Mirrors

Chapter Forty Three

A few days later, Edie woke up to Niall shaking her.  "Wake up!  Wake up!"

She swatted at him, "Go away, Niall.  Must...sleep."

"The trial starts next week."

Edie's eyes flew open to see Niall kneeled in front of her, his eyes both sparkling and scared, "What?!"

"Just got a call from my lawyer.  The trial starts next week."

"I thought there wasn't going to be one?"

"Apparently, there is.  Something about deciding his fate.  I don't fucking know." 

Sensing the nervousness in his voice and the expression on his face, Edie reached her hand out from under the covers, resting it on his cheek.  "It'll be okay.  You're not alone, remember.  If I'm not alone because I can't get rid of you then that means you're stuck with me, too."

He smiled at her.  "I know.  And I'm okay with that."

"What day does it start?"

"Next Wednesday."

"Wednesday?  Shit.  That's when I'm supposed to get my next surgery."

"Yeah, I know."

"I'll reschedule it.  No way I'm leaving you to face this bastard without me there," she said, sitting up and reaching for her phone.

"No, Edie, don't do that.  Keep your surgery."

She stopped scrolling through her contacts and looked at him.  Sliding out of bed so she was at his level, she cupped his face in her hands, just as he had done, "Not a chance, Horan.  You promised me I would always have you.  And I made that same promise to you." He gave her a skeptical look.  "I silently made that same promise.  Surgery can be rescheduled.  This cannot.  I want to be in that courtroom with you."

"I'll have the guys there.  And my parents."

"No!  It's been settled.  I'm rescheduling.  I'm gonna wanna hide for a week after my surgery and that just isn't acceptable."

"Yeah but it could be months before you get your next one."

She leaned in, touching her forehead to his, "I can live with that.  Plus, I'm starting to get used to them.  Ugly little bastards." She smiled as she let go of him and grabbed her phone to call her surgeon to reschedule.

"They're not ugly," he mumbled softly, as he watched her make her phone call.

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The next week went by in slow motion.  The morning his trial began, or sentencing really, Niall was a nervous wreck.  He was running around his house trying to get things together and yet not knowing what he needed when the doorbell rang. 

"I've got it!" He heard Edie shout from downstairs.  He heard some voices but couldn't distinguish who it was.  He knew his parents were coming and so were the boys.  He hoped it was the boys.  He wanted to properly introduce her to everyone but mostly properly introduce her to his parents - another reason he was so nervous, on top of everything else.

"Knock, knock," she said softly as she entered his room, "Harry and Liam are here.  Louis is running behind and will meet us all at the courthouse."

Niall didn't respond, he was struggling to decide what shirt to wear.  Edie walked further into his closest and reached for a deep, sapphire blue button down.  She took it off the hanger and handed it to him.

"Blue is your color."

As he put his shirt on, she found a tie.  He was struggling with the buttons of his shirt, so she gently stopped him and did it for him and then flung the tie over his head and proceeded to tie his tie.