Stranded with Niall Horan || n.h.

Chapter 12 - A Revelation in New York City

Chelsea and Isabella walked off the cruise ship and onto the sweet, solid land of New York City. The boys followed close behind and surveyed the crowd that showed up. They looked at each other before they walked on. Chelsea peered into the crowd as her eyes got bigger. She ran to a couple.

“Mom! Dad!” she exclaimed, throwing her arms around them.

“Honey, I’m so glad you’re okay.” her father said as he rubbed her back and kissed the top of her head. Her mother began to weep as her hand glided lovingly along Chelsea’s face. 

Zayn half-smiled as he looked away sheepishly; he saw a couple come toward Isabella.

“Isabella! Honey!” the woman called out, tears streaming down her face. Isabella turned quickly toward the voice and was face-to-face with her parents.

Isabella broke down and brought them both into a hug. It was then when someone tugged at Harry’s shirt. Harry turned around to see his sister, Gemma, looking at him, with all their parents standing right behind her. Harry hugged her and his mother tight, as the rest of the boys hugged their parents.

“I’m so sorry Mrs. Horan. I’m sorry about Niall.” Louis hugged Niall's mother, Maura. 

Maura she patted his back, shushing him gently. “You don’t have to blame yourself over this, okay? I'm just happy you boys are safe.”

Louis nodded, looking into Maura's watery eyes.

Harry looked over at Isabella, dabbing her eyes with a tissue and saw another couple walk solemnly up to Isabella and Chelsea’s families. Chelsea and Isabella walked over to them and embraced them, crying even harder than they had before. “We’re sorry.” was all anyone could hear in between their sobs. The man pulled away from the hug. 

“It’s okay.” he assured. “Nina wouldn’t want to see us in this kind of pain. We must have hope.”

The woman simply nodded as she looked down at her feet. 

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, this is the mother of the boy that tried to save your daughter’s life.” Isabella said as she brought Maura to them. The woman cupped Maura’s face in her hands and looked into her eyes.

“Your son is a good man.” she said softly. Maura closed her eyes and let a single tear escape. All of a sudden, a camera crew intruded onto the scene, their voices disrupting the silence.

“Zayn, do you think you can tell us how your friend got lost at sea?” a lady asked as she put a microphone up to his face. Zayn looked around awkwardly, wondering what he should say. 

“Uh, no comment.” he said as his gaze shifted from the prying reporter to a confused Chelsea.

The lady scrunched her face and moved the microphone over to Harry.

“Harry, your thoughts on the disappearance of Niall?”

Harry stuttered before Anne, Harry's mother, stepped in to say, “I’m afraid we have no information to give to you. When information arises, we will let the public know accordingly. Until then, please just respect the boys' wishes and give us some space.” 

The cameraman looked over at the reporter, and she nodded slightly. She stepped away from the families and said into the camera, “We now know that something did happen to Niall Horan and have more questions than we started with. What happened to Niall Horan? Is he still alive? If so, where is he now? Let’s hope we get answers soon, for the sake of every teenage girl in America who’s holding their breath and crossing their fingers. I’m Amy Mendez, back to you Steve.”