Lightweight

Chapter Ten

Not even bothering to wait for the elevator, Annie marched right past the lift and the long line of people that waited for it and took the stairs, stomping down with each step in a fired passion of anger over what she had just heard. She had been duped by Niall, and the rest of the boys for that matter, into thinking that he actually had some sort of feelings for her, making her believe that she had been worthy and deserving of somebody like him and the happiness he brought with him. She had been so stupid and caught up in the desperation to feel wanted that she literally fell for the oldest trick in the book. How dare he use her like that, fool her like that. Didn't he know how that would affect her already destroyed and screwed up mind? This was going to destroy her. But not before she destroyed him. No, she couldn't do that. As much as Annie wanted to murder Niall she would not give him the satisfaction of seeing the effects of his cruel joke. He would never know just how badly he had crushed her. Tears of anger were in her eyes as she reached the twentieth floor.

There he was, that Irish prick, standing in the hallway talking to Paul. Annie couldn't help but notice the distressed expression he wore but quickly shoved the pang of caring she felt deep into the pits of her stomach and let her anger replace it almost instantaneously. She bolted to her room and slammed her door on Niall who had noticed her and began to approach. Was she overreacting? Could this all be a misunderstanding? These questions ran through Annie's mind when the last bit of doubt she had begun to set in, and then she slammed it away. He had called her nothing. He said Annie was nothing. Nothing.

"Annie!" he yelled from behind the door, stuck in the hallway just like Annie wanted. She didn't want to be anywhere near him, just hearing his voice was bad enough. She had heard enough of his voice back in the gym on the radio when he denied her existence and their entire relationship even though he had confirmed it on national television only a short while ago.

"Go away, Niall!" Annie yelled at his pounding on the door, "Just leave me the fuck alone!"

"Annie! For Christ's sake just open the door!" Niall pleaded and pounded on the door in desperation. Annie couldn't bare to answer it and the pounding continued.

Her throat felt as if it was stuffed with paper towels and the huge clump in it prevented any words from coming out. She was sure if she uttered another word to the boy who she had trusted so much and had just gotten her heart ripped out by her voice would crack and expose the pain she was in, tears were even a massive possibility. Being with Niall had already caused Annie to cry once, and that was one time too many. But holding back the tears seemed like such an unmanageable task at the moment. Sure, the last time she had cried because of hurtful comments and death threats, but those were from people she never knew and who didn't know her. This time was so much worse. This was from Niall; he had hurt Annie more than anybody ever could with the denial of his relationship with her. And Annie had allowed it. She had let it happen, she let her guard down and let him into her life, saw how good things could be, realized that she could and actually deserved to be happy. How could she be so stupid?

Annie stood with her back to the front door, feeling each of Niall's pounds reverberate through her chest as his fist hit the only thing separating them. He might as well have been holding a knife in his hand and stabbing it into Annie's back at this point, in Annie's mind they were the same thing. She slid down to the floor in defeat and the tears started silently falling, Annie no longer possessing the will to hold them back. Silent sobs escaped her covered mouth, not daring to let Niall know the pain he had caused her. She wished he would just go away.

After a few hours of pounding and begging for Annie, Niall was finally dragged away by somebody. Their voice sounded a lot like Liam's. Liam. How could he let Niall say something like that? Was he in on the plan to destroy Annie the whole time as well? She had told him almost everything, trusted him wholeheartedly. How could he do that to her? That's what Annie got for trusting anybody. She should have known better.