Barely Breathing

Faster. I need to run faster. I need to get away. I need to escape. I glance behind me, he is there, gaining on me quickly. I can feel his hot breath and the hairs on my neck stand on end. I can't go back. Ever.

I keep running until he jerks me back, his strong hands grasping my waist. He spins me around and I can see the sweat and tears streaming down his face. His blonde hair matted down and his eyes, no longer shining, but rather dark and sad. He then whispers in my ear, "I need you." His words hit me like a bullet. At that moment, my feelings changed. It was no longer a struggle to get away from him, but to get closer to him.

I remembered our past. Full of love and confusion. We loved each other but for reasons we didn't know. Until that day. That day I figured out about him. About his family, about his past. When I found out that he, the perfect guy for me, the guy who had been through the hurt and pain, who could fake a smile better than anyone I had ever known, was barely breathing.

His name was Niall. He was the blonde haired, blue eyed, boy next door. We met at a party.

He caught my eye. He was the shy boy sitting on the couch by himself. I wouldn't say I have no friends but I am definitely not a popular person. When he noticed me we locked eyes which seemed like forever. Until it was broken up by the shattering of glass. Then my vision was blurred and then it went black.

I woke up on a couch to the smell of cologne and toast. I didn't know where I was until I looked up. Standing above me was the shy blonde haired blue eyed boy. He had a worried look on his face. I didn't know what was going on and I don't think he did either. He brushed his hands through my hair and I couldn't speak. His touch instantly soothed the pain pulsing through my head. I wanted to speak but it seemed hard to. Luckily, he was the first one to speak. In a voice so soft that seemed to kiss my cheek he said, "Are you alright?" I didn't know what had happened to lead up to this point so I muttered the words, "I think so, but what happened?"

With the calmest voice he could he said, " You were sitting there and we were kinda staring at each other. From the corner of my eye I saw a bottle of beer fly across the room and smash you in the side of the head. No one really seemed to notice you. You were lying on the ground with blood on your face. That's when I stepped in. I grabbed you and took my sweatshirt and wrapped it around your face. I threw you over my shoulder and rushed you out the door into my car. I drove you back here to my flat and laid you on the couch waiting for you to wake up. "

I couldn't believe it. It had all happened so quickly. Now the boy who had caught my eye is taking care of me. The boy who didn't know me or who I was, jumped in to save me. We sat there for awhile, staring into each others eyes. He broke the silence by asking for my name. I said, "Samantha but people usually call me Sam." "Sam," he repeated, "that is such a beautiful name." I was about to thank him, but we were disrupted by the sound of smoke alarms. The boy jumped up faster than I could react to the noise. He grabbed the toaster sitting on the counter, unplugged it, and doused it in water. He then breathed a sigh of relief and glanced towards me. We were both sitting there in shock until it was broken up by laughter. The boys laugh was contagious. It filled the whole room and seemed to dance around me and cause me to catch on to the laughter. We sat there and laughed at what had just happened.

Was the laughing was finished, he turned to me and said, "That's what happens when I try cooking," and another burst of laughter filled the air. He came back over to the couch and asked me what I would want from Starbucks. I said to him in a playful voice, "Surprise me." He asked me if I would be fine here by myself and I gave him a little nod. He started walking out the door, but before he left he told me if I needed anything to just call his cell. I was about to yell back that I didn't have it until I looked down and saw a little piece of paper with his number followed by a smiley face.

It made me happy to think that a guy, one I had never met, or even know, cared about me this much. It didn't seem real, or even possible that something like this would happen. I decided I should put these thoughts to sleep. I lie back down on the couch but I was quickly awoken by a banging on the window. Thinking it was just Niall, I got up and opened the door thinking he got locked out. I peered out the door expecting a bright eyed boy standing gleaming with the Starbucks he got me. Instead, there was no one. I looked a little longer and running fast, towards me, was a man in all black. I immediately slammed the door shut, ran to get my phone and the piece of paper, ran to Niall's bedroom and locked the door. I quickly dialed his number and at first he didn't pick up. I dialed again praying that he would answer. Then I heard the soft tone of his voice saying, "Are you alright? Is everything okay?" I whispered into the phone, "You need to get home right now." I tried saying it as calm as I could even though my heart was beating out of my chest. I then heard poundings on the windows and then the sounds of muffled voices near the back. I was hoping they would stay in the back so that Niall wouldn't get hurt. I hear the door open and then Niall's soft voice whispering my name. I whispered back that I was in his room. He slowly opened the door to see me buried under the covers and tears running down my face. He quickly wrapped his arms around me whispering in my ear that it would be alright.

In that same position, he asked me what had happened. I explained everything even the details. I looked up see his reaction, and I could see a tear roll down his cheek. I quickly wiped it away. I looked up at his soft, sad face. About to cry myself, I asked him why he was crying. With his voice shaking, he said, "I was worried something would happen to you." I didn't realize how much he actually cared about me. After about 15 minutes we moved into the living room. He apologized for not bringing back the Starbucks and all I could do was laugh. It was about noon and we decided to go to Nando's for lunch.