Seeing Blind |NH|

Chapter Ten

A couple of hours later, I knocked on her door.  A few minutes later, she answered but shushed me and pointed to her other hand which was holding her phone to her ear.

"Yeah, you can come get your shit," she said, walking away, leaving me at her door, again.  "Yeah....yes, I swear."

She kept talking as I stood there.  Her bags were still sitting by the door.  She waved, catching my eye, waving me inside.  I walked in and got a better look at what was inside.  Her place was more sparse looking the further inside I got.  It was like she had moved in but never quite finished unpacking.  Which was strange considering how long she had been living here.

I watched her as she tossed several items into a trash bag.  She was still on the phone.  "Yes, Jace, I promise I won't do anything rash." 

She said all this as she kept tossing things into the trash before picking it up and walking into her bedroom.  She came back and grabbed a few other items, namely clothing, all of which looked like it belonged to a man. 

'Must all be Jace's,' I thought, continuing to watch her.

"For fuck's sake, all I'm doing is tossing your shit into a bag.  I'll leave it outside the door, okay."

She picked up a photograph, the only one of the two of them I noticed.  She tossed it into the waste basket, frame and all.

"Alright, look, I've gotta go."  She hung up the phone.  "Sorry, about that.  Been on the phone with him for a fucking hour.  He keeps thinking I'm going to destroy all of his stuff."

"Why would he think that?"

"Because I've done it before," she said, slyly.

She tossed one more thing into the trash bag she had been carrying around the entire apartment before placing it by her door.

"As you can see, I'm not ready.  Give me fifteen minutes and I will be, promise." She disappeared into her bedroom and shut the door.  I stood there, not sure if I should sit or walk around or what.

Ten minutes later, the door to her bedroom opened and she walked out, looking beautiful.  All she was wearing were dark distressed jeans and a white tank top.  Her hair was up with a red bandana rolled up and tied around her head.  It hardly looked like she had on any makeup, save for the bright red lip.  

"Okay, all I need to do now, is find my boots and my wallet."  She searched for a minute and found her boots, slipping those on and zipping them up.  "Alright, let's boogie."

"What about your wallet?" I asked.

"Right here," she said, picking it up from the side table in the hallway.  She pulled out her ID, some cash and a credit card, slipping them into a little holder on her phone case, before sliding that into her back pocket.

I followed her out, watched her lock up and we were off.  "I'm driving," she said, leading the way.

"Can I, uh, ask you what happened....with Jace?" I said, looking at her out of the corner of my eye as she drove us to the restaurant we were meeting everyone at.

"Oh, he simply decided I was too much of a burden on his going out and fucking other girls."

She said that without looking at me.  "He cheated on you?"

"Yep."  She popped the 'p' that indicated to me that she wasn't going to say anything more.

We didn't say much more in the car.  When we reached the restaurant, we could see everyone else waiting outside for us.  Esta parked, turned off the ignition and took off her seatbelt but didn't move.  Instead, she reached her hand out for mine.

"I had fun today, Niall, despite the little hiccup.  I want to have fun tonight, too.  So, please, don't bring him up again."  She looked over at me.

"Of course.  I just wanted to make sure you are okay.  Break ups suck."

"Yes, they do.  But, I will be okay."  She smiled at me.  She leaned in and gave me a kiss on my cheek before opening her door and climbing out of the car.

She waited for me to get out of the car and we walked over to everyone together.

"Ah, if it isn't beauty and the lobster," Zayn said, reaching out for a hug from Esta.

Everyone giggled.  "Yeah, yeah. I get it, I'm Irish and I burnt to a crisp today," I mumbled, annoyed.

We all got inside and got seated in a private room so we could actually enjoy our meal.  I had gotten stuck in the back of the pack and by the time I got inside, Esta was already seated and beside her was Zayn.  The chair on the other side of her was vacant so I made my way over to it before someone else snatched it from me.

We ordered our drinks and food and settled in for a fun evening. 

"So, Esta, as the newbie, tell us about yourself?" Liam asked, sitting across from her.

"Oh, well, um, there's not much to tell, really.  I'm originally from Oakland.  Moved here with my mother to live with my grandfather.  On my own now." 

"Niall said you've been out of town for the past couple of weeks," Harry said.

She shifted in her seat, looking uncomfortable talking about herself.  "Uh, yeah."

"Where'd you go?"

"Colorado and Arizona, went to a couple of national parks.  Grand Canyon and the like."

"Must've been beautiful," Zayn said, staring at her.

I rolled my eyes at him as the server arrived with our drinks.  "Thank god," I said, grabbing mine.

I heard Esta giggle from behind me and when I turned to look at her, she wasn't looking at me.  Rather, she was laughing at something Zayn had said....again.

He reached out and grabbed both his drink and hers, handing it to her.  I rolled my eyes again, knowing exactly what he was doing.

When we finished, Kendall and Danielle wanted to go to some club.

"I didn't come dressed for a club," Esta said.

"Neither did any of us, silly.  But, we'll still be the hottest bitches there," Kendall said.

"You certainly will be."  I heard Zayn whisper into her ear.

"Oh my god," I whispered, about to puke.

"Actually, let's just go back to my place," Louis suggested.  "Our own private club?"

"Now, that I can do," Esta said, stepping away from Zayn's grasp of her and towards her car.

"See ya there," I said, as I followed her back to the car.