Honest Illusions [niall horan]

Chapter 5

Aubrey's P.O.V.

Another rough punch against the red leathery material of the punching bag created the familiar rippling echo, becoming the only other sound filling the empty room besides my heavy breathing. Sweat beamed down my forehead as I took an intake of breath as I backed myself away from the punching bag. Both my arms at my sides, I walked a few steps closer before my hands were exerting all the force I could muster out against the inanimate object. With every swing, I felt a minuscule amount of stress and anger exit my body- some relief replacing it along with exhaustion.

Following my fallout with Niall along with my aunt's death, I needed to find a way to channel my inner anger in a healthy way. At first, crying under a bundle of my blankets in my room seemed like the way to go, but I soon realized that it was doing nothing for me but keeping stuck in the past. Some months later, I decided to take up boxing. Twice a week, three hours before I started work, I headed to the gym just down the street from People and boxed. Sure, it wasn't the most feminine thing to do, but I could careless if it was sociably acceptable or not.

Boxing wasn't only a good work out for me, but it focussed all my attention on the sole purpose of just throwing punches as hard as I could. All my anger, frustration, sadness, heartbreak, guilt-everything, was pushed to the farthest region of my mind. Nothing but the feeling of my adrenaline pumping in my blood could be felt. Sometimes, as pathetic as it sounds, I wish this was all I could do. Life never seemed to be this difficult, yet that was what I thought up until I actually experienced the hardships.

Once the alarm on my phone broke the sharp silence in the room, I stopped all my activity for the day. Nine-thirty meant it was time to head off to work which wouldn't be as bad if I didn't have to deal with Niall again. His sudden reoccurrence in my life created a giant bundle of chaos to explode within me. Then again, I worked with one of the most reputable magazines in the world, I should have somewhat expected this. Sighing, I headed to the bathroom in order to change out of my work out clothes and into something more professional.

Shirt tucked into the corners of my dark washed jeans, I slipped on my tan leather jacket over myself in order to prepare myself for the powerful winds of the city. Once my feet found their comfort in my black flats, I grabbed my purse and gym bad and made my way outside into the crowded sidewalks. Regardless of the fact that I held such a high and powerful position at People, I refused to wear heels. There was nothing worse than forcing my feet to squeeze themselves into some weirdly shaped pointed shoe and suffer from discomfort for hours. To hell with style for all I care, I wanted to be comfortable while I worked.

Not too long after my departure from the gym, I found myself walking through the familiar lobby doors of People. Still not over the fact I worked in a different part of the building, I took my normal route I would usually take when I worked under the supervision of the previous editor. Shortly after my ride in the overly crowded elevator, I wriggled my way out towards the direction of my office. Rachel was sitting at her desk right outside my office, furiously typing away at her keyboard.

"Working hard, I see," I chuckled as I reached her desk. Her glasses nearly slipped off her face the minute she lifted her head away from looking at the keyboard. Anytime I approached her, she treated me with so much respect and reverence. Although I enjoyed the proper manners and politeness she expressed towards me, I wanted her to feel at ease while she was with me.

"Just trying to compose these questions for the bachelor piece," Rachel breathed out.

"Take your time with them," I replied. We were in no hurry to get this piece done, especially Niall's portion.

"I'd feel so much more at ease once these questions were done," Rachel let out a small laugh before looking back at her screen. Papers scattered the other half of her desk alongside her container of granola and protein shake. This girl was quite the interesting assistant. "I just have to revise a few, and they'll be done, though," she smiled up at me. Great, just what I wanted.