A Happily Never After (A Niall Horan Fanfic)

Required Introductions

I entered my room and threw my drawstring Nike bag onto my bed, immediately heading towards the kitchen. The past week or so had been pretty interesting, actually: we had two digs (where I found a piece of pottery and a spear *squeals*). We had tons of meetings and I had barely any free time (which was very different from last month). I had two more digs this week: one tomorrow and one in three days.

I slabbed a glob of peanut butter onto some bread, when my phone started to ring. It read: Mom. That's strange, I thought, my mom and I only called each other on Fridays and it was Sunday.

"Hello?" I answered.

I heard the voice on the other end take a deep shaky breath. My stomach dropped. "What's wrong?" I practically screamed.

"It's Mom-mom," she said, shakily.

"What's wrong with Mom-mom?" I asked, frantically.

"She's back in the hospital, Lennon, and it doesn't look good."

My mom-mom, who was my mom's mother, had Alzheimer's. She has had it for a long time, maybe three years, and at this point, she couldn't remember anything and she barely had random spurts of remembrance; this was not the Notebook, people. Before she was struck with this disease, we were extremely close. I always visited her at her home and we would hang out. My grandpa had passed away many years ago so she was used to being on her own but I liked to keep her company. We told each other everything and we used to sing together all the time.

"What do you mean it doesn't look good?" I choked out

"She's just not doing well."

"Mom, I'm eighteen for God's sake!" I yelled. "Tell me what's wrong."

The line was silent.

"I'm coming home," I said, in almost a whisper, before hanging up the phone and falling to the floor. I rubbed my sleeves across my eyes, drying the tidal wave of tears escaping them. "I'll be there for you, Mom-mom," I whispered.

Mr. Chawser was disappointed, but he understood that I needed to go home for a little while. I only had two days. I was leaving immediately tomorrow morning and coming home late the next night-- I would be missing only one dig.

I filled a small bag with my passport, phone, and money. I had some clothes still at my house, so I didn't pack any. I set my alarm for 3:00am and attempted to fall asleep to no avail... I was too worried.

The flight was really nerve wracking, considering I did not have anyone to keep me company. My uneasiness towards flying did not help, either. I gripped the sides of my chair, trying not to knock arms with the business man sitting to my left. As the plane touched down, I had a little heart attack, before calming myself.

"Welcome to Philadelphia International Airport. We hope you enjoyed your flight and that you have a safe trip. We hope to see you again soon and thank you for flying with British Airways," a cheery voice said over the intercom. Groaning, I stretched my legs and prepared to exit the plane.

Upon entering the terminal, I found Emma waiting for me. "Hey babe," I said, running over to hug her.

"Hey Lenn," she hugged me back.

"How's Mom-mom?"

"Okay." We walked out to the car and started our car ride.

After about an hour and a half, we arrived out our house. I breathed in the fresh smell of the bay and stepped out of the car, letting the warm sun hit me. "I missed it here." Emma smiled and led me into the house. "By the way, thanks for coming to get me," I said.