Saving Her [n.h]

five | troublemaker

Chapter Five

Troublemaker

Before I know what I'm doing, one of the blades is in my hands and I'm slowly turning it in my fingers. I haven't touched one of these in years, and I'm not doing this because I'm thinking about using it, but because it means one of the boys living here is using it. And by one of the boys, I mean Niall and Greg.

Greg seems so nice. I only met him today, but I've heard Niall talk about how amazing he is so often, I feel like I've known him for years. I can't believe he —

But it might not be Greg. What if it's Niall? I can hear my heart breaking at the thought of it. I put the blade back in the box and carefully place the box back between the towels, where it was before. What if it is Niall? He's always so upbeat and cheerful. That would mean he's doing what I did — pretending everything's okay when people are around and breaking down at night and giving in. Oh, God. Oh no. My stomach clenches and nausea overtakes me again, sending me to the floor.

There's a soft knock on the door and Laurie's muffled voice comes through.

"Tasia, are you alright? You've been in there for ages."

"Y-yeah, I'm fine," I say, standing up and unlocking the door. I open it and smile at her. "I just felt a bit sick."

"Do you want Liam to take you home? He hasn't had anything to drink so far." She looks concerned.

"No, it's alright. I'm fine now. Let's go and dance some more." I walk past her and back out into the living room. Niall's playing beer pong with Liam, the girl with long brown hair and another girl with brown skin and long legs.

Liam doesn't really seem to be enjoying himself, so when he walks away from the beer pong table and the redhead boy takes his place, I approach him with a smile, which is only half-heartedly returned.

"What's wrong?" I ask him.

He sighs distractedly. "I think something's going on with my girlfriend."

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, I just ... I feel like she doesn't want to be with me anymore, but she's not saying anything about it. It's so confusing." He rubs his forehead.

"Well, if she isn't saying anything about breaking up with you, surely that means she doesn't want to, right? I mean, I have no experience with this sort of thing, but if she hasn't been acting that way, it must mean she still wants to be with you."

"I guess so." Liam shrugs, still looking despondent. "I'm just being paranoid."

"Hey, why don't you have a drink? Loosen up a little bit. It's a party, after all." I suggest. Liam smiles at me.

"Sure. Why not? Do you want one?"

I shake my head at his offer. "No, it's alright. I, uh, I think Laurie was looking for you, too."

Liam's face perks up. "Oh, cool. I'll go find her." He smiles at me again and turns around to get a drink. Of course, Laurie wasn't really looking for him, but from the way she's been talking about him and acting the way she was whenever he's been mentioned, I think I might be doing them a favour.

I decide to stay away from the dance floor for now, and instead join Niall and Greg at the beer pong table. They're still playing with the two girls, who smile at me when I join them.

"Hey," Niall says, nudging me with his shoulder. "Are you having fun?"

"Yeah," I reply. "I am. Thanks for inviting me." Despite almost being molested on the dance floor and finding the blades in the bathroom, this is probably the most fun I've had in a while.