This chapter is short, but it's really useful to show a bit of Liam and Lizzy's relationship xx
The next chapter should be longer, dears :)
Enjoy, and God bless! Oh, and HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY! xx
Chapter 22- Misconceptions
Leah-
I signed my name at the bottom of the paper and breathed a sigh of relief. It was the application for Escoffier- the school that I felt The Lord drawing me toward. It was time to make that decision, because the enrollment opportunity for the fall would be ending before I knew it. After glancing carefully over to my mother, who sat at the computer paying bills, I folded the papers neatly and shoved them in an envelope.
"You're sure this is what you want?" Mom said, spinning around in the swivel chair and shooting me a condescending glance. I knew very well that she would rather me take classes at home over leaving for culinary school; especially since she'd only now gotten started with her own dream job. She wanted me to make the choice for myself, but she also didn't want me making a hasty decision just because I was in the moment.
"I... I think I should call Lizzy. And Niall, first," I admitted.
"Okay, hon. Get a move on! We gotta be working on that chicken dinner soon."
"Okay," I breathed for my own benefit. I skipped up the stairs and found the phone, dialing Lizzy's number with haste. "Hey, girl," I said after she picked up.
"Hey! Have you made your decision yet?"
"I want... Well, I feel like God wants me at Escoffier. I've got the application filled out, it's just.... I don't feel at peace about it yet. You know? What should I do, Lizzy?"
"Liam says you should go for it."
"You asked Liam?" My tone sounded angry, but I was merely shocked, realizing that I valued his opinion almost as much as Lizzy's.
"Yeah. I asked a few days ago, mentioned how excited I was for you. He said go for it. He actually got all sentimental on me," Lizzy chuckled.
"Sentimental how?" I asked.
"Oh, he just started whining about how he never would have met me if he didn't take a chance my auditioning for X Factor... And I'm so glad he did," she said. "I needed to hear him say that."
My eyes started fluttering involuntarily, thinking about the two of them being so close. It was another one of those miracles- that God placed the two of them so soundly together. The joy Lizzy produced around her when she spoke of him made it inevitably clear: she really cared about him. “I’m glad you two are so close,” I agreed. I started to relay the story about the strange call from Lucas the other day- how it was nice to be recognized for being friends with Niall. “But…I probably wouldn’t be saying that if I was in the spotlight too much,” I admitted cordially.
“Right. Like if all the fans knew about you,” Lizzy said. “I know probably any of their girlfriends get hate mail blindingly fast after a relationship starts,” she added. “I guess I could say the same about being with Liam. It’s nice for now, though.”
I agreed with her and we talked for a few more minutes. “I need to call Niall. I haven’t spoken to him since the other day, and I want to ask him about college stuff. You know what? I’ll bet that’s why I’m having a rough time deciding.”
“Yeah. You haven’t asked everyone that’s important to you. I get it. I wouldn’t do something like that without his advice anyway, even if he’s against it.”
I almost snorted laughing. “Lizzy. It’s Niall we’re talking about. Of course he’s gonna be all for me learning to cook more,” I giggled.
“Oh, right,” she agreed. We said our goodbyes and I hung up, suddenly feeling an eminence hard to describe. It was almost as though I was missing an important piece of a puzzle- the catch was this: what was the big picture? How could I find the missing piece without knowing what to look for? It was a feeling of spiritual thought then, and I knelt by my bedside to pray before I called Niall.
“Dear Lord,” I began, feeling His peace wash over me just as soundly. “I don’t know why I’m feeling like this all of a sudden, but You do. Please,” suddenly, tears caught in my throat. “Please,” I begged. “Work things out. Have Your way here, God. I don’t know where these feelings are coming from. But help Niall to give me the advice I need, okay? Thank You for all You’ve given, In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”
I stood back up carefully, feeling a lot better, but still not completely at peace. It was a bad realization to make at that point, because I felt like my prayer had not gotten through, but then a verse struck me.
For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.
It was a verse from I John that pricked my heart and made me realize- my prayer had not gone unheard. I was simply floating in a sea of worry, but God was greater than that, I knew. I smiled as I arose and grabbed the phone, dialing Niall’s number. I held my breath, taking in the fear that something might have happened to him. He’d always answered my call. Always. And somehow, for some reason, I was afraid he wouldn’t answer this time. The thought that he was hurt (or in trouble) was so irrational, or at least it felt that way, until the phone kept ringing.
It rang four times; there was no answer.
Niall-
I held the phone in my hand as it vibrated. Leah’s name and photo flashed on the screen, and I even heard the song ‘Home’ playing as the ringtone. Yet, I couldn’t find it in me to answer her call. I knew it probably wasn’t very important; she probably wanted to catch up, get to know me better, maybe flirt a little bit. But I was finally starting to see the truth.
There wasn’t a chance.
My conversation with Lucas had shown that much. No matter how well she thought things were going, no matter what she thought could come of us, she wasn’t willing to try. Either that, of God didn’t want her to try. For the first time in a while, I thought of that. What was the use, if God was aligning stars perfectly and He knew where things would end up? Shouldn’t I leave it in His hands?
I tossed the ringing phone on the couch and fled to the kitchen, dying for a snack. Even I had to admit- my snacking habits were worse when I was under pressure. And of course, I passed by Liam’s room on the way to the refrigerator. We’d only just now settled into our place in Virginia; it was a nice outdoorsy cabin in the hills, secluded from the mainstream city-life and paparazzi. It had been nice. But the open doorways in this particular cabin made for a little less privacy. The only real door in the whole place was for the bathroom. From my peripheral vision, I could see Liam sitting on the bed with another one of those Christian novels opened. It was… nonetheless, growing to be a normal sight to see nowadays. I walked on past, my mouth almost watering with the thought of food.
Three steps after the walkway, I stopped. Without helping myself, I turned on my heel and headed back into Liam’s room. “Someone was calling you,” he said. “I heard it a few minutes ago.”
“It was Leah,” I explained. I shrugged and sat down on the bed.
“Oh. Good conversation, then?”
“Not really. She um… she couldn’t talk long.”
“Lizzy told me she was thinking about a good college.”
“Mhhmm,” I said quietly. “I’m sorry about that party the other day, you know, your hand and everything. Lucas… he’s not very sensitive when it comes to that,” I apologized.
“It’s good. I just hope the other lad didn’t get hurt.”
“I’m sure he’s fine.”
It was silent for a moment. “You know something?” Liam grinned. “God works everything out. Always. He’s always got a plan, you know. I figured it out.”
“How?” I was genuinely curious now, yearning for some way to gain advice about Leah, without volunteering any information.
“Through Lizzy. She’s… she showed me something. That God works in mysterious ways.”
“Leah understands that, too,” I said. “Thanks.”
“No problem. You wanna go… find the boys?”
“Where we going?” I asked quickly.
“Not sure. Somewhere… let’s go to the movies? Sound good?” Liam stood from the bed and grabbed his keys, and we ran through the huge cabin, calling Louis’ name. “How about the movies?” Liam suggested.
“Aww, look at you, Liam! Finally deciding to get out and party instead of staying cooped up all day,” Louis said when we entered the game room. He and Zayn were viciously attacking the game controllers. Zayn leant over on his knees and made a face of concentration, though Louis was still glancing at us and seemed to be winning with ease. Harry was still taking a nap, and considering the hangover he’d had this morning, I didn’t expect him to get up anytime soon. Regardless, we woke him up with chipper song and he stumbled out of his room.
We rounded Louis, Zayn, and Harry up, waited patiently on them to dress, and finally met Paul at his cabin down the road. Conversation was friendly and light and… yet… I could clearly envision a memory… a vision of a lost phone call fading away in the night.