Pink *Niall Horan Fan Fiction*

Chapter 20

I step in the doors of the mansion and everything is how it was before we left for tour.  Books are on the shelves, magazines are organized in the table stand, and everything is in its place.  She shuts the door and brushes past me. 

"Do you want something to drink?"  She asks, opening the fridge door. 

"A Coke."  I say, only because I know Uncle Si loves Coke and he always keeps it in the fridge.  She tosses me the canned soda and specifically walks all the way around the island bar and into the living room before dashing up the stairs. 

I decide to make myself comfortable on the couch while I wait for her to get dressed.  A few minutes later she bounds down the stairs in a green tank top and white basketball shorts.  Her hair is tied up in a bun and she's wearing a pair of sporty slides with Nike crew socks.

"Did you want to go see Dad?"  She asks, her voice slightly softening at the mention of her dad. 

"I'd love to.  Is he getting better?"  I ask, genuinely concerned.  He's going to make a full recovery, but its going to be a long process before he's back up and running like usual.  He can still only speak a few sentences at a time nd he still has lots of braces and bandages on from all his broken limbs."  She explains, grabbing a set of car keys. 

"Let's go." She sighs, leading me out back and into their garage that backs onto a side street.  She opens the door of the little light pink porches and slides into it.  I laugh at her color choice and get into the passenger seat. 

"What is up with you and the color pink?" I laugh.  She scowls at me. 

"I was fifteen once, Niall.  I didn't know what I was thinking when I told Daddy I wanted a pink car.  It was a birthday gift for my sweet sixteen."  She continues to glare as she backs out of the drive and gets us to the hospital without killing us. 

"What were you expecting?  Some rich, spoiled chick who can't handle her own car?  Well you were dead wrong."  She grimaces as she parks in the short term lot and she yanks the keys out of the transmission, and hangs them from around her neck by the Manchester United football lanyard she has. 

"Let's go."  She calls, walking past me and leading me into the hospital doors and to the elevator. 

"Good afternoon Ms. Cowell."  The old lady sitting at the front desk greets her. 

"Afternoon, Marcy."  Heather smiles back, walking a few more doors before stopping in front of the room I guess is her fathers. 

"Like I said earlier, he's still in bad shape.  He can only speak a few sentences at a time and he has to drink often.  Just... Don't be surprised at what you find on the other side of this door."  She sighs and puts a big smile on her face before pushing the door open. 

"Morning Daddy!"  She cheers, planting herself in the chair beside his bed. 

"Look at who came to see you!"  She smiles up at me, motioning me over. 

"Hey Popstar.  How's the tour going?"  Her dad asks, cracking a smile at his favorite member of the band.  I'm joking.  I'm probably the least favorite right now. 

"Tours going great.  So many screaming girls, though."  I smile and reach out to shake the shaking hand extended towards me. 

"Nice to see you, son."  Simon mumbles before leaning his head to the side in a sigh of exhaustion. 

"Get some rest, Dad.  I'll be here when you wake up."  She whispers, rubbing the back of his hand.  "I love you, baby girl."  He whispers back before falling asleep. 

"I'll be right back.  I've got to make a call."  I murmur to Heather.  She nods and I step into the hallway to call Tyler. 

"Did you get your girl back?"  I ask before he even has the chance to say anything after he picks up. 

"I'm working on it.  I've got a surprise dinner ready for her and Sean is helping me out. Did you know that pretty much everyone has seen that picture?" He gushes. 

"That's sweet.  Maybe I need to do that for Heather even though she finally gave me the chance to explain.  And I bet they have."  I reply, pacing up and down the hallway. "I mean, it was a pretty popular magazine."  I reason after a few seconds of silence. 

"Yeah, I guess."  I can hear the frown in his voice even though he's a thousand miles away. 

"Hey, go get your girl, mate.  Good luck."  I end the conversation and hang up before going back into the room to see how Heather is doing.  I wrap my arms around her thin body while several tears stream down her face.  I'm slightly surprised she doesn't push me away, but then I realize that she would probably accept anyone willing to comfort her right now.  I wipe the tears away as I pick her up and place her on my lap so I can hold her. 

"I'm sorry.  You shouldn't see me like this."  She sniffles, pulling away and wiping some tears that I missed. 

"No, baby.  You need to cry.  You're still beautiful to me whether you're sobbing and a mess or done all up in makeup that you don't need.  I know we've only known each other a short time, but Heather... I love you."