The Switch

Chapter 30 | Travel Plans

c h a p t er  3 0

t r a v e l p l a n s

LOUIS.

I watched as Niall's hopeful face crumpled into a mask of despair. I too, felt my heart squeeze painfully as the gentle words of Mrs. Thomas sank in. She wasn't here. Liv, the girl Niall had traveled countries for, wasn't here. She was in Florida.

Mrs. Thomas took in our crestfallen expressions and looked at us pitifully. "Oh, you poor boys. Please, come in."

Niall looked up slowly and shot her a weak smile. "No, that's quite alright, we don't want to be a bother."

Mrs. Thomas frowned and gave Niall a stern gaze. "You came all this way to see my daughter, who isn't even here. You've clearly had a rough day. So, do me a favor and come inside. It's the least I can do."

It was clear where Liv got her stubbornness from.

After a few seconds of hesitance, the boys and I walked through the front door. The house was tastefully decorated, and Liam turned to Mrs. Thomas as we looked around. "You have a very beautiful home, Mrs. Thomas."

"Thank you, Liam," Mrs. Thomas beamed. "Now, do you boys have a place to stay tonight?"

"Uh, well, no," Niall said reluctantly, running a hand through his hair. "We were just planning on surprising the girls. But I'm sure we'll find a hotel or something."

She frowned and shook her head. "You can stay here for the night. It won't be any problem at all, we have plenty of room."

Niall opened his mouth to argue, but sighed in defeat as Mrs. Thomas gave him another firm expression. He nodded. "Well, alright, one night. But that's it."

She smiled and nodded along in agreement. "That sounds great. Girls, take their stuff to their rooms, okay?"

The little girl with big brown eyes instantly ran over to Harry and beamed up at him lovingly. "I'm Reagan. I can take your suitcase!" She proceeded to grab Harry's heavy suitcase and struggled to lug it towards the hallway.

Harry laughed and gave her a big smile. "Well thank you, love. Do you need help carrying that? It's heavy."

Reagan looked over at Harry and firmly shook her head with a smile. "Nope! I got it!"

Mrs. Thomas shook her head in amusement. "You'll have to excuse Reagan, she's a huge fan of you boys. Have you had anything to eat?"

"We ate a little something on the plane," I shrugged nonchalantly.

"Plane food isn't real food," she scolded. "I'll make you some sandwiches to hold you over until dinner. Turkey or ham?"

Even though I had just met Mrs. Thomas, she already felt like a mother figure. It was clear that by the time she reached four children, she had become very good at her job. Taking us four boys in like this, it was a natural thing for her.

"Turkey, please," Niall and Harry chorused.

"And you boys?" she asked Liam and I.