Syndicates //

xiii

THREE DAYS TO THE HEIST

I woke up as usual, but now with the anxiety of the heist coming up. We were a day closer. I've gotten good at sleeping through the sound of movement in the kitchen, as someone is sizzling what smells like bacon on the stove.

It's enough to get me up, after I've already snoozed anyway. I stumble into the kitchen and see Niall making a full breakfast. Pancakes, eggs, bacon. Harry sat at the kitchen island with a mug wrapped around his hands.

"Morning," I smile with what few facial muscles are awake.

"Morning! Grab a plate," Niall nods his head to the stack of plates on the table. "How do you like your eggs?"

"I don't like eggs, remember?"

"Right," he nods and gets back to cooking.

I sit down next to Harry and grab a plate on the way. He's also waiting for what Niall is serving. "Did you sleep well?" he asks.

"Yeah. You?"

"I passed out on the couch too. I stayed up for another two episodes after you fell asleep," he laughs a little. "You missed the best episode, I was surprised my laughing didn't wake you up."

"I came down to start cooking and you two were still sound asleep. Netflix was asking if you were still watching," Niall explains. "Poor Harry looked so uncomfortable. He had no room to lay down."

"I was so tired that I didn't even care," he shrugged. "That couch is a literal cloud."

"Well good because tonight is gym night," Niall announces. "Liam expects us to start off with a run around the estate."

"I'm still sore from yesterday," I whine a little.

"Well at least you didn't do kickboxing with him," Niall says. "He didn't make you do that right?"

I shrug, "Guess I got lucky!"

"Be right back," Niall says, "I've gotta run to the pantry in the garage and grab some more paper towels." He takes the pan off of the stove and puts it on the burner behind.

Once Niall is out of earshot, Harry speaks up, "I enjoyed watching Friends with you last night. Mind if I join you again, if you're up for it tonight?"

"Sure," I smile. "I didn't expect you to be such a fan."

"I've only seen a few episodes," he says. "I've enjoyed every one, just never made time to binge it."

"Well you're more than welcome to join me."

"As long as we don't fall asleep."

•••

"How does it feel to make us all suffer," Louis pants.

We were running around the perimeter of the entire estate, which is far bigger than I thought. I just saw the basics on the tour.

"Wonderful," Liam says in the lead. "We should make this a weekly thing."

"No!" We all yell in unison. Louis pipes up, "you always say that and you never do."

"If you don't like it so much then I'd not bring that up," Liam jokes. This is effortless to him and I'm sure he does it often. He leads us by a few feet, Niall, Harry, and I lead close behind. followed by Louis.

"We're almost there," Liam tells us. "Our house is literally a football field away."

I am exhausted. I'm fast but I'm not good at endurance runs. My chest feels tight and that feeling overwhelms any burns in my legs. Not to mention how sticky I feel.