Hanging

Chapter 1

My feet were moving as fast as they could even though I wanted to stop. What was I doing? Why was I listening to someone I only just met 5 minutes ago? When Joshua stopped to catch his breath I ran over to him in a panic. "You can't stop now, buddy, get on my back." I bent over so he could hop on my back and I continued down the road Niall was leading us on. I lived in a secluded part of Ireland, so the houses were rather far apart from each other. 

"Niall, Where are we going? Why did you do that? My dad is going to kill me!" I pleaded, stumbling over my own feet.

"If you stayed one more second with that man, he would have killed you." Was the response I got and I shut up, following Niall the rest of the way to a...mansion? My mouth dropped open in utter shock as Niall typed a pass-code on the gate surrounding the gigantic house.

"Are you some sort of king?" Joshua asked, wide-eyed at the structure in front of us. "I've never seen a castle before." Niall chuckled and took Joshua from me, tapping his nose. "I'm in a famous band and this is one of my my vacation houses. I guess you could say I'm wealthy."

He lead us into his home and I immediately felt out of place. I was basically Cinderella, dressed in rags with no make up on my face and a few dirt streaks across my skin. Niall must have noticed my discomfort because he put an arm across my shoulders and whispered in my ear, "You're safe now, that's all that matters." Before he pulled away as if that sentence didn't change my whole life.

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Niall had showed us to guest rooms we could stay in and placed some of his clothes on my bed and some of his old clothes on Joshua's bed. I was very grateful for all that he's done for us, so I crept out of my room to find Niall to thank him. I was showered and in the fresh clothes that were offered which were a light green beanie, a green sweatshirt and tan sweat pants. I found Niall in the kitchen eating some sort of pastry and when he spotted me, he walked over and very gently ran his knuckles down the side of my face. "I like the way you look in my clothes." He muttered with a faint smile. "I hope you don't mind, but I live here with tons of other people. The four other members of my band and their girlfriends along with the housekeeper."

I nodded and took a deep breath, my eyes wandering all around the room. "Thank you so much for getting me out of there Niall, but....he will find me eventually. And when he does, you'll become a target too."

Niall seemed to find that humorous because he gave a soft chuckle. "Babe, I have millions of body guards and tons of safety systems all around this place. I'd like to see him try to get in."

My eyes began to prickle with tears and Niall hesitantly pulled me into a hug, rubbing very softly across my back with one of his hands. Normally, I would flinch out of any sort of embrace, but for some reason I trusted Niall with everything I had. "It will all be okay now. I promise." He whispered.

It will all be okay now.

I promise.

Those words rang in my ears as I let myself let go, the tears flooding from me as I fell apart in Niall's arms, sobbing. He simply held me close, pressing light kisses into my hair, then with a sad smile he said, "I suppose you don't remember me then..."

Startled, I pulled back to examine Niall more carefully when realization hit me. Before my mother left us, I lived in a different part of Ireland where I went to school like a normal little girl. I had only two friends, one female and the other male. The female was named Bretta, and the male was named Niall. Niall Horan. My hand flew to my mouth in shock as I giggled. I actually giggled! He looked nothing like he used to! Puberty really did the boy good. I shook my head in amusement and smiled a real, genuine smile.

"How did you know where to find me?" I questioned, my voice breaking.

Niall chuckled, low and beautiful. "I know your tutor, and after years of begging, he finally told me where to find you."

I squealed in delight and promised myself that if I ever saw my tutor again, I'd buy him a whole muffin basket

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After a lot of chatting and catching up, I learned that Bretta's mother was Niall's house keeper and that I'd be seeing her tomorrow as well as the other guys in Niall's band. I couldn't be happier than I was in that moment, in a comfortable bed, in a nice house with nice people who actually loved and cared for me. I never in a million years would have thought that I'd be free. And I never in a million years thought I'd be able to be happy again.

As I closed my eyes that night, a small smile on my face, I dreamed of a better World for my brother and I. And for the first time, I knew my dream could actually become true. 

Best birthday ever. 

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Author's Note:~ Hey Guys! I hope you're enjoying my story so far. :) I'll try to update everyday, but  we all know that is very unlikely so I can only promise you that I well get new chapters up as soon as possible. The picture to the right is just how I picture little Joshua in case any of you wanted a visual. thank you for reading. I love you. :) xx

~Rachel