This is a warning: This chapter is a tear jerker... :'(
This is dedicated to Athena236 because we're in the TPWWFBBCHOBOTP club. I know, it's really long but it's super awesome. She also has an amazing One Direction fan fiction called "Rodeo Queen", so I encourage all of my fans/readers to go check it out!
Also, I have a new fan fiction called "Taking Chances". Yes, it is a The Wanted fan fiction! I would really appreciate it if everyone would read it and tell me what you think of it. :) I think, at the moment, it only has 22 reads! If you like The Wanted, then you should go read it. ;)
Sorry for a really long author's note! I really hope y'all read all of it!
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Ariella’s POV
When the five of us pulled up to the Horan household, Niall bolted out of the car. I lugged my suitcase through the front door as I heard Niall telling Greg and his parents about tour life.
“Maura?” I squeaked.
“Yes, sweetie?” She asked me.
“Where can I put this?” I motioned towards my suitcase.
“You can stay in Niall’s room. It’s up the stairs and the first door to the left,” She said.
I thanked her and then hauled my stuff up the stairs. All of a sudden, I felt the suitcase slip from my hands. I turned around in a panic to find Niall holding it. I held my chest.
“I thought it was falling,” I said.
“I’ll carry it for you,” He said.
I smiled at him. We walked to his room together. When he opened the door, it was perfectly clean in there. The bed was made and there wasn’t a speck of dust anywhere.
“Wow, you can definitely tell I haven’t been here in ages,” Niall said.
“Do you miss living with your family?” I asked.
“Yeah, I do,” He said.
I suddenly began to think of my late mother. I thought of how she was never really a great mother, but I still loved her. She was just overwhelmed with everything and I came to my senses and forgave her. I smiled sadly.
“What’s wrong?” Niall asked.
“I’m just thinking about my mother,” I said.
Niall pulled me into a hug. My face was buried in his chest.
“Don’t be sad,” He said.
“I’m not. I’m just reminiscing,” I said.
Niall huffed and rubbed his hands up and down my back.
“I’m so tired,” He muttered sleepily.
Just as I was about to agree with him, Greg burst into the room.
“Niall, mum’s going to get pizza!” He said.
Niall’s whole mood changed. His face brightened up at the mention of ‘pizza’. I laughed at this.
His head turned sharply at the sound of my laughter.
“What are you laughing at?” He asked.
“Nothing. It’s just that your whole demeanor changed once Greg mentioned food,” I snickered.
Niall raised one of his eyebrows and then smirked evilly. He walked towards me slowly, kind of like Jason from Friday the 13th, and it frightened me. Niall pushed me back on the bed. Before I could realize what he was doing, his hands were already at my sides, tickling me.
“Ahhh! Niall, stop!” I screamed.
I couldn’t stop laughing as he tickled me repeatedly. Once he stopped, my ribs were aching from so much laughter.
“I’m going to get you back, Niall,” I said breathlessly.
“I’d like to see you try, babe,” He teased.
I stuck my tongue out at him. He laid down on the bed beside me and started playing with my hair. I closed my eyes and started to doze off. I couldn’t feel Niall playing with my hair anymore, so I opened my eyes. I saw him sitting straight up. He sniffed the air and then bolted out of the room.
I just sat up in confusion. A few seconds later, Greg came into the room and laughed at my expression.
“Pizza’s here. I guess Niall already figured that out, though,” He chuckled.
“I guess so,” I said.
“You know Ariella, you’re alright. I think I’m going to like you,” Greg smiled.
I couldn’t find any words to say to him, so I just smiled. Greg said no more and walked away. I slowly got off of Niall’s bed and trudged down the stairs, the smell of pizza wafting through my nostrils.
I got a plate and helped myself to two pieces of pepperoni pizza before sitting next to my boyfriend at the table. He had pizza sauce on his chin. I wiped it off with my thumb, just like the first day I met him.
Niall stopped eating and looked into my eyes. His eyes were sparkling. We just stared at each other in silence. I replayed the moment in my head. I mimicked the actions that I did so long ago, and I wiped it on his shirt.
Everyone else in the room was staring at us intensely.
My eyes watered at the emotion of it all. Niall smiled. It wasn’t just a smile, though. It took my breath away. His lips stretched and revealed his teeth that were covered by braces, which he pulled off very well.
All of a sudden, it didn’t matter that his family was watching us. Niall grabbed my chin and let our lips meet. I couldn’t deny the amazing feeling he always gave me whenever he kissed me. He always made me feel bubbly.
When he pulled away, he stared into my eyes and grabbed my hand. He led me out of the kitchen and pulled me out of the front door.
Once we got outside, I asked him, “Why are we going outside?”
“We’re going to visit James and Delilah,” He answered.
Niall picked up his cell phone and dialed James’s number.
End of Ariella’s POV
Third Person POV
James held Delilah’s hand as tears were trailing down his cheeks. The nurse looked at the couple with sadness in her eyes. She admired their undying love for each other. She didn’t want to be the one to break the news to the elderly couple. The truth was that Delilah was dying. The doctor didn’t know when the time would come, but he predicted that it would be soon.
Just seeing the look on James’s face broke the nurse’s heart into pieces. A lump formed in her throat. She tried to swallow, hoping that the lump would go away, but it did not. Her lips trembled as she opened her mouth to tell James.
“James,” The nurse barely spoke.
“Yes?” He asked, raising his head to look at her.
“James, Delilah is dying. We can’t fight the truth anymore,” The nurse explained, “Her immune system just doesn’t have the strength to fight off sickness any longer. She’s aging.”
Tears poured down like rain from the nurse’s eyes as she saw James put his head in his hands and weep. For she did not even know their story, but she could still see their love and all it represented.
“How long?” James’s voice croaked.
“The doctor said he didn’t know… It could be a few weeks, or it could be a few months,” The nurse said.
“It’s all up to God now,” James whispered more to himself than to the nurse.
He picked up Delilah’s hand and kissed it.
The nurse left the room to give James and Delilah some privacy.
“I’ll be alright, James,” Delilah tried to comfort him.
It was clear that she would not be alright. Even she knew, but she refused to give up hope in front of her husband. Delilah look at James, the man she had been in love with for so many years, and a few tears escaped her eyes.
“I promise, Delilah, we’ll make our time we have left together last. We’ll go do everything you ever wanted to do, like skydiving, or –” James started.
Delilah interrupted him, “No, James. I have everything I ever wanted here with me.”
James looked into Delilah’s eyes, and for a moment he saw the sixteen year old girl that he fell in love with so many years ago.