Wow it's been wayyyyyy too long. I am so so sorry for the extremely long wait. I hate leaving you guys hanging for so long, but honestly I've just been so busy the last however many months. The first semester of my last year of high school was so crazy busy I never had time to write, and when I did I was working on finishing one of my other stories. Honestly I know I suck for not updating forever but now that my school work has calmed down drastically, I'm hoping to have more time to update regularly again. Once again, I deeply apologize, and I hope you guys have stuck around and will continue to stick around for the remainder of the story! I'm really excited to get back into it.
*Not edited*
Bryn's POV
My breath caught in my throat as I stood there like a deer in headlights, my eyes wide and my lips parted. The change in temperature from the steaming bathroom to the cool hallway caused goosebumps to arise on my bare skin, but I had a feeling the shiver that ran up my spine was not due to the cold air nipping at the wetness of my body, but rather was caused by Niall's intense stare. His eyes raked up and down my figure countless times, his face one of surprise, but no shame was evident. It wasn't until his gaze locked onto my own that I snapped out of my stunned moment, suddenly increasingly aware of my loose grip on the short, white towel and the water droplets that disappeared under it.
Niall shook his head quickly, blinking as he cleared his throat and gave me a tight-lipped smile. "I forgot my phone in there. S'cues me," he muttered, brushing past me and into the bathroom. I tensed when his chest brushed against my bare arm. I relaxed when the door closed softly behind me and I closed my eyes for a moment, groaning internally at the thought of this very awkward moment. Clearly he had only shut the door to escape the tension, because he only needed to grab his phone.
Why did that have to happen?
I let out a sigh as I moved from the spot I had been glued to and stalked into my temporary room just as I heard the sink turn on. I was relieved that he hadn't come back out demanding to know why I had been on his phone, so he mustn't have noticed that it was touched.
Shifting through the clothes that were hung in the closet, I settled on a simple loose-fitted top and grabbed a pair of plain black leggings before slipping into my pair of sneakers. Shoes had been the last thing I took the time to pack, so it was either those or a pair of flip flops. Just as I was about to exit my room, I remembered the hat Niall had given me awhile ago and I placed it on my head, deciding it wouldn't look terrible with what I was wearing.
When I exited the room, I found Niall stood in the kitchen area with the fridge wide open, a milk carton held up to his lips. My nose crinkled up at the sight, but I couldn't help but let a quiet giggle slip past my lips upon witnessing his laziness.
"That milk is for me, too, you know," I teased. He visibly jumped in his place, a startled expression on his face as he turned around.
He let out a chuckle, shaking his head, "Not anymore." He popped the top closed and put it back in the fridge, shutting it before turning to me fully. "Let's go."
He strode over to me after grabbing his phone and wallet off the kitchen table, meeting my gaze as he got close. He caught the little grumble I let out at his response, and he rolled his eyes playfully, "We'll buy more milk, babe. Come on."
My mouth parted a little at the nickname as my eyes trailed after his retreating figure. He opened the door to our suite, turning back to look at me questioningly when he realized I wasn't following behind him. I snapped out of my trance and quickly exited the room, hoping that Niall didn't notice the flush that I knew painted my cheeks. It seemed that I was always getting flustered around him, particularly today.
A few minutes later, Niall pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store we had visited before, and as he shut the vehicle off, he turned to me with a serious expression. "Remember, if for some reason anyone asks - which I doubt anyone will - your name is Jenna. Got it?"
I slumped back in my chair, looking away from him and out the window to the store. I gave the tiniest nod of my head, suddenly feeling a lot more frustrated than I had moments prior. Being instructed to identify myself under a fake name brought me back to reality, and I was reminded of the nightmare I was currently living. I really hated this. And I prayed that it would be over soon. I didn't know much about how investigations like this happened, but I hoped it wouldn't take too long to find these people.
Niall let out a sigh, dropping his hands down in his lap as he, too, peered out the windshield. "I'm sorry this is happening to you, but there's nothing we can do about it except follow instructions until the investigation is over. This is for your safety, Bryn, I'm not trying to be a bad guy," he insisted, shaking his head to himself as he watched a group of people walk by the car. My eyes followed them for a moment, too, envious of their laughter and freedom.
It hadn't really occurred to me that this was effecting him as well, it was his job to be involved in situations like this, after all, but I realized in this moment that it did bother him. Whether it bothered him to know that I was going through this and was clearly in distress over it, or if it bothered him for his own reasons, I didn't know, but it was clear that he wasn't particularly joyous.
With that thought in mind, I urged myself to display a tiny smile, hoping to ease the tension that had build in the confined space and relieve him of the apparent guilt that he was feeling. He glanced at me briefly, and upon seeing my new false display of happiness, he returned the gesture ever so slightly before reaching his hand over to open his door. With no words spoken, I followed suit, trailing along next to him as we entered the grocery store.
It was considerably crowded, people shoving through the little groups of people that were gathered at the ends of the isles, selfishly trying to budge their way to their desired items with little consideration for those around them. I loved the city, but sometimes it was overwhelming how consumed everyone was with, well, consumerism. I had been the same way, but now I felt like an outsider, like I was standing along the edges looking in with blurry surroundings. That's what it felt like to be constantly on edge and frightened. And now it bothered me to think that I was as absorbed in myself as everyone around me before I experienced this. It's hard to be self-absorbed in an environment as busy as this when I'm feeling the constant threat that someone here may be out to harm me. Now, I was looking at everyone else.
I muttered an apology as I squeezed through a group of woman who were standing and chatting about the outrageous price of crackers and heared Niall's chuckle from behind me when we made it passed.
"All that fuss over a box of damn Cheese Nips," he chuckled.
I rolled my eyes, playfully. "It was priced outrageously," I clipped.
He just shook his head with small grin before saying, "Pick out anything you see that you want so we can get back to the hotel as quickly as possible."
I didn't hesitate even for a moment before letting my eyes wander the shelf in front of me wildly. I tossed a few boxes of crackers into the cart Niall had been pushing and watched as he grabbed a few items of his own before we moved to a different section. We managed to gather a pretty balanced amount of healthy and extremely unhealthy foods before we made it to the milk, where he exasperatingly picked out a carton like they were all about to be ripped away from us if he wasn't quick enough. I scoffed jokingly before shaking my head and turning away, hearing his unmistakable chuckling from behind me for the hundredth time today.
While Niall was busy picking out more items for himself, I allowed myself to venture not far off to look for myself. The only time I ever got out of that hotel suite was when we needed to stock up on food, so I refused to let the opportunity go to waste. Not that I found grocery stores overly interesting, but I would take what I could get.
I spotted the candy isle, and I let my child-like instincts get the best of me as I scurried over. I had an instant craving for chocolate at the sight of all the sweets, and after being deprived of real joy for weeks now, I was convinced I deserved some. With this craving, however, something dawned on me, and my cheeks instantly tinted pink at the realization that I would need to add some feminine products into the cart. I was aware it really wasn't a big deal, but I knew Niall would be taking them through cash and that made me feel all the more awkward.
After picking out everything I needed, including the sweets of course, Niall rounded the end of the isle, a look of panic on his face before his eyes finally met mine. I saw instant relief flood his features, and I could hear the sigh he let out even between the distance between us. He wasted no time with speeding down the isle, pushing the full cart along with him.
"There you are. I turned around and you were gone, I nearly had a heart attack," he breathed, eying me up and down as if checking for any injuries.
I let out a quiet laugh. "No need to worry, I was just grabbing a few things," I assured him, tossing the items into the cart. The tint on my cheeks was gone by now, and I found that I really didn't mind as he caught sight of what I grabbed.
"There is a need for me to worrying, Bryn, you're not supposed to leave my sight!" He hissed quietly.
Suddenly I felt bad for taking off without informing him. Somehow it had managed to slip my mind that despite the friendliness we managed to find between us, he was still my bodyguard and that meant I was supposed to be under his care at all times.
Upon seeing my guilty expression, Niall let out a sigh as his eyes softened, "You know what? It's not your fault, it's mine. You're my responsibility, and so I should have been paying closer attention. Just don't take off like that again, alright?" He smiled faintly, tilting his head expectantly. I gave him a short nod as I returned the gesture, following him to the cash a second after.
I assisted Niall with putting the items up on the counter, ignoring his protests. While doing so, I realized just how much we were actually purchasing, and that lead me to wonder how on earth the program could afford to supply us, and probably a dozen other witnesses, with so much food every few weeks. Then again, I suppose it was probably a multi-million dollar organization. As those thoughts were rambling through my mind, however, my eyes caught sight of something that immediately alarmed me while scanning around. Stood near the entrance was a small group of men, dressed in all black and rather suspicious looking while talking among one another, their eyes seeming to be frantically search the place. When they began to split up, taking different routes down the isles, I went into panic mode. What could have been such an innocent situation, just a bunch of friends shopping, had my heart racing in my chest, pounding against the restriction of my rib cage. I couldn't take the chance and just assume it wasn't anything to worry about, because considering the circumstances, I knew I should be worried.
I couldn't seem to find my voice, so I nudged Niall's arm while I kept my eyes carefully trained on those of them that I could still see. There were five when I first spotted them, and currently I only had my sights on two. Niall looked at me, concerned, with his hand frozen mid air as he was attempting to pay the cashier. Upon seeing my distraught expression, he didn't bother asking, but rather shot his line of vision to where I was currently staring, and I could have sworn his face paled in my peripheral vision almost as much as mine had before his jaw clenched.
"Keep your head down and hurry outside, don't make a scene," He ordered in a hushed tone, quickly thrusting the money in the cashier's hand before attempting to grab all of the bags. I grabbed as many as I could, trying to be subtle about the situation while it felt like I was about to hurl. With rushed actions, we made a beeline for the door.
After tossing the bags carelessly in the back, Niall grabbed onto my arm just above my elbow and ushered me into the passenger seat. He jogged around the front of the vehicle and threw the driver's side door open, jumping in before slamming it shut again and starting the car, zipping out of the parking lot without taking even a second to put his seat-belt on or check for oncoming traffic. I was trying to stay calm, considering I was hoping those men maybe weren't after me at all, but it was hard to stay positive while Niall was in full on security guard mode, acting more intimidating than I had ever seen him before. He knew that it had to have been them, too, and that wasn't a comforting thought. His jaw was clenched tight, and I could see him pulsing it as he focused on the road, maneuvering around vehicles and going well over the speed limit. He suddenly dug his hand into the front pocket of his jeans and pulled out his phone, passing it over to me without adverting his eyes from in front of him.
"I want you to go into the contacts and dial Wren. He's the only number programmed in there. Do not open the actual dial pad, it may disable the hack protection." His voice came out rather harsh, but I knew it wasn't directed at me.
As I grabbed the phone with shaky hands and began doing as told, I remembered the call I made to my mother this morning while in the bathroom and suddenly I felt worse than before, my stomach dropping at the realization.
Could that be how they found me?
No, calm down, Bryn. That happened not even a few hours ago, they couldn't possibly have found you already. And the call didn't last very long. Breathe.
I hurriedly tapped on Wren's contact info and hit call before passing it back into Niall's outstretched hand. He waited all but a few seconds before the line must have picked up on the other end, and with a husky drawl to his angry voice, he spoke three words that nearly sent shivers down my spine.
"They found her."
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Once again, I am so sorry for the long overdue update. Hopefully I won't have to leave you all waiting for so long again. Thank you so much for being patient.
As always, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Don't forget to vote if you did, and leave a comment on your thoughts! Lots of love.
-Bailey xx