***Niall's P.O.V.***
Cody's father stood at the front of the church behind a podium that Cody's casket was in front of. The top of the casket was open so that anyone could come up to it and look at the lifeless body of the boy inside. I had looked before the service had started but quickly found that it was hard to take. I didn't even know the kid that well but just looking at him made me feel guilty. That dead boy was the same guy who I criticized for so long just because he was interested in Navaeh. Maybe I could have done something differently.
Words and prayers jumbled together as I sat in my seat in one of the pews and tried not to think too much about how I had regarded Cody before his death. Ben sat next to me; he was tucked under my arm and sniffling back his tears. Jan held one of his hands and glanced over him every now and then. I was trying to comfort the young boy as much as possible and I'm sure that I was helping somewhat; pretty much everyone would love to be comforted by their idol if given the chance. It was the least I could do, really.
Every time the doors to the church creaked open I would twist around to see if Navaeh's blonde head would be walking in. The service had started an hour before and she still wasn't there. As much as I wanted to put all of my focus on comforting Ben and Cody's funeral, I was often preoccupied with thinking about where she was. Not hearing from her was really running me ragged; I hadn't slept at all the night before and I didn't think that I would that night either. I was supposed to re-dye my hair the night before but I couldn't sit still long enough to do it.
When the service ended I stuck around for a little while. Jan thanked me for coming and I held Ben for a little bit while we talked because the small boy was still crying and I felt bad for him. Of course, Jan asked about Navaeh and if I knew anything about why she hadn't come. I just told her that I had no idea of where she was but that I was starting to worry about her. She wouldn't have missed Cody's funeral just because she felt like staying home or anything like that; she wouldn't be ignoring me just because she felt like it.
Getting home was taxing; traffic in London was horrible since we were getting some freak snow storm. Yeah, the middle of March and we were getting a freaking snow storm. Apparently, there were supposed to be record breaking temperatures and freezing rain the next day. How wonderful; it made everyone act like they were driving on eggshells and that was beyond annoying. I just wanted to get to my house and dwell in my nervousness in the comfort of my own home. However, I had to sit behind a minivan for about half an hour. I don't think I have ever honked so many times in my life.
The first thing I did when I got to my place was plop down on the couch. I didn't even bother to take off my nice suit and button up (I had, however, taken off the boa constrictor of a tie that I was wearing). After laying there and letting my mind run circles around itself for a while, I blindly felt around the side table next to the couch for the piece of notebook paper that should be sitting there. Eventually, the pads of my fingers met the smooth paper and I pulled it to me.
Cody's handwriting was somewhat hard for me to decipher at first. I considered the fact that he might have been in a lot of emotional distress while writing it and that also helped to explain some of the mistakes. I wasn't much of a reader, but I had read the letter about a thousand times within the night before. It read:
Niall,
I know it may seem odd to write you a letter when I barely know you. I just wanted to thank you for everything you've done for my brother; it'll be the highlight of his life and I'm really glad that you were kind enough to do that for him even though you didn't even know him. Plus, I wanted to clear the air on a few things because I feel like I owe you some sort of explanation on what was between Navaeh and I.
Navaeh told me about what you think about me. To put you at ease, I never once considered taking advantage of Navaeh. I really, genuinely liked her a lot and I promise you that I had no intentions of ever trying to hurt her under any circumstances. Also, I know you like her. It's not that hard to tell, but I don't think that she has figured it out yet. She likes you too; she just hasn't realized it yet I think. Take care of her. She deserves all that life can give her. Don't let her end up like me.
-Cody
The words were practically seared into my mind. Every time that I tried to calm my mind they would just come right back again and plague me. The fact that Cody knew about what I had been saying about him to Navaeh was what really got to me. He never acted like he knew; he never brought it up when ran into him at the grocer's market. Then there was the fact that he had known about my feelings for Navaeh and he still had no qualms about letting her hang out with me so often. He never made her choose between him or me or anything like that. I had really been wrong about him.
My eyes skimmed over the letter once again before there was a knock on my door. Within a matter of seconds my mind had gone ablaze with questions and possibilities; what if it was Navaeh? What if it wasn't her? What if it was just Harry and I got my hopes up? It was quick and unsure; my head snapped in the direction of the door and I was up in a matter of seconds to answer it. With jittery and fidgeting hands, I opened the door and gasped at what I saw when it was open.
Right in front of me was Navaeh; her hair was slightly matted and there were bags under her eyes that showed that she hadn't slept since I had last seen her and only accentuated the black eye that she had. There was a small tear in her shirt near her shoulder and a bit of blood seeped from a cut there in her skin. She looked tattered; she wobbled slightly as if she was about to fall into a billion pieces right in front of me.
"Navaeh," I breathed out in slight shock. I was so happy to see her but terrified to see the state that she was in. It was almost exactly what I had been dreading; the only thing worse to see would be her in a body bag. My fists clenched as I thought about how he could have possibly done that to her; how could he live with himself?
She broke down right then and there after I had said her name; it was like I had flipped a switch and she was falling apart without another word. I stepped forward to hold her in my arms before she could collapse on the concrete steps leading to my door. My arms wrapped around her waist tightly and I buried my face in her hair and neck as I cooed ever so slightly to try and get her to calm down. It wasn't really helping; I was close to tears myself because I was just so relieved to see her.
I didn't pull away from our embrace until I had given her a small squeeze and even then I was reluctant. "Come inside before you catch a cold," I instructed softly as I brushed tears off of her cheeks with my thumb. It wasn't very helpful seeing as she was still crying and I would just have to keep wiping them away. My eyes landed on the cut on her arm after that; it would be a good idea to get it cleaned up once she was inside.
"I-I can't; I have to leave after I talk to you," she managed out the words between her gasps of air. It was painful to watch her struggling to talk and the words hurt even more. Just the thought of her leaving again was incredibly panic worthy.
"But I've been so worried about you," I protested with a slight whine. I would say and do anything just to keep her from leaving so soon. I needed her to stay; I couldn't let her go back to wherever she was whether it was her house or somewhere else.
"I know, I know, but I can't be gone when he gets home," she replied with a little shake of her head. The words were said in somewhat of a daze as if she was scared by just thinking about them.
"Navaeh, what has been going on this past week? What has he done?" I questioned while giving a slight motion to her appearance. She only cried a little harder before explaining herself a little bit,
"He wouldn't let me go anywhere; I'm lucky I was even able to get here tonight," she cried, "He broke my phone and cut the wires of the land line. I had to sneak out of my fucking window just to get here. I don't even know how I'm going to get back into the house."
"This isn't right, Navaeh; you have to get out of there. Stay here with me and we'll figure it out. He won't be able to hurt you anymore," I suggested desperately. I wasn't even bothering to cover the hopeful tone in my words; she knew that I wanted to keep her far away from her house and I thought that I could protect her if she just stayed with me.
She nodded which made my hope sky rocket dangerously. Then, she continued and I was somewhat brought down, "I want to stay, but not tonight. My mum's coming back tomorrow and I have to tell her everything so that she doesn't stay in the same house as him."
"Tomorrow?" I repeated for finality.
"Tomorrow," she agreed.
"I'll pick you up at eight, okay? Not a second later. You be ready to go in a heartbeat and I swear he's never coming near here even if I have to get a few of my security guards to reinforce a restraining order." I pulled her back into a hug after that. Maybe she wasn't staying that night, but she would be soon enough and that was what really mattered. I could keep her safe then; I could put an end to her abuse and hold her for as long as she would allow me to. I just needed her to be there; I just needed to know that I wouldn't lose her. My heart sank when she pulled away from me and started to rush down the stairs. I caught her wrist before she could reach the final step and tried one last time to get her to stay. "Please don't leave yet."
"I have to, Niall. I'm sorry; it'll only be worse if he gets home and I'm not there," and with that, she was gone.