48 Hours // l.t. [1]

Chapter 15

Most of the bus ride to Mississippi was spent sleeping beside Louis while trying to keep warm, even with the sweater and half of Louis' fleece blanket. The few times I woke up, it was when there was a stop in Montgomery, Alabama and a small town nearing the state lines of Alabama and Mississippi.

What woke me up was the flashing of bright lights on the bus and the croaking voice of the bus driver over the speaker.

"Welcome, welcome, we are fifteen minutes from arriving in Vicksburg, Mississippi..." he drained on and on about instructions on those of us who were continuing onto another bus and which gate to go to.

Beside me, Louis was shifting into a proper sitting position. Before, he was sitting so low into the seat his knees were pressed against the seat ahead of him.

I grumbled quietly, trying to fix my hair into a decent ponytail or messy bun. Surely while I tossed and turned all night it was disheveled and messy. "God I could use some coffee. Either that or another hour of sleep. I'm so tired."

Louis hummed in agreement, but didn't say anything. I looked out the window.

At nearly seven in the morning, the skies were turning a bright, cloudless blue. Sunrise had gone and passed, the last of the orange and pink color in the skies disappearing over the horizon.

We weren't on the freeway, but driving down a highway surrounded by trees. With my head resting on the back of the seat in front of me, I watched the trees pass in a blur. I didn't speak and nor did Louis. We could have gone another hour sleeping without any interruptions.

Eventually, we drove across a bridge with a river flowing beneath. The town was in view and I suddenly wished there was more time to explore. If the buses weren't run on such a tight schedule, I would have loved to explore each and every place we visited.

And then, before I knew it, we were pulling up to the Greyhound bus station. After a considerable amount of people got off, I moved to grab my bag from the top compartment and then gathered my belongings, shoving them inside my purse.

I slipped into the aisle and followed everyone off the bus steps. I knew I was getting back on the bus, since we were only switching bus drivers, but I didn't trust my things on board.

My suitcase wasn't hard to find, and I quickly dragged it inside the station.

It was small like the previous one, but it had yellow-painted walls, black, grey and white tiled floors, a seating area next to a couple payphones and in the corner across from the reception area, vending machines.

I sighed, relieved. I was starving, mostly for real food, but this would have to do.

Dragging my suitcase and bags along, I walked towards the vending machines. The squeal that slipped my lips couldn't be contained the moment my eyes laid on a coffee vending machine. It was the first thing I bought.

I bought two cups of coffee, one for me and the second for Louis. And then, I bought a bag of peanuts, stuffing it into a pocket in the hoodie.

Though it was difficult and damn near impossible, I dragged my suitcases and the two cups of coffee towards where Louis was.

"Here," I said, handing a cup to Louis. He took it gratefully. "Thought you'd might like a cup."

"Thank you," he murmured as he wrapped his hands around the cup, inhaling the steams of the hot coffee.

I didn't hesitate to sit down next to him and sip on the coffee, almost spitting it out in the next second. It was bad! The coffee was terrible and stronger than I would have liked it to be... but I was still tired and needed to wake up some. So, I sipped again on the coffee, expecting the strong, bitter taste.

I made a face when I took two more sips.

The bitter coffee had captured my attention entirely that I almost missed Louis laughing next to me. Narrowing my eyes slightly, I turned to him.

"You think drinking bitter coffee is funny?" I asked.

"Not really, I've got the same bitter coffee you do," he grinned, motioning towards his cup. "But your reactions are funny, that's all."

For a moment, I softened at his words but narrowed my eyes again. "They're not funny. This coffee is that bitter."

"Then don't drink it," he pointed out.

Though he had a point, so did I.

"I'm tired and it takes me a while to wake up in the morning," she said, raising her eyebrows slightly. "I need this coffee."

A small half-smile appeared on his face. "Well if you say so, Morgan."

"I do say so."

Forty-five minutes later, I dumped the styrofoam cup. I was more than glad there was no more coffee in that cup because it was, no doubt, the worst one I've ever had. But it did the trick I was hoping for. The cup of coffee woke me up.

I dragged my bags with me to the bathroom and immediately dug out a toothbrush and toothpaste. Cleaning up was a must, especially if there was another full day of traveling to do. Then, I changed out of my clothes and into a pair of jeans and a t-shirt that was a few years old. Finally, I brushed out the snarls in my hair and piled it all into a bun atop my head.

Feeling a lot better, I left the restroom and back to where Louis sat.

"So did anyone ask for a photo or autograph while I was gone?" I asked, jokingly.

"A few people. One of them was a father who asked for a photo for his daughter, who, and I quote, 'would not believe I'm here with Louis Tomlinson, she might just faint.'"

I stared at him for a moment, eyebrows raised slightly. He realized, seconds after speaking, that it was a rhetorical question. Simultaneously, our lips began to curve upwards into a grin before we burst into laughter.

When our laughter subsided, there was a call for our bus number and the people who were riding it to Texas, where the next bus would be. Suppressing a sigh, I collected my belongings, and headed towards the gate with Louis behind me.

Food... I cannot wait for food and an actual bed to sleep on, I thought.

TBH I didn't think people would like this book much. I'm really happy people love it (but trust me, the day and a half bus ride I took from Virginia to Minnesota was not as fun or interesting as this. I'm telling the truth though, I barely ate anything on that bus ride. I was so hungry when I got off omg)