![\"\"](\"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/DPC-Chapter-Twenty-Five.jpg\")
<\/span><\/p>\nRambunctious laughter erupts from the living room, and you immediately recognize the boisterous sound; Karl Vallemosso, grandpa’s life-long best friend. A moment later, you hear Gran’s hearty laugh as well. You take a peek in their direction from the corridor and you can’t help but smile in gratitude.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n You\u2019re glad she has so many good people around her who love and support her. You\u2019re also glad to finally see a genuinely happy smile on her face after so long. You haven’t seen or heard her smile and laugh like that since before Grandpa passed\u2014not since your dad, and her only son, was still alive.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n You head back into the kitchen and your eyes dart over to the antique clock hanging above the sink. Its chrome pendulum swings back and forth in a slow and steady rhythm. It’s almost eight, and after several hours of good food, great music, and lengthy conversations, there are only a handful of people left, and from the looks of it, they’ll probably be leaving in the next twenty minutes or so.<\/span><\/p>\n Just then, the doorbell rings, removing your attention from the clock and its ever-swaying pendulum.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “I’ll get it,” you say as you spot Gran getting up from her chair.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n What the hell? <\/em><\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n Who could be coming over at this hour? The day’s practically over.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n You walk over to the front door, figuring it must be Theodore coming back for something he’d forgotten.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n When you open the door, however, your eyes tell you otherwise. You feel your eyebrows rising in an obvious show of surprise at the sight of the figure standing in front of you.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Ramona? Who is it, darling?” Gran calls out amidst the swarm of voices from the living room.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The figure cocks his head slightly to the side, and more of his face is illuminated by the porch light. It only takes you a second to figure out who it is.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Liam Burrows: the youngest grandson of the late Jim Burrows, grandpa’s first mentor and close friend. Liam’s a musical prodigy in his own right, and as a result, is also the heir to his grandfather’s fortune and legacy despite the fact that he has three older brothers.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n You\u2019d had something of a crush on him way back then\u2014when you were still young and fairly stupid and naive\u2014but even then you knew that guys like him were out of your league. But even if\u2014by some ridiculous chance that you know never existed for several reasons\u2014he had wanted to date you, it never would have worked.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Even if he wasn’t seven years older than you, or if you hadn’t been immensely jealous of his musical talents or intimidated by his family, it never would have worked. Some people just aren’t compatible with each other.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Behind your frames, you continue to regard him. After almost ten years, he looks exactly how you remember; tall, handsome, and arrogant. Even his features\u2014from his dirty blonde hair to his forest green eyes\u2014are exactly the same. He’s even in one of his signature brown suits.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Gosh, he doesn’t look like he’s aged one bit. Life’s obviously been very good to him; the same way it’s good to all rich and powerful men, you suppose.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The last you\u2019d heard, he\u2019d gotten married about four years ago and had his first kid the year after that.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Liam’s expression seems to be one of surprise as well, only a lot less mild than yours. He slowly narrows his eyes at you in curiosity as he steps forward.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Ramona?” he asks with one of his eyebrows arched so high that you swear it’s a second away from merging with his hairline.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Hi, Mr. Burrows,” you offer with a smile. You haven’t seen him since you were in junior high. He wasn’t even present for grandpa’s funeral last year. Which makes you wonder why he\u2019s here now. And after the memorial is already over, no less.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Well, look at you, little Miss Gallo. Wow\u2026you’ve certainly grown up, kid,” he says with a smile and a stare that lingers two seconds too long.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n His gazing throws you off a bit, but you quickly get your wits about you. “Please come in,” you offer, opening the door completely and moving to the side so he can pass. You turn to face him once the door’s closed again.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Well, this is quite a surprise,” you say, arching your brows and animating your facial features more than necessary. “I think you’re the last person we expected to walk through here today.”<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n He nods in agreement. “I know. I wish I could have been there for the funeral, but better late than never, right?” he says with a wink.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n You can’t believe this dude’s nonchalance! He really is still as arrogant as ever. Maybe even more so now. You can only manage a slight, forced chuckle that you\u2019re pretty sure sounds uncomfortable and insincere.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “I suppose,” you say with a tiny, almost invisible shrug.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “So\u2026how’ve you been, Roni?” he asks, removing his coat and hanging it over his elbow. “I’m assuming people still call you Roni?”<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n You nod. “A few. Except Gran, of course,” you add with another forced smile. “And I’ve been good, Mr. Burrows. Thank you for asking. You?”<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n He waves his free hand in a dismissive motion. “Please, enough with all the formalities. And call me Liam. We’re all family here,” he says with a wide smile right before he engulfs you in a hug that you\u2019re not prepared for.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n The awkward embrace lasts a little longer than you think it should, and you\u2019re pretty sure the discomfort you feel from being enveloped so abruptly like that is written all over your face, but you do your best to hide it behind the most convincing forced smile you can manage.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Liam,” you say with a concurring nod, and the forced smile still glued to your lips.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n He continues to stare at you even after you\u2019ve freed yourself from his grasp. You may not know Liam that well, but you certainly know that he isn’t the quiet or innocent type\u2014not even remotely\u2014and his silence now, as brief as it is, rings pretty strange. Strange and\u2026discomforting.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n You can’t stand the awkward tension, and so you say the first thing that comes to your mind.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Uh, I can take your coat,” you offer, your eyes darting to the long brown overcoat hanging over his elbow.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Oh, that’s fine,” he says with another dismissive wave. “I won’t be here very long. Your gran in the living room?” he asks.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n You simply nod.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n With that, he heads into the living room, greeting the few people still there before you see him and Gran head out to the balcony, presumably for a private discussion. Just as you start to walk back to the kitchen, the doorbell rings again.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n “Ugh, who the hell is it now?” you grumble under your breath as you stomp back to the front door.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n In your irritation, you swing it open with more force than you mean to\u2026and you immediately wish you hadn’t.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n ***<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Rambunctious laughter erupts from the living room, and you immediately recognize the boisterous sound; Karl Vallemosso, grandpa’s life-long best friend. A moment later, you hear Gran’s hearty laugh as well. You take a peek in their direction from the corridor and you can’t help but smile in gratitude. You\u2019re glad she has so many good people around her who love and support her. You\u2019re also glad to finally see a genuinely happy smile on her face after so long. You haven’t seen or heard her smile and laugh… Weiterlesen<\/a><\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4687,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_bbp_topic_count":0,"_bbp_reply_count":0,"_bbp_total_topic_count":0,"_bbp_total_reply_count":0,"_bbp_voice_count":0,"_bbp_anonymous_reply_count":0,"_bbp_topic_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_reply_count_hidden":0,"_bbp_forum_subforum_count":0,"_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[96],"tags":[],"series":[104],"class_list":["post-4817","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-contemporary-2","series-doctor-patient-confidentiality-role-play-edition"],"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Doctor-Patient-Confidentiality-Role-Play-Edition-Wattpad-Cover-1024x457.jpg","blog_images":{"medium":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Doctor-Patient-Confidentiality-Role-Play-Edition-Wattpad-Cover-300x134.jpg","large":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/Doctor-Patient-Confidentiality-Role-Play-Edition-Wattpad-Cover-1024x457.jpg"},"ams_acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4817"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4817\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4817"},{"taxonomy":"series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/series?post=4817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/emendedhearts.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/DPC-Hearts-Image-300x271.jpg\")
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