Renegade-N.H-

Eighteen

Eighteen

I throw my phone to the end of my bed, I had tried to get ahold of Carter but there was nothing I could do and he wasn't answering his phone. He was either still very upset with me for leaving with Niall last night or he just didn't care enough to answer. Part of me was upset that he hadn't been there when I woke up, hadn't wished me a happy birthday yet.

There was an awful sensation in the pit of my stomach that knew he was just angry with me and that was the reasoning. He was angry that he chose to forget my eighteenth birthday. Maybe for him it was different, maybe it reminded him that I was growing too old for his protection.

I had been hobbling around after my nap trying to pack things, we would fly to Doncaster that night to visit Lou's grandmother. She was the only woman I knew of that could handle a boy like Lou and still be so kind. She would send a christmas card to my mother every year and even this year. After moms death I received one on the twenty second of December just like always.

She always had such kind words for me, spoke about living life in a stuffy mansion all alone. She wished the kids would visit more often and that the sun didn't shine high enough or long enough. But she loved her life, she loved the annoying birds in the morning and the way the rain made everything smell.

She was one of those wonderful women who could see the beauty and positivity in every single negative thing. When Lou had asked me to visit her with him I said no at first. I wanted answers now, I didn't want to fly all the way to Europe just to hear them. For starters why was Louis so buddy-buddy with Niall all of a sudden? The other day I got the distinct vibe that they were complete strangers and that Lou definitely did not like him. Now they were joining sides and keeping secrets like old friends. It raised questions and flags.

I shove a clean t-shirt over my head, slip on a pair of loose jogging pants and open the bedroom door to see a chair sitting at the end of the hallway. Niall bends down to pick up a heavy wool sweater that lays over it and pulls it over his bare back. He exposes my eyes to another litter of bruises but also a strange tattoo, just at the bottom of his neck.

His shoulders ripple as his arms extend above his head and his neck strains to stretch out the sore muscles. I wasn't sure how long he had been sitting in that chair, but clearly he was there to stop someone from entering or leaving. Louis had left to pack and prepare for the long flight but I hadn't expected Niall to stay. I certainly was hoping that he wasn't joining us on the flight.

I was curious of the ink that stained his seemly bare skin, it only posed more questions in my mind. I slam my bedroom door loud enough that he hears it before I stumble quietly down the hall towards the kitchen. He snaps his head to look at me as the sweater falls around his bare hips.

"You shouldn't be wandering around on that wound," He says moving the chair out of my way so I can proceed. I hold tightly to the walls to keep myself balanced. Even though I know he's right I am far too stubborn to allow him the satisfaction.

My calf still burned, even dosed with advil but I wasn't going to show that pain to him. "You shouldn't be in my house."

"I'm only here to protect you."

"From who?" I snap at him, I stop moving and turn my body to face his. He looks down on me with his blue eyes and sighs deeply before turning back to his chair and sitting down in it. "That's what I thought."

"You know what Harley," he groans in frustration "there are things that you can't even begin to believe happening around you, to you. Stop acting like I'm the bad guy and cut me some slack will ya?"