Foreign Affair ›› n.h. mature

Twenty

Olivia Allen

I was trying to drive and think clearly and not hit other cars and slow my heart rate all at once. I felt like I could explode. My pulse drummed in my ears.

"Olivia!" Niall pulled me from my panic. "Loosen up your grip, you're gonna break the steering wheel off."

I didn't respond to his comment but I did loosen my grip a bit. I was tense. "What pharmacy do you use?"

"I don't know, look at my insurance card. Calm down, Liv. I'm fine."

I pulled the car over, took his insurance card from him, and typed the address into my phone.

"You are intense," he commented.

"I was scared!" I snapped at him. He is being too calm. "And I want to get your medicine before the numbness wears off. I feel horrible for you and I don't want to make it any worse."

I merged back onto the road, focusing on staying on the left side.

"Hey, I'm fine. We'll make it in plenty of time." He reached for my hand.

"Niall, thank you but I can't hold your hand, I can barely drive right now. I'm not used to this kind of traffic and the freaking left side of the road."

We made it to the pharmacy, went through the drive through, and got the medicine.

"Please take one now."

"No, I'll wait till we get home."

"I don't want you to be in pain."

"Yeah but what if it makes me tired and loopy like he said?"

"Niall, he said the numbing stuff will wear off soon. Please."

"Okay. Only because it's cute how concerned you are."

"Thank you." I gave his hand a squeeze and his cheek a kiss before handing him the pill and water bottle.

"You should be a doctor," he told me as I started driving back to his place.

I laughed out loud. "Based on what? My panic or my hysterics?"

"No, I'm being serious. You are so concerned and concentrated. You get really focused and you don't let anything distract you."

"If only I wasn't almost three years into business and poli sci degrees." I smiled at him.

He yawned. "Just a thought."

Niall was out like a light. He snored lightly the rest of the twenty minute drive. I had no clue where I was going but thankfully my phone did.

When we arrived, his car had a garage door opener so I pulled in and started thinking about how to deal with the drugged up sleeper in the passenger seat. Him being tired and loopy is still better than him being in pain though.

I opened his door and tried to wake him gently but it was no use. He was dead to the world. I gave his shoulders some good shakes and he started stirring.

I got him awake enough to walk in with me, arm slung over my shoulder because he was kind of wobbly.

He was clearly out of it though. He was babbling like a moron and it was adorable.

"Now that was some tennis."

"Considering it ended with a doctor's visit, yeah I guess it was some tennis."

He laughed so hard. What I said wasn't even funny, it was more sarcastic. But he was loopy.

"You're hilarious," he said as he kept cracking up.