Keep Me Safe (Sequel to Take Me Home)

Chapter Thirty-Two

The day that Louis went back to school rolled around fairly quickly. He was dreading it, Niall could tell, and he felt guilty that his brother was having to go back alone.

However, leaving the house to go to the park had been a big enough ordeal for him. He couldn't imagine trying to force himself to walk through those school hallways and face everyone else for a long time yet. He knew he wouldn't be able to cope with it.

Besides, Louis was getting a lift with Harry, and their big brother had sworn to keep an eye on him all day. That, at least, made him feel a little better.

Still, he couldn't bring himself to say goodbye to his brother that morning, and so he decided to take a shower instead. He always took long showers, sometimes multiple times in the same day.

Somehow, he never seemed to feel clean though.

He must have been in there for a long time because eventually, he heard knocking at the door.

"You okay in there, kiddo?" Papa asked softly. "You've been a while."

Niall found that today was one of those days where he didn't feel like using his voice, so he shut the shower off and wrapped a towel around himself, hoping his father would hear and take the hint.

He dried himself off with his eyes clothes, not wanting to catch sight of himself in the mirror before he was dressed because it made him feel disgusting and gross, and then he'd have to take a shower all over again.

He pulled on his boxers and was about to tug his big jumper over his head when the door knocked again.

"Ni?" Papa called out, and he sighed, trying to hurry along with getting dressed so he could open the door to show his father that he was okay.

He quickly pulled the jumper on and stepped into his joggers, hair so wet that it had already soaked down his neck and spine, the back of his clothes damp.

He was about to open the door when the handle shook on the other side, and for some reason, fear struck into his chest and he couldn't breathe. He took a few steps back and tripped over a towel, landing on the floor with a soft thud.

"Ni? What's going on?" Papa sounded almost desperate now but Niall's eyes were fixated on the door handle.

He twisted the door handle a few times and the door stayed shut. He had locked it.

He turned back to Niall with a too-wide smile, eyes sinister. "There," he said. "Nice and secure."

Niall wanted to get up off of the couch and run, but Richard had the key and he was so scared. Paralysed with fear.

He was breathing heavily. Richard walking closer and closer, big strides, not wanting to waste a single second.

And then he was right there, in front of him, leaning in so close, too close, practically nose to nose and his arms were on either side of Niall and he was trapped. He was trapped and he couldn't breathe.

"Niall!" Zayn yelled, when he finally managed to barge the door open with his shoulder, the bolt hanging off all rusty and weak.

He had heard a thud and when he hadn't gotten any answers to his shouts, he had expected to find the kid on the floor with a head injury or something.

What he didn't expect was to see the twelve year old curled up so small between the sink and the bathtub, hands over his ears, panting heavily and crying out a soft chorus of, "no, no, no."

When Zayn got closer, his son only seemed to push himself impossibly further back, sobbing and crying even louder in a way that made his heart ache.