DON'T FORGET TO VOTE! C:
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Avery Holmes
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"Okay." Louis said, standing up at the table as we all ate our greasy fried chicken. "I propose that we go to the club tonight as a celebration of something going right for a change." He grinned, proud of himself for coming up with such a good idea.
The rest of the boys gave hoots and hollers of approval while I stayed silent. Aimee frowned at me, obviously not knowing what Louis was talking about.
"Can I go?" Niall asked. "Me and the boys haven't been out for drinks in a while."
"Sure." I smiled halfheartedly. "Go out, have fun. Me and Aimee will be here when you guys get back." Even though I seemed relaxed, my heart was pounding as my head flooded with memories from Jake's drunken nights.
"Mommy, what will we do?" Aimee asked, shoulders slumped.
"We'll have a girls movie night." I decided. This seemed to please her, because she didn't say anything else.
"I'm actually going to go clubbing tonight." Darcy said. "Better have a few more wild times before I get married, right?" She snorted and Harry's jaw clenched as she started laughing. "Kidding, babe!"
"You'd better be." Harry said. "You're all mine."
I suddenly felt like I was eavesdropping, so I decided to tune out as everyone excitedly talked about the night's plans. I wouldn't admit this to anyone- but I was jealous. I wanted to go out and have a good time, but I was a mom and it was a full-time duty.
"You sure that's alright if I go along?" Niall asked once more.
"Of course." I giggled. "I'm not your mother, go out and have a good time. Just not too good of a good time." I was attempting at shifting the focus towards him and trying to make it seem less obvious that I really didn't like these plans. I wasn't about to become the overly attached girlfriend that had all control over her boyfriend.
"Thanks, baby." Niall leaned in and kissed me quickly. "I'll take a shot for you."
"Or how about you don't take a shot for me." I teased. "I have a feeling that you can't handle too much alcohol. You seem like the kind that gets drunk really easily."
"Me?" Niall scoffed. "I'm Irish! I can handle a drink!" He acted so offended by my comment and I couldn't help but laugh.
"Me too. I like juice boxes." Aimee pipes up. I almost forgot that she was sitting next to us and we were having a conversation about alcohol. Niall bursts into a fit of laughter.
"We should leave soon, it's getting late." Liam says. The boys all murmur agreements and one by one start to leave the table. Aimee walks over to the claw machine that Niall won Timothy at and suddenly I'm pulled around the corner against the wall.
"Niall, what are you doing?" I whispered, chuckling.
"Kissing my girlfriend." He responded. I didn't even have time to process his words before he ducked his head down and our lips slammed against each others. My tooth accidentally hit his lip and I tried my hardest not to laugh.
My hands slid around his neck and up into his hair, knowing that he would whine and complain later that I messed his hair up. His lips were soft and I could taste my strawberry chap stick that he had stolen from my bag. Even though he basically tasted like straight up girl, I didn't mind. At least his lips weren't chapped.
"What was this for?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him.
"Well, my girlfriend is standing in front of me and she looks beautiful, so why not?" He smirked, trying to be hot and flirty, but blushing like mad. I only smiled and leaned back in, sharing another kiss with him.
"You realize that there is a three and a half year old right around the corner, right?" I asked. "Not that I don't mind this. Trust me, I don't." This made him laugh.
"You're right." He sighed. "And I need to get ready." His eyes flickered over to the other side of the room and then back to me. "We'll continue this later, babe, I've gotta run or they'll leave without me."
With that he took off, leaving me standing there smiling like a complete idiot. I leaned against the wall, the last few moments fresh in my mind. Everything seemed to be perfect right now (despite the insane people after us, of course.)
"Mommy?" Aimee hollered, turning around the corner. I fixed my hair and wiped my mouth, smiling down at her as if I wasn't just making out with someone a few seconds ago. I picked her up in my arms and walked back outside, then upstairs to our room.
"Okay, Aims." I plopped down in front of the television. "We'll see what movies are on t.v, okay? Then we need to get you in your jammies."
"I want snack." Aimee whined.
"But we just had chicken a few minutes ago." I reminded her.
"I know." Aimee said. "I'm hungry again."
I shook my head, not sure how she ate so much. Then again, she probably got that from me. Flipping through the channels on the t.v, I found Frozen, one of Aimee's favorites, and then got her dressed and ready for bed.
"Can we sleep on the couch?" Aimee asked. "Like a sleepover."
"Just for tonight, okay?" I asked, grabbing the covers from one of the beds and trying to make a little bed for Aimee and I. "I'll carry you to bed when you're asleep. Do you need to potty?" Aimee shook her head and cuddled against me.
For a while, Aimee had all her attention on the movie. I was glad that she didn't ask at all about Niall's whereabouts, because if I told her that he was out at a party or out with friends, I knew that she'd instantly make that connection with Jake's old ways and I didn't want her thinking like that about Niall.
Niall wasn't Jake. He would never hurt us.
Sometimes I even had to step back and tell myself that. There are so many awful memories of Jake fresh in my mind and I want to erase them. I realize that this will all take time, it's been months and I still think of how he hurt me and my daughter every single day.
Since he was my only real relationship with a boy (besides Niall), I thought that all men were like him for a long time. I truly believed that all men were ill tempered bastards, and even today I have to remind myself that Jake is an evil man and Niall will never, ever hurt me like that.
"Let it go, let it go..." Aimee sang along beside me, interrupting my thoughts. I smiled down at her and kissed her forehead as she yawned. She would probably fall asleep soon, although if it was her choice she'd stay awake forever.
"You should try and go night night, baby." I whispered. "It's getting really late. Aren't you sleepy?"
"No." She said stubbornly, but I watched as a yawn escaped her lips and she giggled. "That wasn't a real one." She lied. I rolled my eyes and watched as she cuddled into me, closing her eyes. Everything about this reminded me of how I'd try and get Aimee to fall asleep before Jake came home from the bar. She'd be so worried about me and practically make me lay down with her.
I just hoped that she would be asleep when Niall came home, or he wouldn't be drunk. I didn't want her to see me act afraid around him because of my past experiences with Jake.
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A few hours went by before I got any word from Niall and the boys. The telephone in the bedroom rang and luckily I reached it quick enough so that Aimee didn't get woken up by it.
"Hello?" I asked, rubbing my eye and forgetting that I was still wearing makeup. Great.
"Ave? It's Louis." I heard Louis say on the other end. "We're outside the Motel right now and Niall... he's..." I heard some laughing from the other end. "Can you just help him get to bed? He's gonna need it." My stomach churned and my pulse started racing.
"Uh, yeah, sure." I agreed. "I'll be down in a sec, I've just gotta put shoes on." I hung up the phone and sighed. I know that I shouldn't be afraid of Niall (because obviously, we're talking about Niall here), but all I could think of was Jake hurting me whenever he got back from the bar.
I slipped some flip flops on before checking on Aimee and slipping out the door. When I looked down off the porch I saw the boys all standing together, three of the five wobbly on their feet. I shuffled down the stairs and met up with them at the bottom.
"Hey! I know you!" Niall laughed. I nodded and wrapped an arm around his waist, not saying a word to the rest of the boys as I helped Niall up the steps. I needed to get back to Aimee and really didn't want to speak to any of the boys.
"You're really pretty." Niall gushed. "You've got a lucky boyfriend."
Even though this was funny, I wasn't laughing. I felt uncomfortable and wanted Niall to be sober. It wasn't that he was scary when drunk, it was just that once you have a bad experience you never truly let go of it and that's exactly what I was feeling right now.
"We're going to get you to bed. Don't say anything when we get inside."
"Can I say something now?" Niall giggled. "I like your hair."
I gritted my teeth and nodded once before turning the doorknob to the small room. I turned and got Niall through the doorway and when I turned back to the bedroom I saw Aimee looking at us, wide eyed. I could instantly see the fear growing in her eyes.
She had never seen Niall this way. Only Jake.
"Daddy...?" She sunk into the couch, almost like she was trying to hide. It made my heart ache but I gave her a small smile.
"He's okay, just got a little sick." I explained to her. "Everything is fine. Go back to bed." I ordered, hoping that she wasn't too afraid. I knew that I would owe her an explanation later. I'd have to tell her that just because he was doing something Jake did, he wasn't bad like Jake.
I led Niall into the bedroom and he flopped face-down on the bed. I groaned and rubbed my temples, helping him get out of his shirt but leaving his sweatpants on. He laughed and cuddled into the pillow beside his head.
"Can we kiss a little?" He laughed.
"No." I said strictly. "You need to sleep, you're going to have a terrible hangover in the morning."
"I love that movie!" Niall giggled. It was like he was a child. Even though my brain told me that I was mad at himself for getting completely wasted, I smiled a bit.
"Right now you need to focus on going to sleep." I reminded him. "Lay down, okay? Try and go to sleep." I crossed my arms over my chest and watched him until he laid down on the bed, creaks and groans sounding when he moved around.
"I can't sleep." Niall pouted.
"And why is that?"
"Because." He sighed. "You probably have a boyfriend and I really want to hold you. I'd be able to sleep if you were with me." He pouted like a five year old and I couldn't help but laugh at his actions.
"I do have a boyfriend." I confirmed.
"Do you love him?" Niall was persistent.
"Yeah, I do."
"Dang it. Thought I had a chance." I saw Niall's shoulders drop, making me laugh at him even more. It was good to know that he was one of those happy drunks, not someone who became abusive and aggressive as soon as a drink was placed in their hands.
I motioned for Niall to wait a minute before going back to the other room to check on Aimee. When I returned, I saw that she was already asleep on the couch. I hoped that she would forget the little mishap tonight, because that would just be one more thing that I would have to explain to her.
When I went back to the bedroom, Niall was still frowning with the covers pulled up to his chin. I chuckled and slid into bed beside him, cuddling into his chest. He froze beside me but then finally relaxed his arms around me.
"You have a boyfriend." He said.
"It's you, you idiot."
"Oh."
I decided that any conversation with Niall was pretty pointless right now, so I gave up in trying to communicate with him and listened to the sound of his breathing as I tried not to focus on how he smelled like alcohol.
"I'm sorry." I heard him say after a while.
"For what?" I asked, not sure if he could remember everything while drunk.
"I messed up, didn't I?" It surprised me that he could sense that I wasn't exactly comfortable while wasted.
"Go to bed, Niall."
"Okay." He sighed, finally giving up.
This time, we laid in the darkness without any interruptions. It felt nice laying in Niall's arms and knowing that we were safe for the moment. These past few weeks we've just been in the midst of all this chaos, but now we could actually stop everything and try to carry on with life.
"Hey," I heard Niall whisper.
"What is it now?" I asked.
"Do you have a boyfriend?"
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a/n:
niall's funny when he's drunk hahaHAHA
vote/comment/fan