Mirrors

Chapter Forty Five

They all went out to celebrate, and they all got a little toasted. Niall, however, got plastered. By the time he made it home, Edie was having to hold him up. She plopped him down on one of the seats on his front patio. 

"Okay, where are the keys?" She asked herself out loud. She had his jacket in her hands so she started there. No luck. She looked over at him, his eyes were closed but he was still mumbling something. "They're in your pants, aren't they?" She sarcastically asked him, knowing she wasn't getting an answer. She tried to figure out which pocket. She saw the outline of his phone in one front pocket, and something that looked like keys in the other. She squeezed her hand into his pocket and grabbed a hold of what she was hoping was a set of keys. "Nope. Not your keys." She quickly pulled her hand out of his pocket. "Damn it, Horan, they better be in the back pockets." She twisted his body a little to get to the back pocket. "You sooo better enjoy this, pal," she said as she slid her hand in and found keys. "Jesus, that didn't need to be that hard."

She unlocked the door and tossed her bag, his jacket and his shirt into the hall before going back for him. She managed to get them both through the front door before basically dropping him on the floor in the main foyer.

"Shit, Niall, c'mon, you gotta help me out a little. I can't carry you." Niall just laid there, mumbling. His words had been incoherent since they left the pub they had all gone too. "You know what, I'm just gonna leave you here."

She started to walk away but a hand reached out for her ankle, "Where do...think...going?" she heard, or so she thought. She really wasn't quite sure.

"To change into something that will hopefully make it easier to move your ass to at least the couch," she said, shaking his hand away and going upstairs.

When she returned, Niall had managed to put himself upright and was leaning against the wall.

"Hey, you!" He said, his face lighting up when he saw her. "Where been?"

"Still making partial sentences, I see. I was changing, you fool, so I can attempt to help you move your ass a little better."

"What's wrong with my ass?" He asked, twisting to see if he could see it and toppling over.

Edie burst into laughter, "Nothing's wrong with it. You have quite a nice ass." She bent down a little and reached for Niall's hands to help him get upright again before trying to pull him off the ground. "Okay, buddy, you gotta help me, okay?"

He just gave her this goofy grin, as she slipped one of his arms around her shoulder and the other around her waist, thinking that might be the best way to get him up. Nope. She quickly lost control and down he went.

"Okay, new approach," she said, as she regained her balance. "I'm gonna see if I can pull ya." She picked up both of his hands and tried to drag him across the floor. She got maybe a few inches before she let go. "I quit." She walked over to the couch, grabbed a pillow and a blanket and came back to him. She lifted his head and placed the pillow underneath him and then tossed the blanket over him. "See ya in the am." She flipped the light off and left him there.

Sometime later, Edie woke up to the sound of a thud against her door. "Ooooouch," she heard a half drunk, half sleepy Irish accent say before she saw the door get pushed wide open and a half drunk, half sleepy Niall slither in. She watched as he stumbled his way to the bed and plop himself down on top of it. "Who's in my bed?"

"No one, Niall. You're in mine, in the guest room," she whispered, trying to help him out a little.

She got him under the covers and she laid back down, rolling back over to go back to sleep. He crawled up close to her from behind and wrapped his arms around her, "Mmmm, the best spot in the whole house."

"If you say so," she mumbled as she closed her eyes.

But no, sleep wasn't coming back just yet, as she felt him move a little closer to her and rest his head on top of hers. "You're so pretty," he mumbled, "I hope you know that. The prettiest girl I've ever seen."

Edie just laughed a little as she said, "Yeah, so pretty. These scars are so fucking beautiful."

Niall groaned, "I wish you'd stop saying that. I think you should hold that gorgeous head of yours up and wear your scars like a dress. Show the world just how pretty strength is."

Edie remained silent for a moment. She knew Niall was still drunk; she could hear it in his voice. But she did appreciate everything he just said. She turned to lay on her back. Niall's arm still rested on top of her while his head was now buried in her hair. She could feel him breathing by her ear and it sent a chill up her spine.

"You know that Alessia Cara song "Scars to Your Beautiful"?"

"Mmhmm."

"I used to think she was saying 'we're scars and we're beautiful' instead of 'we're stars and we're beautiful'. I kind of wish that was what she was saying, ya know. I mean, we're all flawed, right? We're all scars."

There was silence for a moment but she knew Niall was at least semi awake because he was running his fingers up and down her arm. "I like that analysis. And you, Edie, you...you are both a survivor and a warrior.  You have scars, yes, but they are beautiful.  You are one of the most beautiful people I've ever seen, inside and out.  And you're still fearless; still strong.  And I love you. I love every last inch of you."

Edie froze. 'Did he just say...?' she thought, 'Nah, he's drunk, he didn't mean it like that. Of course, he loves you, Edie, he's your friend. He's told you that many times. This is nothing new.' But the way he said it seemed different. "What did you just say?" she whispered, turning to face him.

"I said I love you," Niall mumbled as he buried his head in her hair and she felt his body go limp around her.

Edie just laid there, quietly, as she heard Niall's breathing regulate to that of someone sleeping. She tried to push the thought out of her mind that he may have meant something different. She turned back around so her back was to him and closed her eyes. She was too tired to figure it out at that moment. As she drifted back into unconsciousness, she felt him pull her in even closer to him.