Chapter 93

Aria’s POV

I stared at the television in absolute shock. To my knowledge, no one had been asking about Liam and my relationship. And even if they had, this was not the response I would have expected him to give.

Hadn’t he himself wanted to come forward about our relationship not all that long ago?

Although maybe that had been part of his grand lie. Now that I knew the truth, he had no reason to keep up pretenses.

I half expected the next thing out of his mouth to be that he was in a relationship with Sophia.

Instead, he miserably looked at the camera while ignoring all questions from the reporters. Then, he turned and walked right back into the headquarters, abruptly ending the press conference.

Why would he have done this? The only reason I could think of was as further insult to me.

Not wanting to hear any media analysis on the subject, I clicked off the television. Lifting my laptop, I felt invigorated, transforming all of my heartbreak into motivation to get out of this city and as far away from Liam as physically possible.

Joe arrived back from school around four o’clock. The moment he walked through the door, downtrodden, dragging his backpack along the ground behind him, I knew something was wrong.

“What’s going on, Joe?” I asked, meeting him in the hallway.

“William still wasn’t in school today,” Joe said. “I asked him yesterday if he was coming back. He promised he was. But he wasn’t there today.”

Confusion struck me as well. When we had seen William last night, he hadn’t been sick. Sophia had also seemed in good spirits, despite her false tears there at the end. For what reason would she have to keep him out of school again?

Maybe it wasn’t any of my business, but I’d grown an attachment to William since knowing him. He and Joe were also friends. He deserved to have someone looking out for him, especially since his mother could be so flaky.

I had thought Liam might be the more responsible party of the pair, but if he was allowing this, then there was no judging him favorably either.

Reaching for my phone, I unlocked it, ready to call Liam and give him a piece of my mind. He could be a dick to me if he really wanted, but he needed to treat his son better. I even made it as far as to unblock Liam’s number on my phone before stopping myself.

No. Forget Liam.

I needed to go back to the source. Sophia was William’s mother. She should be looking out for him.

If it was the last thing I did in this town, I was going to make certain that William was in a good situation before I left.

“How would you like to go see William again tonight, Joe?” I asked.

Joe immediately perked up. “You mean it?”

Thirty minutes later, we pulled up in front of Sophia’s house, exited the car, and went to the door. With Joe standing partially behind me, tucked into my side, I rang the doorbell.

Sophia peeked at us through the glass of the door, before pulling it open, a confused expression on her face.

She looked like hell, with her mascara running down her face in thick black streaks. Her hair was tangled like she’d been laying down and hadn’t brushed it out when she stood back up.

Her apparel was also unusual compared to her usual state of dress, a la club clothes. Now, she wore a baggy t-shirt and gray sweatpants. Her black negligee was visible through her t-shirt. I pretended not to notice.

“What are you doing here?” she asked me. Her faux friendliness from yesterday was gone, but she wasn’t unwelcoming exactly. She seemed suspicious, not angry, by my arrival at her door.

“We wanted to check on William,” I said. “Joe mentioned he was out sick again today.”

“He wasn’t out sick,” she insisted.

“He was!” Joe snapped from my side. When Sophia glared at him, he slipped further behind me, peeking out at Sophia from around my hip.

“Joe is just worried about his friend,” I said. “I am, too. He’s a smart kid, but he needs to be in class to learn.”

“So now you want to teach me how to parent, too?” she scoffed.

“No, I –”

“Forget it,” Sophia said at once. Closing her eyes, she sighed. “I’ve been under a lot of pressure lately. I didn’t mean to lose my temper. Come inside. You and I will talk while the kids play.”

“Thank you,” I said, and followed her inside.

“William is in his room,” Sophia said, facing the living room, not looking at Joe.

I nudged him. “Go see William in his room, okay? I’ll call for you when it’s time to go.”

“Okay…” Joe said though seemed uncertain.

After my encouraging nod, he hurried down the hallway to the stairs.

I followed Sophia into the living room. She didn’t dictate where I should sit this time. She simply claimed her own place on one side of the couch, nearest the end table.

I picked the same armed chair I had sat in last time.

“You said… um… that you were under some pressure lately,” I said, not sure how to continue the conversation. Any parenting advice I could give wouldn’t be welcomed if she refused to hear it. She had to be opened to the idea, and therefore open to me.

Which meant I had to play nice, even if I did come here mainly to lecture.

“Yes,” Sophia said. She was slightly distracted, her gaze traveling to the end table beside the couch. It contained only one drawer, with a golden hoop for a handle. She traced her finger over that hoop like she was enamored with it.

I opened my mouth to push further when my phone started to ring. Who could that be? Pulling it from my pocket, I was surprised to see Liam’s name on the screen. Then I remembered that I had unblocked him.

“Liam’s calling you?” Sophia asked, her eyes locked on the screen of my phone. From where she was sitting, she had to tilt her head pretty far to see, but it wasn’t at all hidden from her view. Anger flashed white hot in her eyes. “After what he promised me…!”

Gripping the hoop of the drawer, she dragged it open.

Just as she reached inside, the doorbell rang.

We both froze.

Sophia shook her head, recovering first. Standing, she slammed closed the drawer.

“I’ll see who that is,” she said and walked out of the living room.

What the hell just happened?

Sophia had seemed so enraged there for a moment. Had she been planning on trying something…?

No. I was being paranoid. I had to be.

She was a spoiled child throwing a tantrum, nothing more. Though I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why she was still upset. She had Liam. He had publically decried any relationship with me.

I had nothing she could possibly be jealous of anymore.

From the living room, I heard Sophia open the front door.

“What are you doing here?” she asked, indignant.

“Hello to you, too,” said a familiar male voice.

Logan.