Dance Without Me | n.h

Chapter 8: Lies and Fries

Chapter 8:

I hear a gentle knock on the door. I cover everything except my face, so only the bruises on my face are visible.

"Come in." I hoarsely say.

The wooden door flies open and I hear a high pitched scream as a wave of blonde rushes over to me. I am suddenly engulfed by a pink sweater as Brook wraps her arms around me and shoves her head in the crook of my shoulder. I try to hide my flinch of pain by moving my head to lay on hers.

"Rosaline Grace Callahan don't you ever do that to me again young lady." Brook says. I can tell she is joking but her voice is laced with seriousness.

"Brooklyn Dawn Callahan I wouldn't dream of it." I laugh back. My voice sounds like it is recovering from a screaming match and it crackles anywhere it can just to piss me off.

"You sound like a dying seal." She laughs as she lifts her head up to meet mine. Her eyes wides and she jumps backwards while standing up.

It is now I notice the boys gathered by the bed as well. Their expression all turn from either shocked to absolutely mortified. Except Niall, whose eyes have lost their anger and now contain mostly sadness or concern.

This silence is killing me. I decide to tell them the truth before they even ask.

"Hi guys. I know this looks bad but I can explain. I went out walking and got lost. Then it started to rain and I knew it was hopeless to wander around at night so I slept under a bench. The rain and the cold mixed to make me absolutely freezing. My face is purple because it was pressed against the ground, making it the coldest part of my body. My lips and fingers were purple too before you got here. My throat is raw from the cold to top it all off. The doctor said all this is normal for hypothermia patients." I say.

Yup, see? Complete truth. That is exactly what happened.

I wait to judge their reactions. They all let out a collective sigh of relief.

"Thank god. I was so worried when I got that call from Niall. I thought something happened to you. I nearly had a heart attack, Rosaline." Harry says. He sits next to me and places his hand on my thigh reassuringly.

That was sweet, I guess. I feel the need to remove his hand but I don't want to seem like a bitch.

"You guys can call me Rosie, by the way. I reserve that nickname for friends and since you guys are the ones who came to see me in the hospital, I guess that makes us friends." I laugh. It's not exactly a lie, but it's not entirely true. I like them, but my real motive was to get them to believe my story.

Because friends aren't supposed to lie to each other.

The only negative is that it creates a tie to them. They are now something of mine and I am something of theirs. A friend. A link. A bond.

But I suppose bonds can be broken. At least if I force them apart.

"Well, Rosie, we are all so relieved you're all right." Liam smiles his beautiful smile at me. His warmth is so welcoming I just want to wrap myself in it. I smile back at him.

"Yeah, I think Harry almost started crying in the car." Louis says. A laugh threatening to escape from his lips at any moment.

"Oh, shut up Lou." Harry mutters quietly. His hand lifts off of my leg and I feel relieved. He then grabs my hand and gently rubs it with his thumb and the uncomfortable feeling is back. I don't hold many hands if you haven't noticed.

I then notice Niall. He has been shifting back and forth on his heels this entire time. His hands shoved deep in his pockets and his eyes finding the floor tiles a lot more interesting than this conversation. I know why though. He knows the truth but he is sparing me the repercussions of my lie.