Convalescence

XXII.

~ chapter vibe <3

Her hands trembled viciously. Her stomach ached and turned to the point of nausea.

It was going to be next to impossible to get ready with her body acting the way that it was, but Lili really needed to get moving.

Today was the day she'd been dreaming about and waiting for her whole life. A fairytale come true - a real, honest-to-God boyfriend would be arriving at the house in less than three hours to officially meet Lili's parents for the first time.

An honest-to-God boyfriend that meant the earth, moon, and stars to her. 

What she had told Niall the night before was true - this was a first-time experience for Lili. A never-been-done-before type of moment.

There had never been a person in her life that she would consider bringing home. But now...

Was she regretting it? Not at all.

She could never even think to regret doing this. It was the best decision she would ever make, and the night didn't even need to happen for her to know that.

But she would be lying if she said that the prospect of this event wasn't downright terrifying.

This night would change everything – not just the dynamic of her relationship with Niall, but with her family as well. Nothing would be the same anymore.

Whether they wanted to or not, her parents would look at her differently. Instead of seeing the girl who was trying her hardest just to make it through the day, they would see the woman who had grown up and found happiness.

They would see her as someone who had found the love she'd been so desperately searching for. Lili was certain her parents had never seen her like this before. 

She looked at herself in her bathroom mirror and took a deep breath, exhaling sharply through her mouth as she gripped the edges of her vanity tightly in an attempt to keep herself steady.

She had just stepped out of the shower, wet hair dripping mercilessly on the tile flooring. The towel wrapped around her naked body was like a comforting hug telling her it was okay before she approached the scariest moment of her life.

If she took it off, it meant that she had no choice but to get ready, which , in turn, meant that this night was not a dream at all. This was reality, and it was happening very soon.

Lili glanced at her phone laying on the countertop - it read 4:27pm. She had just gotten home from work, running straight up to her bedroom without bothering to say hello to anyone.

She had worked an opening shift that day, which worked out perfectly for Niall to come for dinner.

Except she'd nearly forgotten about it yesterday after their fantastic night together, and when her 6:45am alarm blared in Niall's bedroom, she woke in a panic.

She'd apologized profusely as Niall rose from his bed, rubbing the sleep from his eyes as he searched for a shirt to throw on to drive her home.

He smiled lazily at her, telling her again and again that he didn't mind at all. Even when he was woken up so suddenly, his smile was beautiful enough to stop a freight train.

She cursed at herself for picking such a horrible day to have him come to her house, but the plan had unfortunately been set in stone before they could do anything about it, so she was determined for this to happen now.