"Bye! Thank you so much for having me." I thanked James' parents, giving them both hugs. Katie gave me a bone-crushing hug last, telling me she couldn't wait until the next time we would see me again. I assured her I would have her up to visit the boys and she could stay with me for a night or two if she wanted to.
I was genuinely going to miss them, even if I'd only been with them for a week it made me realise how much I missed having a family around. James and I got on the train, leaving his family at the station, and took our seats quietly. I realised James was going to miss them as well, much more than I would.
"Your family is amazing, now I know how you turned out so great." I said after a good hour of silence. James smiled at me and kissed my temple before leaning against he window again. I sighed and took his hand, lacing our fingers together and resting them on my leg. James squeezed my hand, as if thanking me for not forcing him to talk about it.
The train ride was mostly silent, James occasionally yawning or clearing his throat. We slowly neared London and got our things together, sitting up and waiting for our arrival. James had already called a cab and told them where to pick us up. He kept our hands together as we pulled in. It was a rush of people as we took our bags and left the train, exiting the station and finding our cab. The driver helped us load up in silence, getting in the drivers' side. James and I were about to get in when he grabbed my arm and stopped me.
"Hey, uh- Can I stay at your flat tonight? I just... I just want to relax and not have to handle the guys right now." James said with a slightly sad tinge to his voice. I flashed him a sad smile and nodded.
"Sure, of course you can." I promised him, getting in and telling the driver my address as James got in as well. We stayed quiet the whole ride, yet again, and James held my hand between the seats, tracing his thumb back and forth. I sent Brad a quick text telling him James was staying at mine tonight and then turned it off, not wanting to hear Brad's teasing about it.
We pulled up at my flat building and I paid the driver before James could, getting out of the car and pulling my suitcase out. It caught on the trunk and James reached around me, getting the cases for me and carrying both of them into the building, smiling at Andrew as we passed. James hit the lift button and we rode up to my flat, which I unlocked. It was odd being back after two weeks away, but it was also quite comforting.
"You can leave the bags by the door and I'll go make us some dinner." I told James, who nodded and set the bags down before flopping back onto the couch, covering his head with his arms. I shot him a worried glance and went to the kitchen, getting some soup and bread out. I toasted up the bread while the soup was heating on the stove. I know, master chef right here.
"Hey, food's ready." I said quietly, coming into the sitting room with two bowls of soup and a plate of toast we could share. James sat up straighter and changed the tele from the news to some movie I didn't recognize.
"What's this?" I asked, sitting down and putting the toast on the coffee table. James looked at me like I was crazy before swallowing his soup.
"Lord of the Rings. How am I supposed to uphold a relationship with you if you haven't even seen my favourite movie?" James teased. I rolled my eyes, glad that he had lightened up a bit.
"Well I'm sure it's a great movie." I responded apprehensively, sitting back and watching the movie play out. It was quite confusing, but I just went with it. After a good hour of the movie I was still good as lost but continued to pretend to be interested just for James' sake. He seemed quite into it and I didn't want to spoil it for him.
"Hey, you look exhausted. Get to bed, you don't have to watch this with me." James said, rubbing my shoulder. I nodded, taking our plates and putting them in the sink before heading to the bathroom. I took a quick shower and put on some joggers and a vest top before collapsing into bed. I had just begun to drift off to sleep when a felt James get into the other side of the bed, his hands lightly moving my hair behind my ears and mumbling a quiet goodnight.
