Night Air

Chapter 49

After I woke up and at least brushed my teeth, I looked around the hotel one last time just to make sure that I had everything. When I was positive that I had all my belongings, I grabbed my suitcase and walked out the door and down the hallway. I stopped once I got to Alyssa's door. I was tempted to knock or maybe sneak in since I still had her card, but I didn't. She needed her rest. Just because I didn't get any doesn't mean that she's not allowed to, either.
So I made it downstairs and into the lobby where I gave the man at the front desk both of the keys and walked outside where I almost ran someone over who was sitting on the front steps of the hotel smoking a ciggarette. I hit her back and then quickly drew backwards a few steps so I could go around her. "Sorry."
The young lady looked up at me and my eyes widened. "You smoke?"
She narrowed her eyes at me and then turned back around, continuing on her cigarette. "No." She was defintely being short with me. I pushed my suitcase back and out of the way and sat down on the step next to her. "Steph gave me one. Told me it would relieve my stress."
"Is it helping?" She flicked the ash against the side of the step and glared at me like I should know the answer. "I'm taking that as a no."
"What do you want me to say, Niall?" She suddenly spoke up while fliging her arms to the side. "You're leaving and it doesn't even seem to be a big deal to you! Well, you know what? It's a big deal to me." I watched tears well up slightly in Alyssa's big, green eyes and I noticed how her voice cracked at the end. I scoot a little closer to her and held her, and boy was I happy when she let me do so. I never wanted to let her go, but I knew that I had to.
"It is a big deal to me," I whispered after a while of silence. "It's a huge deal to me. I didn't mean any of what I said to you last night. I hope you know that."
She pulled out of my hold and glared at me. "Then why do you have to leave, Niall? Why?"
"I... I can't tell you that exactly. You'd hate me forever." I guess it technically wouldn't be against any rules since I no longer work for her dad, but I still couldn't bring myself to tell her. I love her too much for that.
Wait... what?

She propped her elbow up on her knee and rested her chin in her hand. "Try me."
Tell her! Tell her now! You'll never see her again! Don't be such a wimp! You know it's true!
"Alyssa..." She kept looking at me and I knew I was just stalling because I was too scared to say it. "I... I have to go... a-and I can't tell you why, but I can tell you and I want you to know that I... I lo-"
"Ouch! Damn!" She suddenly cut me off and I watched as she quickly threw the cigarette, which was now almost burnt to the bottom, across the sidewalk. She pressed her middle knuckle to her lips and tongue and then pulled it back while hissing in pain. I looked at her red knuckle for half a second and then she quickly stood up.
"You know what, Niall? I know now."
I stood up, too, and looked at her confused. What was she talking about? She sounded so calm but so fired up all at the same time.
I gently grabbed her arm and pulled her into me. "You know what?" I asked.
"I now know what it's like to let something- or someone- get too close to you to the point where they burn you and leave you marked and hurt." I looked down to the small amount of sidewalk in between our feet knowing that I taught her that and she was now using it on me. I deserve it, though.
She took her arm out of my grasp for a second and I looked up just in time to watch her take a necklace off from around he neck.
"Here," she said gathering the necklace into her hand. I held a hand out and she carefully dropped the necklace in my palm and then closed my fingers around it. "I know that you might just go back to your life of fucking different girls, but I want you to keep this. Just to remember that one girl that you didn't fuck but got close to anyways." She took a few steps up the steps, but kept looking at me. "Well, the girl that got close to you, anyways. You don't have to wear it or anything, but I just want you to have it."
I looked down at my closed palm and then back up to her. She bit her lip and I could tell that she was close to crying. She quickly ran back down the steps and leaned up on her tippy toes to let her lips touch mine again. I hadn't kissed her in what felt like forever and it felt amazing. I wrapped my free arm around her back trying to hold her there as long as possible. It was just as good as our first kiss, if not better, and I never wanted it to end. However, after a short while, she went back down to her normal height and within a blink of an eye, she was back inside and just... gone.

I looked down to the necklace in my hand and admired the charm. My jaw dropped as I read it and realized it was her mom's.

You know I'll be
Your life
Your voice
Your reason to be

I clenched the metal again and let out a giant sigh. "You will be," I whispered into the night/morning air. "I promise."

LOOKIE LOOKIE! WHO GETS A COOKIE!?
I dunno. It just sort of rhymed. But a cookie does sound good right now. SO TRIPLE UPDATE! PRETTY FREAKING PROUD! Does that make up for the whole three weeksish that it took to update at all? No? Okay. Had to try.
AND OH MY ATLANTA! Just now I just clicked something and I didn't know what it was but everything on my page dissapeared! Oh Jesus. That shit gave me a heart attack. Phew. Thank God for the undo button. I don't know what I clicked but everything I just spent the last hourish writing dissapeared.
Okay. Good night you sexy people. I love you. Stay sexy peoples. c;