Niall was silent as he kept his eyes focused on the mug full of steaming hot coffee. He was at a lost for words, and stressful silence filled around them as he licked his lips. “I can’t return those feelings,” he replied bleakly, not lifting his eyes from the mug.

He heard her suck in a breath, and he wasn’t expecting anything less than that. Before Lila cold say anything, the waitress was coming with their plates of food, and she set it down in front of the two, clearly not noticing the tense silence. “Is there anything else I can get you two?” she asked, and Niall shook his head as Lila replied with a simple, “No.”

“Alrighty then,” she said before she started off.

Then, there was quietness again, and Niall wasn’t hungry anymore. “I’m sorry,” Lila whispered gently, and finally, Niall lifted his eyes to look at her. Her head was bent, so it was facing down, and her hair hung in her face. He couldn’t see her face clearly, but he could see the tears that fell and hit the table and the porcelain plate. He felt bad, and he bit down on his lip as he just wasn’t sure what to say.

His hand reached over the table and reached for her hand, but she pulled it away as she went to wipe at her eyes. “Let’s not,” she muttered, and she took some money out from her wallet before she set it down onto her table. “I need to be alone,” she told him softly, and she got up and snuck away before he could get a word in.

And then, Niall was left alone, and he could feel pieces that were already broken, break even more.