STORM | Niall Horan |

Brutal Reality

Chapter 17

 

My eyes flashed open as the cold water hit my visage, drenching my whole upper body. The back of my head ached slightly, and it took me a little while to actually realize what had been going on. “Took you long enough to wake up!” A male voice said and I looked up, looking into the masked man’s visage.

I tried to move, but I was tied onto a chair. The back of my head hurt, and my mouth was kept closed with duct tape. What the hell was going on? Furiously wiggling and moving, I did my best to free myself, but I just couldn’t succeed. The others sitting around a table a little away from me and the man laughed at my attempts, eyeing me with humorous gazes.

Listing every curse word I knew, I shot them glares, but they only kept on chuckling at my muffled screams. This was one of the most degrading moments of my life. These guys seemed to enjoy my despair, and it made me even more aggravated. 

Finally, the one in front of me ripped the duct tape off my mouth, making me inhale a sharp breath. “What the fuck is your problem?!” I yelled, not standing still as the man’s hand suddenly made contact with my cheek, slapping me harshly.

“No curse words. Be a good girl and wait for your little boyfriend. He’ll accompany you soon,” A cackling laughter left his lips as the others joined in. My skin was burning, and I was sure that his fingers’ marks were becoming visible on my cheek; I should have stopped yelling, but him mentioning Niall made me furious.

“What do you mean? Where’s Niall?! Don’t you even dare to harm him!” I hissed through my gritted teeth, staring at the man with killer gazes. If only looks could kill. He’d be dead by now, I thought, my tied hands clenched into fists as I pulled harder on the rope, trying to loosen it, but it didn’t work.

“We’re just going to wait here until that motherfucker comes to your rescue. He has something that belongs to us and we want it back,” He explained to me, turning his back to me while walking towards his comrades.

“Wait! What the hell would Niall have that belongs to you?!” I asked, and that made him laugh once again. Did I look like I made a goddamn joke? Turning his head towards me, he gave me a cocky grin and spoke calmly, “You don’t know anything about your ‘boyfriend’, do you? The guy has been lying to you the whole time long, babe.”

I was about yell at him not to call me babe, but his words made me thoughtful. What was he talking about? I waited for him to explain it further, but he didn’t, so I asked, in a much calmer, yet somehow suppressed voice, “What do you mean?”

Those words came out much shakier than I intended them to be, but the thought of Niall lying to me shattered my heart. Why should I believe this guy? My heart said, and my brain gave a simple answer: Why would he lie to you? He has you tied up on a chair. No. I didn’t want to lose my faith in Niall.

“Liar,” I muttered, averting my gaze so that he wouldn’t see the uncertainty in my face. I hated how gullible I could be, and I did my best to believe that all he said was a lie. But why would they kidnap me then if there was nothing to hide from Niall’s side? I remembered how he said ‘My life is pretty boring.’

Well, it couldn’t be that boring if he had something to do with kidnappers. I silenced, lost in my own thoughts as the man returned to me, this time taking his mask off. Looking up, I scanned his visage briefly, and my eyes went wide.

Half of his face was burned, his skin was blackened at some points, and other areas of his face were burned to a degree where his bones could be visible. Oh my god. I looked away, trying not to stare again, though my eyes didn’t know where to look at. I felt like throwing up.