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When I get home from Niall's house, I turn on the shower only to see that my water is shut off.
"Seriously?"
I mumble to myself. I shiver and realize that the heat is too. Marching downstairs, I approach Marge at the front desk.
"Excuse me, my water and heat aren't working... is there a reason, or...?"
I say, trying not to be sassy.
"Your payment is overdue,"
Marge replies simply.
Shit.
I don't get my paycheck until Monday, which means I can't pay my heat and water bill until then.
I sigh, feeling defeated. There's not really any other option, so I take the stairs back up to my room.
It must be 45° in here... freezing. I sit in silence for a few minutes until I hear a knock at my door.
I walk over and Niall is standing there.
"Hey, you left your phone at my house, just thought you might like to have it... hey why is it so cold in here?"
He asks. I thank him for my phone before explaining.
"They shut off my heat... and water... I'm just waiting for my paycheck, I get it on Monday,"
He looks at me.
"Aria, you can't stay here without water and heat. Why don't you just stay at my place? I have space. And besides, I get kind of lonely sometimes. It'll be fun!"
Niall exclaims. I hesitate.
"... are you sure? I've already asked for so much, I feel like I'm-"
"Aria. Shut up, you're staying with me,"
He says, chuckling. I shrug and nod.
"Okay, let me just pack up some stuff, I'll be ready in a second,"
I say, and walk over to the dresser at the end of my bed. I pull out a pair of black jeans and two t-shirts, along with other clothing items I need and my toothbrush from the bathroom. I get it all together in a bag and take my pillow along as well.
"Okay, I'm all set."
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"Alright, so this is my room, and the bathroom is over this way. I only have one bed but I don't mind sleeping on the couch if you feel uncomfortable,"
Niall explains, showing me around.
"Oh of course not, I don't mind sharing a bed. Um, do you want to use the bathroom first? I can change in here,"
I suggest. He nods and heads into the bathroom. I pull on my sweatpants and baggy t-shirt quickly and sit on the bed, waiting for Niall to finish brushing his teeth and changing. He comes out a minute or so later in plaid pajama pants and a plain white t-shirt.
After brushing my teeth, we awkwardly lay next to each other, separated only by a few inches.
"Aria?"
He asks. I glance at him and we both sit up.
"You don't have to answer this, but when you say 'bad relationship' what exactly do you mean?"
Niall questions me.
"Um... my old boyfriend- Dominic. He was... abusive towards me. My mom knew, but she wanted me to stay with him simply because he made good money. Eventually I had enough and snuck away,"
I explain. He looks me in the eye and nods.
"So, abusive... did he... hit you?"
I nod.
"I have, um... leftover bruises that haven't quite healed... on my sides, mostly. A few on my arms and legs,"
I swallow. He extends his hand towards my left side and looks me in the eye, seemingly asking me question. I nod and he gently lifts the side of my shirt a few inches.
There are some visible bruises near my hipbone. His fingers trace over them as lightly as possible. After a moment, he drops my shirt and gazes into my eyes again. taking my hands in his.
"Listen Aria, I want to promise you something. I promise that I will never hurt you. And that means physically or emotionally. You're so beautiful. It's a horrible thing that someone hurt you like that,"
Niall says, keeping his eyes on mine.
"You have no idea how much that means to me, Niall. Thank you. Not just for that, but for everything you've helped me with. I honestly can't thank you enough,"
I reply. He smiles and we lay back down, this time much closer. He wraps his arms around me protectively. I glance up, place a soft kiss on his jawline, and we doze off to sleep.
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*A/N*
It's thursdayyyy so I updated heh :) this is going to seem really fast-moving at the beginning but it will even out pretty soon, alright. Updating on Monday, see you all soon.
xx,
anna
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