Instinct » Liam Dunbar [Book 3]

12

CHAPTER TWELVE » ENDURE
"Get over yourself, Dunbar."

☽

The man who had thrown the punch stumbled to a stop upon the sight of Liam. He stared up at him in shock, as surprised gasps began to ripple through the crowd.

Security were there within moments, attempting to pull both of the men away from Liam, who was stood rigidly, desperately trying to get under control.

I broke through the gathering crowd, spotting Liam's claws desperately digging into his palms. "Come on," I said quietly, grabbing his wrist firmly as we began to move through the crowd.

Liam lowered his head once we made it into an open space, the two of us rushing down the corridor, quickly passing the wandering eyes of confused spectators. I expected Mason to be hot on our trail, but when I glanced back, I realised he was still stuck in the crowd.

"Wait, stop!" A nurse called out, drawing attention back to us. I gripped Liam's wrist tighter, dragging him along with me as I raced to the elevator at the end of the corridor.

Aware that people were still watching, I frantically flung my palm against the elevator button, hurriedly pushing it down with my thumb until the doors began to open.

I ushered a panicking Liam inside before me, and stepped in as he pushed the first button he could find. Liam stayed in one corner as I moved to the other, watching him warily as he panted, trying to catch his breath. If he turned and tried to kill me, then I was certainly going to regret my life choices.

I turned my attention to the closing doors, almost swearing upon seeing a face outside just before they dinged shut. Well, that was close.

I blinked quickly, shaking the thought from my mind as I turned my attention back to Liam, who was still curled up in the corner, whispering a mantra I hadn't heard him use for a while.

"The sun," he began to mumble to himself. "The moon," he paused, his breathing still shallow. "The truth." Noticing he'd begun to keep himself under control, I edged closer, keeping quiet so he could repeat his mantra. "The sun. The moon. The truth."

The elevator doors reopened again, and Liam took a quick glance down at his hands, checking that the claws were gone, before we stepped out into the corridor.

I found an empty room, quickly ushering Liam inside. He fell against the wall, sliding into the corner. Defeatedly, he dropped his head down, pulling his legs up to his chest.

I sighed heavily, closing the door shut behind me. "Liam," I said softly, receiving no response. "Liam."

"I'm fine."

I shook my head, moving to kneel down beside him. "You're not, and that's okay. You lost the person who keeps you grounded," I started, shifting my gaze elsewhere as I hesitated on my next words. "Trust me, I know how that feels."

When I looked back at him, I realised he was staring at me, a glint of something in his eyes. He then glanced away. "How'd you do it?"

"I found myself," I replied, swallowing thickly, my throat feeling dry. "And I surrounded myself with the right people. With the people I love."

"I can't do this," he stated, shaking his head. "I can't."

"You can," I assured, beginning to reach a hand out to comfort him, until I stopped myself. "Everything's gonna be okay."

"I can't believe it really happened," he breathed out slowly. "All of those people that saw–" he cut himself off, as if still trying to process it. I did wonder what this meant, now that people had seen. I mean, are they gonna start asking questions? How do you explain that?