ChatRoom101

Chapter 43

I got home before he did, thankfully. I rushed around our room, grabbed the biggest bag I could find and chucked in whatever clothes I could grab. I hauled the thing back down the stairs, grabbed my laptop and got out of the house again. After violently shoving my stuff in the boot of my car, I got into the driver’s seat and revved the engine.

 Just as I was about to turn into the main street, the boys’ car turned the corner and immediately braked right in front of me, blocking my way. A window rolled down and Niall’s head popped out of the window. “Don’t go, Lucy,” he pleaded. I don’t know if he could see me or not but I just glared at him and reversed back the way I came, swung my car around and sped the other way.

Once I’d gotten far away enough from our house in a completely random direction, I had to pull up to a mini stop just off the highway since my tears were blinding me. My head hit the steering wheel hard and I just cried and cried, not knowing how much time was passing or caring about anything else in the world. My phone was ringing irritatingly somewhere beside me and I took hold of it and turned it off.

I felt so disoriented and lost, my head was swimming in dizzying circles and the image was glued to my mind. Just that image of seeing that girl’s arms wrapped around my boyfriend and seeing his lips locked on hers was just too much to bear. I stayed in my car and watched as the rest of the day move on. The sun had finally set and I realised I didn’t even have a place to sleep tonight.

I grabbed my phone and turned it on. I had 30 missed calls and about the same amount of messages unread. I ignored all of it and browsed through my contacts, when I’d found the name I was looking for, I pressed call.

“Hello? Lucy?”

“Hey Steph, I need to ask you a really big favour,” I croaked.

“Anything, Luc. Is everything alright?” Steph asked, worried.

“No, everything is wrong. I’ve got nowhere to sleep tonight, can I stay at yours? Just for tonight, then I’ll organise something else,” I pleaded.

“Of course! Come on! You know where I live, just head over. Where are you?”

I looked around me and realised that I don’t even know where I am. “I don’t know, Steph but I’ll figure it out. Thank you so much and I’ll be over soon.”

“Well, ok. Call me if you need directions. See you soon, Lucy.”

I clicked end and looked around me again. Thankful for my smart phone, I searched up directions to her house and started up my car again, getting out of that lonely place and headed to a place of comfort.

It turns out that I’d actually driven further out than I thought. It took me just over an hour to find my way to Stephs and when I got there, she hugged me tightly and ushered me inside. I set my bag down, out of the way and followed her to the kitchen.

“Have you eaten, Lucy?” she asked, casting me a worried glance.

I shook my head. “I’m not hungry. Thank you though,” I mumbled. I blinked my eyes a few times to get rid of my tears and kept my head bowed. I heard her sigh and pull up a chair beside me. “Thanks for taking me in, Steph. I’ll be out of here as soon as I get things sorted.”

She placed a hand gently on my knee. “Don’t mention it, you can stay here for as long as you want. I like the company but this isn’t exactly cheerful. Do you want to talk about it?”

“I ran away from Niall. No one knows I’m here,” I said flatly.

She gasped. “What? Why? Lucy, you should let someone know. They’d all be going crazy trying to find you!”

I shook my head. “I don’t want to talk about that now. I’ll send a message to someone soon. Can I please go to sleep?” I peeked up through my eyelashes to look at her.

She nodded and stood up. I grabbed my bag and followed her down a short hallway and opened a door to a bedroom. “I’m sorry this isn’t much.”

I looked at her. “It’s perfect. Thank you so much for letting me stay.”

She smiled weakly at me. “It’s ok, Luc. Get settled, bathroom’s just through the door over there,” she said pointing at a door in the room. “Good night, Lucy.”

I nodded. “Goodnight, Steph.” Then she turned and walked away. I lugged my bag inside and placed it beside the bed then I placed my laptop on the bedside table. I crouched down and rummaged through the stuff I’ve managed to pack and was relieved to find that I had thrown in some pyjamas.

I trudged to the bathroom, got changed and washed my face. Then I went and fell on top of the bed, just spread eagled and closed my eyes for a few moments. I breathed in deeply and let it out in a frustrated breath. I turned to my side and grabbed my phone again.

To: Dani J

I’m ok. Don’t look for me, especially not the boys. Sorry if I worried you.

I sighed, sent the message and turned my phone off again. Next, I grabbed my laptop and decided to browse through the internet. It seems like the picture has gone viral. Article after article was written, speculating what had actually happened and who the girl was. Twitter was no better, there were fans sympathising, others saying I deserved it and just some plainly crude things were being posted. I shut my eyes again and logged off, shoved my laptop to one side and got under the covers.

Niall’s voice played in my head. ‘Just the two of us, no one else’ he said. I gritted my teeth, so much for the nice weekend cuddling with Niall. I tried my best to push all the thoughts out of my head but one after the other just kept on coming up and I felt sick. I swallowed hard and squeezed my eyes close. Finally, after intense minutes of an internal battle going on in my head, I slipped into a fitful sleep.