Chapter Nineteen
The taser became my newest accessory. It was with me wherever I went. Even in the apartment, I kept it nearby. One night I scared Niall by touching it to him, but without the weapon even on. He jumped so high I thought his head would break through the ceiling.
Liam had one last appearance at the bar, and wanted me to sing with him again. I was a little more comfortable up there now, so didn't argue when he requested me up there. We finished the song, and Liam pulled me right to him in our usual hug, but before he broke us apart, his fingers tipped my chin up and he kissed me deeply and publicly.
The onlookers cheered and catcalled, making Liam smile into the kiss and softly pull away. My face was burning in embarrassment. "Go big or go home, right?" he whispered. "Thanks for performing with me, gorgeous."
I left him on stage, standing in the back and running my fingers through my hair to calm down. Everyone saw me kiss him. How could he have done that? We weren't kissing in private, so what gave him the idea to do it on stage.
"That was quite the finale," someone commented.
The voice had me reaching into my back pocket and fisting the taser. "What are you doing here?" I asked, backing away from him.
Zayn stayed where he was, about ten feet away with his hands in his pockets. "It's been a long time since everything that went down. I came back to reconnect, to make up for my behavior," he claimed.
"Liam will kill you if he sees you," I snapped. "And I do not want to see that wrath unfold. So-"
"I'm afraid that's where you're wrong, sweetie. Liam invited me."
My eyes narrowed suspiciously. "You're lying."
"I am not. But I was ordered not to talk to you. But I figured that one little conversation wouldn't hurt." He took a step closer, smirking. "You are as beautiful as ever. Liam is lucky to have you. What I'd do if I were him... All the things you and I would do..."
I turned around and stormed towards another section of the backstage, somewhere that only I was allowed into and that I could be alone in. Liam invited Zayn? After everything, he would go behind my back and invite not only the sleaziest person I've met, but the person we think is behind the bad stuff happening.
I could hear Liam calling for me, but I decided that I'd sit and let him find me. I kept my arms crossed over my chest as he got closer and closer to the little room I was waiting in. "Hey, gorgeous. What are you doing back here?" he asked me. I didn't answer straight away, and I think he finally realized something was up. Liam fell to his knees in front of me. "What's wrong, beautiful? Did I do something wrong? Was it the kiss?"
"It was about who saw the kiss," I snapped. "Someone that you know I can't be around."
His face fell as he understood who I met. "He promised me that he wouldn't be seen, to stay away from you."
"And you think that he would listen to you?" I quizzed. "Liam. You said that you believed me-"
He snorted, rolling his eyes. "I do believe you."
"Then how could you bring him around here? Why would you do that to me? I thought... I thought that he was going to-"
Liam stood and hugged me to him. "No. Come here. I would never let anyone touch you. Especially not him. He asked if he could come and I told him that I didn't care as long as he didn't go near you or try to speak to you."
"He did both, Liam," I said simply, pushing him away. "I can't do this. I can't think you'll protect me than be scared to go out with you because you gave someone like him permission to be around. I'm not going to let myself get played like that. It's too... It's too much for me."
Liam sighed, pleading with his eyes. "Don't be upset. You're okay. He wouldn't have touched you. I understand why you're freaked out-"
"No, Liam! You don't understand! You don't know what it's like to be pushed around by someone else, taken advantage of like I have. I've seen the dark places that guys like Zayn take girls. I've been taken there myself. And I won't let that happen again."
His eyes focused on my face intently. "What are you saying? That you're going to go away from me because of this? I do one thing wrong and you're going to try and leave me?"
"You've done plenty of things wrong. But never before have you betrayed my trust."
Liam touched my hair softly, gently. "Well, you aren't leaving me anytime soon. I hope you know that. I won't let you. Just like the first time I took you in. I'm going to take care of you and protect you."
*Flashback*
I had been with Liam for several weeks now, and had not warmed up to him much. But I stopped trying to escape. He was pretty scary when he was angry, so I decided to keep my running away to a minimum.
Every day when he left for work, all the doors and windows that could release me were locked and sometimes double locked. But he wasn't really mean to me. Food was kept in the house for me, magazines and books, and the television with a stack of DVDs were always available.
But it was lonely. And by the time I'd been there for over a month, he realized that. "I have someone I want to introduce you to. He can come over some days or nights while I'm working. Or we could all three hang out. I think you'll like him a lot."
I nodded slowly, eating the chicken noodle soup he made us. "Okay."
"How's the soup?" he quizzed.
"Really good, thank you."
Liam grinned, stroking my hair gently. "Good. Niall is on his way here now. I'm really hoping you two get along. I know how much you need someone else around. I don't want you to think you're a prisoner."
That's exactly what I was. I had been trapped within the confines of his apartment for no reason. Other than his urge to protect me, but I was a complete stranger. A guy like Liam, a guy who seems to have everything going for him, shouldn't have given me a second glance, except to kick me off of his porch when he found me. And yet for some reason, he found it his responsibility to take me in. Then he went beyond that to protect me to the point that I was not able to leave his home or be free and alone.
"Arianne?" Liam called, tugging on a piece of my hair. I blinked up at him, coming back down to the real world. "You zoned out. Everything okay?"
"I'm not good meeting new people," I said quietly. "I... I just have trouble. Especially with guys."
"You're so sweet. It's okay to be nervous around the opposite sex. I mean, it's part of being young."
I wanted to laugh bitterly, but all I did was give a single nod and look away from him. Being nervous around the opposite sex was part of going through what I went through, not part of my age. Years ago I was quite confident with everyone - men, women, and everything between. Unfortunately, I'm not who I was years ago. I'm different now.
"But trust me, when you meet Niall, you'll instantly like him. He's hilarious and so friendly."
I finished eating and went to the room that was designated for me, curling onto the bed to wait for Liam's friend to appear. Any other time, I'd be relieved to interact with someone else, but for some reason I didn't want to.
I was scared.
The sound of the doorbell ringing through the apartment alerted me, and the bedroom door opened. "Come on, love. Let's get you and Niall acquainted."
I obediently followed after him, even taking his outstretched hand. Liam let me stand behind him a little as he unlocked the door, and let it open slowly.
Leaning in the doorway was a blonde-haired man with a crooked smile and dazzling bright eyes. "Hi," he greeted, meeting my gaze. "I'm Niall."
