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There weren't many things Conrad liked to brag about. If anything, he kept majority of his accomplishments to himself because he didn't like to be the focus or highlight any of the good things about him. But being with Liz was something he'd brag about for the rest of his life. Not because she was pretty, although she was gorgeous. Not because he'd been pining after her his entire life and finally got her. No, not because of any of that.

But because he hadn't felt a love like hers from anyone else and he didn't think he ever could. Not that he'd ever want to. He was up on the roof, working on it like he had been with a few other things around the house. But more often than not, his eyes drifted down to her.

For the past few days, he'd found her in the pool. Whether it was her simply dipping her feet in or swimming around for hours, it was something she'd recently taken on again to relax her. And this morning hadn't been any different. She'd been sitting on the edge of the pool with only her feet in for about an hour now. She hadn't said anything since she first came out, but she looked peaceful. And that was enough to fill Conrad with a warmth he couldn't explain. A warmth only Liz could provide.

He hadn't realized she had stood up and was looking back up at him until she chuckled, "It seems like you're watching me more than actually working up there."

Conrad smiles, "You're distracting me."

"Me?" Liz exclaims

"Yeah, you."

"I'm just sitting here."

"Exactly." He says, "That's all it takes."

Liz's smile widens as she shakes her head, "As good as you look, I'm going inside. Get back to work, Fisher."

"Yes ma'am."

Liz rolls her eyes playfully before turning away, "You're trouble."

She hears the boy chuckle just before she enters the house. Her smile falls slowly as Belly looks up at her from her place at the counter. It had been a week since the two had said a word to one another. Leaving Conrad to be the buffer between the two, which had been awkward for him nonetheless. Deep down, Liz began to feel bad. Of course, she was still upset with Belly. The girl she had seen as a little sister threw her under the bus without a second thought.

It hurt. Of course it did. And every time Liz began to feel the guilt creep in, River reminded her of what happened. Not to keep the two apart, but to keep Liz from becoming a doormat. So, she stayed quiet. Her eyes trailed off elsewhere as she began to walk past her.

"Liz?"

The girl stops and lets out a light sigh. She turns toward Belly with raised brows, "Yeah?"

"Do you have a second to talk?" Belly asks, "I know the last time I asked it ended badly, but.."

The room fills with an awkward silence as Belly waited. Liz went against what she believed was her better judgment and shrugged, "Sure."

Belly nods, "Liz, I am so sorry. I know I said it the last time we spoke and it seemed like I didn't mean it, but I am. You were right about you always being there for me. You have been and I've taken that for granted." Liz brows furrow lightly as Belly tucks her hair behind her ear, "I just- it's been hard without my mom's support. But I know that's not your fault. And I'm sorry."

Liz looks down as she tilts her head, "I'm not gonna say it's okay because it isn't." Belly nods in understanding, "But I understand how you feel. My dad hasn't exactly been making any of this easy for me. Your mom wants what's best for you, my dad just wants to be an asshole."

"Yeah, I- I get it."

"It's going to take a lot for me to trust you again." Liz says, "And this doesn't mean we're automatically on good terms, but I forgive you."

"Really?"

"But I'm not gonna be your doormat, Belly." Liz says shaking her head

"I didn't mean to make you feel like that."

"Maybe not, but you did." She says, "And while I understand what you're going through, I have too much of my own shit going on right now to allow you to treat me like that."

"I know. I'm sorry."

Liz nods before tilting her head towards the stairs, "I'm gonna go get changed."

"Okay." Belly nods with a small smile. Liz returns it before turning away.

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"No, Mom, I haven't because he said he didn't want to talk to me."

"You know how your dad is." Megan sighs, "He's just being stubborn."

"I know that, but that doesn't mean I should just drop everything to satisfy him." Liz says, "Mom, you have to admit that he's being ridiculous."

Conrad hears Liz scoff as he enters the room. She moved around the room picking up small things as he shut the door behind him. He knew she was only doing it to busy herself during the conversation.

"Yes, I know."

"Honestly, Mom, as long as you're okay with it, I'm fine." She says, "You are okay with it, right?"

"Of course, I am." She says

"Okay, then. That's all that really matters. You and Dakota."

"I just know how much your dad means to you."

Conrad pulls his jeans on as Liz runs a hand through her hair and rests against the desk, "Yeah, I know."

"Just think about it, honey. Okay?"

"Yeah, I will." Liz mutters, "I got to go, Mom."

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you, too." Liz says before the call ends. She lets out a heavy sigh as her hands cover her face. Conrad steps in front of her and gently grabs her wrists. She looks up at him with a light pout.

"You're stressing." He says

"Yeah, I know." She says, "I always am."

Conrad gives a tight lipped smile before it falls, "We should go get some ice cream or something."

"Ice cream?" She repeats

"Yeah." He says softly

"Can we go to the place downtown?"

"We can go wherever you want." He says rubbing her wrist lightly

Liz nods, "Okay."

"You can head out to the car. I'll be down in a second. The keys should be sitting on the table by the door. I forgot to put them on the hook." He says before kissing her forehead

Liz smiles softly before walking out. She makes her way downstairs and grabs the keys.

"Hey, uh, Conrad?" Belly calls out, "Have you seen the car keys? I need to..."

Belly trails off as Liz steps into the kitchen showing the keys in her hand, "We were about to head out."

"Uh, can I come with you guys? 'Cause I just have to pick up a few things for the wedding, and Taylor was supposed to come, and now she's not, and Jere's held up at work, so..."

Although she had forgiven Belly, Liz didn't know if she was quite ready to essentially spend the day with her, "Uh, I mean, we'll be really quick. You can just take it when we get back."

"You guys... can't just give me a ride?"

"Uh..."

"Never mind, it's cool." Belly says, "I'll take my bike."

Before Liz could respond, Belly walks out the back door. Liz looked down at the keys in her hand. She didn't want to feel bad, but she did. Because now Belly was doing everything by herself.

Liz sighs as she turns back toward the front door. As she opened it, Belly neared the end of the driveway. Liz stepped onto the porch, "Belly."

But Belly disappeared around the corner. Liz's head falls back, "Shit."

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