Lou's Gold (Larry Stylinson) (COMPLETE)

Chapter 18: You Left Something Here

I rapped the door frame gently, causing Cara to lift her head up from her work and smile. "Hey, you." Her hair was tied in a messy bun behind a black bandanna with yellow turtles. Her green eyes lit up at my sight then grew worried when I didn't mirror her happiness. "You've come to quit."

I smiled weakly and walked up to the counter, hands nervously stuffed in the pockets of my jacket to keep them from itching. "Is Frank in?"

She shuffled the paperwork she had in her hands and tilted her head toward the opening to the hall, eventually leading to his office at the end. "He always is." I began to take a step forward when she gently took a hold of my arm to stop me. "Be gentle. We've had two complains about infections with a piercing and an angry parent of a twelve-year old with a marijuana plant on his shoulder."

"Sounds like he's had a rough day," I laughed. "Wish me luck."

"Oh, you'll do fine," She said sarcastically. "It'll be us that have to deal with his attitude for the rest of the day."

I continued through the hall, greeting a few coworkers busy with cleaning their tools or working with a client before I got to Frank's door. It was open slightly and I could hear his "arguing voice" through the crack.

"-He presented an ID to us and my employee was obligated to do his job." He paused. I used this time to step in and make my presence known. He glanced at me and rolled his eyes. I held back a laugh and sat in the chair in front of his desk, propping my elbows up on the desk and looking at him intently. "Yes, but-" He was cut off and he brought his hand to his face. 

I cradled my head in my hands and blinked rapidly to distract him. I could see a smile building up at the end of his lips but he pushed it back when he continued talking. "Yes, I see that but it's hard to tell how old someone is just by looking at them lately. The ID said-" He furrowed his eyebrows. "H-hello?" He finally smiled, pulling the phone away from his face and placing it on the receiver. "That's right, bitch."

"Nice to see you, Frank." My eyes left his gaze and I picked at the skin under my fingernails. How do I begin?

"Good to have you back, my boy," He grinned proudly. "You could've just called, you know."

I laughed dryly, not daring to look at him. "Right, I did come to talk to you about something. This wouldn't be polite to say over the phone."

He raised an eyebrow, focusing his attention to me. I could feel his discomfort and knew he expected what I was going to say next.

"I'm here to tell you I'll be quitting by the end of May."

His expression didn't seem too phased by my news. He simply sat up straight and cleared his throat. "Alright." His attention returned to his desk, probably files of the complains Cara mentioned earlier. "Until then your schedule is free as ever?"

"I'm not too sure about that," And I wasn't. Niall hadn't mentioned rehearsing times or auditions for our band mates and I wasn't sure if I was to completely quit my job or put it on hold. I felt like a hypocrite for telling Niall to quit his job and blindly jump into this idea while I was telling my boss to have me continue working for him until I knew everything for certain. "I'd have to work out a schedule but by Monday I'll be sure to let you know the days I can work."

He sighed, masking how he felt with the look that he didn't really care. "I'll be waiting for your call." I nodded my head and stood up, intending to leave him to his work. "Wait," He said slowly. "Now that you've told your boss you're quitting, you can tell me, a friend who you've known even before this job, where you're going for the summer."

I briefly went through my time with Niall in Doncaster, leaving out anything to do with Louis and Diana, and explained what I knew about the competition. "So, while I'm gone you can watch me on the television."