They Don't Know About Us

Bruises

*Nicole's P.O.V.*

"Hey, Aislinn, I'm going to go to the library," I said to Aislinn, "I have a big test to study for on my online school."

"Okay," Aislinn replied, "Bye!"

I threw on a pair of shoes, and grabbed my purse, and walked out the door of my apartment. The air smelled of spring, and the ground was wet from the rain that had poured last night. I walked along the road, a spring in my step, I was sort of happy because the weather was so nice. The sun shone brightly in the sky, leaving the air at the perfect temperature. I walked along the sidewalk towards the library. As I was walking, I thought about the boys. I wonder what they're doing today. Probably some sort of concert or interview. If I was there I could imagine Louis begging everyone to go somewhere. They would all give in, and we'd go to some outdoor place. The boys would act like idiots, and I would watch, laughing my head off. Then, Niall would make me join, and I would try to play the stupid game they made up, but I would mess up. We would all laugh our heads off, not caring about the game anymore.

I quickly snapped out of my trance, and continued walking along the sidewalk. I saw an alley. Hm, that would definitely shorten my trip to the library. Okay, let's do it. I walked down the long, dark alley. I heard a voice behind me.

"Where the hell do you think you're going, whore?" I heard a girl's voice. I turned around to see a group of girls. Let me guess.... One Direction fans....

"Let me guess, you're Directioners?" I asked them. The girl with matted brown hair nodded, "Yeah, and we wanna know why you're such a whore?"

"You have it wrong!" I protested, "I dated Harry when Niall and I broke up."

"Sure, you slut," Another girl muttered, "We all know that you were cheating on Niall. I can't believe a whore like you would even show your face around here. You broke Niall's heart!"

That hurt, I thought. I felt a stab of guilt in my heart.

"Oh, so we got it right?" One of the girls taunted. I saw a smirk form on her lips, "Why don't we make that pain show on the outside?"

I frowned, "What do you mean?"

"This." The girl's fist came in contact with my face, sending me flying backwards. My back hit the brick wall. I gasped out in pain.

"Oh, it's not over yet!" A different girl kicked my leg, sending pain flying through my body. The girls all started beating me. Hitting my stomach, and slapping me across the face, leaving a stinging sensation. I felt a few tears squeeze out of my eye, from the pain.

"Oh, gonna cry?" A girl taunted, "Maybe this will bring you out!"

I saw her fist come flying towards my face, as I blacked out.
*


My eyes fluttered open, and I saw my room. I saw that I was in my bed, under the covers. I saw Aislinn walk into the room, "Thank God, you're awake!"

"How did I get here?" I asked, confused.

"I had to get help from some people who worked nearby to help me take you home. You were unconscious, and badly bruised," Aislinn answered. I pulled myself out of bed, my body was sore, but I ignored the pain. I walked over to my mirror, and looked at myself. I gasped at my reflection. My face was covered in bruises, and red marks from the slaps. My lip was busted, and I had a black eye. My legs, arms, and stomach were also bruised. I looked absolutely hideous. I turned back to Aislinn, tears brimming in my eyes, "Why did they do this to me?"

I felt tears rolling down my cheeks, Aislinn walked over to me, and pulled me into a hug. I cried into her shoulder, as she tried comforting me.

"I don't know, Nicole... I don't know...." Aislinn whispered.
*


*Niall's P.O.V.*

Another month has passed. I've tried to busy myself with concerts, interviews, and signings, but her face always appears in mind. I realize how I feel for her now. I love her. I want to see her smiling face. I want to see her dazzling blue eyes staring into mine. I want to feel her body close to mine, and I want to wrap my arms around her body. And, most of all, I want to feel her lips connected to mine. Does she even want me? Does she want to be with me? Most importantly, does she love me? I wish I could just see her, then I would feel a little better. But, no, I can't even see her perfect face. I want to tell her how I really feel, I want to truly apologize to her. Maybe then, she'll take me back. I won't ever be able to just replace her. Nobody compares to Nicole.
*


I woke up to another day of nothingness. I feel like my life is meaningless without Nicole. I love her so much, but I can't even tell her that. I pulled myself out of bed, just to enter another day of depression. Depression was starting to cover me like a gray cloud. I try to hide away my feelings, so the boys don't know I'm depressed. I don't want to worry them. I threw on some random outfit, and trudged downstairs, to the kitchen. Louis, Harry, and Liam were watching TV. I grabbed a bowl of cereal and joined them. Zayn started walking downstairs, "Hey, Rachel is coming over in a few minutes."

"Okay, we all mumbled, not taking our eyes off of the TV. Zayn decided to join us at the TV, he sat down on the couch. We continued watching TV, until the doorbell rang.

"I'LL GET IT!" Zayn yelled, and jumped up. He ran over to the door to answer it. He came back with Rachel and they sat together. Rachel was cuddled up into Zayn's chest, and Zayn had his arm wrapped around her. I felt a pang of jealously inside my chest. I wanted to be like Zayn in Rachel with Nicole, but all I do is break her already cracked heart. It's like I was beating someone that was already beaten. I wanted her so badly, but I won't ever be able to get her. What if she never comes back? She could live her life without me.... Would it be better that way? Maybe for her, but I know I can't live without Nicole in my life. She probably can live without me, but I want her to know my true feelings. I looked at the TV, trying to distract my thoughts, but my mind would waver towards Nicole. Everytime I closed my eyes, I could see her face. I would open my eyes, and she would disappear. When I closed my eyes again, her face would be closer. I would repeat that process, and soon when my eyes were closed, and Nicole's face was in my mind. Her lips were an inch away from my face. I wanted the magical feeling of her lips against mine. I craved that feeling so badly. I opened my eyes, and closed them again, but she was gone. She was no longer in my mind. Nicole had left me like she did in reality. No, come back! My mind begged for her to kiss me again. Our lips hadn't touched in over three months. Kissing her has now become a necessity. Please, listen to me Nicole! I love you, and I want you to come back! I will do anything else to just see your face again. Please, let me speak to you. I want to hear your small, adorable voice in my ears. I want to hear you laugh, and then you would reach your hand down, and intertwine your fingers with mine. I want you to press your body against mine, and lean closer to me. I'll lean down, and our lips will touch. Our lips will fit perfectly together, like they were made for each other. Please, come back!

"Please come back!" I yelled. I opened my eyes, to see everyone staring at me. I frowned, "What?"

"Well, you woke up, and yelled 'Please come back'..." Louis answered.

"Were you talking about Nicole?" Liam asked, curiously.

"Why don't you even care that she's gone?" I asked, angrily. They all looked at me confused. Zayn spoke up, "What do you mean?"

"She's been gone for over three months, don't you miss her?" I asked, my anger rising, "You don't know what could've happened to her. For all we know, she could be dead! Don't any of you care?!"

The room fell silent for a moment. Louis spoke up, "Do you love her?"

"Why would you say that?" I asked.

"Because you're crying," Louis answered. I reached up to my eye, and my finger traced over the bottom of my eye, collecting a few tears on my fingertip. Why am I crying?

"You're in love," Liam answered, "You miss her so much, that you just broke."

"N-No, I can't love her!" I protested, "She loves Harry."

I saw Harry look up at the mention of his name, "Are you sure about that? Because, she broke up with me in her note. She also said she thinks she has feelings for you. I think she feels the same way."

"How do you know?" I snapped. Harry shrugged, "I don't, but I assume she does. Nicole hasn't ever been able to let you go. She does love you. She shouldn't have dated me. I tried to make her love me, but I don't think she really understands true love. You're her first boyfriend. Everytime a guy flirts with her, she'll think she is in love, because she's confused over love. Her Dad abused her, so she felt worthless. One gesture of kindness towards her will make her love you, because she craves it."

I paused for a moment, taking in all that Harry said, "... Does that mean she never was in love with me?"

Harry shook his head, "No, I believe she was in love with you. They way Nicole looks at you.... You can just tell. She never looked at me that way, yeah, maybe she may have liked me, but it wasn't anything more than that. She just thought she was in love. The way you two looked at each other.... You two were in love."

"I know I was in love with her, but does she love me anymore?" I asked.

"She never stopped loving you," Harry replied. I smiled, through my tears, "How can I get her back?"
*


*Nicole's P.O.V.*

I woke up in the middle of the night, sobbing. Why am I sobbing? Oh, right I was thinking of Niall and Harry again. I did my usual middle of the night routine. I quickly walked over to the bathroom, and yanked the drawer open, and grabbed my razor. I quickly created a few cuts along my side. Suddenly, Niall's face appeared in my mind. It wouldn't leave. I quickly created a cut on my side, making his face appear in my mind. I sighed, with relief that he was gone. Then, I saw Harry, I created another cut. This one is for there stupid fans that left me with bruises, physically and mentally. I created a new cut, and fell to the floor sobbing. I hate this! Feeling so weak! People even beat me, because I won't fight back. I'm scared they'll hurt me more. That's what I learned when I lived with Father. If I thought back, then I would be hurt even more severely. I just have to wait for the pain to pass, then I can continue. But, will the pain ever go away? I pulled myself off the floor. I can't continue crying over everything. I walked back to my bed, and fell asleep.
*

"Hey, we're low on food, wanna go grocery shopping?" Aislinn asked. Her head was in the fridge, as she searched for food. I was sitting at the table on my laptop, doing schoolwork, "Sure, sounds good to me," I replied, not bothering to stop typing. I heard the fridge shut, "That means you have to stop typing and go get dressed."

I groaned, and shut off my laptop. I stood up, "Okay, I'll go change out of pajamas."

Aislinn left to change in her room. I went to my room, pulled out some clothes, and went to the bathroom. I turned on the shower water, and stripped out of my clothes as I waited for it to heat up. I slipped in, and let the hot water warm up my cold body. I washed my body and hair, then rinsed off. I slipped out of the shower, and dried off my body. I put on my ruffled floral dress along with my tan combat boots. I put my hair up in a bun, with a few curls hanging out. I put my flower head band over my head, and put on a pair of flower earrings. I put on some light pink lipstick along with some eyeliner and mascara. I tried to cover as many bruises as possible, with concealer. They were almost completely covered, but you could still I had been hurt. I put on some jewelry, finishing off the outfit. I looked perfect for May. I walked out of my room to see Aislinn. She had on a pair of floral shorts with a loose blue short sleeved shirt. She had on earrings, and her hair was straightened. She had on some mascara and light eye shadow along with some lip gloss.

"Ready to go?" Aislinn asked. I nodded, and we left.