Back to Where We Started

Chapter 17

By the time Paul arrived with their groceries, the boys had managed to clean out the refrigerator, freezer, and cabinets.

"I am so glad you lads managed to get that done before I got back." Paul commented.

Harry snorted a laugh. "You're telling me. We're the ones who would have been stuck with the extra bag of rubbish on the bus with us. Do you have any idea the last time we even bothered to open that refrigerator door?"

Paul shook his head, his lips stretched into a fond smile. "Hazard of the job, innit?"

Turning around as he dried his hands on a dishtowel, Zayn quirked an eyebrow. "What d'ya mean?"

"Well, you lads don't spend much time home, do you?" Paul asked.

"No, guess not." Zayn agreed.

"Exactly."

"Huh?" Harry asked, now curious about what Paul was on about.

"All I'm saying is that you lot are hardly home long enough to stock the refrigerator, and when you are, given that you're young lads, chances are that you empty it before anything really has the chance go bad." Paul explained.

Understanding what the man was saying, both Harry and Zayn couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, my mum always says that the grocery bill seems to double when I visit." Harry admitted.

"Yeah, same." Zayn agreed. "But, at least for me, I'm pretty sure that's because my mum feels the need to make every one of my favorite dishes while I'm there, even if it's just a few days."

"Oh, the woes of having a mum who loves you." Paul deadpanned.

Zayn smiled at that. Harry, on the other hand, had a faraway look on his face.

"Everything alright, Haz?" Zayn asked carefully. He knew that look all too well.

Upon hearing his name, Harry shook his head to clear his thoughts. "What?"

Zayn smiled sympathetically. "I asked if you're alright."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, m'fine."

Knowing that that was the furthest thing from the truth, but not wanting to press the matter with words, Zayn took the three steps necessary to close the space between the two of them and wrapped Harry in a hug. Harry didn't hesitate to wrap his own arms around Zayn, reciprocating the hug, and burying his face in Zayn's shoulder.

Not wanting to intrude on the moment, Paul did his best to remain silent. However, after holding the grocery bags for so long, he inevitably had to readjust his grip, causing them to rustle noisily. That sound effectively caught Harry and Zayn's attention. After one last firm squeeze, the pair parted and directed their focus back to Paul.

"Sorry to interrupt the moment, lads, but now that I have, any chance I could get some help with these bags?" Paul asked sheepishly.

"Oh my god, of course." Harry and Zayn rushed forward, each grabbing a few bags from Paul. Anticipating the action, Paul intentionally made eye contact with Zayn and held his left hand out to him. Understanding the silent communication for what it was, Zayn successfully reached for the bags offered to him before Harry could grab them up.

"Sorry about that, Paul! Look at your hands, they're all red!" Harry fussed.

Paul looked down at his now empty hands, and sure enough, his hands were red with deep indentations from the grocery bag handles. Shaking his hands out and rubbing them together to get the blood flowing once again, he shrugged it off. "Don't worry about me, Harry. Instead, I'd say you should be focused on getting that stuff put away so it doesn't go bad."