And I just wanted to say BTW that I’m sorry the first half of this story was written so awful - the chapters were so short and just pretty confusing. I’ve tried to fix it, but I probably will do that when I finish this story. I hope the storyline and the plot are interesting and written better now. Oh and if you could check out my new series, 'Imagines' - they're just imagines of all the boys - that'd be awesome! Thank you :)
Chapter 28
BRINLEY’S POV
I take out my phone and dial the number by heart. I pray that the phone will pick up and after a few dial tones it does.
“Hello?” I ask tentatively.
“Brinley?” The voice asks, surprised.
I close my eyes. “Please don’t hang up mom. I’m at the airport and I don’t have a ride home. Do you think you could pick me up?”
“I’ll be there in twenty.” She says and then hangs up.
She might still hate me but at least it’s a start.
Twenty minutes later, just on time, my mom pulls up to the curb. I step up to the window and she rolls it down.
“Hi.” I say softly, searching her face.
“Well get in.” She says, unlocking the door. I do as she says, and slip onto the seat, clicking my seat belt in.
“I missed you.” I hesitantly say, glancing at her side profile. She’s focused on the road but she nods her head in some sort of an answer.
I lean my head against the window. After a few minutes I whisper, “You were right.”
My mom glances over at me confused. “What was I right about?”
“You said Niall would leave me. He did.” We pull into our driveway. She unbuckles her seatbelt and cradles me in her ams.
“I told you and you didn’t believe me. He blinded you. I always knew he was no good for you.”
That just makes the oncoming tears pour faster. My mom holds me tighter, until I’ve run dry.
“Let’s get you inside.”
NIALL’S POV
Just as I lean off the curb to get a taxi, my phone rings. I answer it quickly without checking caller I.D.
“Brinley?” I ask.
“No hun, it’s Stacy. Audrey’s mom? At the shelter?” She jokes.
“Oh hi Stacy. Sorry about the up and leaving.”
“You had us all frightened Niall. Anyway, I’m curious as to if you contacted your parents or not.”
“How’d you know about them?”
“Brinley told me about them. Brinley told me Niall, you didn’t. That hurt me real bad.” Her voice softens.
I cringe, the guilt physically slouching my shoulders lower. “I was afraid I would be kicked out of the shelter if anyone learned I was meeting with my parents.”
“Niall we would never kick you out. We’re your home, if you decide to stay with us.”
“I’ll be back in half an hour.”
I hang up and shove my phone into my back pocket. My life is a mess, I need to sort it all out. My fingers start slightly shaking, wishing I could strum a few strings. Ever since Brinley first re introduced me to guitar, I’ve been playing it every day. A cab finally pulls up to the curb and I hop in, telling him the address. He speeds up and I rest my head against the seat, closing my eyes. I needed to figure some plan out to get Brinley back.
I finally pull up in front of the shelter, one light on in the far window.
“Thanks man.” I say, paying the driver the fare. He nods and speeds off the second I step out.
I clench my fingers together in my pants pocket, a little nervous as to seeing Stacy. It’s the first time I’ve really been in trouble and I’m not sure what she’ll do. I walk inside, past the great room. Everyone’s asleep either on the bunk beds or curled up next to each other on the floor. This will always be my home, and my family - blood related or not. I tip toe down the hallway to Stacy’s office and enter quietly. She’s sitting in her chair, glasses pushed onto her head.
“Hi.” I whisper, sitting in one of the chairs in front of her desk.
She gets right into it, skipping a casual greeting. “Did you not bother notifying anyone of your leave?” She asked, stressed. “I thought you had run away. I thought you were going to leave and never come back. I thought you were gone Niall.”
“Stacy did you really think that I would leave forever without an explanation?”
“You had me worried sick Niall, and I’m not even your mom!”
“Stacy I’m sorry.”
“Where’s Brinley?” She asks, finally realizing the absence of my ex girlfriend.
“She’s gone.”
“Will she be coming back?”
“If I can convince her.”
Stacy squints her eyes at me. “Niall, I know that as a teenager you’re supposed to make mistakes but what the hell did you do? I thought she really loved you?”
“I think she did but I don’t know about now. I did some sick, twisted, stuff to her and I’ll be surprised if she ever forgives me.”
Stacy’s quiet for a few minutes before finally speaking up.
“What happened to having a future Niall? Do you still plan on going to college and having a solid career?”
“I don’t even know at this point.” I run my fingers through my hair, tugging at the ends. “So much went on in Florida.”
“What’s more important to you right now? Brinley or college?”
I pause, looking in her eyes, thinking. I furrow my eyebrows together, debating on a decision.
“I don’t want to offend you, but Brinley is a girl. There’s possibly more for you in the future. Colleges won’t be as accepting with your application the older you get Niall. Think about it.”
I nod my head and give her a hug before sneaking back into the great room. I find my bunk and clamber up to the top bunk, not wanting to sleep on the bottom alone.
BRINLEY’S POV
My mom hugged me in the kitchen after I had settled down, sending me to bed shortly after. It’s weird to be back home. It’s weird to see my mom. I’m still not sure where we stand. It seems as if I’m forgiven but I can’t be sure. I thought I would go to bed as soon as my head hit the pillow, but my eyes are still wide awake ; puffy from crying, but still open. How could my life go from absolutely perfect to this? I can’t even comprehend it at this point. I could totally audition for the part in a soap opera, I have the life for it. The tears have finally dried on my cheeks and I roll on my stomach, trying to find a comfortable position and get sleep. My door creeps open and I twist my head.
“Sammy?” I spot my little sister, standing in the doorway, her pajama pants pooling around her ankles.
“Are you alright?” She asks.
“I’d feel better if you slept with me tonight.” I confess, sitting up.
She smiles and nods, walking across the floorboards to my bed. Sammy hauls herself up onto my bed and scoots her body closer to mine. I wiggle back under the covers and Sammy slides in, her nose inches from mine.
“You know you don’t need a boyfriend to be happy, B. You have me.” She whispers.
“I know Sammy. I know.” I kiss her forehead and wrap my arm around her back, bringing her closer to me. She tucks her head under my chin, right in the crook of my neck.
“I love you Brinley.” She breathes.
“I love you too Sammy.”
I wake up, stands of Sammy’s hair in my mouth. I shift back a little bit, untangling her from my grasp. Her face is completely void of emotion and I take this time to realize that her hair has gotten a little lighter from the sun. These little baby things are the moments I’ve missed. I was trying to be defiant to my mom, forgetting that I left Sammy all alone here. I hop over her, onto the hardwood of my room and venture downstairs. My mom is cooking downstairs, and the smoke alarm isn’t going off, neither is smoke pouring from the oven or stove.
“Mom?” I ask, confused. She’s placing what looks like perfect omelets onto a plate. “Why isn’t the fire department here?”
She gives a small smile. “I took some cooking classes and learned how to cook. You weren’t there to fix my awful cooking disasters anymore so I had to do something.”
The smile on my face fades.
“I’m sorry mom. I was just awful to you.”
She just nods, paying attention to her cooking.
“I’m not hungry, I’m going to go visit Wesley.”
My mom doesn’t acknowledge my statement, just continues to crack more eggs. I roll my eyes and grab the keys from the hook, about to exit the front door.
“Do you think you deserve the car back? After treating me like that?” My mom calls.
“I thought you were fine with it. You let me sleep back here again.” I say, confused.
“For a night. I’m not sure if I’m going to let you stay here forever Brinley. I’m sticking by my words.”
“Mom!” I cry, not even believing her words.
She just shrugs her shoulders, like it’s all my fault and there’s nothing she can do about it.
“I’ll be gone by dinnertime.” I snarl, slamming the front door shut behind me.
Just when I thought that my life could take a slight positive turn, this happens. I blink and my mind wanders back to about two months ago. Niall and I had been lying in bed together, early in the morning before everyone woke up.
I skim my fingers up and over his chest, circling his tattoos. My eyes settle on his right forearm where lots of thin white lines are stamped.
“What are these from?” I whisper, looking into his eyes.
His eyes darken perceptibly as he glances down at his wrist.
“A few years ago I self-harmed. Not that big of a deal anymore, that part of my life is over. I’m healthy and happy.”
I frown and kiss each line etched into his skin. “How long did you do this?” I ask.
He furrows his lip in thought. “Um if I started in the summer then that’s .... one, two - yeah two years.”
“Did it help at the time?” I ask.
“At the time I thought it was helping, and yeah I guess it did but then I realized that it does a hell of a lot more harm than good and I stopped. It’s dangerous.” He kisses my forehead, ending the discussion.
I wipe my eyes dry of a few tears, making my way to my car. I make it to the end of the street before I stop. I glance around the car and find a pair of scissors in the middle console. They’re there so that I can open my freeze pops while driving. I open them up and take a deep breath, looking at my wrist. I open the scissors a little more and touch the blade to my skin.
“Niall’s gonna be pissed” my subconscious reminds me. I bite my lip and focus, applying pressure. I drag it across my skin horizontally, wincing a tiny bit due to the sting. Blood droplets rise to the surface of my skin, and I soon have a red line in the middle of my pale arm. I furrow my eyebrows, trying it again. I’m fascinated in the way the blood pools at the top of my skin. Soon enough I have ten or so scratches lining my arms. I blink and really look at my forearm.
Shit. Shit. Shit. What the hell have I done?
I throw the scissors into passenger and take a tissue, blotting the blood. I throw on a jacket from the backseat, hiding the evidence.
No no no. If Wesley were ever to find out - and Niall - no. I can’t think about him. I sniff and drive away, heading for the hospital.