Hurt

Chapter 21

CHAPTER 21

I slipped into the hotel room so no one would wake up. Bella and Harry were sleeping, and we had been in Mullingar for a couple hours already. I had gone to get some food for us and they were supposed to go out to dinner with me, but they had had a bad boat ride, so they decided to fall asleep. No one knew Bella would get seasick, not even her, so she threw up at least twice coming to Ireland. The drive wasn't very long, but Harry had also thrown up because of seasickness a couple minutes after being in the car.

I took my pack of cigarettes and walked outside before I went to dinner. I looked at my watch and it said that it was 9:56. A little late to go and get something to eat, but I decided that some drive-thru place would be open so I could just get a quick snack or something. I then considered to go back to the room and eat the food I had bought earlier, but Bella and Harry might be hungry when they wake up, and they would be mad if there was no food waiting for them.

I took a small map of the town from the lobby of the hotel and saw that there was a McDonald's four blocks away. I took out a cigarette, lit it, and started to walk. I got to McDonald's in five minutes and threw my cigarette on the ground before entering. I ordered something to eat and took it to go, but on my way out, a tall teenage boy stopped me before I opened the door and left. 

"Where do you think you're going?" he said to me, pulling on my jacket. I turned around and faced him. He was short and had dark hair and freckles. His Irish accent was thick and he was pale white, with dirt under his small fingernails and bruises on his skinny arms. 

"I'm leaving," I said, trying to make his hand let go of my jacket. 

The boy smirked. "Not from here, are you?" he asked. Then he eyed my back pocket. "Can I have one?"

I shook my head violently. I had three cigarettes left, and I was planning for them to be my last. I had only had one other cigarette today, and I was already mad to see that there was a "No Smoking" sign coming into McDonald's. "Why not?" he asked me, attempting to make the so-called "puppy dog" face. His green eyes drooped and his lips formed a pout.

"You're too small to be smoking, aren't you?" I asked. I picked his chin up and handed him a five. "Go buy something."

He laughed at me and handed the money back to me. "I don't want your money," he said to me, walking past me and into the parking lot. "Where are you going?" I asked him, following him into the darkness. "Away from you," he said, running towards a car and starting it. When he backed out, I saw that there was a single initial "H" on the bumper. I almost couldn't breathe- could it be? It was a guess that I wasn't sure was right. There were thousands of other people in Ireland with the last name that began with the letter "H." But it was definitely worth a shot. 

I ran towards the car and knocked on the window. "Wait!" I said, trying not to get my feet run over. I still held the McDonald's bag in my hand as I knocked, waiting for the boy to roll down the window and talk to me. Luckily, he did.

"Does your last name happen to be Horan?" I asked him, licking my lips. He looked back down at the steering wheel and gripped it tightly. He motioned towards the passenger's seat. "Get in the car," he told me, opening the door. 

I was hesitant to enter. I looked at the seat. "Well, what are you doing just standing there?" he said. "Hop in!" I ran to the other side of the car without thinking and jumped in. We drove in silence for about five minutes when the boy turned on the radio. A Union J song was playing, and my lips quivered in the cold car. They longed for one of the cigarettes in my back pocket. "My name is Eoghan," the boy said, holding out his hand. I shook it and his eyes were still on the road. 

"How old are you, Eoghan?" I asked him. His green eyes were wide and he had small freckles that covered his nose. Bella loved guys with freckles.

"Seventeen," he said. His hands were tightly clasped around the wheel.