Through The Dark

47: Fate

Saph

Fate works in mysterious ways.

That's a saying I've heard time and again, but I was never really in a place to experience such events. That was, until one specific Friday night.

At the beginning of the evening, nothing was out of the ordinary. I was working the bar for a few hours until the barman we had hired came in. It was still rather early, barely even five in the afternoon, so there weren't that many people around. Kristy was taking inventory. We had the waitresses do that every evening before opening, but she insisted she did it herself once a week just to check that everything was running smoothly.

With not much to do, I leaned my elbows onto the wooden countertop of the bar and gazed around the room to the few customers we had. I was always one to enjoy people watching, trying to figure out people's possible lives and backstories by examining them.

There was a girl, who definitely looked like she was new in town. She probably lived in a small town before moving here just recently, maybe for school. She was alone, sipping on her coffee while typing on her laptop.

Two middle aged women were sat a few tables over, blabbering to eachother without stopping and full of excitement while having cocktails. They were most likely mothers, managing to steal a few hours away from home to relax and have a little fun.

At the far back was a couple, sat closely together, each enjoying a beer. He had his arm around the back of her chair, chatting her up and making her laugh. They were close, but still looked like they were in the beginning of their relationship, the tiny bit of shyness and awkwardness being noticeable from their body language.

The buzzing of my phone cut my thoughts short, but I was beyond excited to find out the caller once I pulled the devise out of the front pocket of my apron. I swiftly unwrapped the chord of my headphones from around it and put them on before answering the FaceTime call. The music wasn't that loud yet, but I wanted to make sure I heard him properly. I swiped my finger across the screen to answer, holding my phone up as it loaded. I was met with the brightest of smiles that always made my heart skip a beat.

"Hey gem!" Niall beamed, full of excitement like always. He was wearing a cream shirt, his hair neatly styled giving away that he was already backstage at the show he had to appear on.

"Hi bub! Ready for your interview?" I asked nevertheless, quietly admiring him through the screen. A few months ago he decided to stop dying his hair, starting to grow his natural colour out. The tips were still blonde, but the darker overall shade suited him quite a lot and I was secretly anticipating the moment he'd be completely brunette.

"Yeah, we're on in half an hour or so. Wish you were here though. You would've loved New York." He sighed, his smile dropping for a second.

"It's okay. Maybe you can take me once the tour is over." I consoled, hoping to bring his smile back. I was so proud that he was touring the world. Being the opening act for Ed Sheeran's world tour was an amazing achievement, but I missed him. I was lucky enough to join him for half the European part of the tour, but I couldn't follow him to the states. I had to return to work at some point.

"I'll take you wherever you want once I'm back angel. I miss you." He smiled again, though melancholically.

"I miss you too baby. Our bed feels empty without you." I winked at him, using this as an opportunity to tease him a little. But it was true. It did feel odd sleeping in our shared bed by myself. It might had been barely over six months of us living together before tour started just over four months ago, but it already felt like a lifetime.