Leaving
They were fighting again.
It shouldn’t have been that big of a deal. Liam and Hayley had been getting along perfectly, lying on the couch, and just being with each other, when all of a sudden they were standing five feet away from each other, yelling.
Liam has no clue how the fight even started. He had just been talking to her about going on tour soon, and then this happened. It scared him. They had been fighting a lot more than usual, and he didn’t want to admit that maybe there was more behind it then they both thought.
“Hayley, I don’t understand why you’re so upset.”
“You don’t understand?” Her heart was beating at a fast rate, and she absolutely hated yelling at Liam, but she couldn’t stop. She knew she was red-faced and her voice was straining, but she didn’t want another word about the tour, or the boys, or really anything close to that. “Liam, it’s all you talk about!” Her voice reached a pitch that it never had, and it hurt both their ears, but she couldn’t take it back.
His facial expression fell, his stomach clenching. He hadn’t realized how him talking about this would affect her. He looked at her closely, noticing the fire in her eyes, but there was something behind it.
She was hurt. That’s what he saw. He was still trying to figure out why.
“Hey, Hayley, babe,” He reached from her, trying to ignore how his heart felt when she flinched away, “I didn’t mean to hurt you—“
“Yeah, well, it’s too late.”
Liam dropped his hand, looking down. There was silent. He didn’t know what to say, and neither did she.
He heard a sigh from her, and heard a soft plop, meaning she had taken to sitting on the couch.
“Liam,” She whispered, her voice cracking. That’s when he chose to look at her. “What are we doing?”
He hated to cry. Absolutely hated it. He hated feeling sad. He hated being negative. But, that’s all that consumed him. He felt his eyes sting, and his heart grow heavy, and horrible thoughts run through his mind. What were they doing?
“I don’t know.” He chose to sit next to her, taking his head in his hands, but keeping a safe distant.
“I’m just.. I’m going to miss you, and it hurts to hear you talk about it all the time, and it makes me feel like you don’t care about being here, and you don’t want to, and you’re not going to miss me—“
In one swift moment, Liam had grabbed her. She gasped, unsure of what he was doing, but then he wrapped his arms around her waist, and leaned back. He was holding her, and it made her cheeks grow pink, but she didn’t know why he was.
“Listen to me, I will never forget you, and I do care, and of course I would miss you,” when she didn’t respond Liam sighed. “I love you, Hayley. I don’t want you to feel this way. Please.”
He stroked her hair, his breath coming out in short puffs. He was afraid of what she might say.
Hayley gulped, hating herself for what she was about to say. They both knew it was true, but were choosing to hide it. It wasn’t working, and they couldn’t admit it, but they couldn’t live like this forever.
“Liam, we’ve been fighting a lot lately.” She whispered, refusing to look at him. He froze, but still held her. The tears were coming. She could feel it, and she hated it.
“We’ll work it out..” His voice faded, and she sat up, shaking her head.
“No, we can’t.” Why was she saying this? Why was she hurting herself? Why was she hurting Liam? She scrambled away from him. “I’m sorry. I don’t want us to end, but.. but we can’t be like this. You’re not happy.”
Liam’s mouth was dry, and he was shocked at what she was saying, but he desperately tried to control himself. “Hayley, what are you talking about? I am happy. You don’t know—“
“Well, I’m not.”
You could cut through the atmosphere with a knife. It was horrible.
“Hayley.. no. Please. I love you.”
He tried to hold her again, but she was too quick this time, expecting it. She wiped at her tears, standing up, and trying to compose herself.
“I love you too, but this isn’t working. I’m sorry.”
She couldn’t just leave. They could work this out. Liam could make this work. Hayley was special, and he knew that. He couldn’t let her go.
“Bye, Liam.” She grabbed her car keys, and made her way out the door.
She couldn’t. No. He wouldn’t let that happen. Which is why seconds after her car pulled out of the driveway, Liam was running out of the house, trying desperately to catch up with it.
