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As soon as Liz heard the cars pull up, she rushed off to her room. The last thing she wanted was to be surrounded by drunk frat boys. She heard the hollering down the hall before it faded meaning the group went downstairs. The door opened just as she placed her bag on her shoulder. Conrad frowns, "Where are you going?"

"Gonna go meet up with River." She says, "Since Dakota's gonna be here."

"You're not staying for the party?"

"No, I don't wanna be surrounded by frat boys." She chuckles

"Well, I meant for Belly."

Liz tenses, "No."

Conrad tilts his head before shutting the door and stepping closer, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." She shrugs

"Nothing?" He repeats and she nods, "Did something happen between you and Belly?"

"It's fine-"

"It's not fine. If something happened again, tell me." He says firmly

Liz sighs as she runs a hand through her hair, "She wanted to kiss you."

Conrad's brows furrow, "What?"

"When you had your surfing accident and she helped you, she wanted to kiss you. She said she almost did."

"I didn't-" He says standing up straight, "I didn't kiss her."

"I know."

"And I didn't want to either."

"I know." She nods, "That's why I didn't say anything to you because I didn't want to accuse you. I knew it was just her. She said it was."

"You could've talked to me about it." He says, "It's upsetting you."

"Belly is upsetting me." She corrects

"Either way." He says grabbing her hand, "We could've talked about it. I can reassure you that there's nothing there and I definitely didn't want to kiss her. I didn't even realize that those were her intentions."

"I know."

"The first thing I did when I woke up, was look for you." He says, "Whatever Belly has going on, is Belly's problem. She needs to deal with it and figure out whatever the hell she needs to before she marries Jere. But I love you. There's no one else for me."

Before she can respond, there's a knock at the door, "Please don't tell me you guys are fucking."

Liz groans as Conrad chuckles, "No. God, Dakota."

He pushes the door open, "Just making sure. They've already gone through a blunt and a half. Jere's looking for you."

"I have to meet up with River anyway." Liz says before she reaches up and kisses Conrad, "I love you."

"I love you." He says before she begins to walk off

"I love you." Dakota mocks earning a hard smack to his stomach. He doubles over, "Ow, fuck."

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"Okay, wait." River says as she sets her glass down, "So, she was going to kiss him?"

"I'm 100% sure she would've."

"And what about Conrad?"

"He said he had no idea. He was just focused on going to lay down after she bandaged him up."

"Okay, yeah, I believe him. Lost a lot of blood, delirious, whatever." River nods, "But Belly is full of shit. Is she not getting married in two days?"

"She's currently having her bachelorette party."

"What the fuck?" River scoffs sitting back in her seat, "Liz, this family is insane."

"I know that." Liz says taking a bite of her food

"Are you gonna tell Jeremiah?"

Liz furrows her brows, "No."

"Why not? Please tell me you're not trying to spare her feelings."

"No, there's no point." She shrugs, "They're just as bad as one another. They deserve to be together."

"Okay, what does that mean?"

Liz sighs, "Jeremiah cheated on her. Twice."

River's eyes widen as she sits up, "What?"

"It was during spring break. It was some technicality about being broken up or on a break. I don't know." She says waving it off, "They were only apart for a week. She forgave him and he proposed."

"What the fuck?" River mutters, "Oh my god, she has no standards."

"I tried telling her to think about it. She obviously didn't listen."

"So, then that's why she's all of a sudden trying to be all about Conrad."

"What do you mean?"

"She obviously knows deep down that she doesn't want whatever bullshit she has with Jeremiah. He's barely been around, barely helped her plan anything, complains about fucking cake flavors, and cheated on her." She explains, "Conrad, basically, worships the ground that you walk on. In the little time that y'all have been in that house, she's seen it. Everybody does and whatever unresolved feelings she had years ago, are floating up to the surface."

"I told her that if she felt that way about him, that I would back off. She told me she didn't feel that way about him."

"Because she wants what she can't have. When you guys talked, she knew you liked him, but she didn't know he liked you. She probably suspected, but she didn't know for sure." She says, "Now, she knows he loves you. For whatever reason, she wants him."

"That's stupid."

"Duh. Anyone with common sense knows that." River scoffs, "Being with Jeremiah isn't everything she imagined. Especially after he cheated. No matter if she wants to admit it or not, things are different."

"She can go after literally anyone else."

"Going after Conrad is only justified in her mind because she used to have a crush on him and at one point in time, you told her, you'd step back if it meant her being happy. She knows it wrong."

Liz sips her drink. She then sets the glass down with a huff, "This is so fucked."

"Are you still going to the wedding?"

"No."

"Then Dakota's gonna have to go by himself then." She shrugs, "No way am I leaving you alone."

Liz smiles as her phone rings. She picks it up and her face falls, "What the hell?"

"What?"

"It's my dad."

"What?" She says as Liz turns the phone to her. River raises her brows, "Answer it."

"It's probably just more bullshit."

"You won't know, if you don't answer."

Liz purses her lips and lets out a deep breath through her nose. She answers the phone and brings it up to her ear, "Hey, Dad."

"Hey. Do you have a second to talk?"

"Uh, sure." She says making River frown, "What's up?"

"I just wanted to apologize for how I've been acting. It wasn't right for me to treat you the way that I have been and it's not right for me to tell you what to do with your life." He says, "I just want what's best for you."

"Yeah, I get it, Dad."

"I support you in whatever you decide to do. I talked to Conrad and he seems like a nice guy."

"What do you mean? You talked to Conrad?" Liz asks. River's eyes widen as she chews her food.

"Yeah, he called your mom and we met up and talked. I thought he would've told you."

"No, uh, he- he didn't."

"Oh, well, from the conversation we had, I can tell he cares a lot about you. I know it won't be easy, but I will make it all up to you." He explains, "I gotta go, honey, but I love you and I can't wait to hear more about your wedding and all that."

"Yeah, okay. I love you, too. Bye." She says before he hangs up. She sets her phone on the table.

"Well?" River asks

"Conrad went to convince my dad to show up to the wedding."

"Seriously?" She says, "Did it work?"

"Yeah." Liz says before shaking her head, "When the hell did he have time to go and talk to my dad?"

"Probably whenever you stayed at my place." River says, "He knew how upset you were about it and wanted to help fix it."

"Why didn't he tell me?"

"Maybe he just wanted you to think your dad came around." She says before pointing at her, "He loves you. If you don't marry him, I'm gonna kick your ass."

"I can't believe he was able to do that." Liz chuckles

"Speaking of kicking ass, do you want me to kick Belly's ass?" River asks making Liz laugh, "Because I will. She deserves it."

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