Crashing Down (Dark N.H A.U)

Chapter Twenty-Four

"Niall," I whisper. "They are right next to us. Get up."

Niall stands up while pulling me up with him. He brushes all the snow off of me and then off himself.

"What do you think about this tree, baby?" Niall says loud enough that my parents will be able to hear him.

"Not tall enough. Let's go to the next row." I grab Niall's hand and we act like we are going to walk to the next row.

"Hey you two." I hear my dad say. I squeeze Niall's hand and then we both turn our heads. "Where have you to been?"

"I pulled Niall back here to look for trees. This is where they hide all the best trees." I do my best to act casual.

"Your mom found a tree for almost every room in the house except the living room tree. Want to help us find it?" My dad pleads with his eyes. He wants me to stay close.

"Yeah, of course." I force a smile.

Niall and I walk hand in hand as we look at different trees. Niall remains quiet as my parents and I debate on the different trees. I don't know what he is thinking and I hate that I can't ask. I wonder if he is mad. My parents never technically said anything bad about him. They are just worried about me. That's normal. I just need to explain that to Niall.

"What about this tree?" My mom asks.

We all stare up at this monster of a blue spruce. I am in love with it, but I don't want to make everyone carry it up to the front.

Niall stares long and hard at the tree. Then he asks, "is this a blue spruce?"

"It is." I answer Niall, curious about what he is going to say next.

"We should get this tree since it is your favorite." Niall lets go of my hand and walks over to my dad who is holding a saw. "Let me help you, Brent."

My dad stares at Niall in shock for a moment, but he quickly snaps out of it. I watch Niall and my dad as they cut the tree down. They work quietly, but quickly. While Niall cuts the tree, my dad guides the tree as it goes down. We then each do our best to grab a spot and we carry it up to the front. I regret walking as far as we did.

"We need to stop picking trees from the back," mom complains.

"How will we get this tree back to the house?" Niall asks.

"They will deliver it to us." My dad says as he grunts from carrying the tree. We eventually get to the front and the employees take care of the tree. "I must say this has by far been the easiest tree to carry. I think Niall carried most of the tree."

I smile proudly at Niall.

"Just trying to get the full experience." Niall forces a smile.

"Did your family never do this growing up?" As my mom asks I start shaking my head no at her, but she ignores me or doesn't see me.

"I have only been around fake trees." Niall puts his hands in his coat pockets and just looks extremely uncomfortable.

"Let's go get a drink, Niall. My dad always spends twenty minutes talking to the employees and giving them strict instructions." I say as I look at my dad and he is already in a deep conversation. I move my arm through Niall's and let my hand rest on his bicep. "Come on."

I pull Niall away and he doesn't resist. We walk quietly towards the small red barn that is decked out in Christmas lights. The silence between us is painful and it reminds me of my first few weeks with Niall. I don't try to make small talk though. The next conversation Niall and I have is going to be one were I apologize for my parents and explain their reasoning. We walk into the barn and when the employee greets us I relax.