Drowning || niall horan au

six

[A/N:] Just a bit of a flashback to get to know Hannah just a little bit more.

Whoever reads this, I love all of you :)

It was difficult to disregard her once close-knit family, disintegrate to a pile of ashes in only a matter of weeks. A ten-year-old can only think so much of it for all she's ever known was having caring family of five, never to fall apart because none of her friends were like that.

The hollering, abrupt arguments came to a halt one day as she was playing with her dolls. A month had gone by with the nonsense that it became normal to have the commotion as background noise. Her days passed by unaffected because the disputes were never about her. They usually lasted an hour and at different times of the day, depending on when her parents saw each other for the first time that day. So, when opening of closet doors or footsteps trudging up the stairs replaced the shouting, Hannah dropped the dolls from her hands. The toys fell to the ground with a thud, and she turned the doorknob, stopping short to hear soft talking.

"Please, just leave...now." Her mother spoke. "You can come get your things while the children are at school tomorrow."

Many moments passed before she heard her father exhaling a defeated sigh.

"Alright, love. Can I say goodbye to my kids?"

Her mother sniffled, so it caused another pause in the miserable conversation.

"I'm afraid now is not the time. I can't have them seeing you in this state. It's mortifying."

"You're absolutely right, but it's unfair to leave them with no notice. You can't do this to me, Evelyn."

Hannah was such a curious child, it was strange to find her baffled and frozen behind her bedroom door. She pried in the dumbest conversations that were meaningless, having a tendency of getting in trouble for asking too many questions. Whether it was stupid or not, why she stayed hidden behind the door was mind-boggling. The unknown topic had been intriguing that she couldn't show her face. The conversation would end because of her presence. Her mind could not process what was going on, but she knew she was not welcome. She felt a sense of urgency and sadness in their voices that it was better to stay behind closed doors.

Footsteps could be heard again, descending down the creaky floorboards her father promised to fix. Meanwhile, her parents' bedroom opened with a squeak, which gave Hannah the opportunity to open hers. She crept out to the hallway on her tip-toes, a hand grabbing on to the railing. The master bedroom door was cracked, and the blonde girl did her best to stay hidden. She found her mother sitting at the edge of the bed with her face buried in her hands, silently sobbing. Something tragic must've happened, and Hannah was not about to let her father slip away without some sort of explanation.

Her quiet padding down the staircase helped her go unnoticed. She made a left when she reached the main level, going towards the back of the house to the kitchen. It was vacant with the dishwasher noisily cleaning the dishes. She stalked towards the backdoor, finding nobody out there. The sitting room had been emptied as well, and it led Hannah to wonder where her siblings were. How could she be the only child home? Shaking that thought aside, she made a hasty decision and ran out the door. Her father was at the end of the driveway, hands in his coat pockets, and his head lowered towards the concrete.

"Dad!"She cried, receiving his attention right away.

Hannah stood on her front walk for a few seconds, gazing at her father with sad, grey eyes. She had been given the color from her father, making her hate it a little less. It was one of the things they shared together since everybody else in the family had blue eyes. It was some sort of connection the father and daughter had. So, even the distance between them, Hannah could see the dark, gloomy eyes looking directly into hers.