Disastrous

Sixty Two

"I'm freezing." I shivered, my cold lips trembling frightfully as the rain continued to pelt down. Niall walked in front of me, his blonde hair drenched. The blood from his face had rinsed off completely, but it didn't hide the swelling in his lips or nose. As he turned back momentarily to face me, rain dripped at a fast pace from his lips and his eyes were squinted.

"Not much further" was all I heard him say as he continued to walk, my hands clutching the hood of his jacket tighter around me. My bare legs were frozen stiff and I regretted wearing this pretty sundress today. Had I known I would have to walk in the rain after getting into a car wreck, I would have squeezed into a pair of uncomfortable jeans for the occasion.

The rain was unforgiving as it continued to pour relentlessly, and I questioned my sanity as I began praying to God again like I did at home as a child. I hadn't spoken to Him in a very long time, as I was nowhere near as religious as my mother and father. After my repeated misfortunes, I had lost my faith and no longer asked for His protection.

But now I prayed.

I was scared, and cold, and Niall was hurt and Rory was frightened and my unborn baby wasn't healthy.

So I prayed.

I held tightly to the back of Niall's jacket so I wouldn't trip, and let him guide us through the moist gravel along the side of the winding road. It crunched beneath the heels of my thin flats, and I knew for sure I would have unforgivable blisters.

The rain however refused to slow, and I was drained emotionally and physically. I thought my knees were just about to collapse when I saw a flashing light in the distance, hoisted up high on a pole sitting outside of a farm house. The place looked newly rebuilt, with huge silos lining the property as well as a few barns. I wanted to cry in joy as Niall hastily gripped my hand and pulled me forward, our feet moving fast as we quickly approached the house.

The lights were off, making the place look utterly black. Once we got onto the porch I took a deep breath, finally out of the rain. My clothes stuck to me like glue and I was freezing, shivering and shaking on the spot. Rory was whimpering quietly as I'm sure he was cold too, but the protection of Niall's jacket had kept him as dry as possible.

I felt like a pest as Niall banged hard on the door, obviously about to wake up the residents as it was terribly late. I was really hoping they would understand though, as we were in the middle of a terrible storm and had been in an accident with a small child.

Moments later, a light deep in the hallway was brought to life, being visible behind the swivelled glass pane in the newly refurnished front door. Niall sighed in relief and stood still as the door was unlocked and opened a crack.

Behind the cherry coloured wood, a short stocky man with a scruff of grey beard and deep set brown eyes peered at us cautiously. When he glanced straight forward, his height was aligned with Niall's chest and I saw his expression turn to one of shock as he spotted Rory curled up.

"Sorry to be a bother." Niall spoke softly, meanwhile I was still frozen to my spot. The door cracked open wider suddenly and another figure appeared behind the old man. I tensed on my spot as a larger and younger man appeared, his height matching Niall's but his body much more built and thick.

My hand instantly slid to Niall's and I gripped his cold fingers tightly. The younger man, with the exact same dark eyes as what appeared to be his father, had a thick jaw that was tight and eyes that were watching the both of us in suspicion.

"We got in a wreck quite a ways down the road." Niall said quickly, clearly picking up on the same tension as I was. "We were wondering if we could borrow a phone to call for some help, we've got our son here." His hands went to Rory's small body that was shivering inside of his coat. We would have used my phone, but it had gotten a little wet on the trip and was dead now anyways.