“Your mum has a bubbly peppiness that I seriously envy,” Liam scoffed, watching my mother, and I rolled my eyes.
“Shut up.”
Chapter Fifteen: Bubbly Peppiness
I didn’t want to go back home, but I had to. Not only was I absolutely famished and was also barefoot, I needed to grow a proverbial spine and do something about the tension between Liam and I. It was almost ridiculous now, and I was going to do something about it.
When I returned home, I didn’t expect the chaos that was there. Mum and Dad and Matt had apparently woken up and were having quite a bit of time with the three boys and a sleepy Louis, whom I supposed had stumbled in sometime after I had left. They were all gathered in the living room, but I could still smell the remnants of bacon and possibly egg.
“There you are,” Mum sang when I entered the abode, hopping up from the couch and raising her fire truck brows. “Oh my word, Alice Engstrom, please assure me that you didn’t leave the house dressed like that.”
I shrugged at her, not entirely in the mood for her bubbly peppiness and constant eruptions. “Not in the mood, Mum, please.”
“Well at least tell me that you remembered your shoes and your cell phone. I feel so old saying this; you haven’t gone on one of these little adventures of yours in what feels like forever.”
I ignored her, letting out a breath and walking into the kitchen with the intent of fixing myself some cereal. But just as I reached for a bowl, I spotted a white plate filled with food on the counter. There was a note scribbled on a napkin next to it.
‘Figured you’d be starved when you got back. – L’
I was more than surprised that Liam had fixed me a plate, let alone write me a note informing me that it was him, but I wasn’t about to reject free food, so I ate my cold eggs and bacon perched against the counter, tossed my plate into the sink and went upstairs to take a proper shower and clear my head.
When I was out of the shower, I straightened my hair before slinking off in my towel into my room to find something decent to wear. I settled on a pair of jeans and a nice shirt plus a pair socks—no shoes since I wasn’t planning on leaving the house. I stroked on a few more dots of eyeliner and mascara, brushed my teeth, and then went back downstairs where I knew my mum would call me soon enough anyway.
And of course she scrutinized me as soon as I entered the room, beckoning me closer with one short, stubby index finger, bright, acrylic yellow nails flashing. She narrowed her eyes at me, chewing the end of her thumbnail thoughtfully. “You didn’t go to sleep last night,” she finally concluded, before scrunching her brows. “Are you okay? It’s not like you to do this—all the walks and lack of sleep and whatnot.”
On instinct, my eyes wanted to filter to Liam, but I fought the urge and squeezed my eyes closed, exhaling and pinching the bridge of my nose. “M’fine, Mum, really.” And I wasn’t, anybody and everybody could see that—especially Liam and harry and Niall, since they knew the most of what was going on. My dad came up to me and squeezed my shoulder, a silent gesture of encouragement that I was grateful for.
“So the boys and I were just catching up; you’re going to see a movie today?”
“Um…” I paused, trailing off and swallowing. “They are. I’m not too feeling well—probably the lack of sleep.” Which was entirely true; I was still cranky and exhausted, but that obviously wasn’t the sole reason for me to decline. And Matt seemed to notice this, swinging his arm around my shoulder and tugging me backwards with him.
YOU ARE READING
Twenty-Two ➳ l.p.
Fanfiction'"At least you're not the girl who rejected Liam Payne 22 times." Except I was.' Everybody has that one guy; the one that got away. But not everybody can say that it's Liam Payne, and not everybody can say that he's back after three years, and...
