Previously on Move– Read Chapter 14 HERE

Catch up from the beginning HERE

 

Aria bursts through the large golden doors as Yolanda follows closely behind, dragging Layla along.

“Ari, Ari wait!” Yolanda yells after her.

“Are you happy, you were right?” Aria says swinging around, tears filling in her eyes.

“Of course I’m not happy. I can’t be happy if you’re not happy.” Yolanda says.

“Ok, I’m lost, what’s going on?” Layla says confused.

“Liam’s mother just basically called me a gold digging whore, and he did nothing to defend me.”

“What!” Layla yells dumbfounded.

Just then the gold doors swing open, and Liam rushes through them, his eyes locking on Aria’s.

“Aria!” he calls.

“I need to get out of here.” Aria says turning away from him and rushing off.

“Aria, Aria please wait,” he says as Yolanda steps in front of his path, halting him.

“No,” she says holding her hand up.

Layla stands beside her sister, crossing her arms.

“I just wanna say, even though I just met you, well sort of- I really don’t like you.” Layla says walking off to find Aria.

Liam sighs, “Look, my mum is old fashioned, she believes in social status and…”

“And what, you don’t?” Yolanda says challenging him, “Nice, tux, by the way. Must have set you back quite a few thousands,” she says sarcastically.

“Yolanda, I realize that this was not a good first impression. But my family’s hang ups are not my own. I adore Aria. She is the first woman who has ever made me feel alive. Who didn’t buy into the whole wealthy equals worth machine. It’s all bluster and bullshit. She knows what my family still has yet to learn. But I promise you, I’m already there. Please just let me talk to her,” he says his eyes glancing in the direction of where she ran off to.

“Why should I? She clearly doesn’t want to talk to you. Hence her running away the minute she saw your face.”

“Please, I know she’s hurt, I just need a chance to explain…”

“Yea, that’s still a no.” Yolanda says crossing her arms over her chest. “Do you have any idea how much Aria has fought through to get where she is today?”

“She told me a bit about her parents and how she just found you two, just a few years ago,” Liam says his eyes gentle. His voice cautious.

“Yea, but I’m sure you don’t know it all, I mean how could you?”

“I suppose your right.” Liam says sullenly. “But I’d like the chance to.”

“You say that now, but what happens the next time, you’re seen in public with her. What excuse will you have to come up with? We’re Latinas. We’re curvy. We’re loud. But we’re also fighters, we struggle just to make ends meet every day. Me, I’m a nurse I save lives every day. Just because people like you have the money to help, doesn’t mean that you’ve bought my brains, my skill for knowledge. Layla… she goes to Harvard, top in her class, and she’s on her way to being the most kick-ass lawyer. And Aria. Well Aria’s too damn good for you. She is beautiful, and funny and smart. She is also talented as hell. She has a dream and I will not let you, or anyone else-least of all your cruel witch of a mother- get in her way. Especially when it’s very clear that she is just a way for you to sow your oats. Nail the Latina beauty for one steamy affair just before you settle down with the leggy blonde mommy set you up with from birth. Keep that legacy safe.”

“You’re right,” Liam says in a straight forward tone.

Yolanda nods, a knowing sense of odd satisfaction in having her point proven.

“Aria is too good for me,” Liam says challenging Yolanda’s obligations.

“Good, glad we’re on the same page. So why don’t you go tell mommy that,” she says not wanting to give him any hope that her walls are breaking down.

“Forgive me, thank you for your time,” he says rather reserved as he turns and heads back toward the ballroom, straightening his tie and his tux jacket in an attempt to shake off his heartache.

Yolanda exhales heavily as she turns and walks off to find Aria and Layla. She turns the corner, and gets startled by both girls standing close by, within earshot.

“Hey, there you are. I figured you headed home.”

“I wanted to, but I just wanted to hear what he had to say. Surprise surprise it wasn’t much.” Aria says defeated as she sits on a nearby cement step. Her black gown puddling around her.

“Hey don’t you do that.” Layla says sitting next to her cousin.

“He didn’t even fight for me,” Aria says confused. “I know we haven’t been seeing each other long, and it doesn’t make sense to you. But if you guys could just feel even the slightest bit of what it felt like between he and I, you’d get it. Every time we kissed it was like…electric. I just thought there was something there. Something real.”

“In his defense…” Layla begins.

Both Aria and Yolanda give her a look.

“No,” Yolanda says sternly.

“What… I’m just saying, it’s not exactly like Yoyo gave him much of a chance to defend his feelings for you.”

“True.” Aria says with a laugh.

“Hey, he hurt you, I’m not interested in making him feel better.”

Aria laughs.

“Besides, if he really wanted to talk to you, and straighten this all out, nothing I said or did would have stopped him.”

“Also True.” Aria says nodding, “You really do have this whole mama bear thing down.”

Yolanda rolls her eyes.

“And I love you for it.” Aria says pulling Yolanda down onto the step beside her as she hugs her, Layla joins in too.

“This is all I need. You guys are my family and you are amazing. Besides, I have the dance showcase of my career in less than a month so, it’s really probably for the best. He was distracting me. It’s just such a shame we had to leave the party early, there was so much free alcohol.”

“Well… I managed to steal a bottle of champagne, courtesy of my sexy waiter boy,” Layla says pulling the bottle out of her big sack purse that one normally wouldn’t pair with a ball gown.

“Oh!” Aria says happily clapping.

“Yes. Brava,” Yolanda says with a slow cap, “Momma raised you right” Yolanda says grabbing her sister’s hand and fake crying.

Aria and Layla laugh as they all stand, Layla pops the cork. The girls scream in unison as the champagne spills over the brim of the bottle, making their way back out towards the front of the hall leading to the valet lot.

“Woo!” Aria screams throwing her hands up in the air. Layla hands her the bottle as she chugs a bit, she laughs handing it to Yolanda, as they all link arms and walk off laughing.

Liam watches from afar, standing in front of the golden doors, separating him from the life he was raised into and the life he desperately wants. As a photographer exits the doors, he asks for a picture of him, Liam nods, forcing a smile. “Excuse me,” he says walking away once the flash goes off. The light blinding his eyes. He takes out his phone, he goes to dial Aria, but instead dials his sister Evelyn “Sky.”

“Hello, bugga!” she screams.

“Hi, where are you?” he says covering one ear.

“What? I can’t hear you!” she says standing in the back of a packed club.

“Where are you?” he yells.

“Oh, my band is playing at this cheeky little pub in Brooklyn, oh bugga you’d absolutely love it. It smells of cigars and scotch. Just like–“

“Dad,” Liam says his eyes casting down.

“Dad,” Sky says sullenly.

A silence deep. Siblings know.

“Oh let’s not go there huh, bugga. How are things? How is my future sister in law, Aria?” she says with a laugh.

Liam sighs heavily.

“Oh no, trouble in paradise?” she says walking toward the door, waving to a bandmate and holding up 5 fingers, mouthing “5 minutes,” as he nods, she exits the club.

“I messed up Ev-“

“I find that hard to believe. You are quite charming. And the last time I saw you two, you could barely keep your hands off each other.”

“Yea, we were doing quite well, really well. She is…phenomenal. It was perfect actually and then we mixed our worlds and-“

“And good OLD mum happened?”

“She called her a gold digger, not even to her face, which was somehow so much worse. Aria over heard, told her off and stormed out. Nothing phased mum of course. She just expected me to move along with our evening of picture taking and painful fake grinning.”

“Well I mean I have to admit, I’m not surprised. But I am terribly sorry bugga. What happened with Aria when you went after her? What’d you say to her?”

“Not enough, it was a very public event, and there were cameras everywhere. So it couldn’t have happened at a worse time. I never actually got to speak to her.”

“Oh, Liam. That’s just awful. You really did mess this one up,” she says using his real name to amplify her seriousness.

“Thank you. Very much.” he says laughing at his sister’s well known blunt bone.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to kick you when you’re down. But if you really feel strongly for this girl, you need to do more than just the bare minimum. You have to fight for her. You can’t just sit back and sulk.”

“I do not sulk.”

“Oh bugga, yes you do.”

“I just- I don’t know how to make this right. She won’t talk to me, and I don’t want to be disrespectful to her wishes.”

“You already were, when you didn’t stand up for her in that moment. It needs to be a public declaration. A separation. You don’t want to work for the family business, don’t. You want Aria, go get her. You need to stop making excuses and live your own life. It’s time, bugga. Make the break. I’ll be here, just like you were for me.”

“I’m not as brave as you Ev-“

“Yes you are. But you know its fine, just wait, sitting on the sidelines, as some new guy swoops in and sweeps her off her feet. Because then she really will be off limits. Girls like her, don’t stay unattached for long.  I’ve seen how guys look at her. You definitely have a world of competition. Didn’t you even say that Marco from the office was looking…”

“Ok! Thank you for that, Ev!” he says annoyed

“Tough love bugga! Figured you needed a little fire under your bum. Go get your girl. I love you, I’ll talk to you tomorrow!” she says hanging up and rushing back into the club.

 

TO BE CONTINUED…

*I do not take credit for the images used in my edits or otherwise.*

-<3-