Casey, I love you (Niall Horan)

Chapter 6

Niall's digital watch on the night table marked it as two in the morning. Casey was still awake, it was impossible to sleep.

His mom had given her an old T-shirt to sleep with and it smelled like him. She couldn't close her eyes without thinking the blonde slept there every night, and that she and Liam used to play in every room of this house. There were too many feelings flooding her mind that night.

She got out of the bed and started pacing the bedroom. By that time, her mother must be with a stranger in HER house infecting all the place. She was nauseous every time she thought about it. It was a new guy every week; she could not for the life of her understand why her mother hadn't settled down like her father. At least she knew he still loved her.

Her parent's divorce wasn't easy, it happened a month after Liam's suicide. Those were the most difficult things she had to go through in her life. Her mother had cheated on her father, but he decided to forgive her saying she was "just stressed". He was too good for her, and on a certain level, she was happy he wasn't a witness of what her mom had turned into.

It was half-past two and she still couldn't sleep. She tried her luck and got out of the room to roam the hallways and stop being afraid.

Casey thought there would be a dead silence, but you could hear the TV on downstairs. She got back to the room and put on her trousers not wanting to risk being seen on her underwear.

She went back to the hallway and descended the stairs to the living room. There was a movie's channel on, Niall was on the couch covered with a blanket and it looked like he couldn't get some shut-eye either.

-Insomnia? -he got startled and fell off the sofa, with a leg in the air and half of his body hanging down. He got on his feet and tried to hide his pyjamas with the blanket.

-Oh no, babe. One of my favourite movies was on tonight -he hurried to say. On the screen, you could see the famous Rose and Jack's scene on Titanic.

-You're kidding? I'm starting to believe you're a very romantic chap, Niall.

He sat on the couch and made some room for her so she got closer and threw herself on it. He covered her with a part of the blanket and they leaned back on the backrest.

-I don't like this movie. Rose should've made some effort so Jack could survive -she commented. Niall looked at her from the corner of his eye, just now realising her hair was short.

-You got a haircut, it suits you -he stated once she finished saying all the things she hated about rom-coms.

Casey didn't turn to look at him nor she answered. She limited herself to shrug her shoulders and covered herself with the blanket a little bit more, even though the temperature was pretty high that summer night.

He then remembered the cuts on her arms, so he got closer and grabbed her hand underneath the blanket.

-Trying to take advantage of the situation, Niall? -she said and tried to back off her hand but he grabbed her by the arm, which made her wince with pain. The cuts were still fresh.

-Why do you do it, Casey? Why do you cut yourself? -he whispered.

-You're hurting me, get off.

-You're hurting yourself! Nobody else, but you! -he exclaimed, wanting her to see some sense.

-Shut up! Mind your own business.

-To mind my business? I'm not the one spending the night at somebody else's house! -he was losing his patience. He had never felt this way towards Casey and the need to grab her by the shoulders and shake her until she stopped talking nonsense was consuming him.