Spitting Image • TFC 3.0 • l.t. au

Chapter Seventeen

17

To say the least, I had the best 3 hour sleep since last week. Even with Louis beside me, and that's the best way I want to fall asleep, I still couldn't. Even with Blaine wrapping his arms around me, still didn't fall asleep.

I turned over a thousand times in one night to get the comfiest position but I ended up falling asleep at 5 in the morning when the sun's about to rise.

It was nearly 8 when I woke up. Blaine's the only one left beside me as Louis has probably gotten up by now. I turned around and saw his sweater's missing from the rack. He's probably out for a jog again.

I got out of bed slowly, pulling the duvet up to Blaine's chest. Good for him, he's having a goodnights sleep. I went downstairs quietly and saw Karen picking up her bag from the stairs.

"School?" I ask her and my voice came out raspier than I thought.

She looks up at me as I leaned on the railing. "I have to go to the town library for some research... How come you're up so early?"

"It's 8." I tell her but she doesn't say anything else. "Well, best luck on your research."

"Thanks... Hey, umm, can I ask you something?" She says, slinging her back over her shoulder again. I nod. "Are you really taking Em with you today?" She asks me.

I shrug and ran a hand through my hair. "Perhaps. How'd you know?" I ask her.

"I heard her and Lilia talking last night. Lilia said it was fine, though." She says.

"Well, I guess we're taking her." I say and her face fell slightly. "What?" I ask.

"It's just going to take some time getting used to not having Em around, you know?" She says, making me smile. I pat her shoulder and give it a light squeeze.

"You're coming to visit right?" I ask her, making her chuckle and nod. "Good. I'll see you soon, then." I tell her and pull her in a hug.

"Of course. See you later, Meg. I might visit this weekend and tell Holly for me, yeah?" She says and pulls away.

"I'll try... She's always busy, that girl." I say making her smile.

She steps out into the cold air. Louis appears just as I was about to close the door. He's in his sweater from yesterday and trainers. Karen waves one last time and I do the same before closing the door.

"Good morning, sleep well?" He asks, kissing my cheek.

"Not exactly, no... You're up early, I guess." I say, following him back to the second floor. We step inside our room and I shut the door behind me.

"Yeah, I had a little run... Hey, I ran into Coach Kit near the stadium!" He beams, taking his sweater off.

"Really? He's still around here?" I ask him, sitting on the wooden chairs, putting my feet up.

"Yeah, he got old. He still remembers you, you know."

I chuckled and leaned my chin on the top rail as I watch him walk around the room without a shirt on. "How could he still remember me." I say sarcastically.

"We were talking and you came up." He says casually, putting his phone on the desk. "He asked me what I do and I tell him then he asks me where Iive cause he hasn't seen me around. I told him I live in London with my wife. He asked who my wife is then I tell him it's you and he asked me if you still played football in university,"

"Did you tell him I didn't?" I ask and he nods.

"He was disappointed." He tells me, chuckling. "He said you could've gone far and I believe him."