Walking Through the Time Capsule

Chapter 28

Walking Through the Time Capsule

Chapter 28

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Niall...

"Niall? Niall, wake up."

It sounded like the voice was coming from right next to me, but I was too tired to tell. Was it a voice from my dream? No, it couldn't be. I was having a strange dream about Louis trashing a hotel in London. This voice sounded too feminine.

"Niall, come on."

"Annabelle?" I grumbled as I started coming back to life.

"Yes, now wake up." The voice sounded louder.

I finally twitched my eyes open and remembered where I was. We went to Horror Nights last night, and Annabelle got scared so I brought her home....

And I slept here.

oh.

"I'm up, I'm up. Are you alright?" I sat up, suddenly feeling a lot more awake.

My eyes adjusted to the darkness, signifying that it was the middle of the night. My heart sank when my gaze reached hers. She definitely wasn't alright.

"Annabelle." I breathed. "Come here."

She immediately leaned forward, allowing me to pull her body against mine with my arms. I sat up against the headboard, allowing her to sink into me. The glaze of tears I saw in her eyes started to break, wetting my shirt. Her body was trembling beneath my touch. "What's wrong, Petal?"

"I'm scared." The fragile texture in her voice brought a few tears of my own, threatening to surface. I didn't care the reason, seeing her cry always broke my heart.

"Is it because of last night? I'm sorry, I should've-"

"No, no. It wasn't because of last night. Even though I still would rather have not gone." Her voice trembled.

"What is it then?"

"I had another nightmare, like at your birthday party."

"Do you wanna talk about it?" I asked, even though I was afraid of the answer. I'd still yet to hear about most of the details of her horrid past. I scratched the surface with the basic facts that she was abused by her dad for years, and raped recently, but the details were still unknown. Each one I'd heard so far made me sick to my stomach.

"I-I think so." She mumbled.

"Whenever you're ready, you can tell me."

She took a few minutes to even out her breathing. Meanwhile, I was preparing to hear some of the horrors she remembered about her good for nothing father.

However, I was not expecting what was about to come out of her mouth. In fact, it was the equivalent to a punch in the face.

"Why didn't you stop them?"

"Wh-what?" I felt like the wind was kicked out of me.

"Everyday, they physically harassed me in school. They touched me, violated me...but you never stopped them." Her whimpers turned back into sobs. "I cried for you everyday, you know? They'd always mock me for calling out to you, saying you'd never come. They rubbed it in my face how you weren't coming, while they touched me. I always hoped you would come back. Why did you take so long? Why didn't you come back?"

I was left absolutely speechless. Each word, a direct stab to the heart. I always forgot about the inevitable possibility of her remembering what happened to her at school. I was always so focused on when she'd remember the abuse, but the rest had slipped my mind.