Redemption

Chapter 4: Comfort

The jet began shaking as I frantically looked for a seat belt. What kind of plane doesn't have a seat belt?? I held onto the arm rests for support.

The jet continued shaking as I held my breath. A large jolt shook the jet as we took off. Soon, everything was calm again. I carefully perked out the window to discover we were no longer on the ground. All I saw were clouds. It felt like a dream. There's no way I could be in the air. I hated planes.

From the looks of it, we had to be going 100 miles an hour...how fast do planes go? Were jets even faster? I have no idea nor any cares as to the physics of aircrafts. I just want to go home.

After about 30 minutes of the piercing silence, I decided to explore. There was no way I'd sit in the same spot because some stupid man told me to.

I walked around the lounge area and then walked to the kitchen section. I opened the refrigerator only to find an ample amount of alcohol. I have no clue what kinds there were. I'm 16...I've never tasted the stuff. Should I?

I opened the cabinet in search of food, I hadn't eaten since my breakfast snack. I found some peanuts (typical) and I found some crackers. I really didn't like either of those so I continued searching. I found a box of granola bars. Good enough, I guess.

As I munched on my granola bar, I stumbled upon a bedroom. Jets had bedrooms? There was a twin sized bunk and some drawers for clothing. I sat on the surprisingly comfortable mattress. I tried to gather my thoughts. Honestly, I couldn't fathom any of this. I prayed to God.

"Lord, what am I supposed to do? Why am I here? I need Your help. I'm really scared and I don't know what to do. Why does this man hate Allen? What did Allen do? Jesus, please help me. Guide me and give me comfort. I trust that this is apart of Your plan...but this is really weird. Please be with me. In Your heavenly name, amen."

I wiped the tears from eyes.

I heard a door open. Crap.

"Hey girl? Where are you?"

"I have a name." I replied with as much attitude as I could muster.

To my relief, Niall walked in.

"You better be glad I wasn't Harry. He hates girls with attitudes." Niall said as he chuckled.

"Harry has enough attitude for all the girls in the world." I said as I rolled my eyes.

Niall laughed and responded "What is your name?"

"Jennifer Rose."

"That's adorable." Niall snickered and continued, "Come back into the lounge. You and I need to have a little chat."

We both went into the lounge as we took a seat on the couch.

"I know you're probably really confused and scared," Niall began "and I'm nicer than Harry so I'll answer any questions you might have."

"Where are we going?" I asked immediately.

"We are going back to our house in England." he responded.

"Our house?"

"Yeah, me, Harry and the boys."

My eyebrows raised. "There are more of you?"

Niall laughed again. "Yeah, there's four of us. Me, Harry, Louis, and Liam."

"Are you guys brothers or...?"

"Nah, we're all really good friends. A few years ago, we were all on the street. We were abandoned in one way or another. Harry had the worst upbringing. We all made a pact to protect each other. One day, our other friend, Zayn, inherited a load of money."

I interrupted Niall. "Zayn?"

"Zayn was one of us. He's with us in spirit..."

"What happened to him?" I asked.

"He found out he had AIDS and passed away 2 months later."

"I'm so sorry..." I responded, sorry I asked. It was obviously a sore subject for him.

"It's not your fault. He was a whore." Niall laughed again and continued, "So after Zayn passed, he left us his money. And the rest is history."

I blinked slowly and asked another question. "So how does my brother fit into all of this?"

Niall thought it over before answering. "Allen Rose...is a pig. He screwed us over and none of us have really gotten over it."

"What did he do?" I was anxious to hear the story.

"I'm not allowed to answer that. It doesn't really pertain to me."

Now I was even more confused. "I thought you said he screwed you all over?"

"He did. Well, he screwed Harry over. If you hurt one of us, you hurt us all. It's a brotherhood thing. We are one entity so what affects one of us affect the group as a whole."

I stared at Niall and then spoke. "So when can I leave?"

Niall's expression went from calm to nervous. He responded with a shaky voice. "You can't."

Before I could protest, Harry's voice boomed through the jet.

"Niall, get your ass in here! I don't know how to adjust the coordinates on the auto pilot."

Niall stood and walked toward the entrance. Before he left, he turned and looked at me.

"Don't worry, Harry won't hurt you the way Allen hurt him. He's not a monster."

Niall walked into the front and closed the door.

He's not a monster. Does that mean Allen is a monster? I guess I didn't really know my brother that well after all.

I fell asleep on the couch as I dreamed of home. I awoke to the jet landing on the earth.