Diana [Liam Payne Fan Fiction]

6: A First Non-Date

Sometime that night, I woke up in a cold sweat. I was soaked to the bone and breathing hard. I looked around the room in a panic, but relaxed when I realized I was in the hotel. I pushed the hot bed sheets off of my body and sat up to catch my breath. I rested back on my arms and wiped the sweat from my brow. Wondering what time it was, I glanced at the table side alarm clock that read 4:12 a.m.. I'd had another one of my jarring nightmares about Dad.

It was the usual one, the one where he beat me and I couldn't move. I couldn't even lift a hand to protect myself. At the end, though, right as I thought I was going to die, Dad's form changed to that of a muscular teenage boy. A wave of horror washed over me. The boy would bend down and cup my face in his hands. His face was hidden in the shadows so all I could make out were his all too familiar icy blue eyes that froze the blood in my veins.

A malicious sparkling white smile lit up the dark. "Miss me?"

This was always the worst part of the dream. Still immobile, I'd watch in pure disgust, hatred, and fear as he'd move his hands down to my biceps, squeezing them until I was sure they'd pop like balloons. Then, he'd rip off my pants leg, exposing my thigh.

"Still have those ugly scars, do we?" He would shake his head in mock disapproval. "What an attention whore. No wonder no one wants you."

Hot, fat tears would run down my face as he'd throw back his head and laugh. Somehow, his words hurt worse than the beatings.

"Oh, Megan," he'd sigh with a smirk. The way he said my name sent chills down my spine. "I can't wait to find you again."

I closed my eyes and took several deep breaths.

"It's just a dream," I repeated over and over again. "It was just a dream."

After I calmed down a bit, I got up and dragged my feet across the floor to the window. I leaned on the window sill and watched the few cars race down the highway like lightning bugs. There weren't very many stars out at this hour and the moon was beginning to dim. It was humbling to see such a large, populated city resemble a sleepy little town. I found myself wondering how many other people were awake at this hour, just gazing out of the window watching the minimal city life. I allowed my thoughts to drift back to the dream and suddenly felt the overwhelming impulse to cut. Even though it was only a dream, those words were starting to get to me. I felt worthless and so incredibly small in a world this big where a hundred people could be staring out of their window at the exact same place I was staring at now. That thought alone made me feel so unimportant and inferior. And it was true that I was unwanted. I didn't have any friends or a family who loved me. Part of me wondered if One Direction could be my friends, but I shoved that thought aside. They were only helping me because it was the right thing to do, not because they liked me. They were probably just doing it in case someone had seen them almost hit me with their van. I couldn't imagine the bad publicly they'd get for a hit-and-run.

I stumbled over to the connecting bathroom and dug around for a razor blade in the drawers under the sink. Surely there had to be one somewhere in here...

"Megan?" a groggy voice said from the darkness.

I hit my head on the cabinet and groaned. I attempted to stand up, but I felt myself being lifted by two powerful arms.

"Are you alright?" Liam asked.

My eyes adjusted to where I could just make out the concerned expression on Liam's face inches away from mine. I also noticed he was only wearing a pair of boxers.

"I'm fine," I answered hastily, pushing myself away from his bare chest.

"You sure?" he questioned. "That sounded like it hurt."