caught up with me and we walked in silence for a few minutes.
“Where has Cam been these last couple of days, I haven’t seen her at school.” Liam asked me casually.
“Oh, how surprising, you weren’t too stuck up to notice.” I said humorlessly.
Liam ignored my insult and kept walking. “I notice everything.”
I walked for a while in silence, trying to decide what to tell him, contemplating whether or not I could trust him with even the slightest bit of information. I decided to tell him the most obvious reason.
”She’s sick.”
“No.” Liam commented thoughtfully. “There’s more to it than that.” My heart suddenly started beating faster. How much did he know? Had Cam told anyone else besides me? I doubted it but if anyone would be able to find out information about her than it would be Liam. He had connections everywhere. I decided that the best course of action was to simply keep my mouth shut.
“I’ll tell you where Stan was that evening, if you tell me what’s wrong with Cam.” He attempted at making a deal.
“Why are you suddenly so interested in Cam?” I asked, while at the same time I felt a twinge of jealousy in my heart.
“Because I think she got raped.” I stopped in mid-step and frantically looked around to see if anyone was there who could have heard.
“How do you know?” I whispered to him, with urgency and suspicion in my voice.
“Stan told me.” He looked at me now and I could see compassion burning in his eyes. “How is Cam? Is she pregnant?”
I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t know if I could tell him, if I could trust him. I had no idea what his motives and intentions were and I dared not share any secrets with him before he had answered some questions. He saw that I was struggling with some thoughts and wisely remained silent.
“Have you told anybody about this?” I asked him.
“No. Nobody.” I believed him.
“How do I know that you won’t tell anybody?”
“Claire.” He put his hands on my shoulders and the skin which he touched immediately reacted. I felt a burning sensation originating in my shoulders and then spreading throughout my whole body until I felt like I was on fire. It felt good. “I promise I won’t tell anybody anything. You have my word.” My head was spinning and I could not think clearly. I only stared at him, dumbfounded.
“I want to help.” He said gently.
He took his hands off my shoulders and my head cleared immediately.
“Oh, yeah?” I asked him, suddenly defensive. “Well you didn’t seem very helpful in the kitchen. Or very caring for that matter. What do you get out of helping Cam? What’s the catch for you?” It sounded meaner than I had intended but all the stress which I had collected during the past couple of weeks now bubbled over. “How can I trust you when you’ve been treating me like dirt ever since we met? You don’t personally care about Cam anyways! All you care about is living your comfortable life and having dozens of girls around you and being able to do anything you like!” I burst out into sobs which was definitely not my intention. I could not believe that I was showing Liam that I was so vulnerable but at the same time I could not stop the tears from streaming over my cheeks.
“I have reasons for what I do.” Liam said gently, as he wrapped