Dark and Dangerous

Chapter 3

I arrived home and ran upstairs. My parents weren't home yet and Ryan, my little brother, was staying at a friend's tonight. I had the house to myself. I went into the bathroom and pulled up my hair to look at my neck. The skin where Niall had kissed me was a deep purple. I ran a finger over it and winced. It was like he had marked me. What about Austin? I wasn't just going to give him up. I actaully LIKED him. I sighed.

Speaking of Austin, I hadn't talked to him all day. I sat down on my bed and dialed his number.

"Hello?" He sounded tierd. I looked at the clock. 4:30. Football practice just ended.

"Austin, hey!" 

"Jessica! How are you feeling? I'm sorry about this morning, I shouldn't have just walked up to you like that." I smiled. He always seemed so concerned. It was cute.

"That's perfectly alright. I'm glad you did." My voice got slightly quieter. 

"So am I." I could hear the smile in his soft voice. "So, I was wondering, if you weren't too booked up on homework, do you wanna go get a coffee or something? I can come by and pick you up in about 15 minutes." 

"That sounds great. I'll see you then." With that we hung up. I fell back onto my bed, smiling like an idiot. Obviously, I really liked Austin. And I was so glad he liked me too. I layed there for a few minutes before I realized, he was going to be here in ten minutes and I still had a huge purple bruise on my neck. 

Shit.

Shit.

Shit.

I ran into the bathroom, looking for the foundation and coverup I never use. I hoped it would work. I took a small sponge and started dabbing it onto the wound, wincing every time I hit my skin. This better work. 

After about ten minutes of work, the wound was covered, and the rest of my makeup was redone. I studied myself in the mirror to make sure I looked decent. I was so not going out with Austin looking like a zombie. I turned and walked out of the bathroom right as the doorbell rang. I smiled. He was here.

I grabbed my phone and purse, leaving a not on the counter for whoever decided to come home first, then headed for the door. I smiled and opened it, expecting to see Austin smiling back at me. But when I looked up into the face of the man standing in front of me, my face fell and I took several steps back. Niall smiled in at me. But it wasn't a normal smile. He had something planned. I could tell. 

"Jessica. So nice to see you again." The Irish accent I thought was so cute only hours before now scared me.

"What do you want, Niall. I'm m-meeting someone." I tried to keep my voice from shaking. I didn't want him to see how frightened I was of him. 

"Not anymore, you aren't. Looks like he was a ring and ditch. Drove away as soon as I pulled up. It was that quarterback, Austin Jakobson, right?" He grinned again. Austin hadn't blown me off. Niall scared  him off. What the hell did he want with me that was worth ruining my life over? I walked back to the door, deciding checking the streets was more important than cowering from the tall man in my doorway. 

"No one's home. You really should be more careful about who you open the door to." I looked up at him, suprised that he knew I was alone. 

"Wha-" before I finished the sentence I was pushed back into the house. Niall kicked the door closed with his foot before turning back to me. I was too scared to move. My back was to the wall of the front hall and I could hear my heartbeat in my chest. I looked at him with my wide, blue eyes. 

"Niall..." He moved closer, leaving little distance between us. His large hands wrapped around my waist, pulling my body into his. I used my hands as barriers, putting them on his chest to push him away, but he didn't budge. I was stuck. I looked back into his deep eyes.

"Now, now, Jessica, don't be scared." He grinned at the fear clearly shown on my face. "If it'll make you feel any better, how about we go out?" He didn't let me answer before bending down and grabbing the keys I had dropped and dragging me out the door. I tried to stop him from pulling me any farther, but I think that just made him more mad. He turned around, threw the keys at me and picked me up bridal style before carrying me to his car.