Page 78 of A Simple Reminder
My breath catches in my throat. My hand freezes mid-reach, and I pull it back to my lap, where my fingers twist together in a futile attempt to ground myself.
Before I can even think of a response, my phone lights up with Aliyah’s name. A surge of dread tightens my chest, and all the weight of the moment with Liam is shoved aside in an instant. A call from her usually means bad news. My mind immediately flashes to my father.
“Hello?”
“Hi, how are you, Sophie?”
My voice cracks under the weight of worry and everything that’s unraveled in the last fifteen minutes. “I’m fine. How are you? How’s Dad? Is everything okay? Did something happen? Please, just tell me everything’s alright.”
Aliyah’s warm, caring voice fills the line, a soothing balm to my frayed nerves. “Breathe, sweetheart. One in. One out. Everything’s fine with your dad.”
Relief rushes through me, flooding my veins, but it’s fleeting—too fleeting. Her next words make my chest tighten all over again. “I know you usually visit on Sundays, but… I think you should come by today,” she says softly, but then her voice changes and I can hear the smile in it. “He’s asked for his Petal.”
“What?” My voice wavers, the word slipping out as a whisper. From the corner of my eye, I catch Liam’s head turning toward me, his attention shifting fully in my direction. Tears instantly prick my eyes. “He asked about me?”
One tear slips down my cheek, and before it can fall, Liam’s hand gently catches it, his fingers brushing my skin with a tenderness I’m not prepared for. His eyes are on mine now, studying me with that quiet, worried look I’ve seen before.
For a moment, the tension between us fades into something else entirely—something raw and real.
I finish the call with Aliyah after she tells me to ‘just get my little ass here’. Floods of emotions threaten to overwhelm me, but I swallow them down.
I turn to Liam, my voice shaky. “I need to get to my dad.”
He doesn’t hesitate. His eyes soften, understanding written across his face, and with a sharp nod to the driver, the cab does a U-turn, speeding toward the facility.
When we pull up outside, my stomach is a tangled mess of nerves, and something else stirs beneath it all—hope. Fragile and terrifying hope. It’s the kind of hope I’m almost afraid to feel because I know how quickly it can be ripped away. What if I’m too late? What if he’s already drifted back into forgetting. Back into that place where I don’t exist?
Liam’s gaze remains fixed on me, his expression softening as he studies me. “Are you okay?” he asks, his voice gentle and careful, like he already knows the answer but needs to hear it from me anyway.
I shake my head, feeling the fear thick in my throat, suffocating me. I want to rush inside, to throw my arms around my father and hold on tight. But I’m terrified that I’ll crumble into pieces that I’ll never be able to puzzle back together again.
“Sophie,” Liam murmurs, his fingers twitching before wrapping around mine. He squeezes once, twice, three times—grounding me with that touch. “Everything’s going to be okay. I’m here with you.”
His eyes hold none of the earlier disappointment, only a fierce presence that makes me feel, even if just for a small moment, like maybe I can handle this.
I swallow hard, my heart pounding painfully in my chest. “I don’t know. What if he was having a good morning, but by the time I get there…” My voice trails off as my mind spins with the fear of reliving past heartbreaks.
Liam’s brow furrows, “Why would it be bad?”
A bitter laugh escapes me. It wouldn’t be the first time I rushed over, thinking things were good, only to–” I shake my head, unable to finish. “It’s hard to believe in something when you know it could vanish in an instant.”
He nods, quiet for a moment, then surprises me by saying, “Do you want me to come with you?”
I don’t know why I’m shocked. This is Liam—of course he’d ask me. It’s who he is. He’s the kind of man who always steps in when you need him, even when you don’t know how to ask. “Would you really do that?”
He gives me a slight smile, one that feels like an unspoken promise. His hand squeezes mine a little tighter, “Of course. I’ll always be there for you, Sophie. No matter what.”
Something about the way he says it makes my heart stumble. It’s not just the words; it’s the way he says them like he’s already proven it in ways I don’t even realize yet. He’s everything I want and need, but there’s only one promise standing in the way of us—one I could never break. Yet, in holding onto it, I’m breaking myself and him in the process.
Emotions rise up inside me—gratitude, longing, a fierce desire to throw my arms around him and hold on tight. Instead, I nod and walk with him into the facility, the sound of my heartbeat filling my ears.
Liam’s hand is still in mine, and he gives it another gentle squeeze, his presence a steady pulse against my nerves.
I stop outside of my dad’s room. “Take a deep breath. Everything’s going to be alright.” Liam whispers and I do as he says. One deep breath and then I open the door.
Inside, the sight that greets me is almost surreal. I see Aliyah sitting in one of the chairs by the window, laughingwithmy dad. There’s a lightness in the room, an energy that’s entirely different from the last time I was here. It’s a good kind of different, the kind that fills the space with joy.
“Petal!” my dad’s voice booms, and for a moment, it’s as if the weight of the world lifts from my chest. I feel Liam’s hand slip from mine as I rush forward, my heart pounding, my breath catching in my throat.
