We All Have Our Sad Stories

Chapter 15

Lilly walked next to Niall, trying to keep a conversation with him. "So... Any luck?" she asked hopefully. She knew Niall needed Anna to be happy, and she really wanted him to find her. Niall shook his head sadly.

"No," he said, a single tear falling out of his eye. Lilly looked at him sympathetically. No matter how hardened she seemed, there was still a small part of her that wanted to help others. She rarely listened to that part, though, in fear that she would grow close to the individual, then lose them. She had grown too close to these boys, and she feared that she would lose them, just as she had lost everyone else she grew close with. With the exception of Ness.

But this time was different. She would try to help Niall. She wanted him to have the love that she no longer had.

"I'm sorry, Niall. I'll try to help you find her," she said. Niall shook his head.

"No, you've done more than any of us here," he said. Lilly looked at him, confused.

"What do you mean? I haven't done anything," she asked. He stopped and looked at her, causing Louis to bump into him. Louis mumbled some profanities, then continued walking toward the house.

"You made sure they got out of that building, and that's more than I could ever ask you to do," he said. Lilly just stared at him, shocked. He was so grateful of that small deed that she considered necessary. Lilly nodded slowly and continued walking.

"So what's with Louis?" Lilly whispered to Niall so Louis didn't hear. "He doesn't seem.. sad."

"That's because he's not," Niall said immediately. He kicked a pebble harshly into the air, and coincidentally it hit Louis' back. He turned to glare for a second before smacking a bush out of the way and trudging on.

"Why isn't he? I thought he loved her."

"He does," was his answer.

"Then-- what? That doesn't make sense." Lilly was baffled.

"He thinks they're dead already. He doesn't believe like I do."

Lilly didn't say so, but she found the probability of finding the two girls unharmed was not very probable. They were too weak; other people had called them strong, but that was only to comfort the guys. If they voiced their real thoughts, who knows what would happen?

"What do you think?" She wasn't ready for the question, and she just really, really didn't want to answer him. So she decided to lie. It's to protect him, she thought.

"They're probably fine. If they ran into another camp they'd instantly be taken in because of their sweet personalities. Don't worry yourself too much, Niall. Keep your hopes up." She pat him on the back before speeding up a little to avoid anymore of the awkward conversation. She could see the cabin through the trees and sprinted up to the gate, reaching through the wires to unlock it herself.

Back a little ways behind her, Niall came to a full stop at the tree line, taking a seat at the base of a tree to calm himself. Lilly's voice wasn't too convincing, and the way she ran off only worried him more. Neither of the two he had traveled with looked back to see if he was coming. They just left the gate wide open and ran to the house.

Niall watched the gate, eying any zombies that came near it. They were too stupid to figure it out, but he wouldn't let one wander in on his watch. He sat there for at least 5 minutes before the first tear fell. After that, the rest were unleashed, pouring down his cheeks as if in a heavy rainstorm. He was tired of worrying about her. He just wanted her there with him. He should've held her closer when he did have her. She could be dead and he never would've been able to tell her just how much he loved her, because it was a lot.