Part 18

Caroline hesitated, looking at his hand still on the doorknob. 'Right. A cuppa..sure' she breathed, that Gallagher grin instantly formed on his lips 'up you go, come on' he pushed the door open for her and followed her inside the hallway.

The silence between them was heavy, broken only by the rhythmic, painful click of her heels and the slow, deliberate thud of his boots. Normally, she flew up these three flights of stairs without a second thought, but tonight, every step turned into a grueling reminder of Rob's attack. Her side ached where she'd hit the ground, and she could feel the heat of Liam's gaze on her back, tracking her labored movements.

It was infuriating, for two years, this Gallagher had been the biggest thorn in her side, the arrogant, foul tempered younger brother who always had a smirk or something really inappropriate to say, always ready to dismantle her confidence. He was her biggest nemesis, the man she usually spent a lot of her time and energy avoiding. Right now, strangely enough he was the only thing keeping her upright.

When they finally reached the landing, she fumbled with her keys, her fingers trembling from a mix of exhaustion, physical pain, and the sheer absurdity of the situation.

'You're moving like you're a hundred years old,' Liam remarked rolling his eyes, but the usual bite of his sarcasm was strangely missing, replaced by something that sounded uncomfortably like concern, which was what shocked her the most.

'No shit, Sherlock.., it's funny what happens when you get shoved into a brick wall isn't it?', she managed to snap back, though it lacked a little bit of its usual fire, hold on, a cup of tea and then he finally will be out of your hair. She managed to get the door open and stepped into the dark entryway, leaving the door ajar for him to follow her inside.

The awkwardness shifted from the stairs to her flat, Liam followed her in, his presence somehow seemed to make the ceiling feel lower and the walls closer, or maybe it was his ego that didn't fit into the room. He stood awkwardly in the center of her living room, gawking at her furniture and her belongings as if he'd stumbled into a modern art exposition.

'Right,..' she breathed, clutching her side with a painful grimace as she headed toward the kitchen, 'Tea..have a seat'.

Waiting for the kettle to whistle, she leaned heavily against the kitchen counter, oh god, finally 5 seconds on her own, she so longed for putting her aching limbs to rest. Her mind started straying towards Rob..she could barely grasp the severity of his actions..no, don't think about him or what happened, right now you just gonna stand here and calm the fuck down. Suddenly, the sharp, jagged vibration of a phone rang out, making her jump and hiss in pain as her bruised ribs protested.

Liam didn't even have to look at the screen to know who it was. He pulled the phone from his pocket, the glowing light illuminating the hard lines of his face.

He let his thumb slide across the screen 'Yeah?' Liam answered the call, 'Liam? Where are you? Is she okay?!' the worry in Noel's voice was endearing, endearing and fuckin' dangerous at the same time, big brother was falling for this damsel in distress that was making him tea right now, it was clear as a bell..

Keep your hair on, Noel,' Liam interrupted him, rolling his eyes, though his gaze stayed firmly anchored on the kitchen door, 'she's in her kitchen making me a brew, mind you she's moving like a ninety-year-old and I bet that body of her is gonna have a bruise the size of Manchester in the morning, but honestly she seems to do alright.'

He heard Noel let out a heavy sigh of relief before he fired some more questions at Liam who listened for a moment, his jaw tightening, 'Look, she's safe,' Liam said, his tone turning a little sharper, he cut his brother off. 'Stop worrying about her for five minutes alright? and worry more about that warzone you call a marriage..I've got it handled. I'll be back when the tea's gone.' he hung up without waiting for a goodbye and tossed the phone onto her coffee table.

Caroline took a deep breath as she picked up the steaming mugs and shuffled her way back to the living room, 'He's losing his mind,' Liam said before she could even ask about Noel's phone call, 'thinks you're made of glass, that one.'

'Here' she handed him his cup, 'and no he doesn't think that, ..besides he doesn't even know me, he thinks he does, but he don't, I'm just..his former PA, if he's losing his mind, then..it's because of the situation at home.. with Sara, the situation with Bowie, finding out that he has a kid out of former relationship he knew nothing about, it musn't be easy for either of them' ever so slowly she lowered herself on her own couch.

Liam snorted, the sound muffled by his mug as he took a long, skeptical draught of tea. He set the cup down on the table with a definitive thud and fixed her with a look that suggested he found her modesty extremely exhausting.

'Just his former PA,' he mimicked her, his voice dropping into a rougher, mocking tone. 'You're doing that thing again. That thing where you pretend you're a piece of office furniture instead of the person who knows where all his metaphorical bodies are buried.'

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, invading her personal space just enough to make his point. 'I've seen him with his former PA's, Caroline. He treats them like disposable lighters—uses 'em until they run out of gas and then buys a new one at the petrol station. He didn't call or text me ten times in an hour when he fired his last assistant.'

He gestured vaguely toward the door, toward the world outside where Noel was presumably still spiraling. 'Sara and Bowie are the background noise. That's the permanent weather in his life. But you? You're the one who's actually managed to rattle him. If you think this is just professional courtesy, you're even more deluded than he is.'

He picked his tea back up, watching her closely. 'So, are you going to keep hiding behind the job description, or are you going to admit that you're the only thing currently keeping his head from actually exploding?'

Caroline looked down at her mug, her fingers tracing the ceramic rim as if seeking an exit strategy from the conversation. Liam's intensity was a stark contrast to Noel's sharp, anxious energy, but it was no less overwhelming, it always had been.

'It's not a job description, Liam, it never was..,' she said softly, though her voice lacked the conviction she wanted. 'He's in the midst of a marital storm, he's got kids, a career, and a million people pulling him in all kinds of directions. I was that person who organized all his chaos for the last couple of years. It's natural for him to... to reach for what's familiar when things get messy.'

She finally looked up, meeting Liam's piercing stare. 'And besides, he didn't exactly fight or come running with a big apology to keep me around after he kicked me out, did he? If I were that "essential," he would never have kicked me out in the first place..'

She took a cautious sip of her tea, 'He's just feeling guilty now because he was not there when Rob..attacked, not immediately anyway.. He feels responsible because he's who he is, he thinks he has to control everything, and he couldn't control this. It's not about me. It's about him losing his grip on a situation.'

She offered a small, tired smile 'but I guess you know all about that..when he broke up Oasis.'

Liam's expression went stone-cold for a split second, the mention of the 2009 split hitting a nerve that had never dulled. He stared into his mug, the ghost of a scowl flickering across his face before he let out a sharp, breathy laugh that sounded more like a bark.

'Lower blow than I expected from you, Caro dearest,' he murmured, though there was a glint of begrudging respect in his eyes. He leaned back, the tension in his shoulders shifting. 'Aye, I know all about him losing his grip. When he can't steer the ship, he sinks it. That's his move. If he can't be the master of the universe, he'd rather watch the stars fall.'

He took a long swig of tea, then pointed a finger at her. 'But that's exactly my point. He didn't just "lose his grip" back then; he walked away because he couldn't handle the noise. With you? He's not walking away, he's ringing my phone off the hook lately and trust me he hasn't done that in years.., he's acting like a man who's lost his skin, not just his PA.'

He ignored the comment about Noel kicking her out, sensing the bitterness there was a jagged edge he shouldn't touch just yet. Instead, he leaned in closer, his voice dropping an octave.

'Guilt is one thing. Noel lives on guilt; he eats it for breakfast, he'll deny it, but he does, this isn't just him feeling bad that Rob put his hands on you. This is him realizing that the one thing he thought was "familiar" and "safe" is actually the one thing he can't afford to lose while the rest of his life is burning down, let's be honest...'

He set his mug on the table and stood up, looking down at her with a heavy, knowing look. 'He kicked you out because he's an idiot who pushes away the things that matter before they can hurt him. But he's seeing clearly now, and that's where you come in..I want to regroup Oasis and you're the only one that can help change his mind..'