Deception

Chapter 18

64 days before (continued)

NIALL'S POV

I repeatedly flipped the condom in my hands. I heard the door open downstairs and her footsteps up the stairs. My heart raced as she opened the door.

It was actually happening.

She sat down next to me on the bed, still silent. I placed the little packet between us and waited for her to say something. When she finally did, it was anything but what I wanted to hear.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" I turned to look at her, eyes wide.

"Of course I am."

"I don't think we're ready for something like this." she waved her hand through the space inbetween us.

"I thought we were."

"Maybe we should just wait and see where this goes." she suggested.

"Where this goes? I don't like how that sounds."

"How does it sound?" She wouldn't look at me as she spoke.

"It sounds like you're breaking up with me." I was being paranoid but with Anna I couldn't tell what she was saying half the time. Her head snapped up.

"No! No, of course not." A wave of relief washed over me. "I would never..." Her eyebrows knitted together with her last words as if she was surprised they had come out of her mouth. The panic returned.

"Then what are you saying?"

"Listen, Niall, I really do want to. But I just don't think we should. We should just wait a few more months..." She looked away, confused with what she was saying again.

"What's wrong?"

"What?"

"You aren't finshing what you're saying."

"I'm still tired, I guess." She looked down at her hands.

"Okay." I stood up and pushed the condom back into my pocket. "I'll see you later then." I sighed and pulled my jacket up from the floor.

"I'll come with you. I left my charger there last time." she stood up with me. I almost pointed out the fact that her charger was on the dresser right in front of us but I didn't. We walked down the stairs together in silence.

"Um, hi." Alisha looked up from the couch. She stared at us for a while before speaking again. "Where are you going?"

"I'm getting my charger from his house." Anna answered.

"You can just borrow my spare." she offered.

"I want mine." Anna slightly tilted her head to the side, speaking through her teeth. Her eyes were wide.

"You can just..." Anna's eyes widened a little more. "Oh. Well, I'll be here when you get back." I could swear I heard her neck crack. "Or not."

She gave Alisha a satisfied smile before turning to the door.

The drive to my house was silent except for the radio playing on some Spanish station that neither of us bothered to change. I should've been telling her how much I love her now, curled up next to each other in her bed but instead we were driving to my house to get a phone charger that wasn't even there.

We pulled into the driveway and climbed out of the car and up the stairs. She followed me up to my room and pretended to look. If it wouldn't have been for my need to have her close to me right now, I would've told her that she had never even charged her phone here. I sat on the far side of the bed, running my hands through my hair. I heard the faint click of a lock behind me and the bed creaked when she sat down on the opposite side, her back facing me.