Wyatt
THORNE

As I started driving towards Lia's apartment, I had a nagging feeling. She didn't say whether the conversation with Logan went good or bad. She didn't say if he wanted to beat me up for sleeping with his girl. Lia told me she was going to tell him everything. I mean-- okay, not the super intimate details, but she wanted to come clean. Hell, I wanted to come clean, too. 

Not once have I ever looked at-- or have been interested in-- one of Logan's girls. Not. Once. I never would have done this. But...Lia. I felt connected to her since the day I met her. When she moved into the house next door, she and I became best friends immediately. We rode bikes together, camped in our backyards, made bedroom forts, and we would sleep over each other's houses. We did everything together. We told each other everything. We knew all each other's secrets. We were always there for each other. Whether if it was to make each other smile, or feel better. Or when one of us was scared. 

I remembered one Halloween in particular...

Lia & Wyatt 
October 31, 2007

9 Years Old

The creaking of my bedroom door woke me up. Then I heard her loud whisper.

"Wyatt! Wake up." Lia softly pushed at my shoulder. 

I sat up in bed and rubbed at my eyes. "Lia? What is it?"

She was wearing her pink nightgown and was holding the teddy bear I won for her in a game at a carnival. "There's a monster downstairs!" 

I frowned at her. "Lia, there's no such thing as monsters." 

I knew what this was about. It was Halloween and Logan let us watch some old scary movies after we went trick-or-treating. Our parents had already went to sleep. I told Lia it wasn't a good Idea; I knew they would scare her. 

"I saw it, Wyatt! I can't go back down there. I'm scared."

I got up from the bed and shut my bedroom door. I walked back over to her and pointed to my bed. "Go ahead. Get in.' 

She climbed onto my bed and clutched her bear to her chest. "What now?" 

I pulled up my beanbag chair by the bed and took a seat. "I'm going to stand guard while you sleep." 

"But you don't believe in monsters." 

"But you do."

She pulled the covers up to her chin and looked at me with wide eyes. "What if you fall asleep and it gets me?" 

"I won't fall asleep and I promise I won't let anything get you, Lia." 

She closed her eyes. "Thank you, Wyatt." 

The ringing of my cellphone brought my thoughts back to the present. I grabbed it from the center console and my stonach dropped when I saw the caller-ID. 

I took a deep breath and answered the call. "Hey, Logan." 

"Wyatt. I take it you spoke to Amelia?" 

I couldn't tell by his tone if he was pissed or upset. "She said she spoke to you. She asked me to come over and talk." 

The other end of the line was quiet for a moment. "She told me everything." 

My chest tightened. "Logan, I'm sorry-"

"Don't. Don't apologize. Becasue I know you aren't sorry that you slept with my fiancee."

He was right. I didn't regret sleeping with her. "I didn't want to hurt you, Logan. If it was anyone else, I wouldn't have done that. I would never do that to you." 

"I know. Amelia told me about your rocky history. It makes a lot more sense now." Logan let out a heavy breath. "Look, I'm not mad at her. I cheated on her and I shouldn't have. We got engaged for the wrong reasons. We were trying to look for something that wasn't there." 

I frowned. That was an odd thing to say. What was Logan looking for? Or who? "So, is the wedding...off?"

"Amelia will explain everything to you when you get there. I'm-- I'm still a little pissed at you though, Wyatt. I don't care who the girl was, you're my brother. You shouldn't have done that. I hurt Amelia. We talked and I don't blame her and she doesn't blame me."

I pulled into the parking lot so I could focus on the conversation. I was right down the street from Lia's apartment now. "Logan, please let me--"

"Listen, this isn't why I called. I need to ask you something." 

I ran my hand over my face. "Okay." This all seemed surreal. Like I was in a dream I couldn't wake up from. 

"Do you love her, Wyatt?" 

An overwhelming emotion came over me. I looked out of the driver window and saw a couple kissing in the parking lot. The man held onto his girlfriend or wife tightly. You could tell they were deeply in love. That's what scared me. 

"I don't know, Logan. I care about her. A lot." 

"You need to figure this shit out, brother. She's fucking amazing. You lost her once. Don't lose her again." There was a brief pause. "And if you hurt her like you did at graduation, I'm going to beat your fucking ass." 

Click. The line went dead. 

What the fuck? It wasn't the hint of anger that surprised me. He was right. I shouldn't have slept with Lia, no matter what. He was my brother and that was a betrayal. But the last thing he said...I looked back to the couple in the parking lot. I had no idea if I loved Lia. I knew that I cared about her, that I didn't want any other woman but her. But love? That was something that always scared me. Love made you vulnerable. I never thought I would be able to love someone. Not without getting hurt. Logan was right-- I needed to figure shit out. 

Deciding I couldn't waste anymore time, I put the car in reverse and started back towards Lia's apartment. Within a few minutes, I pulled into her parking garage, parked my car, and was knocking on her door five minutes later. My eyes met hers when she opened it. I could tell there was a lot on her mind. 

"Thanks for coming," she said as she held the door open for me. 

I walked inside and turned towards her. She closed and locked the door. Then she threw herself into my arms. "Hey," I said as I rubbed her back. "It's okay." 

She buried her face in my neck. I couldn't tell if she was crying or not. "This is all so messed up, Wyatt." 

"What happened?" 

She stood back on her feet and walked over to her couch. I followed her into the living room and took the seat beside her. I could tell she was really upset and confused. I wanted to do whatever I could to help her feel better. 

"We talked. Even though you know how I feel about you, I feel horrible for what I did to him. But we forgave each other and I understand him a little bit more now." 

 I couldn't help myself, I needed to know. "Is the wedding off?"

She suddenly looked uncomfortable. She started fidgeting with her hands and shaking her knee. "Yes...and no."

"What the hell does that mean?" I asked incredulously. That didn't answer my question. It was either yes or now. 

She held my stare as she explained. "Logan and I both agreed that getting married isn't the right thing. He and I might love each other, but we aren't in love with each other." She smiled when she added, "You know you're the one I'm in love with." 

I felt that familiar ache in my chest. I did know that. "There's more. There's something you aren't telling me." 

"We aren't calling off the engagement quite yet. Mainly for your parents' sake." 

That...didn't make fucking sense. "Why would you guys stay engaged if you aren't getting married?" 

She looked away and got up from the couch. She started pacing around the room. She was anxious. "Wyatt, Logan told me some things and he asked me to give him a little time." 

"What kind of things?" 

"He made me promise not to tell you. He said he needed to work through some stuff and he would explain everything to you and your parents himself." 

I got to my feet. Disbelief was etched all over my face. "You're going to keep this from me? We tell each other everything." 

A million different things ran through my head. Was he sick? Did he have cancer or something? What the hell was going on? 

Lia walked up to me and placed her hands on either side of my neck. Her thumbs stroked my jaw. "Wyatt, do you trust me?" 

"Of course I do. But--"

"If you trust me, then believe me when I say that Logan is healthy. It's nothing like what you're thinking. He just needs time. He said to give him a week and I promised him I would." She looked deep in my eyes. "I love you. But this isn't my secret to tell. It's his. After everything that happened between Logan and I...I can give him what he asked for. I owe him that." 

She was right. I knew she was right. But I still felt uncomfortable with her keeping things from me. Especially with my brother keeping secrets. My eyes went to the bookcase she had by the window. The teddy bear I won her all those years ago was sitting on the shelf. I couldn't believe she still had that. My eyes met hers again. "Okay, Lia." She smiled at me and I knew I needed to ask the next question. "What does this mean for us?" 

She wrapped her arms around my neck and gave me a deep, passionate kiss. God, she was amazing. No one ever felt like her. There was no one else like her. Not even close. 

"Wyatt," she breathed against my lips, "would you like to go on a date with me?"