piper [n.h.] -Discontinued.

Chapter Twenty

"Where do you think she is? I mean, she's probably not back at your apartment since Derrick called." Genesis says, putting her feet on the dashboard of my car.

"Feet. Off. Now." I order, pushing her legs down with my right hand.

"Sorry... do you think she's with him?"

"If she's not at my house, she's probably there. Which is so stupid of her, but she has nowhere else to go."

"But you don't know where Will lives. So how are you going to get to her?"

"I don't know."

There's a buzzing in my pocket and I pull out my phone hoping Derrick found her.

"Where is she?" I ask immediately, praying she is with him right now.

"I don't know, man." His voice cracks through the phone.

"What do you mean you don't know? You talked to her, right? Watched her walk out? You know where she's going, don't you?"

"She said she was going back to Will. And drove off. I didn't know what to do, I tried to stop her. She told me she'd rather... she'd rather die than stay with you." He says the last part slowly, letting it all sink into my mind. I hang up on him and bash my fist against the steering wheel, which makes Genesis jump.

"What happened?" She asks, sitting straight up. I'm on the verge of tears, and mentally scold myself for being such a pussy. Why would she rather die than be with me? There's a pain in my heart and I want to stop the car right now.

"She's with Will. She said... she doesn't want to be with me." I clench the wheel so I don't cry in front of Genesis.

"She didn't mean it, Niall. I'm sure she was just upset that you were with me."

"Then why the fuck is she with the prick that hurts her?" I yell, focusing on the road.

"Because right now...you're the prick that hurt her." She mumbles, looking down at the floor board.

"I didn't do anything to her!"

"Maybe not physically, like Will. But emotionally, yes. You shouldn't have come to me. I feel terrible about this."

"This is all your fault." I feel a tear escape and roll down my cheek. It is her fault, isn't it? She wanted me to come over in the first place.

"It's not all my fault. You were the idiot who listened to me! Take the blame for once, fuck."

"I shouldn't have brought you. This is a big mistake. Being around you is a big mistake." I can sense how hurt she is right now, but that takes my mind off breaking down.

"You're on a roll for being a giant asshole and hurting people. Wow." She crosses her arms like a pouty child.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean it. I know what I've done to Piper, and right now all I can imagine is Will beating her. And I can't stop him."


Piper's POV:


"What are you doing here?" I hear Will say as I open the front door. Why I am here, I don't know. I just want someone to comfort me, but somehow I know Will isn't the person for that job.

"I wanted to come home." I say, setting my car keys on the counter. Things are too calm, and it's making me uneasy.

"Where have you been?" He gets up from the kitchen table and stands in front of me. I choose my words carefully, since he's within slapping distance.

"I was... I was at a friend's house for a short stay. She's sick today, so I decided to come here. You're not mad that I was gone, are you?"

"What friend?"

"Uh, Genesis. You don't know her." Just saying that name makes me feel sick to my stomach. My eyes are red and my skin is blotchy from crying all the way here, but Will doesn't seem to notice since I always look this way around him.

"I'm not mad. I was busy anyway while you were gone. I didn't even notice for a bit." He shrugs, and it hurts that he didn't notice or care where I was.

"What were you busy with?" I know I shouldn't have asked him that, because he hates when I question him. He always calls my questions stupid.

"Is that any of your business?"

"No, I guess not." I quickly say, looking around the house. Nothing's changed since I left. A few more beer bottles are scattered on the floor, but that's it.

"I was with someone." He says, and I stop looking around.

"What?" I remember the girl he had around his arm at the bar.

"I was with someone." He repeats. He seems proud to have cheated on me, but I did the same to him with Niall.

Niall. The memory of him touching me with such passion sends chills down my spine. But it also makes me want to cry again.

"Who?"

"Her name isn't important. She's long gone. I was lonely, Piper. You can't be mad at me for that. You left without warning."

Even though I'm a little hurt, I'm also fine with the fact that he cheated. It makes me feel less guilty.

"I'm not mad." I force a smile as he wraps his arms around my waist.

"Well there's a surprise. I'm glad you aren't mad. You know, I sort of missed having you around."

Sort of? My heart aches at his words. Then I realize I'm not wanted anywhere. It's true. Niall doesn't want me, and neither does Will. All those thoughts running through my head were true all along, and it makes me mad.

He pulls me close to him and kisses my forehead. My anger starts to build every moment I'm next to him. Why does he think it's okay for him to treat me like this? Why didn't he miss me? I want to scream in his face and leave forever.

"I was with someone too." I whisper into his shirt. As soon as he grabs my shoulders, I know I shouldn't have said anything to begin with.

"What did you just say?" He has a firm grip on my shoulders and I can't budge.

"I--I don't know." I stutter as the pain from my shoulders shoots through my body.

"Were you joking?"

"No. No." I close my eyes, not wanting to see the anger on his face.

"Who were you with?" He raises his voice. Soon he'll be screaming, and I'm not ready for what's in store.

"No one." I breathe, staying calm.

"Don't you fucking lie to me, Piper. Who were you with and what the hell did you do?" He shakes me until I give him the honest answer.

"A guy. His name is Niall. He let me stay at his place for a bit and we..."

"What did you do!"

"We had sex okay!"

"So you lied straight to my face about staying with a sick friend, and you go behind my back and cheat on me?"

"Yes! I'm sorry. I'm really sorry, Will. I don't know what--"

The first blow hits the side of my face, and I can already feel a bruise forming. The second punch lands right below my eye, and I lose vision in it. Before I fully process what's happening, I'm on the floor, covering my face. Out of my one good eye, I see Will standing above me. His face looks strange, distorted. I can't tell what he's feeling, but it's probably a mixture of hate and hurt.

"You think," he kicks my side and I lose my breath, "you can," another kick, making me gasp for air, "come back here after you fuck another guy?"

He's sweating. His black hair hangs in his eyes as water drips from the end of some strands. He looks crazy, crazier than usual.

"Please--I'm sorry!" I finally get out. My face hurts and my eye is swelling. My ribcage hurts, and I'm laying on the floor in my own tears.

"Oh yeah, I bet you're real sorry now bitch. Real fucking sorry."

I close my eyes as he crawls on top of me. I silently pray that help will come, but it never does.