In Other Words (Niall Fanfic)

Chapter Sixty-Two

Niall’s POV

The foam dripped from my lips and into the sink basin as I scrubbed, my phone buzzing on the countertop, her face on the screen. The three words I had been seeing and hearing far too frequently lately started off her text. I’m so sorry. She was going to be stuck late at work, and we’d need to reschedule our night out once again.

I rinsed my mouth and hauled my shirt over my head.

She’d been spending nearly fifteen hours per day at the office, and although she hadn’t complained, I knew it was beginning to wear on her. Roxy didn’t mind pulling long hours when there was a special project, or an important event, but the late nights she’s been spending away from our house weren’t for either of those reasons.

You’re having an affair, aren’t you? I text her before pulling on my trousers and weaving my belt through the loops. Even though we wouldn’t be making the dinner reservations I’d made Uptown, it doesn’t mean that our evening was a total no-go.

Hilarious. She text back.

I placed two quick sprays of cologne at my chest, and rushed down the stairs to take inventory of supplies.

There was much inner dialogue as I alternated between standing in front of the open refrigerator and the open pantry, wondering inside my own head what half of the shit was that she had stocked there. Almond Milk? I spent a good two minutes trying to picture how one would milk an almond. Maybe it’s a type of cow? There were five types of vinegar nestled back on one of the shelves. Five. I needed to focus, and come up with something to make us for dinner that was a bit fancier than a bowl of cereal, but that I couldn’t very easily screw up.

I tried to think about the last time I felt poorly, and all of the little things she had done for me. The extra pillows on the couch, the bottomless mug of hot tea, the applesauce; she walked the line between comforting me and babying me perfectly. Although she wasn’t ill at the moment, it seems like she could use a little comfort.  Inspired, I pulled a couple of cans from the shelf in the pantry and crossed my fingers that we had all of the other ingredients.

Roxy’s POV

My fingers rushed rapidly over the keys, and a groan left my lips as I pressed down the backspace key and held it, the last five sentences I’d typed disappearing from the screen. I was usually a pretty good problem-solver, but I much preferred to be pro-active and prevent issues from cropping up. Unfortunately, not everything could be predicted.

I’m drowning.

The proposal team looked just as weary as I am sure I did as I glanced up from my computer screen and through the cracked blinds to the conference room next door. They were all hunched over, pens tapping on the oak table, highlighters dragging along the pages in front of them, looking for any opportunity to turn this thing around.

I needed another cup of coffee, but I knew that if I had one, I’d have even more trouble falling asleep tonight than I am sure I would already.

I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d had something to eat.

“Let’s call it an evening.” My boss said as he popped his head into my doorway. “We all just need to step away for now, come back to it tomorrow.” I nodded as I quietly continued to click the keys, needing to finish my train of thought.  “I don’t want you in until ten, okay?”  I turned my silent groan into a small smile, knowing he needed to believe he was doing right by me.

I pressed the button on my monitor, sending the blinking cursor into blackness.

—

The garage door met the pavement with a small thud as I cut the engine and flipped down the visor to check my reflection in the mirror. I felt like an asshole. Niall had been trying to get me out for a nice meal for at least a week now, and I’d canceled on him each and every time. I didn’t want any unnecessary worry about my work stuff, so I’d given him pretty minimal information on what was keeping me at the office so late these days.