Downfall [Punk Niall Horan]

39

"Brother?!"

Valie looked down at the ground guilty, eyebrows furrowed low over her eyes. But I just couldn't find it in me to console her and tell her that it was fine, because this was nowhere near fine. My best friend had basically lied to me all these years about who she actually was, she had deceived me. Niall too.

Immediately I drew away from her and stood up, my feet carried me to the other side of the room away from her. All these years of friendship, and it had all basically been one big lie? I never had actually known who my best friend really was.

Hurt was coursing through me so strongly as were so many other questions that I needed answered. The main one being why didn't she just tell me in the beginning? It would have saved us from all of this, and so many things would be different now.

"Tylie, you have to let me explain," she said slowly, sadly. I tilted my head up from the ground and cast her an incredulous, hurt look. "Explain what exactly, Valie? That you've lied to me all these years? That Niall has been your brother all along and you have failed to mention that?" I yelled, threading my fingers through my hair and tugging.

"You didn't give me a chance," she said calming, obviously holding in her anger. The last thing she wanted to do right now was yell at me. "Really? What about all of these years, what about all of those opportunities?" I countered, temperature rising to an unhealthy level.

Blood seemed to sizzle in my veins, and I thought my skin would catch on fire at any moment. I felt so betrayed by everyone in my life but never in a million years would I think that Valie would keep something like this from me. Why would she do this?

"Because it wasn't safe," Val shot back, hands balling into fists. Really she looked more frustrated than angry, and that was only fair because she hadn't been the one tricked.

"Wasn't safe? What are you talking about?" I said exasperatedly. In my life quite recently I had heard that phrase more than I would have ever liked to. If people thought it was so unsafe, then maybe they should tell why it was so unsafe instead of lying.

"Shut up and I'll tell you," she snapped, casting me a look that silenced me. Valie had always been the one with such vivid faces, and she could cut anyone straight in half with her glare. So that's the only thing that kept my hurtful words from tipping over into the open. As calmly as I could manage, I settled into the recliner sitting in the corner of the room, far far away from her.

Valie sighed and brushed her hand through her hair and angled her body towards me. Her gaze lowered onto the floor while pain suddenly flooded onto her face. Something in her mind was haunting her, something she probably was finally about to tell me after all these years.

"I ran away when I was younger," she finally said. I almost rolled my eyes but reigned myself in because she was obviously hurting, too. This information was something I already knew from snooping in Niall's journal, but I didn't mention that fiasco.

"Without telling Niall because he never would've let me go," she continued, and I nodded for her to continue. That sounds exactly like Niall, and I could only imagine how protective over his sister he was. A jolt ran through my brain, it felt weird to think that.

"We moved from Ireland when We were just kids, I was 10 and Niall was 16. Our Dad left us for a mission and never came back. Mom figured he died so she met a man working for construction in Ireland, and he talked her in to moving us out to California with him. So we went, because what other choice was there? Our Dad was nowhere to be found so we had no support system." Val let out a humorless laugh and shook her head. My heart beat feebly in my chest at their situation. I already felt my anger slipping away as I continued to listen.