That Summer

Chapter 29

I woke up early the next morning, Niall was still sound asleep, and I decided to go back to my room but, not without leaving Niall a note telling him where I’ve gone. My dad was also still asleep when I entered the room. I slipped of Niall’s basketball shorts and replaced them with a pair of jeans and put on a bra, leaving Niall’s large shirt on, deciding that I should start planning my trip back to Santa Cruz to talk to my boss and get the rest of my things from Claire’s. I grabbed my lap top, put on a pair of flip flops and made my way across the street to the Starbucks.

The earliest flight back I could get was for the next night. I figured that I would need to stay at least three days, giving me more than enough time to do what I need to do. When I had paid for my ticket there and back, and I e-mailed Claire my flight information, I downed the last of my coffee I had ordered,  and made sure to grab the coffee I ordered my dad, when I walked in and started to make my way back across the street to the hotel.

Entering the hotel was going to be slightly more difficult than it was leaving due to the fact that more fans had showed up and was everywhere. “Look!” A girl shouted. “It’s Elizabeth!”

 And with those words a small group of girls had surrounded me. It still amazed me how dedicated the boys’ fans were. I was just a nobody and they were treating me as if I was famous. “Hi.” I smiled at everyone.

“It’s great that you’re back!” A girl said.

“Is that one of the boys’ shirts you’re wearing?” Another girl asked. “That is so cute!”

“Do you guys have sleepovers, like best friends do?” A younger girl, who looked no older than six years old asked.

I knelt down, crouching in front of her.  “What’s your name, sweetie?” I smiled.

“Cassidy!” She smiled brightly.

“It’s nice to meet you, Cassidy.” I said holding my hand out for her to shake.

She grabbed it enthusiastically and smiled even wider.

There was a collection of ‘awe’s at the exchange. Camera’s started to flash around me, and I truly started to feel like I was famous. “And, to answer your question, yes, we do have sleepovers like best friends. They’re like my five older brothers” I smiled at her.

The next thing I knew she was throwing her arms around my neck and holding on tight.  

“Come on, honey, it’s time to go.” An older woman said, kneeling down and picking her up. “Thank you for being so nice to my daughter.” The woman said, now talking to me.

I smiled at her. “I love kids. You have an adorable daughter.”

The woman smiled at me and then turned, walking away with her little girl still in her arms.

Soon I was being asked multiple questions at once, but I had to get back into the hotel then, or else I would have been stuck out there all day. I said my last goodbyes and squeezed my way through the crowds until I finally made it inside.

I got back into my room and saw that my dad was still asleep. Looking at the clock I saw that it was almost nine-thirty and I decided that he should probably get up. “Dad,” I said gently shaking him. “It’s almost nine-thirty, you need to get up.”

He let out a long groan and turned away from me. “Go away.” He mumbled into his pillow.

I rolled my eyes and pulled the comforter off of him. “Hank Joseph Cade, get your lazy butt out of bed, now!”

“Fine!” He said sitting up and rubbing his eyes. “I’m up.”

“I brought you back a coffee if that counts for anything,” I said handing it to him. “I’m sorry if it’s a bit cold. I got stopped by some fans on my way back from Starbucks.”

“That’s fine, thank you, sweetie.” He said taking the cup from my hand and taking a long sip.

“So, I made my flight arrangements back to Santa Cruz so I can get the rest of my stuff from Claire’s and officially quit the job I had there.” I said sitting down next to him on the bed.

“Oh?” He asked. “When are you going and how long until you’ll be back?”

“I’m going tomorrow night and should be back by Friday, in time before you guys leave for your last US stop.”

“That sounds good. Do you need me to come with you to the air port tomorrow?”

“I’ll be fine, but thanks, Dad.”

“So, did you have fun with Niall last night?”

“It was fine. Soon after we left here he was out like a light.” I chuckled. “So all we did was sleep.”

“Since I’m still your dad I am glad that all you two really did was sleep.” He said.

I slapped his arm playfully. “Dad!”

“Sorry, sorry. I couldn’t help it!” He grinned.

“I’m going to start waking up the boys so they can start getting ready for their radio interview in a couple hours. You should shower and make yourself pretty, Dad.” I said getting up from the bed and walking to the door.

“When did you become responsible?” My dad teased.

“When I started living with Claire. You know, for the hardworking smart girl she is, she is incredibly hard to get out the door in the morning. I don’t know how she lived without me when we were in school.”

“Oh, like you’re so easy to get out the door in the morning.” My dad snorted.

“Shut up!” I laughed, walking out the door.

I decided to stop at Louis’ door first, since it was across the hall from my dad and I’s room. Since my dad was their head of security, he had a spare key to all of the boys rooms, and being the lovely person I am I grabbed them from my dad’s “secret” hiding place and decided to use them instead of just standing outside their door’s knocking until they got up.

“Louis!” I sang, opening the door and turning on the lights. “Wakey, wakey!”

“I’m awake, I’m awake.” He groaned, rubbing his eyes. “I was about to get out of bed, I swear.”

“Uh huh,” I said open the curtains. “I’m counting on you to get up, I still need to wake the others.” I said walking back toward the door.

“Why are you so awake this morning?” Louis groaned.

“No idea!” I shouted, shutting the door behind me.

Liam and Zayn were easy to wake up, considering they were sharing a room and being the responsible one, Liam cooperated.  Harry on the other hand was going to be the most difficult.

“Harry!” I whined, after trying to get out of his grasp for almost ten minutes. After I had gotten to his room, opened the door, turned on all the lights, pulled the blankets off of him, and rolling him to the ground, he still managed to trap me in his arms and fall asleep. “You need to get up and I need to get up! You have an interview in an hour now and I still have stuff to do!”

“No.” He mumbled into my neck.

“Don’t make me get Liam, or my dad!” I threatened.

Harry loosened his grip, allowing me to break free, but still refused to get up.

“Harry, please, I seriously have stuff to get done today if you want me to be able to stay traveling with you guys.”

This caught Harry’s attention, causing his head to pop up.

“That’s what I thought, now get a move on. I still have to wake Niall up!” I said standing up and going toward the door.

“Liz?” Harry asked in a small voice, making me stop and turn to look at him. “Thank you for staying.” He said with a weak smile.

I smiled softly back at him. I didn’t know what had brought that on, but it was nice knowing that Harry and I were okay and that he still wanted me around after everything that had happened. I smiled again before walking out and shutting the door behind me.