Chapter 5

Lianna rests against her apartment door as she tries to catch her breath. She slides down against the door, her chest burning from all the running. Her head rests against the door. She can hear the footsteps climbing up the stairs to her apartment.

“I win. You owe me five bucks,” she breathes out when William stops at the top of the staircase. He looks at her and slightly rolls his eyes.

“I never agreed to that. You just took off when I got out of the car and yelled something. I am not giving you any money,” he says while walking closer to the door. Lianna stands up and crosses her arms. He moves her away from the door and unlocks it.

“Nah, you’re not going in until you give me my money.” She puts her body between him and the door. He steps back and stares into her eyes. Her eyes are narrow as she holds her arms out to block the entrance.

He steps closer and uses one hand to move her away, but she does not budge. He puts his suitcase down with a sigh before taking out his wallet.

“I knew you only agreed to get married to me for my money,” he remarks and pulls out five dollars. He hands her the money, and she bows her head.

“Yes, and that dashing personality,” she says with sarcasm, but she chuckles at herself. He watches her enter the apartment and picks up his suitcase, closing the door behind him. Only she would dare to say something like that to him.

“Are you saying I’m boring?” he asks. She throws her head back and laughs at him. William places his suitcase on the counter. She puts her hand on her side, still laughing.

“No, I’m saying you don’t have much personality. Always mister grumpy,” she says and pulls a face to mimic him. William stares in disbelief at the horrible imitation while taking his jacket off. He is not even going to attempt to argue with her.

“Who is making dinner?” he asks while Lianna pours water into the kettle.

“Hmm, how about pizza?” She turns the kettle on and takes mugs from the cupboard.

“Yes, it’s fine.” He strolls to the living room and falls onto his stomach on the couch. He closes his eyes, the radio still playing from last night. She must have forgotten to turn it off.

“What do you want?” Lianna asks, tapping his leg with her foot. He turns his head to look at her.

“Pizza,” he says and laughs softly into the pillow on the couch. Lianna overslept this morning, so all her stuff is still on the couch. She hits him with another pillow that she picked up from the floor. He groans and tries to defend himself, but he cannot do much from this position.

“No shit Sherlock. I’m going to order one with pineapple,” she says and hits him again. He turns around, looking at her with a frown.

 “What’s wrong with that?” He does not understand the hate toward pineapple on pizza. It is not that bad. Lianna throws the pillow onto his face and walks back to the kitchen when the water boils.

“Which pizza do you want?” She takes out her phone from her pocket to call the place. William throws his arm over his eyes and tries to hide the yawn. He is exhausted from work.

“The seafood one,” he sighs. The pillow has a flowery scent to it. It smells like a small flower garden. Not too much, but enough to be sweet.

“No! The whole apartment is going to smell like seafood.”

“So?”

“I hate that smell. Heish, I’ll just let you eat in the hallway. You can gas Uncle Dean out of his apartment.” William lifts his arm to see whether she is being serious. Her eyes are glued to her phone, searching for the saved number in her contacts.

“All right, I’ll eat it in the hall,” he says and adjusts the pillow underneath his head. He knows he should not nap now because it will mess up his sleep schedule, but he is exhausted. He is struggling to keep his eyes open. He hears the phone dialing.

She walks around the apartment while she places the order. William sits up to take a sip of his tea. In the two, almost three, days he has been here, he has picked up some bad habits. He will have to fix them before he moves back in with his parents. Lianna will have to become a whole new person if she wants to survive at his house. Then again, if they are married, she can do what she wants to.

A knock on the door gets their attention. Lianna walks to the door and opens it.

“Maeve. What are you doing here?” she sounds surprised. William gets up and fixes his hair and shirt. A tall woman walks into the apartment and freezes when she sees William. She looks back at Lianna and raises an eyebrow.

“I should have known. Maeve, this is William. William, this is Maeve. She is one of the teachers at the school where I work,” Lianna says with a smile. Maeve nudges Lianna’s arm. “And she is a good friend,” Lianna adds.

Maeve slowly walks over to William with careful steps. William gives a step forward and holds his hand out. Maeve shakes his hand, staring at him the whole time. This is the reaction he thought he would get when he arrived here.

“Coffee?” Lianna asks from the kitchen. Maeve is still holding his hands. He politely removes his hand from her grip. She snaps out of it.

“Yes,” she answers. She smiles at William and walks back to the kitchen. He sits down again and watches them from the couch. Maeve looks back at William and smiles again before she tugs Lianna’s sleeve.

“I can’t believe it,” she whispers, thinking William cannot hear her. He sits back and stares at the radio in the corner. He will pretend not to hear what she is gossiping about him.

“I told you. And this is the first time you visited me in weeks. Don’t tell me you only came because of William?” Lianna grabs another mug from the cupboard. Maeve lets out a fake laugh.

“No, of course not.” Lianna chuckles and glances at William. “He is even dreamier in real life. It’s so unfair that you get to spend so much time with him. How is it?” Maeve whispers loudly. Lianna pours water into the mug and shrugs.

“Milk?” Maeve nods. “How is what?” she asks and walks to the refrigerator to get the milk.

“Living with a literal celebrity?” Maeve squeals softly and looks over her shoulder again. William tilts his head to hear Lianna’s answer.  

“Normal. It’s like having a roommate. What do you want me to say?” Lianna stirs the coffee. Maeve sighs.

“Are you going to get married? Like for sure?” Lianna pushes the mug to Maeve and clicks her tongue. Maeve sees William also staring at her, and she gives a tight-lip smile. Lianna motions for Maeve to sit on the chair.

Lianna has not thought about that and she is sure William has been too busy to think about it. They will talk about it.

Maeve sits down and looks at William while she adjusts her seat. Lianna plops down on the floor and stretches her legs out. There is an uncomfortable silence.

“So, William. How has it been living here?” Maeve tries to break the silence. William clears his throat before he answers.

“Different.” Maeve nods her head and takes a sip from the coffee. William looks at Lianna and she rubs her eyes. This is awkward. Just then, there is a knock.

“Pizza,” Lianna shouts and jumps up. She opens the door, her smile falling. “Uncle, what can I do for you?”

“Oh, I heard voices, so I came over to see if everything is all right?” he asks and looks past Lianna’s shoulder into the apartment. Lianna sighs mentally.

“No, we are fine. Do you want to come in?” Uncle Dean bursts into the kitchen and makes a beeline straight to the couch. He stops in front of William.

“So, you’re the bloke Lianna was looking for Tuesday.” He turns to Lianna. “He is handsome.” William lifts a brow at Lianna. What does he mean?

“William,” he says and gets up, extending his hand. The guy takes his hand and gives it a proper shake.

“Nice to meet you, William. You can call me Uncle Dean,” the old man says with a throaty laugh and sits down next to William. He does not even acknowledge Maeve, his eyes glued to William. “What brings a rich bloke like you to this area? Are you in trouble?” William takes another sip from his tea.

“No, nothing like that. I’m just visiting Lianna,” he says, and Uncle Dean turns his head to Lianna.

“Lianna, why have you not introduced him to me yet? He is quite the gentleman. Shame on you for hiding him from us,” he scolds and then laughs. He pats William’s shoulder. “She usually does not mind gossiping to me, but she has not been visiting since you came here. What are you two up to?“

“Uncle, I haven’t asked yet. Do you want something to drink?” Lianna asks him, and he shakes his head. Before he can continue, there is another knock. William and Lianna look at each other.

She gets up with a grunt and strolls to the door. She opens the door. William can tell from her expression that it is not the pizza guy.

“Dad, hi. Come on in,” she invites him in and steps to the side.

“Thanks, kid. I just came to- Oh." He stops when he sees everyone staring at him. He turns to Lianna and furrows his brow. Lianna gives him an irritated smile and closes the door. He greets everyone when he steps into the living room. William stands up and greets him.

“William, how are you?” her dad asks while shaking his hand.

“Good, how are you, sir?” John chuckles and sits on the floor.

“Can’t complain. And please, just call me John.” William nods and returns to the couch, but turns back to John.

“You can sit on the couch. I will sit on the floor,” he says. John thanks him and moves to the couch. Lianna has already made coffee for her dad. She is surprised to see William sitting on the floor. Lianna hands her dad the mug and sits next to William.

Uncle Dean starts talking about the condition of the apartments and how the rent has increased. Lianna rests her elbows on the coffee table and takes a deep breath. She glances at William and notices that he shifts around uncomfortably. It looks like his back is hurting. She leans closer to him while her dad entertains Uncle Dean.

“Are you okay? Is it your back? I can ask Maeve to sit with me on the floor so you can sit on the chair,” she whispers with her head turned to him. Her eyes dart up to his.

“I’m fine. It’s nothing,” he whispers back and puts his hands behind him to support himself. He can feel her gaze on him. She does not believe him, but she turns back to her dad and Uncle Dean. Maeve is just sitting there and stealing glances at William. She would occasionally look at Lianna with wide eyes and a smile. She still cannot believe that William Rhodes is in Lianna’s living room. This is crazy.

“Thank you, uncle. Bye.” Lianna waves to Uncle Dean as he enters his own apartment. Maeve has already left a bit earlier to get back home before it is too dark. John stands next to the island while he waits for Lianna. She closes the door with a sigh and lifts herself onto the counter.

William is in the bedroom, talking to his mother over the phone. Rose has been calling almost every evening. Lianna can tell it irritates William. After every call, he is more tense than usual. She looks at her dad and he has a warm smile. She smiles back at him.

“How are things?”

“Interesting.” Her dad nods and holds his hand out for her to take. He squeezes her hand when she takes his hand.

“I just came to check in. How are you feeling about the weekend?” Lianna frowns.

“Uh, it’s just a weekend. I don’t have to work this weekend. What do you mean?” she asks, confused by the question. John sighs and rubs the back of his neck. It would seem that William has not told Lianna about the plans for the weekend. He’ll wait for William to tell Lianna as he does not want to make things weird.

“Nothing. I just wanted to check in,” he says, but Lianna knows he is lying. There is no getting out of this now. She gets off the island to stand in front of her dad.

“Dad?” she asks, unamused. William exits the bedroom to the living room. He stops when he sees John looking at him along with Lianna. He walks closer and leans against the kitchen wall.

“William, have you told her about the weekend plans?” John asks him. William closes his eyes and lets out a sigh. How could he forget to tell Lianna about the weekend stuff? Idiot.

“I apologize. It completely slipped my mind.” He turns to Lianna, his hands on the island. “My parents invited us to the family house in Cleveland for the weekend. We are leaving tomorrow. I’m sorry, I completely forgot to tell you.” William stares at the ground, not daring to look at Lianna. He cannot believe it. What if she does not want to come due to the short notice? His parents will kill him if he shows up without her.

He looks up, but Lianna is not standing at the island anymore. She has somehow walked past him to the couch. John walks to the door as he does not want to get involved in the fight. Lianna walks with her hands behind her back to William and he glances at John.

“I’m sorry, Lianna. I forgot,” he says with a defeated voice. Lianna stops in front of him with a frown, eyeing him up and down. Before he can react, Lianna beats him with the pillow.

“No, why didn’t you tell me? Now I have to spend the whole weekend with your parents? No!” She hits him again, causing him to stumble back. William stares in shock at her, not knowing how to react. She is hitting his body with the pillow. “I can’t believe you. Noo,” she shouts dramatically. A few more blows land. John laughs at the sight and walks to Lianna, pulling her away from William.

“Bye kid,” he says and hugs her tightly. She pants as she hugs him back.

“Bye Dad,” she says before she squirms out of his grip. “William, get back here,” she shouts at William, who has escaped to the living room. She throws the pillow at him and laughs when it hits William. John smiles and walks out of the apartment. It seems to be going great with those two.

William looks at Lianna. Her hair is disheveled, and she is laughing, her head thrown back. He did not expect this reaction. She stands across from him with another pillow in her hands.

“Are you angry?” he asks carefully. She lets out a breath and clicks her tongue.

“Yes, but I can’t blame you. I forget things all the time. At least I know you’re a human.” She throws the pillow, and he catches it. He cannot help the smile that forms on his face. Lianna also smiles when she sees him smiling. It is the first time she sees him with a genuine smile.

“It is about a three-hour drive. Unless you want to fly,” he says and sits down, the pillow still in his arms. Lianna pulls her fingers through her knotted hair. She hisses when the knot does not budge and pulls her hair into a messy bun.

“No, driving is fun. Like a road trip. What time are we leaving?”

“Around two,” William answers. Just then there is another knock on the door. Lianna runs to the door and cheers when the pizza guy gives her the pizzas. She pays him and locks the door.

"Pizza is here," she says and William gets up. She takes her pizza and falls to the floor, placing the pizza box on the coffee table. William takes his pizza and sits down on the floor instead of the couch. He already holds his hand out for Lianna to take. She flashes him a smile while she takes his hand and prays for the food. This time, she prays for strength for both of them for this weekend. She is definitely on her own mission.

"You actually got the seafood pizza?" he asks when he opens the box. She nods and takes a bite from her chicken and mayo pizza. "Thanks," he says and digs in. He cannot remember when was the last time he ate pizza. His mother is always concerned with what he eats and does not allow him to eat takeaways. Lianna makes a kissing chef hand movement when she takes another bite.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about the weekend earlier. I really forgot," he says and Lianna waves her hand to dismiss him.

"It's fine, William. I know you're busy," she says with a mouthful. He nods while he still looks at her. He wishes he could be so calm about things like Lianna. There is not a worry in her eyes. He shifts, but the pain in his lower back causes him to groan.

"You okay? You should have someone look at that."

"Yeah, I know. It's probably just old age," he jokes and Lianna bursts out into laughter.

"Old age? Please, you're not even 30," she says between her laughter. William chuckles and takes another bite. They eat in comfortable silence. William glances at Lianna when she finishes before him. She finished a whole pizza by herself. He did not know someone could do that. Lianna gets up and throws her box into the bin.

"I'm going to pack," she says when she passes him to the bedroom. William watches her disappear into the bedroom. For some strange reason, he has a good feeling about this weekend.