Toxic | nh {Sequel to Kidnapped by my Ex-Boyfriend}

XVII

I felt a nudge on my side. I opened my eyes. It was really dark. 

"Jai?" I asked almost inaudibly, my eyes squinting through the darkness. I felt warm skin against mine. 

"How are you feeling?" I sighed in relief. It was Jai's soft voice. His lips pressed against mine, and he pulled me close. I didn't know what to say, so I remained silent. "You don't have to tell me what happened if you don't want to. I just need to know: Are you safe?" 

"Yes."

I woke up huddled up against Jai. He was still sleeping, so I decided to rest awake in his arms. I tried my best to block out last night's events, but it just traumatised me when I did. I saw the light coming through the blinds. It must have been morning. I felt bad, suddenly remembering Jai had a surprise for me. He must have put it off when he came back and found me. I raised my head a bit, and kissed his stubbly chin. Jai coughed and opened his eyes. He smiled. His smile was weak and compulsory. 

"Princess," he whispered and kissed my forehead. I could tell he was hurt, but I couldn't tell if he was hurt because he knew. 

"I'm so sorry, I fell asleep..." 

"Don't worry about it babe." He grabbed my hands and held them in his tightly. I had a venomous flashback to when Niall did the same last night. His glossy, pleading eyes staring right at me... "I'm just glad you're okay." 

A few weeks passed by, and I was slowly beginning to move on from what happened with Niall, but strangely found an obsession with checking on him. I checked gossip about him every day on Jai's computer. It was like he had disappeared for two weeks after the incident; there was no trace of him on social media or through the paparazzi. On the third week he was spotted around Miami, New York, Las Vegas... I assumed he went back to what seemed to have become his new bad habits. 

I stood in line for quite some time, carrying a few groceries in my arms. There were about five people before me at the cash register. My eyes wandered to the magazines surrounding me as I waited impatiently. One in particular caught my eye. There was a picture of Niall carrying what seemed to be a mutt in his arms on the cover.

'Niall Horan Saves Dogs in New Hampshire.'

I squinted my eyes at the title. Since when does Niall care about anything but himself? I moved the magazine and there was another one from last week's issue that read :

'Niall Visits Sick Children's Hospital." 

I groaned, and chucked my stuff over the counter. Of course Niall would do anything to get my attention. 

"Jai?" I shouted as I dropped the groceries on the kitchen counter. I heard nothing. The rest of the house was dark. My entire body immediately covered in goosebumps. I opened the drawer in front of me and slowly wrapped my hand around a kitchen knife. I could hear footsteps approaching. My grip tightened.

"What did you get sweetheart?" 

I let go of the knife immediately. My heart was beating out of my chest. I felt his arms wrap around me, cutting off my air supply. 

"Just a few items," I said,  moving away from him. He seemed perplexed by my reaction, so I gave him a quick kiss. 

"Babe, I've been thinking..." He leaned against the counter, pulling me in front of him by my hands. "I want to meet your parents." I took a deep breath, staring at the floor. 

"My parents..." 

"Yes." 

"I haven't spoken to them in a long time." 

"Why not?"

"They were always against Niall, so I told myself as soon as I could I'd move out and live my life how I wanted to. We barely spoke from then. It just happened naturally, I guess." I bit the inside of my cheek. This was a difficult subject for me. Jai paused, and let go of my hand. 

"Why did you sacrifice so much for this guy? I don't get it..." 

"Why does it even matter? He's out of my life. I'm all yours." I took a step forward and kissed his lips. 

"You're right," he smiled, and suddenly picked me up. 

"What are you doing?!" I laughed as he ran up the stairs and into our room. He threw me on the bed and hovered over me almost immediately. His warm eyes stared at me softly. He pulled my hand up to his mouth and gently kissed it.

"I love you." 

"I love you too." 

~Niall's PoV~

"You're making amazing progress, Niall. I've got to say... you're a changed man. You have a long way to go still, but you look a lot more relaxed and comfortable with yourself. How do you feel?"

I smiled, staring at the floor. 

"I'm great, doctor. I feel really good. I don't have any anger attacks anymore. Most of my thoughts are positive." 

"That's great! Just to see the degree of the progress, have you spoken to your friend Liam?" 

I tried not to cringe at the word 'friend'. But the mention of his name didn't bother me more than that. 

"I have, yes. He's in London, figuring his own life out." 

"Perfect. I think there's one more person you need to talk to in order to get full closure on the person you used to be."

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A changed man! What do you think? Bullshit or real?