My Lucky Strike (Louis Tomlinson)

Chapter 5

Staring intently at the petite frame of the girl he’d left behind, Louis felt all of the air flow out of his lungs. He was speechless. She still looked the same, her soft brown eyes stared out and her soft brunette wave fell down the side of her face. There was however something different about her, something he couldn’t place as his mind attempted to comprehend that she was ahead of him, just as perfect as always. Stepping out of the bed, he moved towards her slightly only to watch as she flinched away from him.

“I have work to be doing” she insisted lightly “You said to start on the bathroom yes?” she added as she turned to Kagawa. The other man nodded his head slightly before watching the girl scamper into the grand bathroom.

“Who is she Louis?” Kagawa asked as he heard the bathroom door slam shut with an audible thump. Louis merely stared at the door, still awed. “Louis” Kagawa called once more. The British  striker turned to face him and sighed, placing his hand against the skin of his forehead. “That’s Navishaa” he whispered. He’d barely said the name since he’d left, it’d always been slightly too painful for him. Kagawa cocked an eyebrow.

“Navishaa, as in, the woman you were in love with for years Navishaa?” he enquired. He remembered asking a few of the guys about Louis’s relationship status when he’d turned up alone to the team’s annual Christmas dinner. He’d been told all about her and how she’d refused to join him in Manchester when he moved.

Louis nodded his head slightly. “It’s not ‘were in love with’ it more like ‘still in love with’” he mumbled softly. There’d never been anyone else in his life since he’d met her and he highly doubted, even though they were no longer together, that there would be anyone else. Navishaa was a one of a kind girl and Louis wouldn’t settle for anyone else.

“Did you know she worked here?” Kagawa asked causing the striker to shake his head. When he’d left, she’d worked as a football coach. She’d always loved it and he couldn’t quite fathom why she would have traded her passion for a less than satisfactory job cleaning stranger’s toilets.

“I’ll leave you to it” he smiled softly patting the striker on the back. Louis smiled at him thankfully before advancing on the bathroom door, pushing it open slightly.

Navishaa jolted at the sound of the door open and darted back to her feet, feigning work as she heard his footsteps on the tiles. She knew what he would want from her, a chance to catch up would be the excuse he would use, but she knew she couldn’t just sit and talk to him like she didn’t care. One look in the right sort of way and she would end spilling the beans, something she most certainly didn’t want to do. Oscar had grown up perfectly well so far without his father about, Navishaa had no doubts he would continue in the same way without Louis. Stuffing her cloth back into her apron, she moved towards the door once more, her head bowed as to avoid eye contact.

Louis reached out slightly to take her wrist in his grasp, but she evaded it, swaying her hip to one side to move past his figure with ease.

Louis watched her slightly before following, his blue eyes not once leaving her figure. He was still trying to place what it was that was different about her. There was most definitely something, but it wasn’t obvious, not to him anyway. She seemed to have a sort of glow about her, a sort of buzz, but he couldn’t place, no matter how hard he tried. Stepping forwards just a pace further, he placed his hands on her shoulders, stopping her as she attempted to remake the beds with clean sheets.

“Just stop” he said softly as he pushed her small frame down onto his bed. Navishaa stared at him. “I didn’t know you gave up football” he mumbled. She scoffed. “You’d have known if you hadn’t left” she retorted. Louis flinched slightly at the harshness played out in the tone of her voice. It was clear that she hadn’t forgiven him as of yet and it made him sigh in defeat. He’d hoped that she’d finally understood his reasons for leaving.

“You’re still mad about that?” he asked her making her roll her eyes. “Of course I’m still mad about it you ass” She snapped as she stood up once more “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have ten other rooms to clean on this floor alone” she snapped, but Louis shook his head, pushing her back down to the mattress.

“You’re not going anywhere until you talk to me” he muttered, but Navishaa merely stood up again. “I’ve got nothing to say to you Louis. What is done is done and we can’t undo it. We made mistakes and we broke up. It’s life” she muttered before gathering her cart and moving out of the door.

Louis watched her go before standing up, following her once more out into the corridor.

“Just talk to me Navishaa” he muttered as he pulled up to her side once more. She’d stopped outside of Nem and Rio’s room and was awaiting a response that would never come. “I’ve told you” she returned as she tapped the door once more. Louis stepped ahead of her, his blue eyes levelling with hers. “I just want to catch up with you. I want to know what you’ve been up to for a year” he smiled slightly, but she pushed him aside.

“How many more times do I have to tell you Louis. I don’t want to talk to you” she hissed before shaking her head at the closed door and walking away. Louis sighed softly before returning to his room. He knew he had some serious work to do, but he knew he wouldn’t return to Manchester without Navishaa, not this time.