Drowning || niall horan au

sixteen

i've decided to change the name of the story to Drowning because it fit better than Alleviate (yall can thank BMTH later bc Drown was a huge inspiration lately) hopefully you guys don't hate me lol, but happy reading :))

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As the hours kept ticking by, Hannah kept roaming London and all it had to offer. She even visited places she's never been, looking at all the unfamiliar signs and stores. People on the sidewalks stared at her, and Hannah knew it was because of her complexion, not because she looked like a tourist.

She was very aware of her of how she looked. She may have not seen it up close, but the tears were all dried up and probably left mascara marks running down her cheeks. The crying still hadn't stopped, and she didn't have a clue when it will. She was back to feeling like she was at the lowest point in her life again. Everybody stared, and they did nothing.

Most of her day was wasted by aimlessly walking and stopping in a coffee shop to get something in her system. By that time, it was four in the afternoon and even then, she didn't have an appetite. She only took two bites out of her sandwich and the cup of tea was halfway finished. The food gave her a nauseous feeling, especially when the phone calls kept coming. She knew she was worrying everyone once her mother started calling.

Her journey back home was slow, awaiting the remarks that would be spurting out of Marisa's mouth. Or she could assume the worse: Niall would be waiting on the sofa upon her return.

Hannah shut the door quietly, but she should have expected Marisa to be in the kitchen at this hour. The spatula slammed on the counter, and Hannah reluctantly looked at her best friend. She resembled a mother, standing with a hand on her hip, other on the counter, and her lips pressed into a thin line.

"What did you do to him, Hannah?"

This was exactly what she wanted to avoid. Her gaze didn't last long on Marisa and she headed to her bedroom.

"You are scaring the shit out of this poor boy! One of these days, you're going to have to tell him!"

Hannah sat on her bed after she took off her coat. Marisa's words hung in the air for Hannah to ponder. The envelope sat on her dresser, taunting her. As much as she would love to spill out her whole life story, she just didn't think she could handle it. She didn't think Niall could handle it.

_____

All three calls went straight to voicemail just like the rest did days prior. The damn automatic lady got on his last nerve, but no matter how much he told himself to give up on contacting her, he just couldn't. He was way too involved in her life and on the border of cracking this mystery.

Niall was a bit angry that she didn't bother to call him at all, especially since she knew he was going under major surgery for his knee. She never bothered to come by to say goodbye before he left for America. There were no messages asking for updates on how he's been or how the recovery was going. He received plenty of messages about that, but Hannah was the one he most wanted to hear from.

Currently, his life consisted of sitting on his sofa, flipping through the channels on the television, being bored out of his mind since he couldn't do anything else. He called his family to update them on his recovery. The boys had made a stop by to see him when they were available. Other than that, the only human contact was his physical therapist, who worked with him day by day to get knee close to one hundred percent before the tour starts up in April.

He prohibited himself from even thinking about calling Hannah. It only took three days for him to reconsider. Enough anger had built up inside of him that he was ready to be firm with her. He was sick of unanswered questions and neglect.