When All I Can See Is You ~N.H.

Chapter 26

Please read author's note after this chapter.. Kinda important!

"Whoa, have you aged sixty years since I last saw you or what?" Kyle commented as I entered his 'room'. My parents had insisted on him staying at their house, especially since he was a close childhood friend of mine. He was staying at the guest bedroom on the upper floor. "Hell, you even got circles under your eye bags. If you had wrinkles on your face, then I would've officially classified you as a senior citizen."

"Gee, Kyle, thanks! It's nice to see you, too." I grumbled sarcastically, letting the strap of my bag slide down my shoulder and onto the carpeted floor. My butt planted itself on the plush, baby blue chair by the window, Kyle plopping down on the matching queen sized bed a few feet away.

"Sorry, Bethie. It's just.. you look so dead." The word made me wince, knowing that it described my physical state perfectly. It was as if I could feel the weight of my eye bags pulling me down, the idea of sleep so pleasing, yet I knew it was unattainable. "What happened to you? Clearly something is bugging you. Is it Niall?"

"Bingo! We got a winner over here!" My mouth pulled up in a tired smile, the enthusiasm in my voice, obviously artificial. Although I was taken aback by how fast Kyle caught on, I somewhat knew he would. We were practically siblings.

"What did he do? You can tell me, Elizabeth, you know that right?"

"Yeah, I do. It's just that I came over here to have fun and forget about my relationship problems." My fingers twiddled together as I avoided my friend's curious gaze. "All this stress is just beating me down. I feel like I earned myself an escape."

"How can you possibly enjoy yourself, if you don't let the thing bothering you go? Even if you forget about it, that problem of yours will always be in the back of your mind, waiting to batter you down when you're not occupying yourself. It's better to open up to someone than keeping it inside." He reasoned, his comforting tone making me look up at him. The chocolate brown in his eyes swirled together to create an innocent look, making him seem younger than he was. They matched perfectly with the caramel-like tan of his skin.

Even though I wouldn't admit it out loud, I knew he was right. Suddenly, the option of spilling out the conflicts in my life seemed so tempting, I couldn't resist. For the last few days since Niall and I had the chat at the café, I hadn't told anyone about what went down that day. So much was revealed, but many more secrets were being kept. Specifically from me.

"Kyle.. If I told you what's going on, promise you wouldn't tell anyone else?" I took the way he patted the empty spot next to him as confirmation, letting my feet carry me to the desired spot. Kyle kept a reasonable distance from me, but I still could feel his minty breath fan onto the top of my head. "I-It's Niall. There's just so many things going on with him and his life that he isn't telling me."

"Our anniversary was a couple days ago-"

"Happy anniversary to you and Niall!" Kyle cheered as he threw his hands up in the air, wagging them around. His over-excited reaction made me giggle, knowing that it was an attempt to make me feel better. It worked. "Sorry for interrupting, you can go on now. Just wanted to wish half of the happy couple."

"Thank you. Anyways, he had this whole breakfast made for me and everything! Niall even woke me up by playing the Plain White T's and spreading roses on the floor. He's an absolute gentleman and knows how to treat a lady." I smiled at the memory, remembering the way Niall's eyes sparkled as he watched my reaction as he revealed the breakfast he cooked. My eyelids fluttered closed as I began to relive the day. "Then, he took me to work, since my boss was too much of a bitch to let me have the day off. You could see that he was upset about it, just like I was. But he did make the situation better by grabbing my jacket and kissing me. Those lips.. They were so soft as he kissed me on my nec-"