Rewinding Time (Narry)

Chapter Thirty-One

Of course, with the horrible luck that I have, my sweaty hands gave way and I dropped painfully onto the ground; my feet hit the ground first, and I let out a cry as the pain shot up my leg. I stuffed the sleeve of my coat into my mouth to keep myself from crying out in agony.

I quickly gathered my provisions and reattached them to my body before I began limping towards the kitchen storage. Before entering the place, I carefully checked for servants, making sure that nobody had seen me.

Once inside, I unfastened my makeshift bag and packed a few fruits, bread, cheese, and a bottle of expensive wine—which I was planning on selling once I got into town; I figured that I could always just repay the Maliks back later.  I quickly refilled my canteen as well before exiting the storage and making a dash—or at least an effort to dash—for the main gate of the mansion. I had to follow the outer perimeter of the gate in order to stay in the shadows, ensuring that nobody could spot me.

Nobody understood; I couldn't go back to the Styles mansion. I couldn't face Harry. After seeing Harry with Taylor for the third time, I realized that I was actually extremely jealous of their relationship. I was jealous that they were together and I was nothing but somebody he could use whenever he was feeling lonely. I was nothing to him. It was too shameful.

I ran away from Louis because I was tired of always being that friend on the side that he could go to whenever things weren't working out with his love interest. I didn't want to go through all of that all over again. I couldn't go through that all over again. I didn't care if I had to go into town to find some low-paying job; at least it was better than being emotionally beat up over and over again.

"Niall? What the hell!"

I turned around in horror to see Zayn running up from behind me. I tried to speed up my pace, but my ankle was just not cooperating. Once again, with the almighty God of luck on my side, I just so happened to apply pressure on my injured ankle in all of the wrong ways. I yelped in pain as my legs gave way and I collapse onto the snow.

Zayn eventually caught up to me and fell down onto the snow beside me. He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me into his arms. "Niall, why are you running away?" he asked, tightening his arms around me.

"I-"

I tried to speak, but I was just so overwhelmed. Without uttering another word, I turned my face into Zayn's chest and cried. Zayn tried to comfort me and tell me that everything was alright, but I drowned him out. Everything wasn't alright. It was never going to be alright if I stayed here any longer.

"I wish I never met Harry. I wish I never came here. I wish I was back at home—home where I belong," I rambled, hitting Zayn's chest harshly.

"Don't say that, Niall," Zayn replied; it was evident in his voice that there was a frown on his face, but I didn't dare look.

The air around us suddenly became extremely chilly and the wind began to pick up substantially. My chest began to burn, causing me to cry out in pain. It felt like somebody had just stuck a piece of burning coal against my chest, and the pain was just unbearable. I clawed at my coat to stop the agony.

"Niall!"

My head snapped up at the sound of my name; I peered over Zayn's shoulder to see who was calling for me. I could see a figure in the distance, but I couldn't really make out who it was since the wind was so strong that it was picking up the snow around us.  

"Niall!"

The voice rang once more, but this time it was much clearer. It was Harry. He seemed pale and bewildered as he began to run towards Zayn and me. I let out a cry and tried to scramble out of Zayn's grasp, but Zayn was being disgustingly persistent. I closed my eyes tightly as Harry's voice became louder and louder.