Walking Through the Time Capsule

Chapter 25

Walking Through the Time Capsule

Chapter 25

*

*

Niall...

"I remembered something."

The tone of her voice, the way it shook and cracked at such a timid volume, absolutely broke the remains of my heart. My mind went into a fog for a brief minute before I could say anything.

"Come on," I softly coaxed her, "let's go outside."

I helped her stand, and gently took her hand, leading her up the stairs. When we reached the garden, I sat her down on the porch swing and lingered for a moment to see if she would be okay with me sitting with her. When she lightly tugged at my fingers, I took that as her plead to sit with her.

Her eyes were glossy, and her lip was quivering slightly. She looked like she was desperately trying to hold herself together.

"What did you remember?" I asked as she simultaneously rested her head on my shoulder. Instead of answering me though, she broke down in tears. She turned her face into my chest and started clutching my shirt as she sobbed into me. I wrapped my arms around her and squeezed my eyes shut, trying to not let pain absorb me. "It's okay. It's alright. I'm right here." I whispered in her ear as I soothingly played with her hair.

"It was awful, Niall." She wept. "How could something like that happen to me?" 

"Something like what, Annabelle?"

She took a shaky breath as she sat up, prepping herself for what she was about to say. "I-I was sitting in a room, I think it was mine but I don't know. I was just reading, minding my own business, when all of a sudden someone burst through the door." She uselessly wiped at her eyes, although more tears kept streaming down. "It all happened so fast. Next thing I know, I'm tumbling down the stairs and feel so much pain. Then all I heard was yelling. So much yelling. I remember being scared and trying to hide myself under my arms, but sharp pain beat me to it. He was beating me with a beer bottle. It kept shattering, but he didn't care. He just kept beating me with the shards. And there was blood everywhere, Niall. I remember feeling like I was fading, but I was still conscious enough to feel that awful pain. I-it was just so horrifying. I can't believe that really happened to me. I-I don't know who it was, I just know it was a man." She was choking on tears. "Who would do something like that?" She whimpered.

"Oh my God, Annabelle..." I wrapped my arms tighter, and held her close to me. "I don't know what to say."

So many emotions were running through me at this moment. I was shocked to start. I knew he was abusive but I never knew it was that violent. That thought brought such strong anger to me. What fucked up, sick and twisted father would do things like that to his own daughter? If she was this worked up, I can't imagine how she'd be if she knew it was her father that did all this.

"I want to remember my life so bad, but I don't want to if I have to remember things like this."

"Annabelle," I sighed, "you already have most of the bad memories. You just have to fight through them, like the warrior I know you are, and look for the light."

"I know." She mumbled. "You know, I thought of you, in the memory I mean. I remember thinking of you the whole time, even through the pain. I kept thinking of how badly I wanted you to save me." She said softly, to my heartache and surprise. "Where were you? Was this while you were gone?"

I had to explain it to her. I had to say what I'd been wanting to say to her for a while now.

"It must have been, because I never knew something like that happened to you." I wiped a few stray tears off her cheeks. "Annabelle, If I knew you were being hurt, I would've left London, and came to protect you. The last thing I ever want to see is you hurt, and believe me when I say, that seeing you hurt this summer was the worst thing I've experienced." She nodded in understanding, and continued to listen to what I had to say. "There's not a day that goes by that I don't hate myself for all the things that have happened to you. I blame myself for all of it, and I'm so so sorry that I was never there for you in all your times of need. When you wished I was there, I'm so sorry I wasn't."