Night Air

Chapter 40

*Niall's POV*

To think that we were already almost halfway through the New York part of the tour was unbelievable. That meant that we were also almost half way done with the whole tour in general. I was happy, kind of, but then not so happy at the same time because once this thing was over, that meant I wouldn't see Alyssa again.
Maybe it's for the best, I don't know, but even if it isn't, I don't want to lose her. I want to be able to see her everyday or maybe at least be able to make contact with her. I can't even stay friends with her because of her dad's rules and the fact that I knowingly made a promise to Alyssa that we would stay friends through this whole thing makes it a million times worse. I still remember that night clearly. I remember as we laid next to each other on her bed with our sides touching when she looked over at me. I remember that hopeful and desperate look in her eyes as she asked me if we would stay friends and keep in touch after this was all over. I remember the way that she smiled and the way that her eyes lit up when I promised her what she wanted. I was hesitant, and she could tell I was, so she stuck up her pinky.
"Pinky promise?" She asked and I almost wanted to cry. The look in her eyes and the desperation in her voice had my hand moving without my permission and my finger securely wrapped around her smaller one as the words, "Pinky promise" left my lips.

I sighed, not knowing what to do about the promise I knowingly made knowing full well that I would have to break it and my eyes suddenly jerked wide open as I brought myself back to reality.
Oh yeah. I was driving.
Two headlights in the dark were all I could see coming straight at me before I jerked the wheel to the right, forgetting I was in America, to get out of the way of the oncoming traffic. I felt the car lean to the right and all I could see in front of me was grass, weeds, and telephone poles. I was driving off of the road out of control and it took me a second to get the car back under control before I hit the brakes immediately. The speed that the car was going made the car skid about a hundred feet on the wet grass before I stopped, smashing the front of my car into a telephone pole with greater force than what was safe.
My mouth opened as I finally realized where I was and what just happened. I just crashed my car on the side of a highway out in the middle of unfamiliar territory.

I quickly climbed out of the car and ran around to the hood. I couldn't see the damage because it was too dark so I pulled my phone out and shined the flashlight on the hood.
Oh. That doesn't look good. There was literally a deep dent on the front where the pole sat seemingly perfectly unharmed. My mouth opened wide again and I angrily tore my snapback from my head and threw it on the ground. "Damn it!" I yelled to no one while running a hand through my hair. I looked at the hood again while taking a deep breath. There was no way that thing was going to start, but I nonetheless climbed into the driver's seat and tried. When I turned the key in the slot, nothing happened.
I hit my head against the seat in frustration. "Fuck!" I don't know how long I sat there before I finally pulled my phone out and dialed a number.

"Nialler!" The voice happily cheered. "Happy birthday! Where the fuck are you? The party already started and the fucking birthday boy isn't even here!"
I groaned and ran my hand through my hair again. "I crashed my car, Ash."
"What? Crashed your car? What the fuck?" He sounded shocked and I heard the atmosphere around him get a little quieter. I no longer heard Luke and Calum arguing over something in the background. "Where are you?" Ashton asked and I shook my head.
"I have no fucking clue. The side of the highway?"
"What's the name of the highway?"
"For fuck's sake." I mumbled. "One second." I quickly went to Google Maps and located where I was before telling Ashton.
"Okay. Do you know the general area that you're at on the highway?"
I groaned. "Ashton, I have been in New York for one fucking week, okay? I don't know where anything is in this damn city."
"Alright, alright. Geez. Well did you pass anything recently?"
No, because I was too busy thinking about Alyssa. "There was a McDonald's about two miles back. That's all I really know."
"Do you know how many fucking McDonald's are in this area?"
"There was a 7/11 across the street from it."
"That's better. Okay. Mikey and I are on our way. Just stay there and we'll call somebody."
I groaned slightly and closed my eyes. "Okay. Hurry up, please." I ended the call and let out a sigh.
Happy birthday to me.