Eyes of Ocean and Sky Chapter 2

In high school, Liam Blackwood and I were inseparable. I was an extrovert, never caring about the gossip that swirled around us. We made it official our freshman year of college, and I truly believed we would go the distance.

So, I was always attached to his hip. I’d drag him to concerts and make him study with me for finals. From the time we met at sixteen until we were twenty, we were a single unit. If things had gone according to plan, we would have been officially engaged at twenty-four.

But that year, during winter break, his college roommate's sister, Pamela, came to stay. She was the quiet, demure type who spoke in whispers—everyone's idea of a perfect girl. Next to her, I was a whirlwind of chaos.

"A girl with no parental guidance, what do you expect? She's nothing compared to a sweet, refined girl like Pamela."

The whispers reached my ears, stinging me with shame and anger. I needed to ask Liam if he felt the same way, if he thought I wasn't good enough. But when I got to the barbecue restaurant where we were supposed to meet, Pamela was there too.

She smiled gently. "Stella, I didn't have anything to do over the break, so Liam brought me along. You don't mind, do you?"

Normally, I wouldn't have. But it was his birthday. He had promised we’d celebrate together. Instead, he took the birthday gift I’d brought—a scarf I had knitted myself—and casually tossed it to Pamela.

I stared at the scarf in her hands, my mind flashing to the sleepless nights I'd spent making it. Something inside me snapped.

"Liam, what is going on?"

The restaurant was loud, filled with the smoky haze of the grills. My sudden outburst caught him off guard. He frowned, glanced at Pamela, and then pulled me outside.

"She's bored during the break, so I'm showing her around. What's the big deal?" he muttered.

I didn't even know what the big deal was. Maybe it was hearing everyone praise Pamela while putting me down. Or maybe it was just the scarf.

I grabbed the front of his jacket, my voice tight. "Then why did you give her the scarf I made for you?"

He flinched, a flicker of panic in his eyes. "She was cold. I just let her borrow it to warm up."

"Warm up?" I scoffed. "Why didn't you just buy her a new one?"

"It's a gift from you," he said. "It's not like I was giving it to her for good."

His words managed to quell my anger, but a bitter feeling remained. "So you think I'm not good enough, too?"

"Think what?"

"That I'm not quiet and well-behaved enough!"

He hesitated. "You can be a little much sometimes."

My eyes widened in anger, and I slapped his arm. It wasn't hard, and he didn't even flinch, but Pamela gasped, her eyes immediately welling up. She rushed over and clung to his arm, her voice trembling.

"Liam, are you okay? It's all my fault, I made Stella upset... Blame me, don't be mad at him..."

She stood between us, sobbing, drawing the attention of other customers. I gritted my teeth, about to tell her to stop, but her crying only grew louder. Defeated, Liam asked a waiter to take her to the lounge area. But Pamela clung to his arm, refusing to let go. He looked at her tear-streaked face, then back at me, his expression weary.

"Stella, let's just call it a night. Pamela's just back in the country, she's a bit emotional. I need to get her settled."

And just like that, the birthday celebration I had planned so carefully was over before I’d even had a single bite.