Run With Me Again

Chapter 21

I got out of my car and walked into the grocery store. Since today, I had nothing better to do I might as well cook a fancy dinner for Mikey. I have been running errands all day and the grocery store is the last stop.

The automatic sliding doors opened as I walked inside our small grocery store. It was quiet with elevator music in the background. There were few people and the sound of prices ringing up was quiet. I kept  a normal pace as I pushed the grocery cart.

It feels nice though, to actually go on a normal grocery trip. It was better than writing and editing a story inside a room all day. I went ahead and got snacks for Mikey, before I went off to the produce section.

All of a sudden, it didn't feel nice anymore. It felt like someone was following me. I casually looked behind my shoulder and took a glance. Niall. Was he following me the whole time?!

"FINALLY YOU NOTICED ME. I was trying to get your attention without getting others!" he exclaimed with his eyes enlarging.

"You could have just went up to me," I simply replied with a shrug. Niall opened his mouth to say something, but he closed it and frowned. I looked at his cart which was full of food.

"That's a lot of food you have in there," I said as I scanned what he was getting.

"Oi! Yeah! The lads were busy so they told me to get the groceries. I'm taking my time because they never let me go shopping for food." he smiled sheepishly with a crooked grin.

"You guys having a feast or something?" I asked.

"Er. Well, um...no. I'm trying to get rid of some things because I don't have enough money..." Niall stuck a hand in his pocket and rubbed one behind his neck. I cocked an eyebrow, "Shouldn't you be rich? Since you're in a boy band and well, usually they can afford food."

"Uh, well what had happened was that Liam argued and said that I should have a spending limit. I can only spend sixty pounds on groceries today." He frowned again and started putting back the jars of Nutella on the shelf.

"Oh, where's the boys?" 

"Eh, Louis went to go see Eleanor, Harry is helping Zayn out with something, and Liam is..." Niall's voice trailed off. His eyes descended to the ground.

"is...?"

"He's not really happy today..." Niall said awkwardly.

"Why not?"

"Um...if I told you, you would want to know all the details. Those details take a long time, so we might as well hang out." Niall snuck in the invite. He grinned at me and I couldn't say no.

"Alright, fine. Let me just finish grocery shopping and you can tag along." I reluctantly agreed. Niall's face lit up and he helped me the rest of the time. Actually, I think he sped up the process because of his excitement to sit down and talk.

When we went to pay for our food, the old lady didn't seem to care that Niall was there. In fact, I don't believe she noticed that he was there. Niall helped the rest of the way and hopped in the car with me. He sent a text to one of the guys that he would be hanging out with me.

Once we were inside, and finished putting up the groceries I made Niall a cup of tea. He sat down on the couch and I sat across from him. 

"Now, what were you going to tell me?" I asked him, and he cleared his throat after he put down his cup of tea.

"Liam, likes you A LOT. I mean when I first heard of you, he just said you were his best friend. But, then after a while he slowly started talking about you often. A lot of things seemed to remind him of you."

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, Liam is one of my brothers. I just want you to know how much he really likes you. I might as well say loves you. Think about it, he hasn't been on a date with any girl because he wanted to wait for you. I'm sad for him, because now the girl he's probably in love with is engaged to his old childhood friend."

"So, he's sad right now?"

"Yep, your date with him seemed to make him realize that it was only for a day."

I sighed and laid on the couch. Niall saw me and laid down on the couch too. It was quiet for a moment and you could hear the fridge running.

"Niall, I can't do anything. I'm engaged." I let out.

"Do you love your fiancé?" he asked me.

I paused for a moment to gather my thoughts up. "I can't say that I do." I finally admitted.

"Break it off with him then!" Niall exclaimed.

I rubbed my temples with my hands. "It's not easy. The only reason I'm with Mike now, is because I know he won't leave me."

"Liam won't leave you." Niall said softly.

"He won't this time will he?" I faintly said back.

"I'm sure he won't." Niall assured me.

The rest of the time Niall helped me with making dinner for Mikey. When we finished I dropped him off and went right back to set up. I laid out the silverware and then waited for Mikey to come home.

I waited.

And waited.

Eventually, I ate alone.

Soon, I slept alone in bed.

No phone calls, text messages or any notifications where Mikey was. This felt all too familiar, and I was too used to it. Left alone again, without any notification.