CHAPTER 6
"After you." Niall said confidently whilst opening the car door for me.
"Thank you." I said chuckling flirtatiously, sitting inside the familiar warm car seat.
He jumped into the drivers seat to my right and immediately started the car. He turned the heat on without haste before rubbing his cold hands together and breathing into them, something I had seen him do previously, so I assumed it was a habit of his everyone he was cold.
"I forgot to thank you for sticking up for me earlier." Niall said quietly, placing both of his dry hands on the steering wheel.
My eyes shot up to face him and he was staring at the road in front of us. As much as I wanted to make eye contact, I'm glad we didn't, because I knew if we did I wouldn't be able to speak.
"You don't need to thank me Niall," I said sweetly, "it needed to be said. Sean's just a dick sometimes."
He chuckled at my use of language (probably more so because I'm so "innocent" looking) and quickly turned to look at me.
"I'm not used to people-girls-sticking up for me, I guess." he said, his smile turning into a straight line.
I studied him briefly, not really sure what he meant by that. I think he noticed the confusion on my face because he proceeded to tell me more about it.
"I've just never really had the best luck with girls." He stated bluntly.
I was in pure shock at the words falling from his thin pink lips. How could a guy like him have girl trouble? I would think he'd have loads of girls chasing after him as if he was a dog chasing after his freshly thrown tennis ball.
"But I'm hoping this one works out." He said, glancing over at me with a small smile.
"Me too." Was all I managed to cough out quietly. I couldn't believe how nervous I was.
Loosen up Maggie, it's just a boy.
But he wasn't. He was so much more than that. Charlie Donnelly was just a boy, a boy that my friends made me "date" in the sixth grade for a whole of two weeks. But Niall was different, Niall was...lovely.
••
"Here we are." Niall said as he parked the car in front of the ocean. I knew exactly where we were, the boardwalk. I hadn't been here since I was merely 8, and it brought back heart-wrenching memories.
*flashback*
"Shut up!" My mom shouted from the front seat.
"But mommy why do we have to leave so early?" I said through tears.
"Because your father has to go to work so he can pay the damn bills, do you want him to get fired?! if he gets fired we'll be out on the streets! "
She slapped me hard across my small face, causing my nose to bleed and for me to cry harder. My dad just sat in the driver's seat, completely motionless. Seeing him not even flinch at the fact that his daughter, that he claimed to "love so much," was getting hit by his wife, her mother.
"Don't fucking hit her." My older brother, Neil spat bravely at our mother. She just glared at him, knowing that because he's 13, hitting him would be more of a burden on her rather than anyone.
"Selfish brat." My mother spat at who knows which child before pulling a container of "medicine" out of her purse and swallowing three capsules dry. She had taken them so often she didn't even need water anymore.
"Now shut your mouth Margaret." She growled, still penalizing me for asking a simple question when her son had flat out cussed at her. I wasn't as angry as I could be, because he was sticking up for me.
"You're six years old learn how to grow up and stop acting like a baby."
"She's eight you heartless bitch." Neil grumbled, trying to hold back blood cascading from my nose with his shirt sleeve.
"Right, now here." She said throwing tissues at me, "if you get any blood on the seat I'll beat you."
Neil brought several tissues to my nose as my father (who was still whist as usual) stepped on the gas. I held right to the tissues that Neil handed me (after being hit by them) and wiped any remaining blood off my face. Neil put his right hand atop my left and rubbed his thumb gently over the top.
"Don't worry." He whispered to me, "I won't let her touch you."
*end of flashback*
I quivered at the disturbing memory, one that, despite its ten year gap, will never leave my mind. My mother turned into one of the most horrible of creatures, and still to this day I will never know why my father sat in silence. I don't even know where he is, but he's been gone for ten years so I stopped caring. I absolutely hate him for that.
"Maggie?" Niall said sadly, taking notice of the pain evident on my pale face.
"What?" I said quickly, turning to face him and seeing the worry in his eyes.
"We're here. Are you having second thoughts? Because if you are we can-"
"No," I cut him off, grabbing his right hand with both of mine, "I'm sorry, I'm really looking forward to this I was just-"
I didn't want to tell him what I was thinking about or why I was thinking about it. If I can, Id like to keep Niall out of my past as much as possible, I don't want to scare him away. Not to mention I don't like talking about it because it had traumatized me. The only other person that knows is Sean, and that's because he's been here since the beginning, and despite all of the idiotic things he's done, I'm so thankful for that.
"Never mind." I said, dismissing what I was previously thinking about.
"Are you sure you're okay?" He said, still apprehensive toward either me or my past situation (it was hard to read him, he just seemed nervous more time a than not).
"Positive," I said with a small smile, "Let's go before it gets too dark."
••
"You did not." I cackled out whilst munching on some fish and chips the two of us ordered to share.
"I did! I was only seven." Niall laughed back, grabbing a piece of fish from its container and walking alongside me on the frigid sand.
"Being seven is no excuse for putting your cat on the roof!" I cried out whilst I took the last piece of fish and threw away its container.
"It lived!" He said, holding his hands up in defense, but putting them quickly back into his pocket before the cold air cold fully engulf them.
I couldn't help but break out into contagious laughter as I listened to Niall tell me one of the most ridiculous stories I've ever heard. We'd been on the coast for four hours, but it only seemed like four minutes. I had gotten to know so much about Niall, what his favorite food is, his love for football, and even his secret love for musical theatre (which I promised I'd never tell another living soul about, on his behalf). The dangerously dropping temperature didn't even phase me either, because I was having such an incredible time, there's no way it really could. Not to mention that my never-ending laughter and his large hand in mine had helped with that.
"God it's cold." Niall said as he infamously blew into his hands for warmth.
I took them in mine afterwards and he lead me to a small bench. The sea looked beautiful, the faint street lights adding the perfect amount of light with the help of the crescent moon. He slipped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me tightly into his side, grabbing both of my hands and bringing them to his mouth.
"Your hands are icicles," he laughed quietly, "Maybe we should head home."
"No, no, I'm fine." I mange to say through my chattering teeth.
"Come on, you can come back to my place, where there's heat." He said as he rubbed his hands over my own.
I couldn't let down such a promising offer, so I simply told him yes we can go back to his place as long as I can pick the radio station that we listen to on the way home. He let out a large laugh but ended up giving in, because I think heat mattered more to him in that very moment.
We both practically leaped into his car, the cold really starting to get to both of us. Niall immediately turned the heat on full blast and I immediately put on my favorite radio station, letting the song "I Will Follow You Into the Dark" by Death Cab for Cutie fill the car, luckily I had caught it when it just started.
Love of mine,
someday you will die,
and I'll be close behind,
I'll follow you into the dark.
"This is one of my favorite songs." I said quietly.
Niall sat there and listened, I think he really liked it, but didn't want to admit anything before the song had come to an end.
If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the "No"'s on their vacancy signs
If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark.
About halfway through the song, Niall's hand found it's way into mine, and I don't think he even noticed. I surely didn't mind, it made my cheeks heat, which acted as a bonus because I was freezing.
"It was okay." Niall said as the song came to an end.
"Okay?" I jokingly scoffed, "You were totally into it."
"Was not."
"You were practically mesmerized." I laughed.
He turned to me and laughed, resulting in myself to do the same. The laughter came to a stop as the two of us ended up staring intensely into each other's eyes. I saw his eyes flicker down to my lips, which only made mine want to flicker down to his. Both of us noticed, but didn't want to say anything, for fear of ruining our pact of "taking things slow" that I think the both of us were regretting by the start of this date.
"I don't usually kiss on the first date." Niall spoke up, shocking not only me but himself.
"Neither do I." I said, resulting in a nod from the two of us, as well as broken eye contact.
We both brought our attention to te windows on each of our door's and stared out of them briefly.
I had no idea what came over me, but it was like the night he had saved me, when I ran back to the car just to kiss him on the cheek, except this time, it wasn't the cheek. I pulled his attention away from his window and forced his lips to mine with a forceful kiss, taking both of us by utter surprise. Never in my life did I think I would ever be the first to make the move, especially after one too many were made only one night prior.
Though it was unusual for me, I had absolutely no regrets in smashing lips with the alluring boy in front of me. I was not letting the opportunity slip away from me, and judging from his hands clinging tightly around my small waist, neither was he.
My hands found their way to his partially bleached hair and began to tug. I had kissed a few guys prior, but they were nothing compared to this. I had only ever kissed two boys, and they tasted of convenience store whiskey and dirt, neither of which were my decision. This kiss was enticing and as cliche as it sounds, sparks had to have been flying.
Our tongues had just started to meet when Niall's cell phone went off in his pocket.
"Jesus." He breathed out (I couldn't tell if he had said this because he was angry that the phone was interrupting us or because the kiss was completely breath taking, but either way it was satisfying), breaking our spark-infused kiss and looking at his phone with complete irritation.
"It's my brother, I have to take this I'm sorry." He said, stepping out of the car.
I nodded with the goofiest smile spread across my face because of that kiss. Though it was cut short, I couldn't get over that it happened, and I think I was more happy with myself for being the reason for it.
I looked out the window and saw Niall pacing back and forth, but it wasn't out of nerves. He looked angry, yet slightly concerned, which made me all the more curious. I noticed he left his keys still in the car, so because he was a good ten feet away and facing his back to me (not to mention I'm the queen of eavesdropping), I quietly rolled down the window, so I'd be able to hear his whole conversation.
"Greg! Greg. No I can't tell her! She's scared enough as it is!"
I felt my eyes grow wide as Niall shouted at his brother over the phone. could the "her" he was talking about be me?
"Look, its for her own good." He said collectedly, "Maggie can't deal with the weight of that right now."
I felt my breath catch in my throat, and I almost felt guilty for eavesdropping, almost. What cant I deal with right now?
"Just promise me you'll keep this between the two of us. She doesn't need to know that those two guys could potentially hurt her again." Niall said before he hung up the phone. I quickly closed the car window before he turned around and started walking back to the car. I tried to hide the complete fright on my face, and either Niall's bad at reading people, or I'm good at hiding it because he didn't question me in the slightest.
"Sorry about that, my brother just really needed to talk to me." He said as he placed his hands back on the steering wheel.
I didn't move before he out his hand on my knee which caused me to jump.
"Maggie, are you okay?" He said in confusion.
I was filled with so many emotions at that moment that I couldn't even form words. What does he mean they could still potentially hurt me?! Aren't they in jail?! And why would he not tell me? I get he wants to protect me but I have a right to know. What if they find me? what if they try again, and are successful?
All of a sudden I felt all of the color drain from my face as I continued to blankly stare out the front window.
"Maggie?" Niall questioned with complete concern.
Once again, I didn't say anything, but rather than just sitting there I opened the passenger door and turned sideways out of it. And out of complete fear and anxiety, proceeded to vomit.