The Football Coach • l.t. au

Chapter Twenty Two

Chapter Twenty Two

When I stumbled into the leaving room, I managed to crash the vase beside the coat hanger. God damnit! Who puts a vase beside the coat hanger?

I groaned and kicked my shoes off. The entire floor's dark that I tripped on something. I nearly fell face flat on the floor when someone pulled me back.
The entire house is silent but why wouldn't it be? Its 1 AM. I'd rather have it that way.

The door clicked shut behind me.
"Where's your room?" He asks quietly but he's so near, I can tell.

I point above me and doubled over. My head got fuzzy and light. I can't see or move straight. Thats until I was plopped on the bed. This is actually the first time I've slept on it but I'd rather sleep on the floor.


= LOUIS' POV =

Meg's already close to passing out. She's already lying down on her bed. She scratched her nose sloppily making her so adorable. I smile to myself and thats when her eyes opened.

She didnt say anything. She looked worried for a moment before covering her mouth. Oh no. She's going to throw up. How much did she drink?!

She managed to run to the bathroom and threw up all the sink. I stepped in and scooped her hair up as she continued to get it all out.

"Just so you know," she says turning to face me. "I'm pretty sober." She says but her eyes were closed.

I chuckle as she doubled over. "Sure." I said as I take her back to her bed. She takes her jacket off and sits on her bed. She pulls her hair into a high ponytail. Now the tips of her hair are brushing on her shoulder.

"I hate this place." She groans as as she brings her legs up.

"It's your home so don't say that." I sit at the end of her bed. She scoffs and shakes her heads

"I don't belong here." She says.

"Where do you belong then?"

"Anywhere but here." She murmurs.

When I look at her, she's one of those tough girls who's dealt with challenges pretty well. Now I just realize shes been hiding them. For what? I have no idea.

"You'll still learn to love it." I say as I scoot closer to her.

"I don't want to pretend to love something to please some people." Her voice is so small and low.

We were silent for a while. Meg didnt look at me but I understand. There must've been a reason why she's been drinking tonight. She stares out the window for a long time but I let her be. She even looks beautiful from the back.
Shes interesting and deep. There's something in there shes been keeping in that must be driving her crazy

She turns around and catches me looking at her. I found myself lost for words just looking at her. It feels like the Meg I've known, the feisty sarcastic teasing Meg, has gone.

"I ran into Perrie and the other girls this afternoon." She tells me. Her voice is louder and bigger. She's come back.

"Okay.... And?" I ask her and she chuckles.

"They said you have a game tomorrow." She says. I smiled and nod.

"Are you coming?" I ask her. I saw her blush just as a smirk appeared on my face.

"Umm, football is not really my thing."

"I get it." I said with a half smile. Though I want her to be there.

I imagine looking at the crowd in the middle of the game and see her face cheering me on. Her smile lifts me up to cloud mine.

She chuckled and holds my hand. My eyes widen at her gesture. This is very unlike her.

"But I could give it a try... Again." She says. For a second her smile fades. It was replaced with worry and something like fear. She sighs and shakes her head.

I kept quiet and nodded. She smiled at me and shake her head again. This time it was more of a mock.
I glance at the clock on her bedside table. It's almost 2 AM.

"I should let you sleep. You've had a long day, I guess." I said. She sighed and lies down on her bed. She struggled to pull the covers since it was tucked onto the mattress tightly. When she did, she fell back and hit her head against the headboard.

"Fuck!" She cussed loudly and rubbed the back of her head. I cover my mouth to stifle a laugh. Apparently I failed and I end up bursting into hysterical laughter.

"Shut up! It hurts!" She shouts and groans. I stop laughing and touched the back of her head. She winced as I touch a soft spot which probably where she hit it.
I stifled a laugh only to have her elbowing me on my chest.

"Fuck these fancy beds and their fancy shits." She murmurs but I can hear her perfectly.
She groans and nearly hit her head again as she plop down on her pillow.

"Goodnight, Meg." I said as I stood up. But her hand grabbed mine before I can get off her bed.
She caught me by surprise when she draped my arm over her.

"No, stay." Her voice is small like a child's. For a moment she looked so fragile. I can't possibly leave someone so easily broken on the spot on the possibility she might... Break. But Meg doesn't seem like a girl who breaks so easily, shes so strong.

This time she tugged my arm around her tighter and I can't help but feel glad she did. I sat on the bed beside her but she yanked my arm making me fall on my back. I can almost hear her snicker but I ignored it.

"I need to ask you something..." She whispers. My chin's on her shoulder so when I nod, she could actually feel it.

"Did you know that guy earlier? In the park?" She asks.

That guy. That bastard.
Gavin McDonough. He is a an ass.
He's the guy who hit on my girlfriend when I was 15, he was the guy who hit on my sister, he was the reason why my girlfriend broke up with me. He's a screw up. He loves to ruin my life and I hate him so much. He's a drunk, a failure, an ego testicle fuck up whos not going to mount to anything.

"We used to go to the same school." Was all I said.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

= MEG's POV =

Every morning I wake up from a long night's the worst. My head would always be buzzing with the possibilities of having my mother yell in my face again. After last night, that was the first time I've seen her cry infront of me. I held my ground strongly but not as strong as I hoped.
Instead I broke and made a fool out of myself. I don't usually but last night shes crossed the line.

Something tightened around my stomach making me wince a little. I turn on my side as I came face to face with a sleeping Louis beside me. I was quite aware he was here last night. I was aware I asked him to stay too.
Last night was my weakest point after a long time. I would've broke if it weren't for this man right here next to me.

He makes my heart flutter and makes me feel secure. I wish I would've met him sooner.
I take in the wonderful sight infront of me. An angelic face. An innocent one. Only when he's asleep that is. His lips are pressed together softly. His head is on my chest, slightly suffocating me but I wouldn't move even If I could.

I miss waking up in the morning like this. Although this time is different. This is someone who's actually holding a place in my life. Somehow filling up a hole in my heart that was just there.

I try to push him off gently so he wouldn't wake up. I need to gurgle Listerene or eat something minty before I even open my mouth. I succeeded and when I got up, his arm sprawled over my pillow. He looks so much younger asleep.

I went to the bathroom and splashed cold water in my face. When I got back in my room, Louis's still asleep. I open the door slowly and stepped out. I'm hoping Holly and Karen are downstairs, even Em. I love Em but she can be a big mouth sometimes. Downstairs, Rick and my mum just got out of the door just as I made an appearance. I sigh in relief but it wasn't enough. Holly's sitting in the kitchen just as I got down.

She rolls her eyes at me and walks out the front door with Karen trailing behind her. I chuckled to myself as I opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water. So mum and Rick went out, Holly and Karen went who knows where and Em's no where to be found.

'Emily's at her friends' house. Breakfast is in the microwave -Mum'

Well that answered my question. I closed the fridge and ran back upstairs. I opened my door just as I got in, I felt a pair of arms wrap around me. The gesture is new making me freeze. He spun me around leaned his forehead on mine.

"Did you sleep well last night?" He asked. I bit my lip nervously and nod.

He leaned down and kissed me on my cheek. I chuckled and slowly push him off. He looks surprised but I just shook my head. "Let's get breakfast." I said and dragged him out by his shirt.

He laughed but when I turned around he closed his mouth and shake his head. He looks up trying to look innocent. "No one's home believe me." I tell him and drag him into the kitchen.

He sits on top of the island. Let's see what my mother prepared today. I opened the microwave. My eyes widen at the dish infront of me. What is this? Dog food? I take it out and slammed it in the sink in the island.

"What is that?" Louis asked in disbelief. I shrugged and turned the pressurised hose on. The 'food' goes in the drain. By the looks of it, it looks like a salad with rotten lettuce and unripe tomatoes. Can you see how much my mum loves me?

After I washed the plate, I put it in the dishwasher and opened the fridge. Are they waiting for me to do grocery shopping? Not a chance.

I took out anything that I can cook. Onions, chopped chicken, cabbage... I put it on the counter and opened the cupboards above me on my toes. I took out the sauce and salts. I grab the noodles. I opened the cabinet under the sink and grabbed the pan and pot.

"Let me help you with that." He says and takes the pan from my hands. I look at him from the corner of my eye. He takes the chopping board and carefully chops the onions.

For the past hour, we ended up cooking our breakfast. I dump the noodles in the pan and cut it while it's there.

"That smells delicious." He says as he enters the room again. He stands behind me, peeking over my shoulder. The noodles slowly turn brownish and I know its almost ready.

"I don't get why you have to bother cooking when you can just order Dominos pizza a few miles from here." He says and sits on the counter.

"I don't get how you can live with that."

"I don't know how you can live with cooking your own meal everyday."

He puts a lot of emphasis on "I". Something tells me he's that kind of guy or student who depends a lot on fast food and Chinese deliveries.

"Is that why you want to quit University?" I ask him.

"Because I can't cook?" He chuckled and shakes his head. "I just need a term off and return in 2nd term." He says.

"You'll miss a lot." I said.

"Nah. Teachers love me..." He says with a wink. I scoffed and shake my head. Well who wouldn't love him. He's a charming young man lacking cooking experience. I bet when he was in uni on his first year he'd ask some girls to come in his dorm room and teach him to cook.

"Uh, Meg, you're noodles are on fire." He says, his voice in panic. I turn around in shock. Its smoking like crazy! I turn the fire off and grab the pan. I screamed and dropped the pan on the Island

I looked at the noodles and they're not really burnt... Maybe the bottom part but we can still eat the one on top? Well I was right and it's actually pretty good.

"You should come by my dorm and cook me this..." He says and puts the fork in his mouth.

"I thought youre dropping out." I said as I twirl my fork on the noodle.

"When I get back, obviously." He said in a defensive way but chuckled on the end. I look up and chuckled. "This is my new favorite food." He says holding the fork up with the noodles around it. He puts it in his mouth and smiled at me.

"New favorite huh? What's your favorite?" I ask him.

He shakes his head. "As long as its food, I'm happy. But cookie dough is the best desert I've ever had."

"What a way to be general." I said sarcastically.

"If you have it here then I will love you forever." He says. I look at him wide eyed. "Its a friendly thing, alright?" He defends, raising his broad shoulders. He shrugs and finishes his breakfast.

"Can I get some water?" He asks and I nod. I opened the cupboards just to find out that the glasses are all the way on the top shelf. I tiptoed to get it but it's no use. Well who would put glasses on the top shelf?!

"Need help?" He asks from behind me. I stood flat on my feet and nod. I turned around to get the dishes and wash the stains of the sauce on the plate. Thats when I hear a crash. I turned around and saw glass on the floor.

"I'm sorry?" He says in doubt. I chuckled and shook my head. "They're not mine so I guess its fine." I said with a shrug. He laughed and bent down to pick up the pieces.

"I'll get a broom."

When I get back from the stock room, which I admit was more difficult to find than I thought, I saw Louis standing by the faucet. I slowly walked over to him to see a large cut on his finger.

"Louis! What happened?!" I practically yelled in panic.

I yanked it away from the water and wiped it with a towel making him flinch everytime the fabric touches the skin near the cut.
"Don't you know better than picking up tiny pieces of broken glass?" I ask him as I reach for the first aid Kit on the cabinet.

"Sorry mum." He says in a mock tone with a smirk. I roll my eyes and opened the cap of the alcohol.
When the first drop hit his skin he groans. One point he screamed like a little school girl and jerked his hand away.

"You're such a baby. Come here!" I said sternly, grabbing his hand and wrapping a band aid around his finger.

"You need to be patient." He says, pointing at me. "You'd make a lovely nurse for that."

"No way, I'm not planning to." I say putting the dirty dishes in the sink. I'm going to have to fix that later.

"That's too bad." When I turned around he's already so close. I back away only to hit the counter behind me. "Cause I'd get sick every day just to see you. You know if I haven't met you the way I did."

"You mean meeting me with a 10 year old clinging to me like a koala?" I ask him.

"I was talking about you carelessly knocking my clipboard out of my hand." He says as he leaned his forehead on mine.

I had to catch my breath when his arms went around my waist.
My hands fisted his shirt. My breathing became short and i feel like suffocating.

"Uhhh...." He looked at me confusedly but then I just heard a phone ring beside me. It's his. I grab it and hold it infront of him.
He smirks and snatches it from me.

He answers the call and turns his back on me.
I hope he didn't think I rejected him. God what was I thinking last night? Getting drunk in the park all alone? A wild, crazy night always fogs my mind.

When he turned back he has a smile on his face.

"Gotta go." He says through a sigh.

"Of course. Duty calls." I say while nodding.

He takes a step towards me. He looks down at me and brushed his thumb on my cheek. That feels nice in a comforting way. He kisses my forehead gently and tilts my head up.

"I'm looking forward to seeing you in the game this afternoon."


<<<*>>>


Did you guys go back to school?

What happened in your week?

I surely think its better than mine...

What happened in mine?

Well I've been cramming on my term paper that I just found out that the actual deadline is 2 weeks from now and I spent 6 nights staying up to finish it.

Now I'm taking back those sleepless hours.

Plus we've been practicing this dance that involves a lot of squatting and my thighs really really really hurt right now.

I'm going to bed.

A D I O S my NUGGETS !