Gone Away

Chapter 22

“You can’t be serious right now. This box is freakin’ heavy!”

            “Oh, I’m dead serious,” I said as Niall picked up a box and went to put it in the truck. He had come over to help my dad and I pack up the boxes to take them to the postal facilities to get shipped to Boston, that way my stuff would be there when I arrive. I could hear my dad joking with Niall outside my window.

            “Come on, Niall. You’ve gotta lift with your legs. Your legs, Niall! I then heard someone swear in an Irish accent and then my dad burst out laughing. I shook my head and finished labeling boxes. There had been so much going on before I leave tomorrow. I had to make sure I had my train ticket, I double-checked to make sure that my room at school was booked, and I needed to make sure that I was shipping all these boxes to the right place.

            I heard footsteps and I saw Niall and my dad walk back into my room. “You really missed it out there, Grace,” my dad said as he slapped Niall on the back and went to pick up another box.

            “I don’t wanna hear what you two were doing out there. I’ve got enough of a hot mess to worry about.”

            “Good, because it’s not that entertaining,” Niall said.

            “Right, Niall,” my dad replied, laughing hysterically as he walked back out of my room to his truck. Niall sat down on my bed and shook his head. I couldn’t help but laugh at how cute he looked.

            “Awww, Niall. What’s wrong?” I asked as I sat down beside him and brushed his hair away from his eyes.

            He looked up at me with his blue eyes and grinned. “You’re so adorable.”

            I smiled and laid my head on his shoulder. I was going to miss moments like this.

            “So, I’ve got an idea,” Niall said. “I’m going to take you out tonight. It’ll be fun.”

            I looked up at him. “Sounds good!” I gripped his thigh. “Come on, we’ve got more moving to do.” We stood up from the bed and each of us picked up and box and set out to put it in the truck.

            An hour later we were done moving everything. All that remained in my room was my bed, desk, and a few stands. Niall had an extra set of clothes in his car so he didn’t need to go all the way back to this hotel he was staying in and change. Niall showered and cleaned up in the bathroom upstairs while I did the same in the bathroom downstairs. My dad and Amber were home, so showering together was completely out of the question…not that I would ever do that. I got out of the shower and put on a grapefruit-color summer dress with ruffles on the bottom and a white ribbon around the middle. I put my hair in a bun and completed it with a white bow. I was just putting on a pair of pink sandals when my bedroom door opened and Niall walked in. He looked so handsome. He was wearing a black t-shirt, dark colored jeans, white shoes, and his hair was styled in a quiff. He came over to me a placed his arms around my waist.

            “You look beautiful, my dear.”

            I leaned in and missed him on the nose. “And as do you.” He took my hand and led my out of my room and down the hall. My dad was standing in the kitchen drinking a beer when we walked by. Niall stopped walking. “Can you take a picture of Grace and I?” He asked my dad.

            “Sure,” he said as he walked over and took Niall’s phone. Niall put his arm around me and pulled me close. I rested my hand on his stomach and my other arm around his waist. My dad snapped a couple pictures and smiled as he gave Niall his phone back. “You two look adorable together.”