CHAPTER 36

KATE

As soon as Liana closed the door, she turned and gave me a look. Her eyes were sad, and her face was forgiving. It was pretty clear that she had eaten up every word that Liam had said, and also thought that I should, too.

I was standing just behind the door the whole time. When I heard the knock at the front door, it was Liana who insisted that she answer it. She and I both knew that Liam wasn't set to leave for a few hours, and she assumed that it might be him, coming around to try one more time at getting me back. I thought that she was being ridiculous. I knew Liam well enough to know that he wouldn't do that. So naturally, I was nothing but surprised to find out that she was right. Well, sort of.

I leaned against the wall, listening to every word that he said. And as I listened, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. His words were so heartfelt and honest. He hadn’t come to try and get me back, as Liana had assumed. Instead, he had come to apologize. That was truly shocking.

"Wow," Liana said as she turned on me. "I did not see that coming. Did you?"

"No," I admitted. "I really didn't."

"Huh," Liana said, shaking her head to herself as she headed for the kitchen.

"What?" I asked, following her. There was clearly something on her mind.

"Oh, nothing," she said as she began pawing through my empty cupboards.

"Liana, for an actress you're a terrible liar. Tell me."

"Well, it's just that." She opened up the fridge, sighing as she realized that it too, was empty. "It's just that he sounded sincere. Like, really sincere. And I'm an actress. I can tell when someone is faking."

"I don't doubt that he was being sincere," I admitted, propping myself up on a kitchen bench. "But so what if he was?"

"So what? Did you not hear what he said?" She suddenly exclaimed. It actually caught me a little off guard. Liana had always been volatile, but usually in a more obvious way. I wouldn't have expected this to get her so worked up.

"Yeah, I was there. I heard him," I said, smirking at her reaction. "I just don't think it's as big a deal as you're making it out to be."

"Please girl," she said. "He wants you back. It's so obvious. He came over here to get you back, simple as that."

"I don't think he did. It sounded like he meant exactly what he said. He came over here to apologize. It was nice of him and a little unexpected. But that's all it was."

"Do you really believe that?"

"I do," I said with less conviction than I felt.

In truth, he had caught me a little off guard. When Liana announced that Liam was at the door, I half expected him to launch into some grand gesture in an attempt to get me back. But he didn't. He didn't even try and get me back. It seemed like he really just wanted to say sorry.

"Okay, fine," Liana said, biting her lip and nodding along in mock agreement. "And even if you do believe that, as you claim you do. Are you okay with that conclusion? Are you fine with how it went down?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, a little confused.

If I was surprised by Liam's apology, I was downright shocked by Liana's reaction to it. She had never been the romantic type, and never one to push Liam or any man onto me. But now, she was acting like his number one fan.

"Oh, come on. It's so obvious that he wants you back. And more than that, it's pretty obvious that you still want him as well. Don't lie to me now. I know when you do."

I was unsure of how to answer. Of course, I still wanted Liam. Nothing had changed. I still loved him just as much as I had two days ago. The only reason that I wasn't with him was because I didn't think I could trust him. I was sick of being hurt and thought that I was doing this for my own good. But now, thanks to Liana, I wasn't so sure.

"That's what I thought," Liana said smugly, as she crossed her arms and nodded her head at me.

"Fine!" I blurted. "Of course, I still love him. It doesn't take a genius to figure that out. But so what if I do? You know why I broke up with him. You know it's for the best. There's no getting around that."

"I thought that, too," she admitted. "But now? Now, I'm not so sure. Hear me out," she added, before I was able to interrupt. "I know he hurt you. And I know that sucks. But that's what love is. Love is getting hurt and coming back from it. Love is finding that person that you're willing to be hurt for. No romance is perfect. That's impossible. What is possible, and something that you actually had, was finding that person you're willing to be hurt for. It's rare, but when it happens, you probably shouldn't let it go."

A silence fell between the two of us for a moment as her words sunk in. She still had her arms crossed as she watched me, nodding her head as if trying to reinforce what she had just said. I, however, was seeing my best friend in a whole new light.

"Liana, I had no idea you were such a romantic."

"Oh, I'm not. I watched the Bachelor finale last night, and some of it must have rubbed off on me. Now. What are you going to do?"

She was right. She had never been more right. I still loved Liam, and he still loved me. That alone should have been reason enough to stay with him. Sure, I was scared, but that was kind of the point. Love was scary, but it was also fun and exciting and everything good. I ended it with him because I was worried that he would hurt me, without even thinking of how much I was hurting myself. But I was done with being scared. I wanted to be with Liam, no matter what.

"I want him back," I admitted. "I want Liam back."

"There you go," Liana beamed. "Go get him."

"But he's gone." I suddenly realized that I was too late. He was leaving the country in less than an hour, with no plans to ever come back. I may never get to see him again.

"He didn't leave the planet girl. He's at the airport. I highly suggest that you jump in your little car downstairs, hit the accelerator, and high tail it after him. If you hurry, you should make it. You might even get a chance to do a romantic, airport run to the gates and kiss in front of a cheering crowd, type thing. How great would that be?"

"You're right," I said, "I'm going. I'm going after him." Without another word, I turned and sprinted for the front door. I was halfway out when I realized that I had left my keys in my bedroom and had to return to grab them. Liana was still in the kitchen, chuckling to herself when I ran past the second time. "Hey Liana," I said, pausing at the front door. "Thanks."

"Anytime, girl. Anytime. Now go!"

And I did.

--

I drove like my life depended on it. Liam's flight was leaving from JFK airport at nine. That gave me less than an hour to get there. Not only that, but I had to get there before he checked in so that I could actually get to him. Once he was through security, I knew that I would have no chance. Either that or I would have to buy a ticket for myself. I wasn't ruling it out.

An hour wasn't going to be enough time. As I jumped in my car and pulled onto the main road, I was certain that I wasn't going to make it. On any given day, it would take me at least an hour and a half to get to JFK. At least. The fact that it was a Sunday night, when a lot of people were flying out of the city to go home, meant that the freeway was going to be anarchy. But I had to try.

The Van Wyck Expressway was the main road going into JFK, and I got onto it in record time. I had never driven like that before. I dodged cars, I ran lights, and I hit corners like a professional race car driver. Every time I came up to a turn or a stop light, I thought that my time was done. But somehow, I managed to keep my car on the road and my hand planted firmly on the wheel. I was going to make it.

The Van Wyck was one long run, and as it was a Sunday, it was packed. The traffic wasn't stopped, but it was puttering along at an intolerably slow pace. I beeped my horn as I came up behind cars, swerving in and out of them like a woman on a mission. They honked back and flipped me off, and most likely said some very obscene things back to me, but I didn't care. I pushed on, driving as recklessly as a New York City cab driver.

When I was about halfway down the Van Wyck, I caught a break. By the gift of God, the traffic became easier to handle. Where before, the traffic was four lanes wide and bumper to bumper, it suddenly thinned out, even opening up a side lane. I swerved my car to the open lane, thanking the heavens for the clean break.

The moment my car hit the open lane, I floored it, roaring down the expressway as fast as my car would take me. The cars next to me seemed to not move at all, I was going so fast. I couldn't believe my luck. I was going to make it. I was going to get to Liam on time.

And then I saw it.

Up ahead, about five car lengths in front of me was a broken-down bus. That was why the lane was empty, because the cars had been cleared across so they could avoid the bus. I must have missed the signage in my haste. And as my car screamed along the expressway, as I looked for a way off the lane, and back into safety, I lost control of my car.

I hit the brakes, and the tires of my car locked up beneath me. I tried to swerve to the neighboring lane, only for it to be blocked by other cars. To my right was a metal barrier, in front of me was the broken-down bus. My car screeched and skidded, trying to come to a stop. The bus got closer and closer. Four car lengths, three. There was nothing I could do, I closed my eyes and braced for impact.

My car was going to run head first into the bus. And, at the speed that I was going, there was little chance that me or the car were going to make it out in one piece.