the traveller // louis tomlinson

chapter twenty-two // trembling hands touch skin.

Louis' POV

I sit in my bunk, staring at the ceiling, awake earlier than everyone. My mind reels with the events of last night, still haunting me as I close my eyelids. I've managed to get a mere two hours of sleep over the whole incident.

I've never seen a worse sight than Mia crying after Heidi tore her down. Mia's a strong girl, but she's not invincible.

Never in a million years did I think bringing back some random girl would end up like that. Sure, I was hoping Mia would get a tad jealous... But the whole thing was a train wreck and came back and bit me on the ass, that's for sure.

Even though I apologized to Mia at least a million times last night, my conscious is still dragging me down. As her friend, I never should have let that happen. She tried telling me that it wasn't my fault, I didn't know she was crazy. It only makes me feel guiltier. I wish she would get mad at me, and scream at me.

I deserve it.

Releasing a sigh, I continue to flip around in my bunk. At first I turn so I'm facing Mia in her bunk across from me, but watching her sleep so peacefully is the last thing that will help me fall asleep. Grumbling under my breath, I flop onto my opposite side.

"Louis, I swear if you don't stop tossing and turning, I'm going to kill you," Zayn grumbles from his bunk below mine.

"Sorry," I hiss quietly, closing my eyes, trying to let myself drift off into unconsciousness.

* * * *

Slowly, one by one, we shuffle out of our bunks. I'm the last one to grumble into the front of the bus, due to the fact that I barely got an hour of sleep last night. I can feel the bags that have formed under my eyes.

The others are all chowing down on food brought to us by Tyler. I see my breakfast sandwhich waiting for me on the table. My stomach lets out a loud groan of pleasure as I scurry towards it.

I squeeze onto the couch next to Mia, giving her a smile before I tear open my bag. By the looks of it, she didn't get much sleep either.

I shake that observation from my brain, otherwise the guilt will overpower my hunger and I'll starve to death.

"So, what do you guys think? Should we head on out right away or take the day off here on the coast?" Tyler asks us.

My eyes drift out the window to where we're parked. They nearly bulge out of my skull as I set my vision on the crashing waves against the shoreline.

"Are you insane? Of course we're taking the day off here," I say excitedly, my mouth full of food.

The sight of the beach ripped away any tiredness that was dragging me down before. I feel energized and ready to dive right into the water.

The lads all voice their agreement, gazing out to the beach just as excited as I was. Even Mia wears a smile, and that's saying something, considering how early it is.

"I figured," Tyler rolls his eyes, "I'll call management and figure out a private beach we can send you off to," He gives us a smile, knowing he needs the day off just as badly before he shuffles towards the other end of the bus to make his phone calls.

As soon as he leaves our group, everyone starts to talk over one another. They all smile as they talk about how tan they'll be by the end of the day; that's what Florida is for, right?

* * * *

We ended up driving all over the entire state of Florida, searching for a private beach last minute. Then of course we had to make food stops, which of course turned into an hour of talking to fans. By the time Tyler gets a placed reserved and we drive there, the sun has already set.