part 9

'Ah yes, we just received a call from Mr. Gallagher, he's booked a Junior Suite and added a 'Suite Sensation' which will be waiting for you in your room, I just need your ID and a signature, Miss Di Benedetto'. Caroline gave the clerk a sweet smile as she signed, right now she was so grateful that it was her boss who took over her job just this once booking her this room, so he did care after all.. 'this is your room number located on the 7th floor, and we'll take care of the car which will be put in our private parking area, enjoy your stay' another smile from ear to ear as the clerk handed her the keycard. 'thank you! have a nice evening' she smiled back and headed for the elevators.

The door beeped her entrance, oh this was so nice..champagne and chocolate..excellent, she let go of her suitcase and grabbed her phone 'what a beautiful room, thanks Boss, you do part of my job really well 😉'.

Noel stood there in his old bedroom, looking out of the window as his phone buzzed him back to reality, his heart did a little jump, 'my pleasure, it's the least I can do, just offering my services to come help you with that champagne', was that too forward?, it was true though, what he wouldn't give to have her around or be with her right now, oh get a grip Noel, you're married and she's grieving, it was just banter..or that's what he was trying to tell himself.

'That will have to wait until tomorrow, I'm knackered, so I'm just gonna take a shower and then bed..sweet dreams!' somewhere deep inside she wanted to take him up on his offer, some talking, some champagne, just a presence, someone to tell her that things were going to be ok..oh come on, who are you kidding? in all this time she had been working for Noel, these last couple of days was one of the first times ever that he showed that he actually did have a heart underneath all that often stand-offish demeanour towards her and her alone and lately even so much so that she felt like she had become some sort of emotional punching bag..anyway, didn't matter, she was on his payroll and not his friend, right, time for a shower.

The next morning, Noel woke up to the sound of kids playing and yelling downstairs, ughhhh I need coffee before I face this..or maybe a shower first, that might be a better idea.. groaning he sat up and plodded towards the bathroom where he let the hot water wash the slumber and the cobwebs away.

On his way downstairs, he froze on the spot as soon as he walked inside the living room, there he was, his brother and nemesis par excellence for the last 10 years or so, djeezes fuckin' christ.., 'Noel' Liam looked up at his brother with that signature sarcastic smirk, Noel felt his heart thump in his throat 'Liam' he dryly said not really wanting to even acknowledge his presence. Why didn't his mother warn him in advance that he would be here as well? Maybe The Lowry still had some rooms available, because he was not gonna stay here if that stupid twat was gonna be here. 

'She's a cool kid, I didn't even know I had a niece' Liam nodded in the direction of Bowie who was running around with her cousin, 'shut up, not another word' Noel shot back at him with such venom that Liam did as he was told for once. He just couldn't even stand being in one room with him, over the last years there had only been venomous shots and digs at him and at Sara, threatening her and now he suddenly wanted to play big happy family? no, no fuckin' way, he was out of here, he grabbed his coat and let the door slam behind him. Out of here and away from that miserable part of his past he had been running from and which had been suffocating him for so long.

Just as she was toweling dry her long hair, she was interrupted by a few loud knocks on the door, annoyed she twisted the towel on top of her head, pulled her robe a bit tighter and opened the door. 'Noel..' she breathed, oh great and she wasn't even dressed yet 'I thought it was the cleaning lady', she closed the door behind him, he looked angry and stressed out pacing around the room without a single word.

'Noel, just spit it out, what have I done wrong now?!' by now she knew his behaviour inside out, and most of the time when he stormed into a room like this, there was too often a lot of trouble ahead for her.

His hands on his hips, he spun around fuming 'you? this has nothing to do with you! fuck's sakes!' he stomped his foot  a few times in anger but then kept mumbling something to himself, Caro took a deep breath 'then what is it? Is it Bowie? Did something happen? Is she still with your Mum?' her panic shook him out of his rage.

'Bowie is fine, it's not Bowie, it's that twat that used to be my brother', his voice lowered as he finally looked at her, a vision with wet hair and covered in only a bathrobe, which she seemed to pull a little bit tighter because he was staring, he couldn't help it 'Liam?..what happened? Just tell me you two didn't get into another fight again'. Noel shook his head 'no, no I walked away..I couldn't stand to be in one room with him, that fucker has cost me so much already, he's costing me my marriage, he..'.

Caro instantly cut him off 'wait, he's only costing you your marriage because you let him, don't give him that power, is he staying there as well? Didn't your Mum tell you he was gonna be there?'  she fired the questions incessantly, she too had been dragged into the mess even though she was just his PA, in fact Liam had been bitching about her most of all and he splattered his rants and digs and insults about her all over social media, or threatening her in text messages, it had been such a mess and she had had seen Noel go through hell, he had always put on his most stoic face ever, but deep down she had seen him hurting, and no she wasn't Sara's biggest fan, she wasn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed and eventually she had demanded for Noel to break the bond with his brother, but she sure hadn't deserved everything Liam had put her through as well.

'I should have known, Gene was at my Mum's when we arrived..he and Bowie get along so well..I can't go back there, not when that ass is around' Noel huffed, standing in front of the huge window overlooking Manchester's morning traffic with that tightness In his shoulders, it made him look so vulnerable for some reason.

'Well, maybe you should try and start some peace talks with your brother..hasn't it been long enough?' she took her brush and started brushing her long, wet hair.

'You're kidding, right? You do remember what he's put me and my family through right? or what he has put you through as well? You really got the rawest end of the deal' his eyes shot fire at her.

Slowly she put her brush down as the memories of the last couple of years being offended by Liam  came flooding back 'No..no I haven't forgotten..but he is and will always be your brother...if you won't do it for him then consider doing it for your mother, she's getting older..just think about how it must be for her..don't you think she would like to see her boys make peace before..' her words got stuck in her throat overcome by emotion thinking about the fact that she had no more parents left to talk to, she actually never had. A long silence fell between them, she got up and walked back to the bathroom 'I'm gonna put on some clothes' avoiding his stare.

'Ok, ready to go?' she emerged from the bathroom, throwing a few things in her handbag, Noel looked up in surprise 'ready to go where?' had he forgotten an appointment or something? She looked up from what she was doing and looked him right in the eyes 'ready to settle this stupid feud with your little brother of course, you coming?' she slowly turned around and headed for the door, hoping so hard that he would follow her. 'WHAT?? NO!' he barked back which made her stop in her tracks for a second, 'fine, you do you then, but I'm not gonna be stuck in here with you being all cranky, I'm gonna get some air' she huffed and let the door slam behind her, stupid stubborn man! taking a deep breath and thinking to herself that this was gonna be a distraction from her own dark place and tears for a few hours at least, she took the elevator to the parking lot.

On the way over to Peggy's house, Noel was blowing up her phone, but she ignored every single one of his calls and his texts, she was already scared about the outcome of these peace talks that Liam didn't even know anything about yet, but she needed to try and fix this family, something she had never been able to do for her own and look where she was now..anyway, the last thing she had heard from his manager was that he was open to peace, but it was probably the financial interest of the manager talking at the time and not so much Liam himself, she pushed down the pedal a little more, hopefully he would still be there.

OK, focus Caro, here goes absolutely nothing, stand your ground, be clear and be firm and most of all, ignore the insults he will definitely throw at you, he's looking for the weak spot, don't let him. She let the words roll around in her mind, Liam was no choir boy to say the least, but neither was his older brother and she knew how to handle him, well if she had really known that, then she wouldn't be sitting here by herself..nervous to take the first step to silencing the guns between the brothers related to a war that she hadn't started. Right ok, here goes nothing, she took a deep breath and exited the car and walked the path leading up to the house.

'Oh hello luv' Peggy greeted her as she opened the door, 'Noel not with ya? He left in a bit of a state this morning, is he alright?' she looked at the empty path behind her, 'Hello, Mrs. Gallagher, no he's not, he's fine, just fine' she gave his mother a nervous smile, 'ah that's good to hear' Peggy nodded and was getting a bit uncomfortable by the awkwardness of the situation. 'Actually Mrs. Gallagher, that's not what I'm here for..uhm, I..uhm..need to talk to your youngest son..is he..is Liam in?' she felt her heart start to race just mentioning his name.

Peggy looked taken aback by the directness of her question 'He is, yes..but I really don't want any more trouble, luv..too much has been said already, you must understand'. Caro nervously bit her lip 'I'm not here to make trouble, you have to believe me, Mrs. Gallagher, I just want to talk to him, can I come in?' it took a few seconds but then Peggy took a step back and let her inside.

There he was, sat at the table, drawing and doodling with his newfound niece, chatting about nothing at all but who had the better colours..

'hello Liam' she tried to stay calm as his blue eyes drilled right into hers, 'well, well, well, who do we have here? Caroline..my brother's little firecracker and Rebel-in-chief'.