Chapter 182: Drive Back Home! [FIXED!]

Liam stood by the front door with one shoulder against the frame, peering through the narrow window beside it at the street outside. It was still bright out, the afternoon sun throwing long shadows across the pavement. A man walked his dog past the house. A delivery van rolled by without slowing. Nothing looked out of place, but Liam kept watching anyway.

Sophia sat on the armchair behind him, knees pulled up, a mug of tea going cold between her hands. She hadn’t taken a sip in ten minutes.

His phone buzzed in his pocket.

[Vanessa: Hey, you okay? Haven’t heard from you since you left. I’m about to head out btw, didn’t want to just disappear without saying anything.]

Liam read it once and typed back without hesitation.

[Liam: I’m good. Had something to take care of, still handling it. Thanks for letting me know. Get home safe and text me when you’re there.]

He hit send and slid the phone back into his pocket, his attention returning to the window like he’d never looked away. His voice, his tone, the speed of the reply, none of it gave away what was going on in this house.

A minute passed. Then two. The message showed as read, but no reply came.

Liam didn’t check again. He didn’t feel that familiar tug of needing to know what she was thinking, didn’t wonder whether he’d said something wrong. She’d answer when she answered. Last night had been good, and he cared about her, but right now his head was here, in this living room, with the woman curled up in the armchair behind him.

"Are you okay?" Sophia asked quietly.

He turned to find her watching him, brows knitted together.

"I’m fine."

"You’ve been standing there like a statue for twenty minutes."

"Statues don’t get paid enough for this," he said, and she managed the smallest smile.

He pushed off the doorframe and checked the time. School would be letting out soon.

"I should be the one to pick Mateo up today," he said.

Sophia hesitated, glancing toward the window, then back at him. Relief flickered across her face before she could hide it. "Yeah. That’s... yeah. I’d like that."

"Good." He grabbed his keys off the side table. "You stay inside. Doors locked, curtains closed, don’t answer for anyone you’re not expecting."

"I know, Liam."

"I’m serious." He paused at the door, then looked back at her with a straight face. "Lock up behind me before the boogeyman comes for you."

Sophia stared at him for a full second, then kissed her teeth, and a soft laugh slipped out of her anyway, the first real one he’d heard from her all day.

"You’re a jerk," she said, shaking her head.

"I know," Liam said, grinning, and he pulled the door shut behind him.

He waited on the porch until he heard every lock click into place, one after another, before he walked down the steps to his car.

He didn’t text Mateo to tell him he was coming. He could already picture the kid’s face when he walked out of school, scanning the line of cars for Sophia’s, and saw Liam’s instead. Mateo would try to play it cool. He’d fail badly. The grin would be all over his face before he even got to the car.

Liam smiled to himself as he started the engine.

"Better as a surprise."

-

The final bell had already rung, and the hallway was thinning out fast, lockers slamming, sneakers squeaking toward the exits. Mateo leaned against the wall by the stairwell with Owen, the two of them in no particular rush to leave.

"I’m telling you," Owen said, "Mr. Halvorsen does not know what he’s teaching. He spent twenty minutes on the Treaty of Versailles and then asked us what year World War Two started."

"That’s literally the next Chapter."

"Exactly! He skipped ahead and blamed us for not keeping up."

Mateo laughed, shifting his backpack strap higher on his shoulder. He was about to add something when movement down the hall caught his eye.

Jessica was walking toward the doors with two of her friends, ponytail swinging. As she passed the stairwell, she glanced over, smiled, and lifted her hand in a small wave.

Mateo froze. Then, a beat later, he turned toward Owen, assuming she’d meant him. Owen knew her, after all. They had bio together.

Owen was already grinning. He jabbed an elbow into Mateo’s ribs.

"Bro. That was for you."

"What? No."

"She looked dead at you. I’m standing right here. I’d know if she was waving at me, trust me."

Mateo turned back, but she was already pushing through the doors, gone into the afternoon sunlight. He hadn’t even waved back.

"I didn’t wave back," he said, horrified.

"Yeah, you kinda just stood there like a mannequin."

"Why didn’t you tell me faster?"

"I told you in like half a second!"

Mateo dragged a hand down his face, but underneath the embarrassment, something warm was spreading through his chest. That was twice now. Twice she’d gone out of her way to acknowledge him.

He knew part of it was the haircut. The fresh fade had changed how people looked at him, made him stand a little straighter without even meaning to. And part of it was Liam and Darren showing up at school, that quiet ripple it had sent through the hallways. People noticed things like that.

But Jessica didn’t seem like the type who cared about that stuff. She’d always been friendly to everyone, even the kids nobody else talked to. Maybe she would’ve waved at him months ago if he’d just worked up the nerve to say hi.

Owen was studying him with narrowed eyes. "Look at you."

"What."

"Your whole face just went red."

"It’s hot in here."

"It’s literally October." Owen’s grin got wider. "I’ve been putting in work for you, you know. Mentioning you in bio, sitting next to her so you can sit next to me. That wave? That’s my labor."

"Your labor."

"My blood, sweat, and tears, man."

Mateo shoved him lightly, and Owen stumbled back laughing.

"Okay, okay," Owen said, holding up his hands. "Different question. You joining anything this semester?"

"Like what?"

"Like an activity. Club, sport, whatever. Coach is still taking people for cross-country."

Mateo made a face. "Running? On purpose?"

"There’s also robotics. And yearbook. And the debate team, but those kids are kind of intense."

"I don’t know. Never really thought about it."

"You should," Owen said. "Looks good for college. Plus, you know..." He wiggled his eyebrows. "Jessica’s on the student council."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. Meetings every Thursday."

Mateo groaned, but he was smiling as they pushed through the doors and out into the sunlight, still arguing about whether robotics counted as a sport.

-

Liam eased his car into the pickup lane just as the last wave of students spilled out through the front doors. He spotted Mateo almost immediately, standing near the bike racks with Owen, the two of them laughing about something.

Liam didn’t honk. He didn’t need to.

Mateo glanced toward the line of cars, the way he always did out of habit, scanning for Sophia’s beat-up sedan. His eyes slid right past Liam’s car, then snapped back.

He stopped mid-sentence. His mouth fell open.

Then he was moving, backpack bouncing against his shoulders, half-jogging across the pavement before he seemed to remember he was trying to look cool and slowed to a fast walk. It didn’t help. The grin was already all over his face.

Liam rolled down the window. "Hey, bud."

"Liam? What are you doing here?" Mateo leaned in on the door, practically vibrating. "Where’s Sophie?"

"She’s home. Figured I’d grab you today."

"For real?"

"No, I’m a hologram." Liam smirked. "Yeah, for real."

Mateo laughed, cheeks flushed, clearly trying and failing to play it off.

Over his shoulder, Liam noticed Owen still standing by the bike racks, hands shoved in his pockets, hanging back awkwardly like he wasn’t sure whether he was supposed to come over or leave.

Liam lifted his chin and waved him over.

Owen pointed at himself, eyebrows raised.

"Me?"

Liam nodded.

Owen jogged over and stopped beside Mateo, straightening up a little. "Hey. Uh, Liam, right?"

"That’s me. You’re Owen."

Owen blinked. "You remember my name?"

"Hard to forget the guy who’s been looking out for this one." Liam tipped his head toward Mateo. "Appreciate that, by the way."

Owen shrugged, but he looked pleased. "He’s alright. Most of the time."

"Most of the time?" Mateo protested.

"You froze when Jessica waved at you today. That’s a minus."

"Dude!"

Liam raised an eyebrow, looking between the two of them. "Jessica waved at you?"

Mateo’s face went bright red. "It was nothing."

"It was not nothing," Owen said. "He stood there like a mannequin."

"Owen, I swear—"

Liam laughed, then gestured toward the back seat. "You need a ride, Owen? I can drop you off."

Owen hesitated. "You sure?"

"Wouldn’t offer if I wasn’t. Hop in."

Owen grinned and pulled open the back door, while Mateo climbed into the front seat, still glaring at him over his shoulder.