Unfold Me (Liam Payne Love Story)

Chapter 1: Hot Shot

"You're kidding me, right?" I hoped, wishing 'yes' was the answer. 

"I'm sorry, Brookie. It's just not working out. I met someone else."  Colin Anderson flipped his Justin Bieber cut hair to the side and stared at me, like this was a waste of his time. 

"You lier. You cheated on me." I pushed my straight brown hair, out of my brown eyes. So typical. He was leaving me like everyone else. No one wants to stay around Brooklyn Glyder because, you know, I'm just not perfect enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough, and definitely not passionate enough. 

Well, screw it. Love sucks. I vow to never again fall in love with someone because love is pitiful. In the end, someone's always going to leave you. Even if it is death, they leave you. They tell you they're watching over you but really, they aren't. That would be another waste of their time. I hold back tears as I march out of school. I run home. My aunt is at work, at the deli down the street. 

I open the refrigerator door, hoping to find something good but it seemed like all the food had left us too. We were running low on money these days and I barely got a piece of bread to eat. I sighed and went up the stairs to my room.

My room was pretty bland. We couldn't afford paint so it was completely white. My posters couldn't be taped up because the landlord didn't want scuffs on the walls, and my bed was a twin size with old Thomas the Tank Engine covers. I shuffled over to a big cardboard box and carefully opened it. I pulled out a photo. I smiled, being nostalgic. 

It was our family. We had looked so happy in that picture. My mom was holding me as a newborn in her warm, loving arms. My dad was grasping my older sister's hand. We were all a smiling, happy family at Disney World, having a fun family vacation. I missed that. Not so much my dad, who left when I was two but my mom and my sister. Seeing their smiling faces every day almost made it worth the trouble.

When my sister moved away to college in North Carolina, it was just my mom and I which was alright until she got sick. It was just me and her. No family members came and if one of  them had, they stayed for just a few minutes. I endured her constant groans of pain from the chemotherapy that just wasn't working. I went through all her hair loss, helping her tie her bandana around her head every day for three months. She was a fighter. She just wouldn't let herself fall to the lung cancer but for once in her life, something beat her.

What was annoying was, my mom didn't receive lung cancer from first hand smoking. She received it from second hand. My dad used to smoke a lot before he left and my mom worked as a bartender at the nearby club, "RED". In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania jobs were pretty limited. My mom got what she got. She didn't have any schooling either, which didn't help. Once my sister left, she never spoke with us again. When I called to tell Alyssa, mom had died, she didn't even know mom had cancer. She came down for the funeral and left afterwards to be with her new husband and daughter. Her new family. 

I checked my watch. 4:00 pm. I needed to be at the deli, helping my aunt by 4:20, for the dinner rush. I grabbed my hat that said (as plainly as it sounded) "The Deli", and started the walk down to the restaurant. I was old enough to drive but I had no interest for it, plus we couldn't afford the Drivers Ed class. 

"Hey Brooklyn!" My Aunt Marie called from behind the counter. She gestured me over to come take her place. I nodded, sweetly. My aunt was a nice person but I knew she just pitied me. She felt bad that she didn't help out as much during mom's cancer and I think she feels like, by taking care of her sister's daughter, she's making up for it. At least, someone cares. 

I checked out a few customers until we hit a long pause. I took a bench near the cash register and sat down. I grabbed the notepad and started doodling. Out of nowhere, I heard screaming. Screaming girls. Oh god, what is it this time? I looked up to the person that had come up to the cash register. He looked to be about a year or two older than me and about a few inches taller than me. He had dark brown eyes, and messy brown hair that was combed in a sort of spike at the front. He was cute, but then I saw that there were four more of the young boys behind him. 

Good god. This was not happening. I recognized him from One Direction, the moment he walked in but I didn't know he'd brought his whole freaking band! What the heck? It was a small town deli in Philadelphia. They were obviously looking for attention. Their body guards were behind them, warding off groups of crazed teenage girls. 

Once I realized, the hottie was from One Direction, I automatically shut him down. No way.

Now, it wasn't like I was one of those girls that was a One Direction hater. They weren't too bad. They were decent singers, and they all looked pretty cute. It was their songs. Their lies.

For example, 'What Makes You Beautiful' was all about how it wasn't just looks that made the girl beautiful. Not true. Guys don't look at it that way. In 'She's Not Afraid', they sing about how the girl's afraid of falling in love like it's some sort of crime. Honestly, what is there NOT to be afraid of?

"Hey, beautiful, can I get my order now? We're all kind of hungry." I realized I was looking at them like I was deciding whether to kill them or not. 

"Uh...yeah sure. Here, what do you want?" He cut me off.

"Did YOU draw those?" The boy asked, quietly. I could barely hear him. This must have been the shy one. I couldn't remember which one was which. 

"Hurry up, Liam! So, we can get out of here." Another boy with long curls yelled out over the screams. He nodded back towards him. Right, Liam. 

"Yeah, I did draw these but they're just doodles. What food do you want, sir?" He laughed like this was some sort of party we were at. 

"You don't have to call me that and those are really good drawings. They're so mysterious...," He paused then finally continued. "We'll have five regular clubs." He finished. I nodded and wrote that down quickly. 

"Drinks?" I asked. 

"Five cokes." He added. "And, I hope you don't mind me asking, but why are you not swooning at our presence?" He flipped his hair arrogantly. I knew it was a joke but I couldn't help but feel insulted. 

"Because I guess, you guys don't look as gorgeous in person as everyone else says you do," 

"Ooh...," The boys had come up behind him and were in such awe that some girl didn't crush at the sight of them. The boy, Liam put his hand to his heart. 

"Ouch!" Liam replied. 

"Um, you're holding up the line so hurry on that way to get your food and leave." I gestured towards the tray at the end of the line. Liam smiled and slipped me a piece of paper. 

"If you need anything, call me." He put his hand to his ear as if I couldn't read the note for myself. He probably had a pocket full of these cards for all the girls he'd been with. I shook my head in disgust and gestured again for them to go. The curly brown haired one winked at me as they all left. Could the be any more arrogant? I stuck the phone number in my jeans pocket and went to the next person in line. Some guys these days...