Winter Air (Sequel to Night Air)

Chapter 17

*Alyssa's POV*

He looked so handsome- God, I swear he did. His smile, the way his arms bulged when he pulled me into his chest, the twinkle in his blue eyes that looked like they held the universe inside of them- everything. It all seemed too perfect. His arms pulled me in and he kept whispering "I got you, Alyssa" over and over again until my name didn't even sound like my name. His shirt felt so soft and warm against my hands as they ran up and down his back. My fingers would graze the nape of his neck and just lightly brush the small blonde hairs that resided there. They each felt silky against my fingertips.

He was an angel in disguise. He was too perfect to be real, but he was. I knew he was real. I closed my eyes and held onto his torso as tightly as I could, but when I opened my eyes, he was gone. Just like that- in the blink of an eye he disappeared.

My eyes jerked open from my dream, but I immediately closed them again as the light from outside forced its way through my retinas. The light bounced off of the walls in my head causing my brain to feel like it was throbbing. "Fuck," I grumbled to no one in particular. After a little bit of waiting and giving my eyes a rest, I opened one eye and looked around me.

I was alone in one of Liam's bigger guest rooms. I sat up on the big and lonely bed and stared at the alarm clock on the black night stand to my right. 10:56. I groaned and fell back against the mattress with a thud. My head was pounding in my ears and my eyes felt sore. I rolled onto my stomach and rolled into a ball. When I brought my knees all the way up to my chest, I inhaled a familiar scent. Then, I inhaled it again. It was comforting.

Niall.

I quickly unrolled myself to see I was wearing a T-shirt with a half naked Marilyn Monroe on it along with a pair of blue plaid boxers. It was all Niall's, but the problem was, where was Niall? I once again sat up and looked around the room. There was literally nothing new to the room except my body and a glass of water with some pills and a note.

I did a double take when I noticed the items laying out for me on the nightstand to my left. I scooted over to the other side of the bed and quickly downed the two small pills left out for me and the glass of water. After the water was all chugged down, I grabbed the folded note laying out for me with Alyssa written on it in familiar handwriting. I quickly unfolded it and got to work reading it all.

Alyssa,

I hope you're feeling better now that you've slept and hopefully taken some medicine. Meet me downstairs in the kitchen. We have a full day ahead of us and you're going to need something to eat.

- Niall

I didn't try to fight the smile that worked its way onto my face. I let it shine bright as it replaced the presence of my headache. I jumped off of the bed and threw back on my leggings and white flowy crop top from the previous night. I felt kind of sad when I no longer had the luxury of breathing in Niall's scent from the clothes that adorned my body, but I wasn't too sad as I left the room with his clothes in my hand because I was about to spend the whole day with him.

However, when I exited the bedroom, I stopped in my tracks from the smell that invaded my nose and the sound that entered my ears. I could smell the burnt eggs from the floor below me and the sound of the smoke alarm going off was enough to bring my headache back. I brought Niall's clothes up to my face so I wouldn't be forced to breathe in the horrible scent of burnt eggs and then started to walk down the hallway towards the stairs. I placed my foot on the first step and looked over the rail to the kitchen doorway.

"For God's sake, Niall!" I heard Liam shout. I silently giggled at the commotion going on in the kitchen even though it was making my head hurt more. "Just pull out the battery!"