Time Capsule

Chapter 52

"Let Louis and Harry take care of it. Just don't leave me." I cried. He held me tightly while I sobbed quietly into his neck. The loud chaos was suffocating me. I just wanted to get out of here. "Please. Take it away." 

He pulled away, but still held me close. "Let's go find the others before we lose them in this commotion." We started to push through the large crowd of students and parents. I felt trapped and enclosed. I needed to get out. We didn't bother to apologize for accidentally pushing, or for walking into pictures. We just tried to get out as quickly as we could. I clung onto Niall's waist for dear life.

We finally made it outside, and the mess was even bigger out here. People getting to their cars, more families that couldn't fit inside during the ceremony, students trying to find their parents.

I just wanted to scream.

We finally saw Melanie and Eleanor standing in a less crowded area. They were nervously scanning the crowd. When we approached them, they looked slightly relieved, but still really tense.

"Where's Louis?" Niall asked before either of them could speak.

"Harry just stormed over looking pretty pissed and just nodded at Louis. Then the two of them stormed off looking ready to kill. What happened? Something happened. They're looking for Nick, aren't they?! We couldn't see anything the whole time, what happened?!" Eleanor shrieked in a completely panicked state.

"He did do something." Niall spat as he looked angry again. "The fucking bastard had the audacity to touch her." He seethed. The two of them gasped, knowing exactly what Niall meant.

I felt sick to my stomach hearing him say it.

"I'm going to fucking skin him alive." Melanie growled.

"Don't worry about it. Louis and Harry are taking care of it. Let's just get her home." Niall muttered angrily. I knew he was concerned about me, and wanted to be by my side. But I also knew that he was beyond infuriated, and that he wanted a hand in beating Nick to a pulp for causing me such physical and emotional turmoil. I almost wanted him to. In fact, he deserved to. After all the damage he caused, I wanted Niall to release his bottled up anger on the scumbag who was about to ruin my life even more than he already did.

I just didn't want to see it. That was the problem, and why I got so terrified last time. "Niall." I cracked, causing him to look at me. His angered eyes softened at my sad expression. "Go find Harry and Louis."

"What?" He looked confused. He was unsure whether I meant to leave Nick alone, or to go join them. 

"I know you want to, just go." I whispered, not wanting to say the words. I'd never been one to wish violence on others, especially because of what I've been through, but I wanted Nick to pay for what he's done. Sure, Logan, Connor, and even my father, did it too, but he was the first.

He left the first scar on my purity. He ruined my innocence first.

"But Annabelle, I thought you-"

"Please, Niall." I lowered my voice to a whisper as I stared into his eyes pleadingly. "Make him pay."

That one sentence made him go completely stone. His jaw clenched, his nostrils flared, and his eyes went to slits as he stood up tall and threatening. He glanced at Melanie. "Take her to your house. We'll be back later." His voice was so low and dangerous. His accent intensified with the raspiness of his rage that he was bottling in for Nick.

He took off his gown and handed it to Eleanor, then stomped off on his mission. I watched him leave and instantly wanted him to come back when I saw what was in the distance. My father was standing by his rusty old pick up truck. He had an evil smirk on his face as he held up ten fingers, indicating what time I was told to be there. I felt my knees go weak and grabbed onto the closest thing to me so I didn't fall. It ended up being Melanie.