48 Hours // l.t. [1]

Chapter 20

Dinner was at five in the evening, and strangely, not McDonald's. The driver pulled up to a gas station that was next to a Subway and Dairy Queen. There was twenty minutes to get food and then we were supposed to be back on the bus so we could leave. Since there weren't that many people on this bus – thankfully – I decided I would probably have enough time to hit Subway, get a small treat from Dairy Queen and then hit the gas station for something to drink and a couple snacks for later on.

I parted ways with Louis, who was going to Dairy Queen for dinner only, and went to Subway where I bought a six inch cold cut sandwich with the normal toppings and of course, banana peppers. My favorite. At the gas station, I bought a bottle of soda, a bottle of the cold, Starbucks coffee and a bottle of water. The snacks I bougth was a bag of Fritos, pretzles and a small plastic cup of cheese. Unhealthy but I didn't care much. And then I hit Dairy Queen, not seeing Louis anywhere when I got in. I bought a chocolate chip flavored blizzard – the only dessert I ever bought from DQ.

With an armful of food, I climbed the bus steps and expected to see Louis sitting there since I didn't see him in Dairy Queen, but he was missing. I frowned, wondering if he might have gone to the gas station.

I settled in my seat, putting the drinks and snacks in my purse while leaving out the water and began to eat my six-inch sub. I'd only managed to eat a couple of bites when I glanced out my window to see Louis on the phone and speaking quickly, hands animatedly moving. He looked angry.

I watched as he paced back and forth, speaking on the phone while shouting – though I didn't hear anything he was saying – and arguing about something. I looked away and focused on my sandwich.

Just as the time was cutting short, Louis was bounding up the steps with food in hand and a calm expression on his face. If I didn't how angry he was before, I couldn't have guessed something was wrong. But I had a feeling that phone call, or whoever was on it, was upset with him.

He gave me a small smile as he sat down but didn't say anything as he turned to his food. Sighing internally, I did the same, half-listening to whatever the bus driver was saying.

As soon as I'd finished my sub, I was still hungry and thankfully bought that dessert from DQ. Leaning back in my seat with my knees pressed up against the seat in front of me, I leisurely spooned bits of the chocolate chip cookie dough blizzard into my mouth.

And for a while, there was silence between us, neither one of us knowing what to speak to the other.

-

Sometime later, Louis and I switched spots because I was getting too cold next to the window. Now I was on the outside, where a little six year old girl was rambling on and on about the pets she owned and how she had to give her little puppy, Miracle, to some other family because where her and her Mom were moving, they couldn't take Miracle with.

"But, Mommy says I can get a new puppy. I want a big, strong one that will keep me safe. His name is gonna be Bubbles."

I couldn't help but laugh. "Bubbles sounds awesome. Do you know what he's going to look like?"

"Well, I wanted a Saint Bernard, but Mommy said we can't have one. Our house is too liddo for that dog. He needs lots and lots of space. But my Bubbles will have to be a pitbull to scare away all the bad guys. He's gonna keep me and Mommy safe."

I smiled at her. The little girl had bright, strawberry blonde hair, chubby and rosy cheeks, and a pair of beautiful brown eyes. She had an adorable laugh and a smile that wouldn't ever quit. Her mother had to be proud of having the sweetest little girl in the world. I hoped she would never change and let the bad things in the world get to her.

"Good. You know, I used to have a dog, too. His name was Scrappy. Like in Scooby-Doo," I grinned, remembering the little white shih tzu dog I had in my childhood. He was my aunt's but he was adorable and was around up until my middle-school years.

"Really?" her face brightened. "What was Scrappy like?"

"Well, he was very old but he always liked sleeping in my bed next to me. Scrappy was a very nice puppy, even when he got old and sick."

The little girl seemed to sense on the past-tense usage and not present-tense. Her brown eyes widened. "What happened to Scrappy?"

"He went to doggy heaven."

Her big, brown eyes watered when she realized that Scrappy was living no longer. She cried out, "I'm sorry, lady!"

Chuckling softly, I told her, "It's okay. It's been a long time since he left. I'm not so sad anymore."

The girl seemed to brighten up after that and turned to her mother, something about doggy heaven and how the mother was right. I wasn't paying attention anymore. Louis was asking me about Scrappy.

"You really had a dog named Scrappy?" he asked, a small smile playing on his lips.

I nodded my head. "Yeah I did. I'd get another one, but I need to focus on my aunt and getting a job in LA."

"If you could, though, what dog would you get?" he asked curiously.

"If I had a big enough yard and space, I'd get a bigger dog like a german sheppard, doberman pinscher or a pitbull," I told him, pushing back the hair that fell in front of my face. "But if I can't get a dog, I would get a bird. We had one for a short period of time and he was so adorable. We named him Mickey and that bird – oh he had personality."

And for a while, Louis and I talked about pets, telling each other hilarious stories of our pets. Talking with him was so easy that I forgot he was so famous and was a band member of One Direction. To me, he simply became Louis. My Louis.

I actually had a bird named Mickey. He loved the song, "Hey Mickey" and would dance to it every time we played it. He loved his head and neck being rubbed, oh my gosh. They'd go on for ten minutes, sometimes twenty, if we had the patience for it. He was such a special bird.

But yeah, I thought I would update before I leave. Tonight I have an overnight babysitting job and I'm leaving at seven. Another update Monday night or Tuesday night, possibly. It'll be within the next few days. :)