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Good news everyone! I received my associate's degree certificate in the mail so I officially have a degree. It's a nice relief I must admit. Graduation is in a few weeks so after that I will at least have the summer to relax and recharge before I return to school to begin working on my bachelor's in the fall. I'm hoping to have time to recharge with my writing as well this summer. Chasing Liam only has a few chapters left to be written then I will be focusing on writing My Unexpected Love. 

Also Liam's anxiety is mentioned heavily toward the end of this chapter. So I am putting out a possible TRIGGER WARNING due to that. Everyone is different and I don't know how everyone will react so I figured to be better safe then sorry. 

Lastly, up above is a picture of Liz. 

~*~*~

Chapter Eight

"Alright so we need beef, onions, lettuce, and tortillas. Is there anything else we need?"

Liam shook his head. He rolled the card behind his mother as she shopped. "No we have everything else for tacos at home."

"That's good. So we just need everything else on the list," she stated scanning the sheet of paper before her.

He silently watched her as they travelled down each row and collected the food products that they needed. Truthfully, he didn't want to come. However, his mother had a different plan. She all but dragged him out of the house by the ear. At least she promised to buy him a donut for helping her. As much as he dislikes it bribery almost always works on him, especially when it was in the form of a donut.

"How has school been going?" She asked as she put some apples in a bad and placed them in the cart.

"Good," he admitted. "Uh, I have to do this baby project for health class."

She stared at him. "Baby project?"

"Yeah," Liam admitted sheepishly. "My partner and I have to take care of one of those baby simulator dolls for two weeks."

"Sounds fun." His mom's voice was full of sarcasm as she spoke. "So where is this baby?"

"It's my partner's night. I get it tomorrow," he informed her.

"Excellent," she replied humorously. "Remind me to buy some earplugs while we're here."

Liam laughed at his mother's words and nodded.

As if on cue, the sound of a baby's cries filled Liam's ears. He paused. The cries were off. They didn't sound quite like a real baby's cries. It was almost as if they were recorded. He froze when the thought entered his mind. It must be one of the other kids in his class, he figured.

Just as Liam and his mom exited the aisle, Liam heard an older man say, "You know I was hoping we wouldn't have to help you raise a baby at the age of seventeen."

Another man laughed. "Yeah so much for not having our son become a teen parent."

"Very funny you two. You know it's for a project." Liam recognized the voice instantly.

Turning his head, he saw the familiar looking boy behind him. "Chase?" He called.

The blond looked up surprised at hearing his name. "Liam," he said just as surprised.

Standing behind Chase were two men. One was tall and lanky with red hair and brown eyes. He was dressed in khaki pants and a polo shirt. The other was shorter and had a few defined muscles on his body. He was dressed more casually in jeans and a white t-shirt. His hair was brown with some defined grey streaks throughout it and with grey colored eyes.

"Who's this Chase?" The red-head asked.

"Oh, uh, this is Liam," Chase introduced. "Liam is my partner in class. Liam these are my dads Bradley and Vince."

Liam smiled and nodded to the both of them.

"Liam, are you keeping up with me?" His mom came over to him from the next aisle.

"June?" She turned at the sound of her name.

"Bradley?" Her voice was full of disbelief. The two walked forward and pulled each other into a tight hug before separating with large smiles on their faces.

Chase and Liam looked at each other confused before turning back to their parents. "You guys know each other?" Vince caught on.

The two were still staring at each other in surprised amazement, but June shook herself out of it enough to answer Vince. "Bradley and I were friends. Liam you remember when I told you I grew up in Miami?" Her son nodded. "Well we were friends in middle school."

"At least until eighth grade," Bradley reminded her sadly. "Then June's family moved here to Oregon. We tried to keep in touch, but we didn't exactly have the social media we do today. Eventually, we lost contact, at least until now."

With a smile, June asked, "William James Parker why didn't you tell me about this?"

Liam narrowed his eyes. "How was I supposed to know that one of my project partner's father's was your former friend from middle school?"

"Sweetheart, you just are."

Chase laughed at Liam's look of bewilderment.

June gasped as if a lightbulb just went off in her head. "I have a wonderful idea. How about the three of you come over for dinner tonight? Liam and I were going to make tacos and I always make far too much food for just the two of us. Besides that way the two of us can catch up," she waved toward Bradley, "I can get to know Vince better," her hand gestured toward him, "and the boys can take care of the baby."

Before Liam could even think about protesting to the idea, Bradley and Vince both agreed. So it was official. Chase and both of his fathers would be joining him and his mom for dinner. Maybe if they're lucky the baby will be the only one crying tonight.

~*~*~

After the dinner agreement, Chase and his parents had to finish up their shopping and take everything home before they could come over. In retrospect that gave Liam and his mother plenty of time. They quickly finished their shopping and once home Liam was forced into cleaning duty while his mother began cooking. Thankfully the house wasn't too messy, but it did need a bit of straightening.

"So that Chase boy is cute," Liam's mom commented.

Looking at her with a raised eyebrow, Liam sent her an odd look. "Mom, Chase is a bit young for you. I don't think you want to be known as a cougar quite yet."

She laughed at his words. "William James." She pulled a few spices and seasonings out of the cupboard before returning to the stove where the meat was cooking. "I was actually referring to you, young man."

Liam refused to meet her eyes so she continued, "So what's going on with you two? Do you like him?"

Crossing his arms, he stared at the wall blankly refusing to answer.

"Chase seems like a very nice boy. Maybe you should give it a chance," she offered.

Liam couldn't help the frustration and annoyance that built up as his mother spoke. As if she was a relationship guru or something, he thought bitterly. Her marriage was a failure and she hasn't even dated at all in the past three years since. She has no right to push me to date.

Raising his hazel eyes to meet hers, he noticed that hers was almost daring him to disagree with her. His jaw clenched at the look. "You done?" His question was rhetorical because before she even had a chance of answering he was already out of the chair and leaving the kitchen.

A sigh of relief escaped him as he made his way to the back of the house where his bedroom was located. Hurrying inside, he slammed his door and leaned against it. His breathing came out in shaky gasps as his head rested against the door. Shutting his eyes, Liam tried to force the feeling to go away, but it didn't seem to want to leave.

Looking down at his right hand he noticed that it was shaking as he held it in the air. His heart seemed to ache and clench as if there was a painful weight on top of it. Liam tried to even out his breaths and slow his heart, but overall there wasn't much he could do.

Sometimes, whether he liked it or not, his anxiety is more likely to spike. Today he could feel it. From the moment he woke up he was aware of it. In all honestly, he wasn't sure exactly what it is, but some days he just feels different than others. His temper will be shorter, he won't want to talk or deal with people as much, even his attention span will seem to be shorter.

It's almost as if he can feel it coming on and the simplest thing can force an explosion out of him. At the store he was doing okay, but now with the added pressure and nerves about Chase coming over, Liam couldn't seem to control it. All he could do was sit on the floor and wait out the anxiety. If he was lucky then the anxiety would be at a bearable level by the time they arrived, if not, well he'd rather not find out.

Looking around from his spot on the floor, Liam could see his music player and headphones lying on his bed. He reached over and picked them up before sitting back down in position. A relieved gasp escaped him as the music reached his ears. Music always seemed to calm him down really well.

As a baby Liam's mom used to play tapes that could be rewound and played again. Leslie hated it. The two shared a room at the time and it drove her mad listening to the same songs on repeat for hours. For Liam, however, it was comforting. Even to this day, if he can't sleep or is feeling particularly anxious, listening to music will generally help to relax him.

Honestly he's not sure if it's just because of the fact that his parents played so much music for him as a kid or if it's actually something else, but either way it works and he will continue to use it. Soon enough Liam could feel himself relaxing. His pulse and heart beat was becoming steadier, his breathes more even, and even his hand began to shake less.

He probably wouldn't be anywhere near one-hundred percent for the night, but it at least was a start. 

~*~*~

There you have it. Remember as always I love getting comments from my readers so let me know what you think and if you have any questions I will try and get back to you each soon. 

~Kaylee

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