So Long
twenty-eight.
The clock ticks away another minute, numbers bright in the dark of the room as they change steadily. 43... 44... 45... Claire sighs and rolls over in the bed. It’s nearing one in the morning, and she can’t sleep. She thought she’d be content enough to drift right off - having a plan for tomorrow, her boyfriend right across the hall, life far better than she ever expected it to be - but something is gnawing away at her soul, preventing her from slipping from consciousness and into a pleasant dreamscape.
After another fifteen minutes of restless tossing and turning, Claire grabs her phone from the nightstand and crosses her room. The house is silent, almost deafeningly so, and a thin strip of light comes from under Mully’s door. She tiptoes to Niall’s door, taps lightly.
The seconds drag on; her stomach churns with nerves, blood roaring in her ears. She’s just given up on the idea when his door opens with a nearly-inaudible squeak. He frowns and scrubs at his eyes.
“Claire? What’s wrong?”
She shrugs, chuckling awkwardly, and chews on her lower lip before deciding to be truthful. “I can’t sleep, and I know I said that us dating doesn’t mean I would jump into your bed, like, immediately, but…”
His laugh is low, quiet, and he steps back so that she can come in. The twisting in her gut intensifies as she follows him to the large bed. She has never once been in this room, never even allowed herself to imagine what it looks like, so to be stood in the middle of the room is mind-boggling.
Niall stares at her through the lamp-light, shadows flickering across his features, and Claire forces her lips up into a tight smile and gingerly climbs onto the bed. He tugs the comforter over the both of them once she’s lying down.
Her head spins with the warmth and unfamiliarity, pinpoints of electricity racing along her flesh as she’s surrounded by the scent that’s purely him. He brushes his fingers over the curve of her cheek, leans forward to press a soft kiss to her forehead.
“Sleep, love.”
Somehow, in ways she’ll never be able to explain as long as she lives, being so close to Niall helps ease her to sleep. Claire lets out a shuddering breath and remembers nothing further.
The sun isn’t even up when Claire startles awake only a few hours later. She stares at the ceiling, heart thundering in her chest, and blindly reaches for Niall’s hand. Even in his sleep, he links their fingers together, murmurs under his breath, and Claire lets it soothe her from the fright that has her in its grip. Slowly, her pulse slows, and she loosens her hold on her boyfriend’s hand.
Her mind wanders over what she dreamt about, but nothing comes to the forefront of what could possibly have scared her enough to jerk her out of a deep sleep. Claire rolls onto her side and lets her gaze track over Niall’s face, loose and lax in sleep. His lashes fan over his cheekbones, and his lips, parted as he breathes, move slightly with unspoken words that only he can hear. She sighs heavily, scoots closer to him; he doesn’t move even when she lifts his arm and drapes it over her waist. Sleep doesn’t come again, but being in his arms is good enough for the moment.
“You all right?”
Claire bolts upright in the dining chair and blinks owlishly before turning to Mully. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”
“You’ve been staring at that computer screen for almost half an hour without doing anything.”
“I just didn’t sleep well last night, that’s all. But I probably should finish this application, yeah?”
He chuckles and refills her mug from the coffeepot. She waves off his offer of sugar, taking a sip no matter how it scalds her tongue. Setting the cup aside, she forces herself to focus on filling out the form. Thankfully, Rhiannon kept it short and simple: Name, Number, Address, Promise to not be a dick to me ever?
All Claire has filled in are the first two boxes. In the last one, she types in a snarky response - she knows this isn’t a legit application, considering it’s little more than a Google Form, and besides, if Rhi wants her to actually fill one out, then she can whenever she gets there.
The call comes late the next morning. Rhiannon doesn’t even say hello, just tells Claire to come in for an interview.
“And don’t try to tell me you’re busy. Your boyfriend already told me you’re rewatching Finding Nemo for the fifteenth time.”
“You two need to stop conspiring against me,” Claire protests on a laugh. “Okay, fine. Lemme get dressed, then I’ll be there.”
“Make sure it’s casual. Jeans and a T-shirt are fine.”
She hangs up before Claire can respond. Claire shakes her head and goes upstairs to her room to change from her Eeyore pyjamas into a pair of dark skinny jeans a My Chemical Romance band shirt. She hurries to brush her teeth, pinning her hair back from her face, and swipes on a few coats of mascara. She darts back into her bedroom to grab socks from the dresser then rushes down the stairs.
Claire ignores Niall’s pouting face on her way to the front hall, pulls on her her favourite boots, and doubles-back to the living room. He tastes of coffee, mint, and him as she kisses the smile off his face. When she pulls back, he’s still grinning, but there’s a dazed look in his eyes. She tells him she will be back whenever Rhiannon lets her leave. He grabs her hand as she goes to walk away, tugging her back toward him. She allows herself a moment to get lost in the kiss, the dizzying headiness of feeling so damn much for him.
“I know traffic wasn’t that bad,” Rhiannon calls out as soon as Claire steps into the bakery almost an hour later, and Claire smiles sheepishly. “Oh, don’t even tell me the details of you doin’ the nasty. Anyway. I hate to tell you, but your references didn’t quite pan out.”
“What?”
“Yeah, your former boss warned me about your sass and attitude, and I’m not sure I can handle someone like that in my shop”
“You’re an ass,” Claire scoffs, rolling her eyes, and Rhi cracks; her laughter rings out over the sound of Mariana’s Trench that plays on the stereo system. “That’s not nice. I even promised not to be a dick to you.”
Rhiannon snorts and digs through a small box under the till. “No, actually, you said ‘I promise not to be a dick if you stop being a whiny little shit.’”
“I still promised.”
“Shut up.”
Rhiannon tosses a small plastic rectangle at Claire. She catches it easily enough, turns it over to see that it’s a nametag. She pins it to her shirt and flashes her friend a cheesy smile. Rhi rolls her eyes, gesturing for Claire to follow her.
“Okay, listen up. This is obviously the kitchen. Please do not move anything out of its place, but if you must, put it right back where it was. It makes it easier to find the things I need when I’m baking. Coffee will be free when you’re on shift, and if you finish a pot, make more.” Rhiannon sighs, staring around the spacious kitchen with her brows furrowed. “The walk-in has all the cold ingredients, the shelves there have all the dry. I won’t always be here, but Sam can do my job almost as well as I can, so he’ll be training you when I’m not here. Any questions?”
“Yeah, why the hell are your hours so weird?”
“Because I am not waking up at four in the morning just to bake. So I open at eleven, close when the bars do. Oh! You’ll never be scheduled for an opening shift if you worked the closing.”
The tour of the bakery goes quickly, and Rhiannon lets her leave an hour later with an order to be back at nine the next morning. Rhi promised to be there and not leave her with Sam, no matter how good he is at his job. Claire slides into the driver’s seat of her car, unlocking her phone as she does. After sending a text to her family informing them of her new job, she lets Niall know she’s on her way back home.
Home.
The word rolls over and over in her brain. She isn’t sure how she should feel knowing that she began living with her boyfriend before he even became her boyfriend, and she has no one to ask about it. Dee and Tim dated for a year and got married before they started living together, and she doesn’t really have many friends outside of the ones she’s made through Niall. Sighing, Claire opens the message app and types out a text to someone she hasn’t spoken to in almost three years.
<< Hey, Warren...
After another fifteen minutes of restless tossing and turning, Claire grabs her phone from the nightstand and crosses her room. The house is silent, almost deafeningly so, and a thin strip of light comes from under Mully’s door. She tiptoes to Niall’s door, taps lightly.
The seconds drag on; her stomach churns with nerves, blood roaring in her ears. She’s just given up on the idea when his door opens with a nearly-inaudible squeak. He frowns and scrubs at his eyes.
“Claire? What’s wrong?”
She shrugs, chuckling awkwardly, and chews on her lower lip before deciding to be truthful. “I can’t sleep, and I know I said that us dating doesn’t mean I would jump into your bed, like, immediately, but…”
His laugh is low, quiet, and he steps back so that she can come in. The twisting in her gut intensifies as she follows him to the large bed. She has never once been in this room, never even allowed herself to imagine what it looks like, so to be stood in the middle of the room is mind-boggling.
Niall stares at her through the lamp-light, shadows flickering across his features, and Claire forces her lips up into a tight smile and gingerly climbs onto the bed. He tugs the comforter over the both of them once she’s lying down.
Her head spins with the warmth and unfamiliarity, pinpoints of electricity racing along her flesh as she’s surrounded by the scent that’s purely him. He brushes his fingers over the curve of her cheek, leans forward to press a soft kiss to her forehead.
“Sleep, love.”
Somehow, in ways she’ll never be able to explain as long as she lives, being so close to Niall helps ease her to sleep. Claire lets out a shuddering breath and remembers nothing further.
The sun isn’t even up when Claire startles awake only a few hours later. She stares at the ceiling, heart thundering in her chest, and blindly reaches for Niall’s hand. Even in his sleep, he links their fingers together, murmurs under his breath, and Claire lets it soothe her from the fright that has her in its grip. Slowly, her pulse slows, and she loosens her hold on her boyfriend’s hand.
Her mind wanders over what she dreamt about, but nothing comes to the forefront of what could possibly have scared her enough to jerk her out of a deep sleep. Claire rolls onto her side and lets her gaze track over Niall’s face, loose and lax in sleep. His lashes fan over his cheekbones, and his lips, parted as he breathes, move slightly with unspoken words that only he can hear. She sighs heavily, scoots closer to him; he doesn’t move even when she lifts his arm and drapes it over her waist. Sleep doesn’t come again, but being in his arms is good enough for the moment.
“You all right?”
Claire bolts upright in the dining chair and blinks owlishly before turning to Mully. “Yeah, I’m fine. Why?”
“You’ve been staring at that computer screen for almost half an hour without doing anything.”
“I just didn’t sleep well last night, that’s all. But I probably should finish this application, yeah?”
He chuckles and refills her mug from the coffeepot. She waves off his offer of sugar, taking a sip no matter how it scalds her tongue. Setting the cup aside, she forces herself to focus on filling out the form. Thankfully, Rhiannon kept it short and simple: Name, Number, Address, Promise to not be a dick to me ever?
All Claire has filled in are the first two boxes. In the last one, she types in a snarky response - she knows this isn’t a legit application, considering it’s little more than a Google Form, and besides, if Rhi wants her to actually fill one out, then she can whenever she gets there.
The call comes late the next morning. Rhiannon doesn’t even say hello, just tells Claire to come in for an interview.
“And don’t try to tell me you’re busy. Your boyfriend already told me you’re rewatching Finding Nemo for the fifteenth time.”
“You two need to stop conspiring against me,” Claire protests on a laugh. “Okay, fine. Lemme get dressed, then I’ll be there.”
“Make sure it’s casual. Jeans and a T-shirt are fine.”
She hangs up before Claire can respond. Claire shakes her head and goes upstairs to her room to change from her Eeyore pyjamas into a pair of dark skinny jeans a My Chemical Romance band shirt. She hurries to brush her teeth, pinning her hair back from her face, and swipes on a few coats of mascara. She darts back into her bedroom to grab socks from the dresser then rushes down the stairs.
Claire ignores Niall’s pouting face on her way to the front hall, pulls on her her favourite boots, and doubles-back to the living room. He tastes of coffee, mint, and him as she kisses the smile off his face. When she pulls back, he’s still grinning, but there’s a dazed look in his eyes. She tells him she will be back whenever Rhiannon lets her leave. He grabs her hand as she goes to walk away, tugging her back toward him. She allows herself a moment to get lost in the kiss, the dizzying headiness of feeling so damn much for him.
“I know traffic wasn’t that bad,” Rhiannon calls out as soon as Claire steps into the bakery almost an hour later, and Claire smiles sheepishly. “Oh, don’t even tell me the details of you doin’ the nasty. Anyway. I hate to tell you, but your references didn’t quite pan out.”
“What?”
“Yeah, your former boss warned me about your sass and attitude, and I’m not sure I can handle someone like that in my shop”
“You’re an ass,” Claire scoffs, rolling her eyes, and Rhi cracks; her laughter rings out over the sound of Mariana’s Trench that plays on the stereo system. “That’s not nice. I even promised not to be a dick to you.”
Rhiannon snorts and digs through a small box under the till. “No, actually, you said ‘I promise not to be a dick if you stop being a whiny little shit.’”
“I still promised.”
“Shut up.”
Rhiannon tosses a small plastic rectangle at Claire. She catches it easily enough, turns it over to see that it’s a nametag. She pins it to her shirt and flashes her friend a cheesy smile. Rhi rolls her eyes, gesturing for Claire to follow her.
“Okay, listen up. This is obviously the kitchen. Please do not move anything out of its place, but if you must, put it right back where it was. It makes it easier to find the things I need when I’m baking. Coffee will be free when you’re on shift, and if you finish a pot, make more.” Rhiannon sighs, staring around the spacious kitchen with her brows furrowed. “The walk-in has all the cold ingredients, the shelves there have all the dry. I won’t always be here, but Sam can do my job almost as well as I can, so he’ll be training you when I’m not here. Any questions?”
“Yeah, why the hell are your hours so weird?”
“Because I am not waking up at four in the morning just to bake. So I open at eleven, close when the bars do. Oh! You’ll never be scheduled for an opening shift if you worked the closing.”
The tour of the bakery goes quickly, and Rhiannon lets her leave an hour later with an order to be back at nine the next morning. Rhi promised to be there and not leave her with Sam, no matter how good he is at his job. Claire slides into the driver’s seat of her car, unlocking her phone as she does. After sending a text to her family informing them of her new job, she lets Niall know she’s on her way back home.
Home.
The word rolls over and over in her brain. She isn’t sure how she should feel knowing that she began living with her boyfriend before he even became her boyfriend, and she has no one to ask about it. Dee and Tim dated for a year and got married before they started living together, and she doesn’t really have many friends outside of the ones she’s made through Niall. Sighing, Claire opens the message app and types out a text to someone she hasn’t spoken to in almost three years.
<< Hey, Warren...