Torn

Chapter 3

At the sound of my phone ringing I woke up. At first I couldn't figure out where I was, but then I felt someone move beside me. And I remembered everything from yesterday. I looked at my phone and I had a lot of missed calls and text messages. We were going home today and my mom was already at the hotel to pick up my friends and me. Niall was still sleeping so I decided not to wake him. I kissed him gently on the mouth. He made a sound but kept on sleeping. Later, while waiting for a cab outside Niall's apartment, I texted him: "I have to go home today. I really hope this wasn't the last time I saw you.  Call me..."

Weeks later, the summer was almost over. By now that weekend in London almost felt as if it had just been a dream. I hadn't heard anything from Niall since that night at his apartment. I had felt heartbroken, used and so disappointed. I figured I was just a girl to keep the famous Niall Horan company when he was home for the weekend. But weeks had passed and I had almost gotten over it. I looked forward to school, I was starting high school. It was scary and exciting at the same time. I felt like my life would be alright, I didn't need to be Niall's girl, I was Ashley Brown. I didn't want to feel as bad again as Niall had made me feel. I would never let any guy do that to me again. And right at that moment, when I had convinced myself of all this, my phone beeped. A text message from Niall: "I miss you..."

My heart stopped when I read the message. No, not just my heart, it felt like my whole world stopped. Everything stopped moving, everything stopped existing. It was just me and this text, this text that changed everything. Why did he do this to me? Why did he send me a text with just a few words that changed so much? He didn't even explain why he hadn't been in touch with me for several weeks. He just said he missed me. All I wanted was to write back and tell him how much I had missed him, his perfect smile, the smell of his perfume or the way my heart felt when he was around. I wasn't complete without him and I just wanted to feel his arms around me. But I couldn't let him treat me this way. He couldn't just send me a text and think what he had done was okay. He had to explain himself. I had to be strong and stand up for myself. I had promised myself to never get hurt that way again. I wrote back to him with trembling hands, tears falling down my cheeks while writing: "Five weeks, Niall, you haven't said a word to me in five weeks. Telling me you miss me isn't going to fix everything. You hurt me..."  

It felt like forever but finally a text came in and Niall replied: "I know, please let me explain. I can't stand being without you one more second." 

One hour later a black car drove up to my house. I stepped out and saw Niall in the driver's seat. I saw it in his eyes, he had cried. This was as hard for him as it was for me. But I had to know why he had done this to me, I needed an explanation. I slowly walked over to his car, opened the door and sat down. Niall looked straight in my eyes and we both started to cry. He took me in his arms and held me tight. I hadn't realized how much I had missed him until that moment. I never wanted to be without him again...