Taken Away

Chapter 3

 "Please, please, please go shopping with me Rebel. Don't make your mommy go alone."

“Seriously Mom? I haven’t called you mommy in years,” I sigh.

“MOMMY!” Joel cries, barging into the kitchen. His eyes are brimming with tears and he lifts a stained Koala.

“Joel, dear, why did you get it dirty?”

“Not me!” He looks away guiltily, his shirt covered in the same mysterious substance staining his beloved koala.

“Honey, help Joel clean his Koala! Rebel, please come shopping with me. You haven’t left the house since our first day here.” My mom says, turning to me again. Her eyes beg me, and I roll my eyes as Joel is swooped away by my father.

“Alright, alright,” I finally say, giving in. “Let me finish the dishes first.”

We’ve been living in Ireland for five days now, and the new house has practically transformed into our old home back in Ohio. Baby pictures are hung up everywhere, and candles are lit at night, filling our house with the smell of Yankee Candle’s Christmas Cookie. A Christmas tree had been put up two days ago, with Christmas only three days away.

Our tree is a short, little tree, mainly so that it’s easy for Joel to hang ornaments.  He’s been lively and active the past few days, his slippered feet pattering across the wooden floor as he runs from person to person. 

My best friend Jesse had recently sent me emails also, and we skyped for almost 2 hours. I told her about Niall, the only Irish person I've met so far. I haven’t seen him since the night Joel was sick, and I have no idea if I would ever see him again.

“Finished the dishes!” I shout, drying my hands on a cloth. “Let’s go!” I grab a north face jacket, some gloves, and a couple of Euros. If I’m going out, might as well get my gifts bought as well. Without waiting for my mom, I rush out of the house and walk carefully across the thin layer of frost, breathing in the crisp cold air. 

The shopping center was a fifteen minute bus ride away. Mom and I walked in to find it busy and bustling, Christmas music blaring from invisible speakers. It was crammed full of busy shoppers racing back and forth between stores, their arms overflowing with what I could only assume were last-minute Christmas presents. 

 I find all my presents relatively quickly, especially since I only need to worry about gifts for my family. My mom, on the other, had only bought her husband’s present. She’s extremely picky, and puts a ton of thought into her presents, so they never disappoint, but shopping with her is a nightmare because she spends hours upon hours searching. I watch her stroll in her little petty coat nonchalantly through the aisles from where I sit by the selection of flat screen TV’s. I slowly finger my bags, half wondering if my family would like their gifts, half listening to what the TV’s had to say.

“One Direction’s, Niall Horan—” 

My head shoots up toward the TV closest to me. Did they just say Niall Horan? 

“—is spending his Christmas alone in Mullingar without all his fellow band mates.” a reporter says. I stare at the screen, eyes wide as I study the video shown. There, on the $1,000.00 TV, was Niall, the idiotic, cheeky boy, that I had crashed into at a hardware store. It showed him signing autographs in front of some place called Nando’s for what seemed like thousands of screaming girls. He looked tired and anxious to leave, but he was smiling at every girl.

For a second, all I could do was marvel at the TV, watching a boy I thought was completely normal sign autographs for a wave of crazy fans. I will admit, I was excited and almost let out a squeal realizing I how lucky I was to have spent time with someone so incredibly well known, but after I got over the shock of him being famous, I was suddenly annoyed, and even a little pissed.