Chapter 33

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~Amy's POV~

I look around the living room and grin, clapping. Today is January 25th, otherwise known as our make-up Christmas. There is a pile of presents in the corner that Liam won't let me touch until Louis and Zayn wake up, so I'm currently on the couch alternating between glaring at Harry, who is standing guard so I don't open anything, and looking past him at the pile of gifts. Niall is sitting on the couch next to me, also looking at the presents impatiently, because Liam also barred him from going anywhere near them. After ten minutes or so of waiting, Liam comes back down the stairs, Louis right behind him dragging Zayn along.

Liam looks at Harry and says something that I can't catch, then Niall grabs my arm, dragging me to the presents and handing me one on top. Soon all of us, even Zayn, who is still grumbling about being woken up, are holding a present, and we all see who they're from. Harry's is from Zayn, Liam's is from Niall, Louis' is from me, Zayn's is from Niall, and mine is from Harry and Louis. We all tear open the presents and grin, hugging or thanking whoever the presents came from, then opening the next one. Soon there are no presents left, just items scattered around the room.

Zayn is currently reading the book Liam got him on the couch, Niall is eating some of the chocolate he got from Harry, Louis is playing with the hand-held game that Zayn got him, Harry is bugging Louis, and Liam is helping me clean up my stuff. I got a lot of cool things but my favorite is the iPod Touch I got from Liam. All of them must have worked together because Liam got me the iPod, Harry and Louis got me a couple iTunes gift cards, and Niall and Zayn got me a case and some other things like a car charger. I have to say this is a very fun late Christmas overall, and I think Harry cooked something for us, too. Yay, food!

~Niall's POV~

A few hours after we open presents I find myself sitting at the table, waiting for Harry to bring in lunch. I grab some chicken, some mashed potatoes, and some veggies and start eating, listening to everyone else talk but still focusing on my food. "This is really... good. Thanks Harry." Liam says, smiling. I nod my agreement and continue to eat, making Harry laugh.

"I'm going to assume Nialler likes it since he won't stop eating long enough to tell me." He says, grinning. I nod again then eat a spoonful of potatoes, looking around to see everyone else eating as well. As I look around the group, I can't help but smile. Greg is dead, Liam is healing, and everything is dying down. We start a tour in two weeks, and Amy is coming with us, as well as Eleanor and Perrie, who has a three month break until her tour begins. We have a few practices these next couple weeks, mainly since we haven't actually sung together in over six months, I lost my memory for part of that time, and Liam now has a speech problem to deal with. At least it won't effect his singing.

"Nialler!" Louis yells, shaking my shoulder. I look up at him curiously and he starts pulling on my arm impatiently. "We're going swimming but Liam said we had to wait for you!" He complains, dragging me out of the room and up the stairs, then literally shoving me into my bedroom. I finally register that Louis is only wearing swim trunks, but before I can comment he shuts the door in my face. How long was I zoned out?

~•~•~•~•~

I sit on the couch, scrolling through my Twitter and ignoring Liam, who's yelling at Louis for getting the chair next to me wet because he sat on it in his swimsuit. #GetWellSoonLiam is still trending on Twitter, as it has since he was shot, and probably will be until the buzz about his speech problem dies down. Every few tweets I look up, glancing at the room to see what my friends are doing. Read a few, Louis is upstairs. A few more, Harry and Zayn are watching Power Rangers on the telly. A couple more, and Louis is back, now in dry clothes, joining them in watching the show. I scroll down my news feed a bit more then click on a random account and start looking at funny pictures. When I look up again, Amy is also watching the show. We never bothered to turn the captions off, I never notice them anymore anyways. More scrolling, and suddenly I hear a crack of thunder and Louis jumps, hugging Harry as a cute force of habit. Harry smiles and hugs Louis back as another boom resounds through the house, and the lights flicker. After the third crash I hear a sharp cracking sound and the lights go out, so the only light in the room is coming from my phone and illuminating my face.

"Liam?!" Zayn calls, his arm around Amy's waist as she hides in his chest.

"I'm in the... kitchen!" Liam calls, and I turn on my phone's flashlight, standing. I find my way to the kitchen without too much trouble to see Liam holding a flashlight and shining it at the wall next to the door I just came through.

"Looks like the power's out." I comment, looking around the kitchen and seeing that even the microwave is off. Liam nods, pulling another flashlight out of a cabinet to his side and tossing it to me. I grab one more out of the drawer Liam is looking through and walk back to the living room, handing a light to Harry and one to Zayn. They both look at me gratefully thrn turn their attention back to Amy and Louis. Amy is hiding in Zayn's jacket because of her fear of the dark, every time thunder shakes the house Louis hugs Harry even tighter. Satisfied that my friends are all okay, I head back to the kitchen to check on Liam again. When I arrive, a crack of lightning lights up the room and I spot Liam standing next to the window, as white as a ghost. I run over to him and frown, following his gaze as more lightning hits, giving me a view of the backyard. What I'm shocked to see is a figure running for the back gate, disappearing into the dark night.

"H-He's coming... for me." Liam says, his gaze unwavering as he turns to look into my eyes. "He's not... going to... stop until I'm... dead." Liam says, and my mind flashes back to the letter in the photo album. As the room is lit once again, I pull Liam into a hug, rocking back and forth on the balls of my feet.

"He can't get to you, Liam. I bet he was just trying to scare you. He's dead, Liam, he's dead." I say into Liam's ear as he stares over my shoulder.

"He's dead because I... killed him. I'm a...murderer." Liam says coldly, his tone making me stop swaying and look up into his eyes.

"Liam, you had to. Everyone understands that you did it in self defense." I try to comfort him, knowing in my mind that he's finally speaking the thoughts he's had ever since he killed Greg. Liam shakes his head and pushes me away, backing up until he hits the wall next to the fridge.

"I'm a... murderer." He says shakily, and I take a step forward. There's a pretty good chance that Liam is going through a mental breakdown right now. "Stay away... from me, Niall." Liam says, and I shake my head.

"You won't hurt me, and I won't hurt you. Now please try to calm down." I say, and Liam shakes his head, sinking to the ground.

"I killed... him. I killed him. I... killed him." He mutters, over and over again. I back away from Liam and when I'm sure he can't see me I bolt to the living room, somehow not tripping on anything in the dark. When I get to the living room I grab Harry and Louis, pulling them off of the ground by their arms.

"Liam's having a breakdown. Zayn, stay with Amy." I explain, dragging my friends down the hall and back into the kitchen, where Liam is now curled up in a ball, still saying the same thing he was when I left.

"Liam, you will be okay. Take deep breaths." Harry says softly, a flash of lightning illuminating his face as he steps closer to the oblivious Liam. Louis hugs me tightly when another crash of thunder resounds through the room, but both of us keep our eyes on Harry, who by the next lightning strike has made it to Liam. He reaches down and puts a hand on Liam's shoulder, then suddenly pulls him into a hug. "Calm down, Liam. Calm down." Harry says, and Liam nods a little, still curled up. Suddenly all the lights flash back on, and Liam looks up.

"Liam?" I ask, and he turns to me with wide eyes. When he sees Louis and I looking at him in concern he hangs his head shamefully.

"I'm sorry for freaking... out like that. It's just, the man... scared me and it was dark... and I started... thinking about-"

"What man?" Harry asks, cutting off Liam's explanation. Liam's eyes meet mine and I nod.

"There was a man in the backyard." I say, drawing Harry and Louis' eyes to me. "He was apparently right next to the patio when Liam saw him, then I saw him jumping the fence." Harry and Louis nod, sharing a look that I can't read.

"Call Paul." Harry says after a moment of silence. "This could be serious."

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