I could have guessed where Liam was. It would have taken more time, but I would have been right. I knock on the wooden door because I can’t find any doorbell. My body is thrumming with life, really tempted to scold the hell out of Liam the minute that I find him. I don’t understand why he has to be such an idiot sometimes. After everything that has happened, you think he would listen to me.

“Pizza’s here!” I hear a voice say from inside, “I’ll be right there.”

I think not.

The door finally opens, and I watch his grin fade slowly as he takes me in. Yep, I have that effect on people. On a normal day, I would smile to show him I’m friendly but not today. Today, I’m pissed and I’m going to let him know it, too. I’m not going to be nice because I am beyond pissed.

“Uhh.” He goes on, looking a little scared, “you’re not the pizza guy.”

“No, I’m not.” I push the door open, and he’s fast enough to move out of the way. Good for him. “Where’s Liam Gray?”

“Gray’s upstairs!” He quickly responds before he rushes to somewhere else in the house.

What a friend he is. The other boys go quiet, none of them stopping me as I walk up the stairs. I open the first door and a girl screams. I close it immediately, trying to not be too grossed out by what I just saw. Yeah, I really didn’t need to see that, and they should have locked the door. 

“What the Hell!” A boy that I presume to be her boyfriend yells as he opens the door, “learn how to knock!”

I turn to him, and he goes quiet. I know he realizes he is in deep shit if he continues to talk to me like that. I won’t be very nice to the disrespect.

“Liam Gray?” I murmur, trying to give him some credit because he lacks in certain areas.

I don’t want to open another door that leads me to people like them. He points to the door right next door. I open it immediately, feeling like I’m going to explode at any moment. I can’t believe Liam didn’t lock his door in a place like this but with the stench that fills my nose as I get closer to him, I understand why. They pulled him up here after he drank his ass off. I want to talk some sense into him, but I won’t lose my cool. Liam doesn’t take it very well when I yell at him, and it seems to make his behaviour worse. He is just acting out, that seems to be it.

“Liam Gray!” I say as I get to his bedside, seeing him turn to look at me, “get up.”

He ignores me. Okay, I was prepared for that. It is a good thing that I know how to handle him because of all the years we have been together.

“Get up or I’ll carry you out of here… Bridal style.” I add the little threat at the end and like I guessed, it worked. 

He gets up next to me. He knows better than to piss me off even more. I feel a little bad because he is continuing to pout with it. He knows it doesn’t work on me, but he can try.

“I’m up.” He grumbles, being the stubborn teenager that he is, “are you happy now?”

I cover my nose with my hand instinctively, “you really need to get those teeth brushed properly.”

He ignores me like usual.

“Let’s go.” I murmur, hoping that maybe he will just stop this tantrum of his.

He knows not to mess with me anymore. I need to get him home and cleaned up before mom gets back. He doesn’t say anything to his friends as we walk out. He’s really quiet as we get in my car, making sure that he buckles himself in before I drive off. I hate how this shit has even turned out, making me groan at the thought that we’re going to keep doing this bullshit. I wish he would just talk to me.

“I’m sorry.” Liam finally breaks the silence, “it was wrong of me.”

I say nothing to him. He was really reckless this time and he could have been in real trouble. I’m pissed that he put himself in danger and he knows it. If someone dangerous would have broken in, he would have easily been killed.

“I just wanted to have some fun.” He explains, bowing his head a little bit, “with mom out of town and you not home… I got bored.”

“Boredom isn’t an excuse.” I scold him, trying to not be too harsh on him because I’m sure he is sporting a very bad headache right now, but I’m just very mad, “your door was unlocked. You got so drunk you didn’t even lock your door.”

I lower my voice now.

“You know to always lock your door, Liam.” I whisper now.

“I know.” He says in a small voice, “I’m sorry, I won’t do it again.”

I sigh. I shouldn’t be mad at him. I should be mad at myself. If I was home, I would have looked after him. Even though he is eighteen now and his hair is all wild and unruly, he will always be that little boy that begged me to play with him. I wouldn’t want to but whenever I look into his eyes or hear that little voice, I do everything he wants me to do.

“I’ll come home this weekend.” I promise him, hoping that he will chill out, “that’s the least I can do. I will try to do better, Liam.”

He looks at me with surprise, probably trying to decide if I am being honest. I have never promised him something like that before, it was a commitment that I couldn’t do. It is dangerous for them to be around me. I can’t let people see how much my family means to me. If I do, they will be in danger. That is the last thing that I want.

I stop the car, Liam glancing at the house. I know he wants to stay with me, but he can’t do that. Not right now. 

“You need to get yourself cleaned up before mom gets back.” I tell him, knowing that I can’t stay, and I need to get back to my job even though I really don’t want to, “you know that she will freak out if she realizes that you did something like this. I will see you this weekend.”

He nods as he undoes his seat belt, “thanks for coming to get me.”

I nod, trying to remain cool, “if you need me, I’ll always be here. You know that right?”

God, I hope he does.

He smiles, reminding me of the brother I know he is, “I do.”

I give in and I smile back at him. He looks momentarily startled, knowing that I do not smile. Getting out of the car, he waves after me before heading to the house.

“And brush that mouth of yours multiple times!” I call after him, “it’s nasty!”

“Got it, big brother!” He yells before he enters our house.

My smile widens at his nickname for me. I always tell him not to call me that, but I honestly really like it. I know not many people would believe it, but he is my everything and I’m doing everything that I can to make him happy. If I continue this path, I don’t know what’ll come from it.

I recompose myself, and head back to Lennox’s.

It’s time to go back to the real world that would bite me in the butt.