Theirs- Completed

Chapter Seventeen

I'd been back 4 days now. I really did love being back here for short periods of time. It's definitely not a place I could live in permanently. I'd get bored of the same things constantly. Same faces, same food, same drinks. I liked the variety I can get down in London. 

One thing I did miss most about being back here, is these late night summer walks. I was fine alone, it was such a small community it was safe to do so and I could be completely alone with my thoughts, just taking it in and processing and handling things. I was sat now, reading through 4 days worth of messages from everyone. I'd called Erica on my way up and gone over everything so she was fine with me just vanishing whilst I sorted my head out. I wasn't even going to read his messages. I kind of wanted to know what he had to say, but me reading them meant he'd know I was contactable again and then he wouldn't stop. He was already going to see they were delivered. 

I smiled at my phone, hitting the answer call button and moving to sit on a wall at the top of the hill over looking the valley below as the sun set. 

"Hello?" 

"You're not dead!" I giggled slightly. 

"I am not." I sighed, looking out here right now, speaking to Harry, I felt like I could breathe a sigh of relief. Let my body relax a little bit. "I came home." 

"I know, Erica said when I was stressing at her on Monday morning." There was a short silence. 

"Sorry. I should have told you I was going AWOL for a few days." 

"No don't apologise Lil. I get it. You're going through it at the moment. This weekend can't have been easy for you." 

"It wasn't." I sighed again. 

"Know when you're coming home yet?" 

"I was going to drive home Saturday afternoon. The boys leave Sunday mid morning so I need to catch them." 

"You're going to see them off then?" 

"Yeah. It's 6 months right? That's a long time to not see them. The longest yet since before we were friends. It's going to be hard, I know I'm not exactly happy with Robin right now but we'll be fine right? It's just been one of those periods. Everyone gets them." I bit my lip looking out at the crowd again. "Is it stupid that I think I could go with them? Even if it's just for 3 months. Not the full lot. But like some of it." 

"I don't think so. They're like your brothers right? Not seeing them for 6 months when you see them constantly is going to be hard. If you think you could handle it then I don't think it's stupid. It'd be an experience you'd never forget." 

"Hmm." 

"You're still not sure?" 

"I don't know. I'm teetering you know. I don't know. I'm still so fucking confused." He stayed quiet as I just looked out at the valley. 

Something about a Yorkshire sunset like tonight's just seems to put everything into perspective. Things don't seem as major as they did an hour before hand. Because you're just a speck in the universe. It reminds me how small I am and then how small my problems actually are in the grand scale of things. 

"What are you doing tomorrow then? Last full day." 

"Um. I think I'm just going to go into the Dales. I might just go for a nice hike. Maybe scale up Ingleborough." 

"That sounds fun." 

"Yeah. It's supposed to be hot too." 

"Yeah I checked the weather." I chuckled slightly. "Where are you now?" 

"I'm just sat on a wall in the center of the village, watching the sunset." 

"What's the pub called? Any good?" 

"The Black Bull. It's alright. Only one here so you just kind of deal with it. Better ones in London but don't tell Derek I told you that. I'll get barred for life." He laughed. "I'm sorry things ended like they did with us on Saturday Haz." 

"Don't be. They were worried about you. Are you feeling any better about it all?" 

"I guess." 

"That's not a yes." 

"I mean it's not something that just cures itself you know? It takes time. Lots of work and time." 

"Have you been working on it?" 

"Here? God yeah. Like my parents would let me get away with half the shit I pull back home." I snickered. "It's like being at school, prepacking my lunches if I go out, one of them comes home at lunch time and we have lunch together which has been nice. I just feel like a kid again." 

"Yeah but if it helps get you back into the routine of being healthy Lil." 

"I know." I looked down at my feet. "Sometimes just the distraction whilst I eat is enough you know? Like I don't have time to think about it then. That's why they come back." 

"What else helps?" 

"People not making comments." I chuckled and I could feel him rolling his eyes. "I bet this isn't how you saw this phone call going." 

"Not at all." The line went silent and I pulled my phone back. He was gone. I sighed. Maybe he'd call back. I kind of hoped he did. I was enjoying talking to him again. "But I bet you didn't expect me either." I looked up, dropping my phone into the grass below. "You're hard to track down, even in a tiny little village." 

"What the fu-" I jumped up, moving to him quickly and wrapping my arms around his neck. "What are you doing here?" He chuckled, hugging me back. 

"Erica told me to come up here, Bailey gave me your parent's numbers. I called them like an hour ago when I knew I was getting close and they told me you were out on a walk anyway. I was with them when I called." 

"You were with my parents?" He nodded, laughing at me. "Jesus." 

"They're sweet." 

"They are when you're the only guy I haven't shit on since I got back." I laughed. "They're pissed at the boys for not realising I wasn't okay sooner." He put my feet back down on the floor. "Oh my god you drove up here. That's such a long drive. Why did you do that?!" I slapped his arm and he chuckled, pulling me in for another hug. 

"Because I missed you and I had a feeling you needed me." I buried my head into him, deeply inhaling that same aftershave I loved on him. "And judging by that call I was right." 

"You smell so good." He chuckled again. It rippled through my body as he did, shaking me down to my very core. 

"I put it on for you."