Lover of Mine | h.s. |

03

"It's wonderful today, don't you think?"

I walk next to Niall as he blabbers on about anything and everything.

Today was one of the colder days this month and I was bundled up in my coat, double socks and gloves for extra measures.

"If you like living in an ice box then yes, wonderful day." I reply, exhaling to see my breath in the cold.

"How do you keep the flowers alive?" He looks around at the many flowers in the gardens.

"They're fake." I say in a bored tone, trudging past him on the path.

"Are you serious?"

"Yes." I roll my eyes while my back is to him and rub my arms to keep warm. It's hard to believe that only two nights ago I was out here in only my night robe.

It's a wonder that I didn't catch a cold.

Niall catches up to me and stands to my side, walking at the pace I am.

"Are you alright?" His accent thickens as he breathes out, his face turned towards me.

I look up at him, his eyes the bluest they can get. I guess all the snow from last night really brought out the color.

They weren't green, though.

I like green.

"I'm fine." I state, turning my head away. "Just tired."

"Did you not sleep well?"

If you count thinking about a specific young man with brown curls and green eyes as not sleeping well, then yes. I did not sleep well.

"Something like that." I reply, scuffing my boot against the gravel, causing snow and dirt to mix together.

We start walking again, not having a direct idea of where to go. It was peaceful out here, small icicles hung from the trees and the thin layer of snow on the ground made everything look extra beautiful.

I loved the gardens, no matter what type of weather it was.

"So the flowers are actually artificial?"

"Oh my god, yes!" I snap, stopping in place to glare up at him. "What about that do you not understand? In the summer and spring real flowers are planted and in the winter and fall, they're replaced with fake ones. Does that answer your question now?"

He stares down at me with a frown on his face, his eyes scanning mine along with the rest of my facial features. "What's wrong?"

"What?"

"What is wrong." He repeats, readjusting one of his gloves. "You said you were alright but now you're snapping at me like I'm some type of servant that works for you. Tell me what's wrong so I can fix whatever happened."

I look into his eyes, the feeling of regret starting to course through my body.

I guess I did snap at him.

Looking down at me, he patiently waits for a response.

I gaze up at him before a sigh escapes my lips, my head turning to the side. I look at the land that rolls in front of us, watching a squirrel run through the snow and create small tracks behind itself.

"Is it the marriage thing again?" Niall asks quietly, bending over to the side a bit to catch my attention. "We can talk about it if you want. I don't mind."

I look at him sadly before walking over to a bench, my boots crunching the snow underneath me.

I wipe the snow off the bench before sitting down, my gloved hands reaching into my coat pocket for the box of cigarettes I stashed in there earlier in the morning.