Little Bird [-hs]

009 - treacherous

NAOMI

Niall drives me home at the end of the night in his old Chevy Malibu. The leather interior is cracked, yellow stuffing puffing out of the edges of the seats. His back windshield is coated in bird shit. He drives even wilder than Harry, whipping around turns and blasting through red lights. I'm too drunk to care. I watch the buildings blur past.

"You should tell me shit," he mutters. I close my eyes and try to tune his words out. "If you just tell me what's going on maybe I can help–"

"You can't."

"You don't know that." The car lurches to a stop. I open my eyes to my street, my brownstone apartment looming above us. I see the folds of my white linen curtains in the window. "What is happening? Why haven't you done the job yet?" I open the door, but he reaches across me and slams it shut again, his arm barring across my chest. "I'm serious. Annie's freaking me out. Tell me, right now."

I unbuckle my seatbelt. "I haven't done the job yet, because they've got a fucking onboarding process." I face him head on.

"I don't understand–"

"They were going to rape me, Niall."

His mouth opens and closes like a fish fighting for air. "Were going to?"

"Harry stopped him."

"Stopped who?"

"It doesn't matter," I look away.

It's dark and silent in the car for a while. I hear his soft, quick breath. The engine mutters before us, rearing itself at the length of the stall. He white knuckles the wheel and stares at his lap. "Fuck." His voice is tense and tight. "I had no idea."

"Yeah, I hope not."

His eyes turn up to meet mine. "Do you want me to get you out of town?"

My heart beats faster. "What?"

"I mean, I know other people too. There's other dealers, other groups. They could help–"

"No–I don't want to get involved in any more of this shit, Niall," I tip my head back against my headrest. Dry heat blows from the car, burning against my neck and shoulders. He waits patiently for my thought to finish. "I just want to get through whatever this is and be done with it."

"Do you know what the job is yet?"

I stare up at the roof of the car. "Kind of."

"Well?"

"I'm stealing something."

He waits for more, but when I don't say anything else, he nods and looks back out at the road. "If you need help, let me know."

I nod against the headrest.

"The thought of–" he huffs and leans forward.

"I know."

"Do you want me to come in with you? I can sleep on your couch."

"It's okay," I grab my tote bag. He grips his steering wheel. "I'll see you." I offer as I open the door.

"Be careful," he responds, his teeth moving out to chew his lip. I close the car door with a thud, turn on the damp pavement and walk up the steps to my front door. The rubber soles of my sneakers grit against the cement and echo through the silence of the neighborhood. A dog barks a few houses down. When I glance back at the road, Niall's still sitting there watching me. He chews a hole into his lip. His car's interior light glows yellow in the dark blue night. He gives me a small wave, and I teasingly return the gesture.