Witness Protection Program // n.h.

Chapter Eight

It was at least ten minutes later before Niall stepped out of his room and came over to the couch to sit beside me. The expression on his face was one that I couldn't read, and I wasn't sure if I should assume that was a bad thing or not.

"Well?" I urged him, raising an eyebrow. I was extremely impatient and him not speaking wasn't helping me any.

"I don't want you to get your hopes up, Bryn." He sighed. "What they found is not evidence, it's just a strong hunch. No arrests can be made at this point or anything."

I scrunched my brows and parted my lips. "What do you mean?"

"The victim was involved in some illegal activity last year that got a lot of police attention. The man that the police suspect may be one of the men that you saw was caught pulling a gun out on the victim earlier last year and was charged with assault and threatening someone with the possession of a weapon. It was over a failure of payment on a drug deal. Now that they have both been released from jail and one of them has turned up dead, you can see why the other may not look too good," he explains.

"But that doesn't prove anything," I stated, feeling frustrated that this was all they had.

"That's why I said don't get your hopes up." He smiled weakly.

"So that's it?"

"Well, it is a strong idea, so it's something. This man has been charged on multiple occasions for gang related activities, so I can see this theory going somewhere. They have to keep trying to get somewhere with it; keep digging. Just be patient," Niall assured, patting my knee before standing up.

"So we're back to waiting?" I questioned, following behind him into the kitchen area.

"For now, yes." He gave a short nod.

"Do you want some popcorn?" I asked him as I opened the cupboard to grab a microwaveable bag. I turned to Niall, holding it up with a raised eyebrow.

"If you're making it, then sure." He smiled, filling a glass with water from the tap. I watched as he took a sip and scrunched up his face when he was finished. "We really should get some bottled water, this tap stuff tastes like shit." He scoffs and shakes his head with his eyes squinted.

I loved the way his accent accentuated certain words as he spoke - especially when he was exaggerating - because it made me giggle. I loved the sound of his voice and I admitted to myself that it made me even more attracted to him. Despite knowing that I shouldn't be, I undoubtedly was. Of course, I didn't plan on ever doing anything about it, as that's all it was- a simple attraction. It's not like he had the same feeling, anyhow.

I rolled my eyes at him playfully before saying, "I'll remind you to grab some the next time we go shopping."

"If I were you, I'd stop rolling your eyes at me," he threatened, looking at me pointedly with a smirk.

"And if I don't?" I tested.

"I reckon your eyes might fall right out of your head." He scrunched his face up and laughed loudly at his own joke the moment he said it, which made me laugh and shake my head. 

"Do you always laugh at your own jokes?" I asked rhetorically, a small grin taking over my face.

"Shut up." He joked. "It's just, I've noticed that you roll your eyes a lot." He had a ghost of a smirk on his lips, as if insinuating that I meant to be playful around him all the time, or even hinting that it was of a flirty nature.

I leaned my back up against the counter and stared at him as he stood to the left of me, holding his glass in his hand. I had to fight the urge to roll my eyes once again, but this time more seriously.