Rewinding Time (Narry)

Chapter Thirty-Three

"Then what do you suggest we do?" I asked; I had no idea what on earth he was saying, but whatever the 'media' was, it sounded terrible.

"There's an abandoned mansion not too far from here, actually. It's not as creepy as it sounds, I promise. I've been living there for several weeks now and it's not that bad."

"Wait, what? You've been living where for several weeks?" Niall asked, quirking his head onto one side. "I don't know why this thought didn't cross my mind before, but what the hell are you doing all the way out here in the first place? Are you running away? Why would you run away?"

"Like I said," Liam sighed, "a lot happened while you were away."

"Is there something wrong with your family?"

"Niall, don't."

"Liam."

The brown haired boy squatted down onto the ground and ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He glanced up at Niall with pleading eyes, hoping that the smaller lad would drop the topic, but alas, Niall stood there with his hands crossed in persistence.

Liam sighed and stood up; he walked closer towards the two of us and stopped several inches from Niall. As he began to speak, he never once removed his eyes from Niall.

"My parents weren't the good people that I thought they were. I've lost everybody; Ruth, Nicola, mum, dad, you." Liam took ahold of Niall's hands and squeezed them tightly. "I-"

He seemed to be choked up on his words; whatever he had experienced must have been so terrible that he couldn't even speak of it. Without another word, I stepped forward, and pulled him into my arms, hugging him tightly. He buried his face into my shoulder and began to cry quietly. Niall seemed surprised at the situation and didn't know what to do so he kind of just hugged Liam from behind.

"I'm sorry, Liam," Niall mumbled, tightening his grip around Liam's waist. I released one of my arms around Liam's back and reached up to ruffle Niall's hair gently.

"Don't worry about it," Liam sniffed, trying to wriggle out from our grasps. He laughed when I tightly planted my hands onto Niall's back, effectively trapping him between us.

"Not until you tell us that you're alright," I said sternly, tightening my arms around him in an effort to convey how serious I was.

"I'm good," Liam smiled, trying to poke my sides with his hands—the task seemed to be quite impossible, however, since I had trapped his arms with my own. "Thank you, Zayn."

I rubbed his back and squeezed him one last time before releasing him from my grip. Niall, however, still remained on Liam's back. Liam turned around to face Niall as he ran his hand through the smaller lad's hair.

"Niall?" Liam asked, peering down at the latter when he realized Niall wasn't going to let him go any time soon.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't be there for you," Niall cried.

Strangely enough, that was what hit me hardest; I could definitely understand the situation that Niall was in, and it really hurt me to think about it. Niall was gone when Liam was at his worst, just like how I had disappeared when Harry was hitting a new low.

"Honestly, Niall. I'm fine," Liam smiled, wrapping his arms around Niall. The smaller lad perked his head up and scanned Liam's face carefully.

"Really?"

"Yes."

A small smile slowly stretched across Niall's face as he got up onto his tippy toes and pecked Liam's cheek. My hands balled together as I watched them; I was happy for the two of them, but at the same time, I felt jealous.