Chapter 4 : Footsteps Outside The Door

 The fireman shrugs.  “Somewhere else in the house.  Not there.”

 Liam crosses his arms.  “He’ll stay near my hallway.”

 My head snaps toward him.  “What?  No, that’s"

 “It’s safest,” he cuts in. “Dad won’t have a problem with it.”

 “That’s not the point,” I mumble sharply. “You and I”

 “Don’t start,” he mutters. “You need supervision.”

 I stare. “I’m not a child.”

 He steps closer, dropping his voice. “You were coughing so hard you couldn’t stand.”

 “That doesn’t mean I need you.”

 He leans in until I feel his breath against my cheek. “Funny. Because right now it looks like you do.”

 My face heats instantly. “Stop talking like that.”

 “Why? Does it bother you?”

 “Yes.”

 He smirks. “Then I’ll stop.”

 But he doesn’t move. He stays right there, eyes locked on mine, an unreadable look tightening his features, something fierce, something protective, something he pretends he doesn’t feel.

 “You shouldn’t have run into the fire,” I say.

 “I didn’t run.” His gaze drops to my mouth for a heartbeat. “I charged.”

 I hate how my stomach flips.

 I hate how my chest tightens.

 I hate how he affects me even when I try not to let him.

 “You’re impossible,” I say.

 “And you’re shaking,” he says softly. “Come on. Let’s get you inside before you fall over.”

 “I’m not falling.”

 “You are,” he says. “If I move my hand, you’ll lean on me again.”

 I straighten out of pure pride.

 He watches me do it.

 He almost smiles.

 “You’re ridiculous,” I whisper.

 “And you’re stubborn,” he replies. “Which is why I’m not letting you argue about this. You’re staying near me.”

 “Liam"

 His voice drops low.  “After what I saw in that room, you think I’m letting you sleep across the house? ”

 I look at him.

 He stares back.

 Silence stretches between us, thick with things unsaid.

 Then a sudden realization hits me.

 A sharp, cold one.

 “What were you doing near my room? ” I ask slowly.  “You weren’t supposed to be anywhere close."

 His face freezes.

 Caught.

 He blinks once. Twice.

 Then he says, “I heard something.”

 “That’s not an answer.”

 “I heard you cough.”

 “That’s impossible. The smoke was inside, not outside.”

 A beat of silence.

 His jaw tightens again.

 He’s wrong.

 Badly.

 “You were looking for me,” I breathe.

 “No.”

 “You were.”

 “I said no.”

 “Why?”

 He steps back slightly, as if the truth is too close.

 “I wasn’t looking for you,” he mutters, but the unevenness in his tone reveals him.

 “Then why were you there?”

 He looks away again.

 His hands curl into fists.

 He says nothing.

 And that quiet says everything.

 I swallow hard. “Liam…”

 “We’re not discussing this,” he snaps.

 But his voice cracks again.

 Just a little.

 Just enough.

 I don’t push further, but the question burns hotter than the fire did.

 Why was he outside my door?

 Why was he walking the hallway?

 Why was he close enough to hear anything?

 Why did he sound scared?

 The fire crew returns, giving us the final report. “You can’t stay in that wing for at least a week,” the man says. “Maybe longer.”

 I nod.

But my mind is still drowned in that unsolved question.

 Liam nudges me.  “Come on.  I’ll sort your things.”

 “I can do it myself.”

 “I didn’t ask if you could.  I said I’ll do it.”

 “You’re bossy.”

 “You’re slow.”

 I roll my eyes and walk ahead of him, determined not to respond to the way he stays behind me like a quiet guard.

 Halfway down the hallway, I slow.

 “Liam,” I whisper.  “Thank you.”

 He doesn’t answer at first.

 Then his voice comes quietly.  “Don’t thank me.”

 “Why?”

 “Because it makes it real.”

 Something in my chest lurches.

 “What makes what real?”

 He doesn’t answer.

 Instead, he takes my wrist lightly, barely touching and guides me toward his hallway.

 His grip is warm.

 Too warm.

 Too familiar.

 Too dangerous.

 “We can’t keep doing this,” I say.

 “Doing what?”

 “This… whatever this is.  Whatever you’re pretending it isn’t.”

 He lets go of my wrist like it burns him.

 “We’re not doing anything,” he says coldly.

 My heart sinks before I can stop it.

 “Right,” I say quietly.  “Nothing.”

 He hesitates just one second but it’s enough to make something flicker in his eyes.

 He almost says something.

 I see the words rise behind his stare.

 I see the truth bite at his mouth.

 Then he shuts down.

 “Let’s go,” he mutters.

 We reach the hallway.

 His hallway.

 He opens the door across from his room.

 “This one is empty,” he says.  “You’ll stay here.”

 “No.”

 “Yes.”

 “I’m not sleeping across from you.”

 “You don’t have a choice.”

 I glare.  “I always have a choice.”

 He steps closer.  “Then choose to be safe.”

 “That’s not fair.”

 “Life’s not fair.”

 “You’re manipulating me.”

 “And?”

 I stare at him, angry and powerless all at once.

 “You’re unbelievable.”

 “And you’re alive,” he whispers.  “So yell at me all you want tonight.”

 My chest tightens painfully.  “Why do you care so much?”

 His face softens before he catches himself.  “I don’t.”

 “You do.”

 He turns away.  “Good night, Nico.”

 “Liam"

 “Don’t make me say it.”

 “Say what?”

 He stops in the doorway.

 His back rises and falls with a slow, heavy breath.

 He almost turns.

 Almost.

 “I was worried,” he finally says.  “There.  Is that what you want to hear?”

 My heart slips.  “No.  I just…  I didn’t expect it.”

 “You never expect anything with me,” he mutters.

 He walks back toward his room, hand already on his handle.

 “Liam,” I call slowly.  “Why were you near my door before the fire even started?”

 He still goes.

 Absolutely still.

 Then, without looking back, he says:

 “You shouldn’t ask questions when you’re not ready for the answers.”

 My stomach drops.

 My breath freezes.

 “What answer?”  I whisper.

 He steps into his room.

 The door shuts between us.

 And before I can understand any of it

 The house lights flicker.

 Then die.

 Everything goes dark.

 Pitch dark.

 And from somewhere down the hallway…

 A slow, intentional step lands on the floor.

 One.

 Then another.

 Right outside my door.

 Someone is standing in the darkness right outside my room.