Downfall [Punk Niall Horan]

38

TYLIE'S POV

Two hours.

It had been two hours that Valie and Niall had been gone together, talking. Two nagging hours of constant wondering, worrying, and jealousy all fighting for attention. Surely Val had saw how Niall and I reacted around each other, and that there was clearly something between us.

But then I felt petty and stupid for thinking that. They apparently had history together since Val's father was in the gang working undercover with Niall. Obviously they were good friends, and she probably just needed someone to talk to that wasn't me.

After about an hour I felt silly for thinking about any of this. There wasn't anything even clarified between Niall and I yet, and that's why I had kissed Luke. I was vulnerable and he was sweet and charming and Niall Horan was not there at that moment to be what I needed.

Clarity.

After about an hour and a half, I started to wonder if everyone was having a meeting without me. Chattering could be heard in the hallways for a few minutes, then the noise dispersed as they wandered off somewhere.

The twins had left the room about twenty five minutes ago, and now the only thing I could hear was the way I bit on my nails anxiously. Sitting here alone made me stir crazy, and I was afraid that I might start to hallucinate again.

A dull throb was slowly starting to swell across my brain, and beads of sweat gathered and rolled down my face. My heart was thudding radically in my chest, and my vision starting blurring a little.

The massive, ornate room seemed to be closing in on me as my sight swam in and out of focus. Shadows seemed to twist and turn until they morphed into the last thing I wanted to see or hear now.

My father.

I rubbed at my eyes furiously, trying to erase the despicable man from my eyesight, but I couldn't seem to shake him as he took a step dangerously closer. He wore a sharp-pressed, black suit along with a navy blue tie, his favorite.

In the depths of my frazzled mind I could just imagine him looking down at my toddler self endearingly. I could clearly see the bright, straight smile that was almost always present on his face when he was around me. But instead of feeling happiness when I looked back on the memory, I only felt disgust.

Jim Owens had taken everything from me, but I just didn't know it at the time. This whole big mess that we were in right now was hidden behind a massive lie all these years. If I would have just been more perceptive I might could have stopped him.

I might could have saved everyone before it even started. I might could have been able to stop him from becoming the man I so desperately despised today. Maybe, just maybe, I could have saved my family from falling apart.

I inched away from him, clenching my teeth in frustration. He pursued farther, making me teeter back until I hit the wall with my spine. An unreadable look was printed across his face, showing no signs of remorse or anything for that matter.

The ghostly way he walked and looked at me made me want to turn to the side and hurl, but somehow I just couldn't look away. It was like something inside me stopped myself from telling him to go away, and running out of the room. Something pulled on my body to keep me rooted to my spot, and to make me listen.

My Dad took one final step and stopped three feet in front of me, still a lifeless look on his face as his eyes trailed over me. I was about to speak when suddenly a strong, warning voice broke out in my head.

"Leave," it said, sending spikes through my skull. My knees buckled, the booming sound like a gunshot to the head. The weird thing was somehow I knew it was my father's voice, yet his lips had never moved to breath a word. His chest didn't even heave up to engulf oxygen that he didn't need.