Chapter 90
'She's back guys!' Harry whooped as Louis and I walked hand in hand into the airport. They ran over and formed a group hug then all gave me separate hugs as well. 'It's good to have you back Ri Ri' Harry said.
'Definitely' Liam agreed. 'How do you feel?'
'Great thanks.' I blushed as I thought back to when Louis had asked me the same question earlier that morning as we lay in a tangle of sheets. I squeezed Louis' hand.
'Ready for breakfast?' Niall asked. 'I'm starving!' He headed off before we could respond but we all followed. My stomach rumbled at the thought of food that wasn't from a hospital.
The boys chatted as we ate. They stuffed away enough food for three people each but still didn't seem to be completely full. It amazed me. I sipped my coffee in silence, savouring the moment. I'd missed the boys chatting non-stop about anything and everything and joking around like they always do.
'Did you get to keep the bullet?' Zayn asked out of the blue. My focus switched from the plane that had just landed on the run way outside to the ten pairs of eyes suddenly looking at me. 'I mean...um...yeah...' He sounded nervous, as though he'd upset me. I couldn't help but laugh a little.
'No, they had to use it for evidence. It would have made a cool necklace though.' I grinned. Since they'd caught the man who'd tried to kill me I found it easier to make jokes on the subject. I couldn't live in fear so I had to just get on with it.
Zayn looked relieved when he realised he hadn't upset me. 'That would have been cool.' He grinned, just as the announcement for our plane was called. We all pushed our chairs back and left the table, dumping our things in the bin. Louis took my hand again and we made our way to the plane.
We climbed up the metal stairs as the wind blew my hair into my face. It was bitterly cold, the hoodie I was wearing wasn't doing anything to keep the chill off.
'Oh god' Louis mumbled, his voice was taken by the wind but I still heard it.
'What?' I asked. Had he forgotten something?
He nodded towards the air hostess at the door of the plane. 'That's the air hostess I was rude to when I had to get off to get to the hospital.'
I looked at the blonde woman at the door who was smiling as she greeted all the passengers. 'Oh.' She looked nice enough. 'I'm sure she'll have forgotten.' By now we were at the door of the plane.
'I doubt it' Louis whispered to me. She looked up and smiled at me before checking my boarding pass. Then she saw Louis. A flicker of recognition flashed in her eyes.
'Hello again sir' she was polite.
'Hi' Louis replied shyly for once in his life. 'I'm, um, sorry about my behaviour last time.'
'It's perfectly alright sir. I understand.' She passed him back his boarding pass. 'Have a nice flight.' She dismissed us by greeting the next passenger so we made our way through the narrow isle of the plane until we found the boys.
'Well that was awkward.' Louis sighed as he flopped into the chair next to Harry.
'What was?' he asked.
'The woman at the door was the one we shouted at to get off the plane last week.'
Harry twisted around in his seat to look at the door near the back of the plane where the woman was stood. 'Oh yeah.' He squinted as he tried to get a better look. 'I didn't recognise her.' He shrugged. He flipped his hood up over his head and settled into the chair and rested his head against the wall. I got the feeling he was going to try and sleep through this flight, even though it was about an hour long.
I linked my fingers with Louis' and smiled when he looked at me. Before we knew it the plane was taking off and we were flying over Britain and then the sea, before landing in a rainy and cloudy Dublin.
'Here we go' Liam grinned as he woke Zayn up in front of us.
Louis checked his phone as we got off the plane. He slid it back in his pocket and mumbled so only I could hear 'Stay close, it's going to be packed.'
He was right. The airport was full of screaming fans. We could see them through the glass doors between the luggage carousel and the main reception bit. The screams were slightly muffled, yet could still be heard. Every so often, when the doors swept open as someone left the screaming would become louder and then suddenly muffle again when they closed.
We all pulled our bags off, put them all onto one silver luggage trolley that Harry had 'shot gunned' and left the safety of the luggage collection to face the hordes of screaming fans.
The sound was deafening. I stayed right behind Louis the whole way through the crowd. Security guards were pushing girls back as they waved notepads and cameras in the air and tried to get through to the boys. They all began to sing 'What Makes You Beautiful' and the airport was filled with the sound of singing girls. It was spectacular, goose bumps rose on my arms and neck and the combined voices gave me a chill down my spine. It was so awesome.
Louis turned round to find me staring in awe at the crowds of girls. He pulled me along by the hand and grinned at me as I stumbled behind him. My trance like state was broken when the pouring rain soaked my face as we hurried to the nearby mini bus which was waiting for our arrival. I climbed in and the door slammed shut, we were gone in seconds.
...
I was lying in the hotel bed when my phone buzzed and lit up on the small wooden table next to me. I picked it up and read it with one eye shut as the glare was blinding in the darkness of the room. 2:10 am.
It was Louis. 'Sorry we're running late. Be back soon. Love you xx' I'd left the boys after their concert to head back to the hotel as I was shattered, somehow doing nothing but sleep in a hospital made it difficult to live a real life again. I sent a quick reply to let him know I'd seen it before falling back asleep in the large, empty bed.
...
Soft fingers stroking the inside of my wrist woke me up. I could hear the rain still pouring outside; the non-stop smack of it hitting the window filled the room. It was really pouring down. I smiled into the pillow, savouring the moment; I didn't want him to know I was awake yet.
'I know you're awake' he laughed. The stroking didn't stop.
My face was pressed into the pillow, muffling my voice as I spoke 'how do you know?'
'Because I saw your eyebrows twitched when you smiled'
I turned my face to look at him. 'Damn.' I smiled. 'Good night?'
'Brilliant. Niall wanted to eat so we got back later than planned.' His fingers moved from my wrist to the engagement and wedding rings on my finger. He twisted them slowly, watching as the little light coming from the daylight outside sparkled on the diamond. 'One day left and we're going home.' He sighed. 'I can't wait. I love touring and all that, but I love our bed, in our home, and our routine more.'
'You're becoming soppy in your old age.' I smirked.
'Promise you won't tell anyone?' he gasped, pretending to be horrified by the thought.
'I promise' I laughed, before pulling him down to lie next to me, wrapping my arms around his waist and resting my head on his bare chest. Both of us lay in silence listening to the rain beating down outside.