Crossroads of Life

Chapter 12

Bailey’s POV:

*clunk, clunk, clunk*

My bright green suitcase thumped its way down the stairs of my apartment building one at a time. The elevator had to choose today to break, I thought as I trudged my way to the lobby step by step.

We were loading onto the tour buses today. The boys had put on another great show at the O2 Arena today and after the matinee today, we were packing up and heading to Manchester.

“So close, but yet so far,” I muttered to myself. I could almost see the last step now as I edged my way downward. Niall spotted me struggling from the lobby and ran over to help me down the last ten stairs. Harry, Liam, and Louis came running down after me. Liam and Louis were holding two matching green duffle bags and Harry was carrying my pillow.

“Why do girls need so much stuff?” Zayn asked, stuffing out his cigarette, as we flooded out of the lobby and onto the streets.

“Oh, and how many bags do you have Mr. Mirror?” Niall said, sticking his tongue out and high-fiving me. This shut Zayn up.

Zayn took the handle of my suitcase and lifted it into the truck. I climbed into the front row of seats and sat down next to Harry who still had my pillow, which was now in his lap. I laid my head down on it and tucked my feet up, curling into a little ball.

“Tired, babe?” Harry asked, his green eyes looking down at me.

“Yeah,” I yawned. “Haven’t had coffee yet.”

“Aw, does our little American girl need her coffee to stay awake?” Louis teased.

“Yep,” I said, pulling my favorite batman sweatshirt over my knees and rubbing my eyes. “Just like you guys need your tea,” I stated.

“Touche,” Louis replied dramatically. The car swayed lightly with the road as my head remained in Harry’s comfortable lap and before I knew it I was asleep.

****

“C’mon love,” a soft Irish voice whispered from somewhere far off in the distance. “Wake up, Bailey. We’re here,” Niall said gently, shaking my thigh in order to wake me up. I opened my eyes and lifted my head off the pillow.

“How long was I asleep?” I asked, sitting up and stretching out in the van. I pulled my white shorts down that had scrunched up in my sleep and yawned, looking up at a smiling Niall who still had his soft hand on my upper thigh.

“Twenty minutes, maybe more..” he replied.

“What? Where are the other boys? Why didn’t you wake me up?”

“Relax Bailey, we just got here ten minutes ago; we all wanted to stop for breakfast,” he assured me. “Plus, you look so cute when you sleep,” he smiled.

“Oh, shut it. What did I miss?” I asked, looking into his eyes.

“Nothing much, we just loaded up the buses. We put you in a bunk across from Liam.”

“I was supposed to help Paul-”

“We know, he said to let you sleep.”

“That’s not the point,” I sighed.

“We got you a coffee!” Niall suddenly remembered. He reached over to a cup holder and took out a warm travel cup. He handed it to me and I took it gratefully.

“How’d you know what I like?” I asked, taking a small sip and sitting up criss-cross on the leather seats.

“Lucky guess. C’mon, I wanna show you the bus,” he said, scooping me up in his arms bridal style, and carrying me out of the van.