Assault With a Deadly Weapon || N.H / 1D

38.

"Hm." I kept my eyes on the book.

"Scootch over." He walked around the chair. I moved over to make space for him. He squeezed in beside me, laying an arm around the back of the chair, making sure I was comfortable. I turned to the side and rested my legs across his lap, propping my feet on the arm of the chair.

I opened my book again and scanned the simple, happy lines. Anne had just accidentally dyed her auburn hair green. Poor girl had to cut it all off soon.

"Put the book down babe." Niall reached for my book.

"Hey!" I frowned as he took the book away from me. "I didn't mark my page!"

"203." He looked at the page I was on, reached for my bookmark, slipped it in, and closed the book.

"What is up with you?" I sighed.

"What's up with you?" He pointed a finger to my chest. "You've been hiding in here for weeks."

"Just catching up on reading."

Or trying to isolate myself.

Trying to hide from the fact that I killed someone and was continuously helping Lucille get away with murder.

"Philly girl what's wrong?" He brushed a piece of hair behind my ear, then cupped my face in his hand. I leaned into it, resting the weight of my head. There was much more weight residing inside my head that I couldn't just place in his hands. I would never wish that upon him anyway.

"I'm okay." I assured him.

"Are you sure?" He looked at me worriedly. "You seem tired, and sad."

"I'm just a little homesick." I told him with a soft smile. "I'll be okay."

"Should we go for a drive? I could take you for a ride past your place."

"I have a meeting with Julian." I shook my head. "Plus that's super unsafe. We can't go by our places."

"What about later tonight? We can maybe grab takeout, go to a park, maybe catch a-"

"We'll see." I interrupted him. "I don't know how long I'll be with Julian."

"You seem to be spending a lot of time with him lately." Niall chewed the inside of his cheek. "I miss you."

"I know, but it's work. Every day I work, brings us closer to going home." I told him, fidgeting with the rings on his fingers.

"It just sucks." He sighed.

"It does." I rested my head on him. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay." He caressed my head, making me feel so safe.

I felt numb as I sat in front of Julian later that day. It felt like I was constantly half awake. My mind was fuzzy, my attention to detail was screwed, and the days had been seeming to blend together. I didn't want to do this anymore, but I had to. I had to keep going.

"Arabella." Julian spoke, typing on his computer mindlessly.

"Julian." I replied in the same tone.

"How are you?" He looked at me.

"I'm fine thank you."

"I heard you made your first kill." He smirked. "Now I ask again, how are you?"

"I'm fine." I repeated. "Thank you."

"Unfazed hey?" He laughed. "I'm not going to lie, I'm impressed with you Miss Reilly."

"Thank you."

"I really didn't think you'd be the type to follow through with a kill. You seemed pretty adamant about keeping our suspects alive during interrogation."