Til the End of Time

I hum a little tune to myself as I merrily frost cupcakes in the back of my “master’s” bakery in New York City. I love being a baker’s apprentice! I have been interning in NYC for six months now. It is nice to get away from Michigan—not that I don’t love it there. I just… needed to get away.

Suddenly, I hear the door jingle. Fuck, I forgot to lock it! I put my pastry back down and grab a towel. Wiping the frosting off my hands, I absent-mindedly enter the front of the store. “We’re closed,” I say nonchalantly with a hint of annoyance. I then stop dead in my tracks.

“I’m sorry, we didn’t realize it. We’ll leave now,” says a tall, curly-haired young man in a very apologetic voice.

I am speechless. Out of all the bakeries in New York City and they come to Elegantly Baked. I cannot believe this! Just then, Liam enters the premises. I could recognize him from a mile away—those deep brown, compassionate eyes. It immediately brings me back to the last time I ever saw him...

“Even if I make it and… become a famous singer, I will always, always come back for you.”

I look him in the eye, tears spilling over from mine. “Promise?”

“Promise,” he assures me. He pulls me in close to him, embracing me in his strong arms. “I could never forget about you.”

I feel tears start to form in my eyes, but I blink them back when he spots me. He freezes as well—he must recognize me.

With a half-hanging jaw, he steps forward. “Cali?” He whispers, almost inaudible.

The rest of the band just stands there until Niall says, “You know this girl?”

Liam ignores him and continues to slowly make his way over to the counter. “Cali, I can’t believe it’s really you!” He reaches across and takes my hand.

I am reluctant at first to let him take it but then I do, snapping out of my trance. I pull some of my curls behind my ear, blushing, still remembering our last encounter. “Hi, Liam,” I croak.

“Can someone please explain to me what is going on?” Louis whines, throwing his arms up.

Liam turns to face his band mates. “This is Cali…” he looks back at me. “She’s an old… friend.”

It feels as if a ton of bricks has fallen on my chest. Friend? Friend? Are you serious? I immediately let go of Liam’s hand. “I… I really need to go. Well, actually, you guys need to go. I have a party to cater tonight; lots of cupcakes to frost!” I sniffle, trying not to cry in front of them.

“Alright, let’s go, lads,” Zayn says solemnly. He must see that I am upset and frazzled.

The five boy band members exit the shop and I instantly lock the door, pulling down the curtains so that I am hidden. I slide to the ground, hand over my mouth to muffle my sobs. Tears pour from my eyes uncontrollably. I feel so pathetic. It was three years ago! He went off to the X Factor and became one of the most famous people on the planet and I went back to the States and pursued baking. That’s it.

…But he did promise.

II shakily stand and wipe the tears from my eyes with a napkin from one of the dispensers on the red and white polk-a-dot tables that are scatter across the bakery. I carefully make my way to the back of the store and finish frosting the cupcakes.

~*~*~*~

“Are you all good on that side, Cali?” My master asks, bringing another box of cupcakes to the table.

“Yup, is that the last of them, Sheri?” I take some cupcakes out of the box and put them on the display tables.

“You bet! I must say, I could have never done this without you, Cali. You’re wonderful. I just can’t believe you’ll be leaving me next week!” Sheri puts her arm around me and kisses the top of my head.

I half smile. “I must say that I am going to miss it here but Michigan is home.”

“I understand,” Sheri says with a sad smile.

The doors open and the party starts! Beautiful women with shimmery dress and men dressed in fancy suits crowd through the doors. The DJ starts playing dancing music. Some people go straight for the cupcakes. I happily tell them the flavors and pass the little goodies with napkins and forks.

I turn to grab more cupcakes to refill the empty spaces and when I come back around, I find Liam standing in front of me. He looks incredibly sexy with his charcoal gray vest and pants, with a steel gray shirt and a black tie. I practically jump at the sight of him though.

“’Ello!” He says with a bright smile.

“Hi,” I murmur coldly.

“When you said you were catering a party, I didn’t realize you were catering a fundraising party,” Liam yells over the booming music.

“Yeah, it’s for victims of rape and incest,” I explain bluntly.

My ex-boyfriend nods somberly. “Is there some place… quieter we can go so we can talk?”

Focusing on making the cupcakes look presentable, I ponder the question. I finally agree, telling Sheri I will be right back. I lead Liam to one of the lounges and turn to face him. “What?” I ask harshly.

Liam moves back as if I just tried to punch him. “Is something wrong?”

I crack an incredulous smile. “Are you serious?” I cross my arms. “What do you think?”

“Well, Cali, I honestly don’t know. I just introduce you to the guys and then you get all pissy with me!”

The tears come so suddenly that I can stop them. “You know what? Fuck you, Liam!” I plop down on the red velvet couch behind me.

“What did I do?!” Liam exclaims, eyes wide.

“You fucking introduced me as your friend!” I scream. “So fuck you too!”

Liam stops, seemingly realizing that he that he did say that. He covers his face with his hands in shame and then exhales. He sits down across from me. “I am… so sorry.”

I pause for a moment, thinking carefully about what I should say. “Did you ever even mention me? Did you? I thought what we had was beautiful and special and you promised—you promised—that you would always come back for me… and then you never did.”

Liam’s eyes are riddled with dishonor and regret, too remorseful to speak. “I thought you wouldn’t want to be with me anymore,” he mumbles.

“I loved you!” I scream. “I wanted to be with you for the rest of my life! I thought we were going to stay together forever!” My voice lowers into a disgusting tone. “And you know what the worst part is? I still love you. And that scares the shit out of me.”

Notes

Well, this is an emotion-packed chapter! What do you guys think is going to happen? Will Cali's anger outweigh her love for Liam? Stay tuned...

Cali's Outifit: http://www.polyvore.com/cali/set?id=108366424