You & I (Sequel to What A Feeling)

Chapter 35

As they land at Heathrow, Niall notices that Becca seems lost in thought. "Missing Paris?"

She smiles, squeezing his hand, "Yes, I am. I'm also worried about Kara. I've tried to call her several times and no answer."

"I'll try Adam on the way to the house. I'm sure there's a logical explanation."

Once settled at the house in London, Becca asks, "Have you heard back from Adam?"

Niall frowns, "No. You hear from Kara?"

Becca shakes her head, "I'm starting to get very concerned."

Niall pulls her into his arms. "Try not to worry, B."

Just then her phone rings, checking the screen she says, "It's Kara."

Niall releases her, yet stays close by in case she needs him.

"Hello? Kara?"

A tearful "Becca" comes over the line.

"Kara, are you alright?"

"No. I left Adam."

Becca is unable to hide her shock, "What? Why? Where are you?"

"I'm in London, at my old flat." Kara manages to squeak out.

"I'll be right over, Kara."

The only reply is a click.

"What the hell is going on?" Niall asks.

Becca looks up to meet his eyes. "Kara and Adam broke up."

Niall raises his eyebrows in shock. "I can't believe it. They're perfect for each other. What the hell happened?"

"That's what I'm going to find out." Becca pauses, wrapping her arms around Niall's neck. "I'm not sure how long I'll be."

He smiles, "It's alright, I understand." Then placing a sweet kiss on her forehead.

"I love you, Horan."

Niall lowers his head, allowing his lips to meet Becca's. "I love you too, B."

Becca looks over at the door to her former flat, thinking how very much her life has changed. After taking a deep breath she knocks on Kara's door. The woman who answers is unrecognizable to Becca. She is pale with dark hollows under her eyes. Becca would guess that she hasn't slept or eaten in days. Her normally sparkling eyes are lifeless. She reaches out for Becca, hugging her as though her life depended on it.

No sense asking her if she's okay, she's obviously not.

Kara releases her and makes her way to the couch, tucking her legs under her.

Becca takes a seat beside her. "Please tell me what happened."

Kara grabs for the tissue box. "Adam doesn't love me."

"Kara, I know that's not true. What happened?" She watches as her friend takes a deep breath.

"I was talking to Adam about how amazing you and Niall's wedding was."

Kara pauses and Becca says, "Okay."

"Then I said I hoped that ours would be as wonderful as yours was. Adam got really quiet, so I said, 'What, don't you want to marry me?'"

Becca closes her eyes, afraid of where this is going. "What did he say?"

Kara wipes at her eyes. "He said that we are too young and that he didn't want to talk about it anymore. So I dropped it...for a day."

"Kara."

"I know, but if he never intends to marry me, why the hell are we together? I'm not going to waste my time."

Becca lays her hand on Kara's arm. "You don't really feel that spending time with Adam is wasted."

Kara looks away, "He got very distant when I brought it up again. So the next day I told him if he didn't love me, we should move on."

Becca hands more tissue to her friend as the tears flow again.

Finally, Kara turns to her, continuing, "He said he did love me but that he didn't want to think about getting married anytime soon."

"Is that why you left?"

Kara looks at her with eyes full of pain. "No. We got into a big argument then and he stormed out. He never came home that night. The next morning, this was on Instagram."

Becca takes the phone from Kara. The picture on the screen hurts her heart. Adam is at a club with a young, scantily dressed girl hanging all over him. The model/actress, as her Instagram profile says, is kissing his cheek. "Did you ask him about this?"

Kara smirks, "Yeah, he claims nothing happened."

"You don't believe him?"

"I told him if he wants to hang out with whores instead of being in a relationship...that I'd be happy to leave. He just stood there, didn't say a word. So I left. Thank God I kept this place."

"What about your job?"

Kara stands, crossing the room "I don't care about my damn job! I hate Adam...and I also kind of love him with all my heart."

The flood of tears returns and Becca pulls her friend into her arms. She discreetly checks her phone. Niall has sent her a text. 'Adam is here with me. He's a bit of a mess.' She sends a reply. 'Same here.'

"Kara, do you know that Adam's here, in London?"

She looks up, wiping at her eyes. "He is?"

Becca smiles, "Yes, he's with Niall right now. Maybe you two should talk?" She can see in Kara's eyes that she wants to desperately, but stubborn Kara wins out.

"No...no." Kara shakes her head.

"Kara, you need to let him explain. You need to hear his side."

"Are you defending him?"

"I can't defend him when I don't know what he's thinking or feeling." Becca blows out a breath, hating that her friend is hurting but also knowing she can be quite stubborn. "Kara, just because Adam doesn't want to get married now, doesn't mean he's not committed or that he doesn't want to marry you someday."

Becca can tell by the look on Kara's face that her words are hitting home. "I want you to take a shower and get dressed. We are going out to eat. You need fresh air and food."

Kara attempts a smile, "And my best friend."

Becca grins, "Duh."

While she waits, Becca looks at Kara's living room wall. She smirks thinking about what she and Niall used to do on the other side of that wall when she lived next door. Pulling out her phone, she sends Niall a text. "I miss you, Irish."

The reply she receives consists of emojis only. First the heart eye face, followed by the eggplant. Becca tries her best to stifle a laugh as Kara enters the room.