Liam walked straight past Amanda and sat at the breakfast bar. He had never been inside the house before but showed no interest in looking at his surroundings.
‘How do you know where I live?’
She waited for him to speak but he remained silent, staring at his hands. A small smirk played at the edge of his mouth. She was surprised at his boldness but she was the one in charge here, it was her home.
‘Liam, why are you here?’
‘What did you do to your arm?’ He glanced at the sling. ‘Is it repetitive strain from applying lip gloss?’
His voice was cold and sarcastic. He was like a different person.
‘Why are you here?’ She heard the tremor in her voice and hoped he hadn’t.
‘You should come out for a drink with me,’ he said, his voice strained. ‘You owe me, after all.’
‘Owe you? For what?’
‘For what you did. The accident.’
So, it sounded as if he did blame her for the accident after all. Up until now, he’d always brushed aside her apologies, never interested in discussing what had happened.
‘Liam, I’ve said I’m sorry a hundred times; I don’t know what else I—’
‘You can come out for a drink with me. That would be a start.’
He had asked her out a few times when she had visited him at home but so far she had declined. She wasn’t entirely sure why she’d always said no. There were times he seemed confused, frustrated. It made her stomach flutter and not in a good way.
‘I said I would come for a drink when you were better.’
‘I’m better now, better than I’ve been in a long time.’ His thin, dry lips looked on the verge of splitting, and his blue eyes looked darker than she remembered. ‘Thanks to Anna, my problems will soon be over.’
‘I don’t know what you’ve agreed with Anna but you should tell her about the debt. It’s not fair to lead her on, Liam.’
‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’ A sneer slid across his face. ‘I lost my memory, remember?’
‘Ivy told me everything. About buying the motorbike, the loan shark.’
She gasped as he grabbed her uninjured wrist, hard.
‘You shouldn’t listen to mad old women: they tell stories.’
‘Liam, let go.’ She pulled away.
Her breathing speeded up, like her lungs were trying to gulp in more air. She opened her mouth so he couldn’t hear it.
He let go of her wrist and reached inside his jacket pocket, pulling out a small box of matches. He took one out, struck it and watched the tiny flame in fascination until it burned down to a powdery black head.
‘Liam,’ she wasn’t sure quite how to phrase it so she just said it, ‘you’re scaring me. You’re acting, I don’t know – strange. Are you feeling OK?’
‘It’s not all about you and what you feel.’ He looked up at her then, his eyes burning. ‘It has never been all about you.’
She massaged her temples, trying to stop the buzz building inside her head. He was acting so weird.
Where had kind, understanding Liam gone? She was talking to a stranger. Even his voice sounded different.
He lit another match. And then another.
Her stomach fluttered when she remembered she was alone until her mum returned from work after midnight. She wished he’d just go. She should get rid of him.
‘I’m so tired.’ She gave an exaggerated yawn and tried to sound casual. ‘I’m going to have an early night. I can pop over tomorrow, if you like?’
She was exhausted and just wanted him to leave.
Suddenly his face changed, as if someone had flicked a switch inside his head. The hard expression dissolved into a childish pout.
‘I didn’t mean to hurt them,’ he said. ‘It was the fire, it just went up. It was out of control, and there was nothing I could do.’
‘We can talk about it tomorrow.’ She guided him to the door. ‘Everything will look better in the morning.’
She closed and locked the door behind him and breathed a sigh of relief.
What the hell was he talking about? Who had he hurt, and when had there been a fire? It didn’t make any sense. Ivy said his dad and sister had died in an accident. Carla had assumed a road accident.
She walked across the kitchen and looked back just before she turned off the lights. Her eyes were drawn to the worktop.
There were dozens of spent matches littering the countertop.