When they arrived at Heathrow in London, Niall and Ella didn't speak to each other. Niall talked to paul and told him to take Ella back to her flat. Since he has a connecting flight to Sweden.
Ella and Paul hop into the black SUV. She stared out the window as paul drove her back home. Thinking on whether she'll ever make up her mind.
Once they arrived, Paul reaches into the glove box and pulls out a phone.
"Niall told me to give you this phone in case. It's got my number, his number, and other ones. Brand new number." Paul says, handing her the new iPhone.
"What about my old one?" She asks, holding it up. "I haven't turned it on since."
"I was told by Niall to take it from you. Don't worry, you have all your family members numbers in the new one." Paul replies, grabbing the old phone and switching it for the new one.
How in the world did Niall-wait, don't ask questions. She'd rather not know.
She shakes her head and turns on the phone. "Okay, well then..."
"Your email is also brand new." Paul puts away her old phone. "Cmon, let's get you inside the house."
-----
After paul left, and searched the house, he told her he will be nearby checking on her. So she won't be freaked out over a suspicious vehicle.
As she was searching through her new phone thanks to Niall, she sees that it does in fact has her contacts.
She pulls up her iMessages and texts Eleanor. "I'm back home. I told Niall I couldn't decide."
Her phone buzzes, indicating a voicemail.
"Hey Ella. It's Niall. I just wanted to check up on you. I know you're probably upset about the new phone, but it had to be done. I'm sorry for not telling you. Anyway, If you need anything, don't hesitate to call me." And he hung up.
Ella lays down on her bed and closes her eyes shut. Why can't she make up her mind? What is really bothering her? All he's trying to do is help her like she's helped him. But there is something bothering her and she can't pinpoint it.
-------
Ella is cooking herself dinner, which is chicken quesadillas when she hears a knock on her front door.
"Who the hell?" She mumbles and grabs her phone from the counter. She walks over to the door and slowly opens it.
"Ella." Says a familiar voice.
She opens the door fully and looks up. She almost drops her phone. "J-Jamie?"
"I've been looking for you! Where have you been?" He asks, voice desperate.
"I've been away," she says slowly and eyes him carefully. "What do you want?"
"I want to apologize. For everything. I know what I did was wrong. I'm sorry." Jamie explains.
Ella narrows her eyes at him. "I thought it was really stupid that you told Niall that he couldn't see me anymore."
"I know," he frowns and looks down. "Can I come inside? It's starting to rain."
Fuck.
"I guess so." She moves aside to let him inside. He walks in and towards the small living room.
"How are you Ella?" He asks and takes off his hoodie. He got a haircut it seems.
"Okay I guess." She replies and shuts the door. "I could be better."
He sits down on the sofa and sighs deeply. "I just wanted to come by and ask for forgiveness. I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have done what I did. I was just, i don't know, jealous? I don't even know honestly."
She crosses her arms across her chest. "Just jealousy?"
"I don't know! Anyway, I drank a little and well you know how that goes. I've been trying to contact you..." He says scratching his chin.
"Sorry I was busy and didn't have service," she holds her head high.
"Where did he take you?"
"That's none of your business really," she walks across the room towards the kitchen. "I had to get away for a few days."
"I was worried where he took you!" He says a bit louder. "Ella, are you listening to me?"
"Yeah sort of," she grabs a cup from the cupboard. "It doesn't matter where he took me, I was safe."
Jamie takes a breath in. "Are you saying you don't feel safe around me?" He sounds a bit hurt.
"Not 100%," she grabs the sugar bowl. "I feel like I don't even know who you even are sometimes. Like, I don't trust you." She fills the cup with water and grabs her tea bag.
"Why?"
"Because you're always lying or shit," she heats up her cup in the microwave.
"Really? So you don't even trust me right now?"
"Nope."
The microwave beeps in that silent moment. She puts her tea bag inside and stirs it around.
"Okay," he stands up and walks over to her. "Then why did you let me inside the house? If you don't trust me."
"Because," she turns around to face him. "I wanted to hear what you wanted to say. And you said it was raining."
"So do you accept my apology?" He asks running a hand through his hair.
"No, I can't at the moment. I'm still very much upset at you." She says confidently. "What you did was wrong, whether you were drunk or sober. You can't threaten my friends by using me. That's fucking rude and a bit insane. So if you don't mind, get the fuck out of my house."
Jamie's eyes goes wide. His mouth gapes slightly. He is shocked. Beyond shocked.
"So what? Are you breaking up with me?"
"We were never a thing. I thought we could be, but I don't want to be with a guy who is immature like you." She hisses. "I don't need that."
Jamie clenches his fist and hits it against the counter top. "This is bullshit Ella!!"
"Bullshit or not, I don't want to be with you. I don't want to be your friend. So please, leave." She keeps her head high and narrows her eyes at him.
He steps closer to her. "Ella you can't be serious. Why are throwing it all away?"
"Because Jamie, I don't trust you. I don't! What you did was too much, it crossed the line." She replies and holds onto the counter.
"I was drunk!"
"Drunk or not, I don't care. You don't threaten my friends by using me."
"Fuck, Ella!" He screams and turns around on his heels. "This can't be happening. Like seriously, over this dumb shit?!"
"Yes, now get out before I call-"
He turns quickly around and stomps towards her. "Call who?!" He grabs her wrists tightly. "Call your little friend? He isn't here Ella. I know he's out of town."
She squirms to get out of his reach. He only tightens his grip.
"Leave now!!" She yells at him. "Or I'll hurt you!"
He grips even tighter, causing her to yelp in pain. "You're being stupid Ella. Can't you see?"
She kicks his shin as hard as she can. He screams from pain and releases her. She pushed him over and runs towards the door.
"ELLA!"
She runs out of her flat and into the street. She grabs her phone from her pocket and quickly dials Paul.
"Paul!" She yells as she runs down the wet street. Jamie chasing, yelling after her.
"Ella? Are you okay?" Paul asks when he answers.
"No...Jam-, Jamie hurt me! He's chasing me down the street from my flat! Please Paul help me!" She breathes hard and nearly slips.
"I'll be there in 5 minutes or less. Get inside a pub or something. And text me your location." He says and hangs up.
Ella grips her phone tight and runs as hard as she can. Jamie is probably 30 feet away, still screaming her name.
"Oh god, oh god," she coughs and turns right onto a street. She enters the first pub and nearly runs into a waitress. She quickly goes into the ladies' bathroom.
She texts Paul the location and walks into a stall.
"Oh god, please god let Paul arrive soon. Please please." She whispers and closes her eyes, praying.
*BUZZ*
Paul: "Come out from the back."
She takes a deep breath in and walks out of the bathroom stall, avoiding the stares from the women.
She opens the door slowly and looks out to make its clear. She sees the back door exit and quickly runs to to it.
The cold air hits her face and she sees a black SUV parked on the opposite side of the street.
"Ella!!" Paul yells and waves at her from the window.
She looks both ways before crossing the street and opens the SUV's door.
"Thank you Paul." She says climbing inside.
"No problem, let's go." He puts the SUV in drive and pulls away towards downtown London.
"Where are we going?" Ella asks, rubbing her wrists. They hurt from where Jamie was grabbing her.
"Airport. I called Niall and told him we're coming."
"Wait you called him?"
"Yeah. I had to." He says, speeding up once on the freeway.
Oh shit.
"What did he say?"
Paul frowns. "He wants you to be there with him as soon as possible."
-------
Niall paces his room, hands clenched into a fist. Paul just called him that Ella was being chased by Jamie after he tried to hurt her.
He doesn't know what to do, he feels helpless until Ella arrives. Which should be in about 1.5-2 hours.
He grabs his phone and dials a number. "Stacey? Hello, it's Niall. Yeah, listen...I have my friend coming over suddenly. Can I extend the rental for about a week? Yes, yes it's sort of an emergency. Okay, thank you."
He hangs up and sighs deeply. He keeps pacing, waiting until their arrival.
-----
Ella doesn't have her clothes. She's hungry. And she's hurting.
They arrived in Sweden around 10pm and currently on their way to Niall's rental house.
Her wrists are starting to bruise and she's sure Niall will see them. Jamie's fingerprints are vaguely there.
She closes her eyes. She just wants to sleep, in a warm bed and forget about this horrible experience. She should have gone with Niall in the first place...
------
They arrive at the rental house. Paul opens her door and they walk to the front door. He opens the door and lets Ella inside first.
"Niall." Paul says loudly and shuts the door behind them.
Niall comes barging down the stairs. "Ella?"
She waves shyly at him and looks down at her feet. Paul moves off to the side.
Niall grabs her hand and pulls her against him tightly. "Ella, I'm so sorry. I'm sorry that happened to you. Are you okay? Are you hurt?"
She buries her face in his neck and wraps her arm tightly around him. "Just my wrists where he grabbed me."
He immediately pulls back and looks at her wrists. "What? Oh god...no. Come with me. Paul, please call Brett and let him know what happened."
Niall leads Ella upstairs and towards his bedroom. He sits her down on the bed and rubs her wrist gently.
"Ella, are you okay? Like, really, okay?" He asks, looking at her.
"Yeah I guess it could have been worse." She replies and notices Niall's grimace. "But I'm okay. And...I'm sorry."
"Sorry? For what?"
"For not listening to you. For not going with you in the first place. I just...it's been crazy. I needed time to think." She shrugs. "I just..don't know."
He sits down beside her and wraps an arm around her shoulder. "Ella, no need to apologize. I know it's been a crazy few days. I understand. I'm just glad you're here, safe, away from that guy."
Ella lays her head on his shoulder. "I'm just...I just...want to forget all this happened."
"Me too," he mumbles and rubs her shoulder with his thumb. "Can I ask you something?"
She nods.
"Why was he there in the first place??"
"He knew I was ignoring him and he wanted to talk it out." She closes her eyes. "And well, things didn't go good. I told him to leave but he refused. I told him I didn't trust him and that triggered him."
"That bastard, so he decided to put his hands on you." He says sternly.
Ella reaches out for his free hand. "Yeah, in a way to stop me from pushing out the flat. But I kicked him good in the leg."
"Really?"
She smirks. "Yeah, it felt so good."
"Proud of you for defending yourself," he hugs her tightly, causing Ella to open her eyes. "He deserved it."
"That he did." She instinctively leans into him. "That's when I ran outside and he started chasing after me. I ran into a pub, went into the bathroom, and called Paul."
"That's probably when paul called me. He told me you were in trouble and that Jamie hurt you. I was so scared. I didn't know how badly he hurt you." He grabs her hand. "I'm just glad it wasn't severe. If not, I would personally beat his ass."
He looks at her bruised wrist. "But, now, I'm not letting you out of my eyesight until we figure out what to do about this."
Ella blushes a bit and pulls her hand away. "Yeah?"
He nods. "Mmhhmm. Now, come on, let's get go bed. I bet your tired."
"Yeah, but....I don't have my PJs. I don't have any extra clothes!"
"Right. Just take whatever of mine. I'll let you sleep in the bedroom down the hall. Cmon." He leads her out of the bedroom, grabbing a tshirt and pants on his way out. "It's like a second master's bedroom. So you got your own bathroom as well."
He opens the bedroom door. "You're only 40 steps away. Okay? So don't worry about anything."
The bedroom is very open which makes it looks very big. The bed is covered in a white duvet. There is a TV and a desk, as well as a closet and she assumes the bathroom across the room.
"Thanks Niall." She says softly. "For doing this."
"No worries Ella," he walks her inside. "Like I said, 40 steps away. Okay? If you need anything, just come to my room. I'll leave the door open."
She nods. "Okay."
He hands her over the items of clothing and squeezes her arm. "Good night."
"Night," she replies, grabbing the clothes.
He walks away and out the room, shutting the door behind him.
----
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