The chapter is short, but this was always meant to be more of a mini-story than a larger one like Pet. Things will get more exciting now. :)
UM ALSO MOMENTS CAME ON WHILE I WAS WRITING THIS AND IM FEELING VERY ATTACKED RIGHT NOW
Chapter Seventeen
Weeks passed statically and uneventfully. I was a regular at Liam's performances, and the only time I hadn't performed was when the cuts from the attack were bothering me.
It became tradition for Liam to take me to dinner after, but we would try new restaurants every time, which was a blast. Part of me told me that I shouldn't be letting my guard down around Liam, because of the way he treated me when he found me again, but another part of me was slowly remembering why I liked him so much before I left.
Once Liam was in his right mind, he was the sweetest and gentlest puppy in the world. I felt safe with him, and more importantly, I felt comfortable with him. Liam had agreed to let me sleep in another room, and I was no longer on lockdown. Sure, I still had to have him or Niall with me, but I was allowed to leave whenever I wanted and go walk around town.
After a short walk to a bakery and back, Niall and I stepped up to the apartment. His arm shot out, stopping me in my tracks. "What's wrong?" I asked him. He nodded towards the front door.
It was open. Not fully, but it was definitely ajar, and moving slightly with the wind. Niall pushed me behind him before producing a pistol from the back of his pants. "Why the hell do you have a gun?!" I gasped.
"Shut up, Ari. Stay behind me."
He slowly pushed open the door, his eyes guarded and drifting around the rooms he could see. "Liam?" he called inside.
My fists clasped onto the back of Niall's shirt. Liam was meant to be gone all day. And he wouldn't leave the door open. Nothing was out of place, though - nothing was stolen or broken. Except the lock on the door, which looked like it had been shattered.
"Ari, call Liam. Now."
This was said when Niall got to Liam's room. "What? Why?" I crept closer. "Is he in here?"
"No. Stay where you are. Just call Liam."
"Shouldn't I call the police?" I said worriedly, my voice trembling.
Niall turned and glared sharply at me. "No! Call Liam."
I gave in, pulling my cell phone out of my back pocket and dialing his number. He picked up on the third ring. "Missing me already, precious?"
"Um... Someone broke into the apartment."
He was silent for a few moments, before there was wild rustling on his side of the phone. "Please tell me Niall is with you."
I nodded slowly but realized he couldn't see me. "Yeah, he is. He won't let me into your room, though. Are... Are you going to come back?"
"Yes, baby, I'm on my way. Tell Niall not to leave you. Stay in the kitchen and living room," he directed.
I tried to look around Niall, but he was shutting the door quietly. "He's gone then, for sure?" I asked tentatively. Niall just bobbed his head, checking the other rooms anyways. "Liam, why does Niall have a gun?"
"So he can protect himself and others, Arianne. Give him the phone, please."
I held my cell out to my friend, who eagerly took it. "Yes, yes I know. I won't go anywhere. Can I stay the night? I think you two could use an extra body here.... Of course, I won't let her in the room."
My arms folded across my chest. Now I was really curious. What was back there? "Is there a dead body in his room?" I asked.
Niall rolled his eyes, shaking his head at me. If it wasn't a dead body, then why couldn't I be in there?
Liam arrived less than ten minutes later, sweeping right in and hugging me tightly, kissing the top of my head. "You're safe, you are fine," he murmured, more to himself than to me.
"Can I see what's in there yet?"
"No."
I huffed, watching as he stormed to the back room, opening the door slightly. He only stood there for a second before slamming it shut and running his fingers through my hair. "We have a major problem."
"Should I get Harry here?" Niall tested.
Liam nodded, opening his arms for me. "Come here, love."
Obediently, I snuggled into his arms. "What's happening?"
"Whoever it was that tried to take you before... He came back."
My eyes widened and I pushed Liam away from me, speeding to his room, ignoring his orders for me to stop. I threw open the door, my stomach dropping when I saw the room.
Again, nothing was broken or stolen. The window was wide open, rustling the many papers that had been tacked to the walls, laid out onto the bed, discarded carelessly onto the floor. On the vanity Liam had bought for me, lipstick had been drawn in a heart around another paper, with four words written under it.
"See you soon, Ari"
Each paper was a picture of me. Each one completely different. The one on the mirror was of me in the bathroom, in just a small towel as I rubbed lotion onto my legs. That was last night.
The photos had all been taken fairly recently and ranged from me at the apartment, to me on stage with Liam. Even some were of Niall and I on our walks.
My knees trembled greatly, and I backed out of the room, right into Liam's chest. He shut the door immediately and dragged me out to the living room. "Everything is going to be okay, Arianne. We are going to catch whatever sicko is doing this, and no one is going to be hurt, okay? I promise you that."
"It's Zayn. It has to be Zayn," I gushed. "He's the only person who would want to hurt me. He told me that I'd regret it if I ever told you what he did."
Liam groaned, pulling me into his lap as he sat down. "I know he's a douchebag, but I don't think he would do this. He would know that we would think of him first. Zayn may be a dick, but he's not stupid."
"Harry is on his way."
I shuddered and leaned further into Liam. "Why is he coming?"
"Harry has come connections with people who know how to track someone down. He'll come, take pictures of everything, and send it back to them," Liam explained, kissing my hair.
"We should stay somewhere else, shouldn't we? If whoever this is doesn't know where we live, then-"
Niall snorted, cutting me off. "Liam doesn't run, kid."
I sat with Liam for a long while, letting him calm me down. "Once he's gone, what are we going to do?" I asked this as we sat around the kitchen table, eating a pizza. Harry lived over an hour away, so he only had just gotten there, with the pizza he picked up on the way.
"Niall and I will clean it up."
Niall gasped. "I never agreed to that."
Liam grabbed the roll of paper towels sitting beside him and started whacking his friend. "Yes, you did. When you asked to stay the night."
"Ouch, stop it!"
I could hear the sound of Harry's camera clicking in the other room, and I spotted Niall's gun sitting on the coffee table. "Can I get a gun?" I asked suddenly.
Liam stopped abusing Niall to glare at me. "Hell, no."
"What about a small gun?"
"No."
I pursed my bottom lip, giving my best puppy-dog eyes. "Not even a little pink one?"
