The Homeless Girl ~ Book #2 of 1D Series

Chapter Three

By the time they got back to the bus Laura was fast asleep in Liam’s arms.

Liam pushed open the door with his foot and laid her down on the spare bunk.

“‘Ey,” Harry’s voice came from behind Liam, “What happened?”

"You were right…"

As much as Harry wanted to gloat he didn’t, instead his eyes filled with concern, “Is she alright?”

"Some guy smacked her pretty hard... But I managed to stop him before anything else happened..." Liam said as he pulled the covers over Laura. He turned her head slightly so he could see her cheek.

Harry looked at Laura’s cheek, “….That’s gonna bruise,” He said sadly.

Liam nodded as he rested on the floor beside her bunk. "I don't know what it is about this girl, but..." He trailed off as he ran his fingers through his hair nervously.

“She’s different,” Harry nodded in understanding.

Liam sighed, a small smile on his face, "Yeah…"

“I’ll go get some ice, maybe we can stop it from swelling as well,” Harry said before heading into the kitchen.

Liam looked over at Laura and reached out, gently fingering her hair.

Laura’s eyes slowly opened and a small smile crept on her face as she looked up at Liam, “That feels really good,” She whispered.

He jumped slightly, startled by the fact that she was awake. His cheeks began to turn a light red color as he gave her a smile.

“Sorry…for the trouble,” Laura said tiredly.

"Don't be sorry..., it's no trouble at all.”

Laura forced a smile in his direction, “Thank you.”

"It's my pleasure, Love.”

Laura’s cheek turned bright red to match her other cheek, “I uhhh…when I was little my parents died…I didn’t have any relatives so I got put in an orphanage,” Laura looked away from him, “The head of the orphanage would always hit me so one day I finally had enough and ran away in the middle of the night,” Laura said softly as her eyes filled with tears, “Since then I’ve had to steal and search through the trash to find clothes and food….I promise,” She added quickly, “I only stole when I absolutely had to, I would…I would go without food until I couldn’t take it anymore and I felt like my body was eating itself away. So when you said I could have any of the food that was set on that table I just…I didn’t want to be a burden but I needed the food, so I took it and ran…”

Liam nodded in understanding, "I'm so sorry...." He took her hand and squeezed it gently, "Just don't think that you have to do that anymore, okay? We're going to make sure no one hurts you again.”

Laura looked up at him with sad eyes, “I don’t want to be a burden to you, you’ve already helped me out more then I could ask for.”

"You aren't a burden, Laura." He said as he brushed her hair out of her face.

“But…there’s no way I can pay you back for all your trouble,” Laura said softly.

Liam gently kissed her forehead, "That's okay.”

Laura chuckled softly, “Why do you have to be so….so perfect?”

He smiled slightly, "ah, I'm not perfect.”

“Tell or show me one thing that makes you not perfect?” Laura teased.

"Does being deathly afraid of spoons count?”

Laura burst into laughter, “Liam, all of us have fears.”

He pouted playfully, "It's not funny!”

“Oh, but it is,” Laura continued to laugh.

He chuckled lightly, "I guess a little.”

Laura calmed down after a few moments, “But anyway, fears don’t mean you aren’t perfect, it just shows me that you’re human.”

Liam rubbed his thumb gently across her uninjured cheek, “…"

Laura could feel herself turning red at his touch, “…”

“Hey, I got th-“ Harry started but stopped when he saw them, “I’ll just…leave this here and give you guys some time.” He said before setting the ice down by Liam and walking out.

Liam's face had turned bright red. He pulled away and grabbed the ice, handing it to her, "Here… for your cheek…”

“Thanks,” Laura nodded as she took the ice and held it to her cheek, flinching at how cold it was.

He backed up slightly, stumbling over an open suitcase in the process.

Laura burst with laughter as she watched him, accidentally dropping the ice all over the bed. She squealed as she hopped out of the bed, “That’s cold.”

Liam began laughing along with her as he attempted to pick up all the ice.

“Sorry,” Laura apologized as she tried to help him.

It only resulted in him dropping the ice cubes again because of how cold they were, "It's fine!!”

“Sorry again,” Laura moved out of his way, “I’m just making this harder…”

"No, you're making it fun." He said with a soft smile.

Laura smiled softly, “I uh…”

He looked down nervously, then back up at her.

Laura bit her bottom lip nervously.

"S-So, ah….”

Laura looked at him shyly, ‘What on earth is happening right now?’ She thought as her face turned red again.

Liam wanted so badly to kiss her… but he didn't want to hurt her…

Laura slowly looked down, “…I….I should probably get to bed…meeting Lou tomorrow and all…”

"Y-Yeah…." He stood straight and ran his fingers through his hair.

Laura stepped past him and pulled the covers back before climbing into bed, resisting the urge to shiver as she said, “Night Liam.”

He gently kissed her on the cheek, "Good night, Laura.”

Laura turned bright red as she watched him leave, pulling the blanket up she thought to herself, ‘I can’t complain, I can’t complain. they let me sleep in this bed and it’s my fault the ice fell all over it. I don’t have a right to complain that it’s wet and cold.’

After he was sure she was asleep, Liam scooped her up and carried her to his bunk, tucking her in before he went to sleep on the couch.