Like Dreamers Do (Niall Horan Fan-Fiction)

Chapter 37

"We were going to make a life with each other."

Those were the first words spoken from Charlie as he enters the room, closing the door behind him lightly as my heart lurches in my chest. I wanted to be sick. My entire body went numb as I attempted to hide my phone behind my back, but I was shaking so badly, I wasn't doing a very good job of it anyway. Instead it clattered to the floor and immediately gave my game away.

But there was something burning inside of me now, something that was missing before. Getting through to the police was like somebody had set alight my heart. I still had hope. It doesn't have to end this way, no matter how terrible the odds are.

"We still can. We can still make a life together."

I can't believe those words are coming out of my mouth, but I figure it's my best shot. By Charlie's side, I can see him holding the gun that he had earlier. At this point, I figure my best bet is to talk him out of using that gun on me. And my words are working. I watch his face light up, his distinctive cheekbones launch into a wicked grin that causes my legs to shake.

"You really mean that?" He whispers through the room, almost menacing as I feel my heart beat pick up.

"Y-yes." I mumble, trying to hold back the tears that are threatening to pour down my face with each step Charlie takes. "I mean it."

This time, he smiles wider than I've seen him smile before. It seems strange, seeing him in this kind of light. This is the man who killed my parents. This is the man who more than likely intends to kill me. But if I saw this man walking down the street, I would think him utterly ordinary.

Kind of like me...I was a nobody, but I was special because Niall made me feel special.

I don't want to think that I am anything like the man who killed my parents, but suddenly it's hard to ignore.

"I was going to kill you." Charlie hisses, rushing over to me suddenly and grabbing my phone from next to me. I let out a small yelp in fear and recoil back, hiding my head in my hands but trying to keep my eyes on him. I can't lose my vision; I don't have any hope if that happens. "I was so angry about you dating that Niall boy. And then you go ahead and call the police, which just makes me more angry." He shouts with anger across the room, smashing my phone to the ground with ease where it proceeds to smash into a million pieces. I try to steady my breathing, but it's pretty useless at this point. Everything is.

"I collect these dolls. They remind me a bit of you Elli." Charlie signals to the hundreds of porcelain dolls lined up in the room, stacks and stacks of them. I try to nod my head and open my mouth to tell him I like them, but I am completely numb. I can't even speak.

His mind is so scattered. He has to be smart, considering the elaborate way he found me, but it is as though when he finally has me, he is unable to make sense of it. It scares me, I feel like he could lash out at any minute, no matter how much I try and convince him otherwise.

I guess that's why I did what I did next.

Feeling a sudden rush of adrenaline, I suddenly picked up the doll with the spiky hat I had used to untie my ropes with earlier and stabbed it into Charlie's ankle.

I'm not sure who screams louder, me or him. I think it actually might have been me, because the combination of the pointed china sinking into Charlie's leg and the idea that I have probably angered him is almost too much to handle for me. Because I know that I've hurt him, I can see the pain on his face. And now, he probably wants to hurt me too.

Without taking a look behind me, I pick myself up and sprint to the door at the front of the room, ignoring Charlie who has fallen behind me, clutching his leg in pain. I am ever aware of the gun in his hand, and I know that I don't have long if I want to escape this place, wherever I am.

I fumble with the handle as my breathing gets louder, finally getting the door open as I hear Charlie screaming behind me. I let out a few jagged screams myself, slamming the door behind me as I am let into a room that looks like a dolls house. It is so beautiful that I almost stop to admire the room, but then I remember my situation.

Panting, I rush to the front door of the house, passing a small dining table that has two meals laid out on top of it. Maybe I was just seeing things, but I could have sworn one of the meals said the word 'Elli' on a placemat next to it. I don't stop to find out though. As I hear Charlie's screams getting louder and then a banging coming from the room I have shut him inside, I open the front door hastily and let myself out as fast as I can. And then I run. I run faster than I ever have in my whole life. But the outside is what scares me the most.

It is empty. Completely, one hundred per cent empty. I take one look at the place I have been trapped in, and realize that this beautiful, old Victorian house is the only house for a good mile. There is nowhere I can run, only a long dark road that seems to be never-ending.

But I can't give in. I can't. So I keep running, down the gravel road in the dark. I can feel my thoughts slipping away with each stride, my mind drifting back to - well, something I can't decipher.

I don't know who I am. I'm the girl whose parent's died. I'm the girl whose dating Niall Horan. I'm Elli Nichol's, and I don't know who I am. All I can say is that for certain is that I'm the girl who is running from her goddamn life, and will probably be doing that for a very long time.

After a while, I realize that I'm laughing. I don't know why, but suddenly I can't stop. I fall onto the middle of the road, a complete mess with tears streaming down my face as I laugh menacingly to the sky above, the cool air whipping my face harshly. I'm laughing because I can't believe my situation. Everything that has happened, it doesn't happen to people every day. In fact, I think I have completely lost the plot. My mind turns to rubble as I struggle for breath over my laughter, but then I realize I'm crying.

I've lost everything and everyone. That's all there is to it. And even if I make it out today, Charlie will still be out there. And I can't ever face Niall again, I can't put him in danger. I can't put my grandad in danger, I can't be around anyone. I might as well not even be here.

That's why I don't move from the middle of the road when I hear a car roaring behind me in the distance. In fact, I don't even turn around to check if I am hearing things, or to make sure that it is indeed Charlie racing down the road to find me, and probably kill me. I simply sit there, smiling lightly with my legs crossed on the middle of the road, my arms spread out beside me as I feel the gravel beneath my fingers.

If this is it, I want to be happy with the way I have lived. So as the sun is just beginning to rise in the distance, I close my eyes and think of my parents, and how happy I will be when I can finally see them again.

The headlights of the car are getting brighter and the roaring engine louder, and I hear the car stop just a few metres behind me. I take a deep breath of the late night yet early morning air and pick myself up off the ground, almost willing to follow Charlie into whatever he has planned for me. It might as well end now, it's going to end eventually.

I hear the slam of a car door and then the rushing off footsteps coming towards me. And then I hear a sob, and my frown returns.

Why is Charlie sobbing?

Slowly I turn around, my heart beat having increased to a million miles an hour at what I am about to see. But I don't see anything, because the person in front of me has thrown their entire weight on top of me and wrapped their arms around my torso, entangling their hands in my hair and burying their head into my neck. That's when I start crying.

Because once again, Niall Horan has saved me. I am barely aware of the police car blaring their sirens in the background, or the commotion that has ensued down the road at the place Charlie held me captive. All I can feel is Niall's heartbeat against mine, our tears streaming at the same pace as the two of us just hold each other, allowing me to realize that my life is not over.

It's only just begun.

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