Ashes - (Sequel to Dark Flame)

Ch. 7

        All my stuff was packed, along with Leo's and Essie's...all the stuff that mattered anyways. We were leaving London tonight; a risky trip, but worth it in the long run. Essie and I had been packing ever since last night, when I pitched the idea to her. I told her how we were not safe to leave the country, since Enrique's men could catch us in the act. I was reluctant on abandoning the gang, but Zayn was the one who told me to leave. His exact words were, "Get the fuck outta here why ya got the chance to." 

        I looked at my now empty apartment. Well, mostly empty. I didn't have many things before I moved in here, and I haven't aquired a lot besides some stuff for Leo. I was reading over our plan: Train to Manchester, find hotel, stay the night. Next day: take a train to Scotland. We, of course, were not going to stay in Scotland for a while, but we figured it was the safest way to leave England. 

"Juliet, are you ready to leave? Zayn said he will give us a ride to the train station. He's outside now." Essie called from the living room. 

"Oh, okay. You grab the kids, and I will get the bags." I yelled to her.

"Juliet! It's been forever!" I turned to see Niall standing in the doorway.

"Uhm, how did you get in here?" 

"Oh, the door was unlocked. Sorry, didn't mean to scare ya." He said, patting my back.

"It's fine. Here, help me with these bags." I handed him a few items of luggage. "How have you been, Niall?" 

"I've been okay I guess..." He said quietly, looking at the ground as he did so.

"What happened to that one girl you were seeing?" 

"She decided she didn't like me. At all." He sighed.

"Niall, I'm sure there is a wonderful woman out there for you and when you least expect it, she is going to walk right into your life." I smiled, giving Niall a reassuring hug.

"Excuse me, am I interuppting?" I heard Essie say from around the corner. 

"Haha, no, Essie, you're not." I laughed.

"This is Essie? Well it's nice to meet you. I'm Niall. Niall Horan. Best friend of Liam Payne, your brother." He laughed as he shook her hand. There was a strange glimmer in Niall's eye, and I think that meant he felt something towards Essie. Essie smiled with her teeth, something she never did for me. I knew Es was not genuinely happy, and probably never would be because she loved her husband more than life itself, but right now, I had never felt more chemistry between two people than I did at this moment. 

"It's lovely to meet you, Niall. You seem like a nice guy." She smiled. 

"He's the nicest one in the gang, in my opinion. Wouldn't hurt a fly, this one." Zayn suddenly appeared around the corner. "Wouldn't you agree Jules?" He said, glancing towards me, clearly thinking the same thing I was about those two. 

"Yes, I would agree." I laughed. Then it hit me; I was moving away from these guys. They were the only two in the gang, besides Liam, that I truly felt comfortable around. I never really got a chance to know Louis, and Harry, well, Harry was another story. 

"I'm going to miss you both!" I said suddenly, grabbing both of them in my arms. 

"Jules, I'm gonna miss you too." Zayn said.

"I'm not." Niall laughed. I pulled back with a confused look on my face. "What? I'm coming with ya!" He laughed once more. 

I looked at Zayn, clearly confused. "What? You didn't think I would let you both go alone, did you?" Zayn asked.

"No, I suppose not. Thank you, Zayn." I said as we reached the car. Zayn was in the front with Niall, and Es and I were sitting with our kids. 

"Off to the train station?" Niall asked.

"Yes, off we go!" Es and I both laughed.

an: hi i know it's been a while since i updated. last week i saw the boys so im still floating on cloud nine :) but i promise more updates to come this week, and longer chapters soon! bear with me :)