westward grove

fifteen

I had forgotten how pleasant Normani was when we weren't screaming at each other or fighting. I sat across from her at the kitchen table we had once shared. Liam was with us, as he'd decided to be my honorary body guard for the excursion. I told him it wasn't necessary, but being the tough guy he believed he was, he insisted on tagging along.

Normani and I had decided to talk things out, she was never really one for having bad blood. I was nervous about seeing her, as I didn't look all that great. My self consciousness faded away when I saw she looked even worse than me. I had an excuse to look like shit; she, on the other hand, did not.

One thing that always pissed me off about Normani was that she took forever to drink coffee. Much like Louis, she took small sips and toyed with her cup until the coffee was barely warm, then chugged all of it. Apparently no one told these people that coffee is better hot.

Despite my mild irritation at her actions, I tried my best to give Normani my full attention. Liam was still on high alert, even though no one was in danger. He seemed to be paying closer attention to her than I was. It's not that I didn't care about what Normani had to say, in all honesty, she's refreshingly to the point. It was just that my mother's funeral was tomorrow and I had a few hundred things to do this week.

"Oh, shit. It's getting late, I have to get to work. I'll stop chewing your ears off." Normani said, dragging me out of my daze. Liam stood up, and I followed suit. He extended his hand, and she shook it. A handshake felt too cordial, but a hug felt too intimate. Normani decided to go in for a full on hug, though. I wrapped my arms around her lightly. "Again, sorry about your mom." She whispered before pulling away.

Liam and I flashed polite smiles and showed ourselves out. Once the door was shut behind us and we were on our way down the stairs, Liam asked, "how does she afford that place now? Isn't she just as poor as you were?"

"She's neck deep in debt, so she's even poorer." I answered with a shrug. "Her parents are rich, I have a feeling she called in a few favors."

I owned a car now, but Liam insisted that he drove me to the apartment. He opened the passenger side door for me, and I slid into the vehicle. He jumped into the driver's side and immediately continued talking.

"So, how did Lauren feel about you coming here today?" He asked. "I assume she wasn't too happy about it."

I rubbed my temple, realizing I would have to ask a favor of Liam. "Lauren doesn't know, and I'd like to keep it that way."

Liam shot me a look. "You're lying to your girlfriend already?"

"She's not my girlfriend," I replied quickly, cutting him off.

"You guys live together, act like you've been together for years, and sleep together. I'm pretty sure she's your girlfriend." Liam retaliated.

I shut my eyes for a second, trying to come up with a valid way to explain the situation. Lauren had something along the lines of commitment issues, which prevented us from becoming official. "We don't want to label it."

Liam seemed content with the answer and moved on. "I'm just weary of relationships, what with the divorce and all."

I placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You're the one who left Louis, though. It's all going to work out, even though you're a fucking asshole. You have a new guy, anyway."

Liam chuckled and slapped me playfully on the arm. "I need to break it off with Harry, though. It's not working at all. I've been refraining from getting rid of him because he's out of his mind. We're going to end up fighting."

"Just do it." I encouraged him. "Do it right now. Get it over with."

"Are you sure?" He asked, pulling the car over to the curb, giving me his full attention.