Trails (PP 1) [Complete]

14.5

14.5 - From Uh Huh To Uh Oh

~ Niall ~

Calmly I sit in the hatch to the attic, my feet dangling down into the cupboard below. I can hear the kids running manic throughout the house, whipping sheets off of beds in the spare rooms and moving curtains trying to find me.

Paws pad along the tile upstairs hallway near my room and I glance at the cupboard door. "Ethan, his room is locked. So is Lee's," Jess says. Her feet hit the ground and then I'm guessing Ethan shifts.

"Do you want to check anyway? I can pick the lock," Ethan suggests.

"You can look in there," I mind-link Jess causing her to squeal.

"He said we can look! You should see it! His room is so pretty," Jess rushes out.

Ethan chuckles, trying to pinpoint where I am. I know he can smell me like I can smell him. The lock to my room clicks and he pushes the door open. Jess runs straight onto my bed, jumping on it a couple of times as Ethan shuts the door. I let Jess sleep in there a couple of times as she was tired and father wouldn't have wanted her in his room.

Cautiously I climb into the attic and open the hatch I put where the moon is as I painted over plastic and slot it in the hole. It was a precaution in case someone invaded and I could see what was happening in my room.

Ethan remains by my door. "Well, Rob wasn't kidding," he mutters. That's funny, Gerard had the same reaction. He walks further into my room, taking in the basicness of the furniture and no accessories on the walls.

"Ni said he'll paint my room like this when he finishes a-levels," Jess says. "But with more flowers and no wolves."

"Wolves?" What's he talking about? He knows about the wolves, Indigo showed him the picture. Jess points to the painting of the three wolves and Ethan follows her arm to freeze. "That looks even better than the photo." He stops in front of it and his eyes sweep over the painting, taking in each detail. "Do you know who he painted, Jess?"

"He said it is two people he misses. He missed the happy times when they were around so he painted that as a reminder. Helps to remind him to break whatever was put over him." I never said anything like that last sentence. I said it helps me to remember to keep fighting. Actually, it could be interpreted that way, never mind.

"Who do you think the wolves are?"

Jess comes over and plonks herself into his lap, a hand reaching out to touch the wolf version I guessed for Ethan. Her eyes slip shut before they jolt open. "That's you." What the fuck.

Ethan looks at her hand, eyes and then the painting. "Yeah, it's meant to be me. That's a good guess that he done. Who's the other one?"

Jess moves her hand to the painting of Robyn but she frowns instead of closing her eyes like last time. "I don't know. I can't sense them."