Wounds of the Past (Niall Horan Love Story)

Chapter 1- Bridget

Chapter 1- Bridget 

I slammed my bag down onto my bed and flopped down next to it. I am so glad this day is finally over.

I flipped onto my stomach and grabbed my phone from the front zip of my bag. I sent a text to Mum, saying that I was home from school because otherwise she would worry. I hadn't been home at 4 which is when I'm usually home so she is probably in a right state trying to find out where I am. She'll probably be at work so she wouldn't know I was home until 6.

When I was done I threw my phone across the room, where it hit the far wall with a loud crack. I guess that's another phone i've broken. What is it now?? Like 10 phones already this year and summer hasn't even finished (A/N I live Aus so summer is Dec, Jan and Feb). It's what I do when I'm angry, break phones. Normally it's my own but sometimes I break other peoples.

Well it's not my fault I'm in such a bad mood today. It's all Izzy's fault. I mean she's one of my best friends and I love her to bits but she can do stupid things that get the people around her into trouble.

Like today. I arrived at school to discover that she had spray painted 'Happy Birthday' on to the front of my locker. I walked up to it in a complete state of shock when she runs up behind me, tackling me to the ground screaming 'Happy Birthday Beautiful' at the top of her lungs.

So I had a detention this afternoon for vandalising school property and had to spend an hour and a half scrubbing my locker clean. And it's not even my birthday.

I sat up and pulled my school bag off my bed, placing it at my feet. I unzipped it and pulled all my homework out, dumping it on the bed next to me. There is soooo much!!!!!!!!!!!!! I mean it is the second week back for the start of year 8 and this is how much homework they give us. I don't think I want this term to continue. I'm not saying that I'm not going to do it. At school I am pretty nerdy, getting all my homework done and sitting up the front of the class. It's just how I've been raised. My mum always said that school is very important.

Oh I've just forget you don't know who I am. My name is Bridget Horan. I'm 13 years old and I just stared year 8. I live in Australia although my mum is from London and my dad is Irish. I have long curly brown hair that reaches the middle of my back and it goes really wild. I got my mums hair but my dads teeth. Thanks Dad, it means that i have to wear bracers for the next 2 years. I'm not stick thin just normal size and I'm not very tall. That's doesn't mean I'm short, it just means that I'm not super tall.

I've never met my dad. My parents were never married and my dad ditched my mum before I was born. I don't know where he is now and I've never had any contact from him, not so much as a letter or email even though I've tried to find out stuff about him on the Internet. It doesn't really help that I don't know his first name because Mum has never told me. I only know his last name because it's my last name. Even through my parents weren't married she still wanted me to have a part of him. So all I get is a last name and silence from my mum when ever I want to talk about him.

I have tried for years and years to get Mum to tell me what happened to Dad and what happened in her past but she always tells me that her life began when she had me and that what happened before me isn't important to her. I can understand that she wants to forget somethings but come on!!!! I'm her daughter and she can tell me anything.

I do know some of the story about what happened to her face. I don't know all of it, just things that she has told me or I've heard her telling other people. Again, it's not something she likes to talk about. My mum has burns all over the right hand side of her body. I'm used to it because I've seen it all my life but people that we pass in the street always stare at her and whisper behind their hands. I hate it. There is nothing wrong with my mum and just because she looks a little different, people judge her and talk about her behind her back. I don't know how she stands it because each time it happens I feel like punching the stupid people in the face. And she's had to deal with it most of her life.

My dad must have loved her though right? I don't think that he would be the sort of person to just use someone and not care about them. I tried Googling my last name but all that came up was this information about a singer in a boy band back when my mum was a teenager called Niall Horan. It would be cool if my dad was famous but lets be realistic here. I mean he probably lives in the UK somewhere and I live in Australia. All the similarities that I've been able to find between what my mum tells me about my dad and Niall is that they are both Irish. And I'm sure there are plenty of Irish men out there.

I got up from my bed and went to my wardrobe. I grabbed a black short sleeve top and blue colored jeans and changed out of my school uniform. I grabbed my lunch box out of my bag and headed down the hallway into the kitchen. I put the container that had had my lunch in into the sink then threw my lunch box up onto the top if the cupboards where we keep all our lunch boxes. I checked the time on the clock by the toaster and discovered that it was 5:43. Good that means that Mum will be home soon. Wow it's already the 15 of February 2025. It feels like it was just Christmas.

Mum says that not a lot of things have changed since she was a teenager.  

The only difference she says is that the IPhones and IPads are better. I don't know what version was out when she was a kid but right now I think we're up to IPad 7 and IPhone 10. I just broke my IPhone 9. They say that they are making it stronger so that their harder to break but it's not working. I have still been able to find ways to break phones. I'm just just waiting for mum to realise that if she wants me to stop breaking them then she should stop buying me phones. Don't think that Bridget otherwise she will stop buying you new phones.

I went to the cupboard and got out a packet of Tiny Teddy's. What I'm hungry and I missed afternoon tea!! I walked over to the couch and slumped down into it and I grabbed the TV remote as I did. I'll do my homework later. I turned the TV on and stared flicking through the channels only to discover that there's nothing on.

I probably should go and check to see if my phone is still working, I thought to myself and getting up from the couch, I hurried back up to my room. I grabbed my phone then walked back to lounge room with it in my hand. I sat down on the couch again and slowly turned my phone on.

Yes!!!! It still works. And I have texts from my friends.

I have a big group friends at school. There's Jessica whose loud and crazy, Harriet who is almost just as crazy and loves horses, Lauren who is the mummy of our group, Ella who is cute and small and she can be quite scary sometimes, Sammy who is really funny and LOUD, Kate who is one of the nicest people you will ever meet, Izzy who you have already met and Darcy who is an amazing singer.I love my friends and even though we're all really different, we get along really well.

I heard the back door open and close and looked up to see Mum standing in the door way.

'Hey' I said, looking back at my phone.

'Hey, how was your day?' she asked as she set her hand bag on the kitchen table.

I looked up from my phone to stare a her. I could tell that something was wrong. Her voice was all shaky and when I looked up I noticed that her eyes were red and puffy as if she had been crying.

'I'm fine but Mum whats wrong?' I asked worryingly. I got up from the couch and went to stand in front of her.

'Oh nothing' she said but I could tell that she was lying.

'Mum really what's wrong?'

She sighed and walked towards the couch and sat down. I sat down next to her and stared at her.

'Mum please tell me, I want to help'.

She turned to me and stared me straight in the eye. The burns on her check were standing out as the setting sun from outside reflected off her face. She must have been very beautiful but the scars had masked most some of her beauty.

My mum was 18 when she had me and she says that my dad was 19. So she's 31 and she has had so much to deal with in her life. If my mum didn't have me then she would be alone in the world. Her parents don't talk to her anymore and she has hardly any friends so I'm all she's got. And she's all I've got too. I have no extended family, no brothers or sisters. But I don't care. I love my mum and she's my best friend.

'Bridget I think it's time I told you about your father'.