To Reach

Chapter Twelve: Touch Me

          The shower continued in silence as Harry pretended not to hear what Sabella said. Sabella sighed and quickly washed herself off and began massaging shampoo into her hair. Harry was tense beside her as he washed himself off and it only further caused her to feel off. Harry didn’t want to speak about it which didn’t help her since she needed to. She rinsed the shampoo out of her hair and combed some conditioner through her ends before washing it out.

            Sabella exited the shower without a word to Harry and proceeded to wrap herself with a towel and towel dry her hair. She walked out of the bathroom, leaving Harry still inside, and searched for clothes. She decided on a pair of light blue fleece shorts with a matching short sleeved shirt, a sports bra, and mismatched socks. Dropping the towel, she slipped into the clothes she pulled from her bag and combed her fingers through her damp hair to pull it up into a high ponytail.

            Sighing, Sabella knew Niall wouldn’t leave unless she either went with him or forced him to. Harry was obviously just going to ignore his presence and Zayn was probably locked up in his room obvious. She walked to the door to unlock it and open it. She came face to face with a smirking Niall. She had no to time to react as he grabbed her, pressed her against the wall, and kissed her.

            He was kissing her like a starved man, as though her lips were the water his parched throat so desperately sought. Sabella felt herself give in to his silent demand and kiss him back. She felt him press his body into hers and she moaned into his mouth. How could he still pull such a response from her?

“Niall, no.” Sabella whimpered, pulling her mouth from his and placing her hands on his chest.

“Sabella, you felt it. You aren’t over me and you damn sure aren’t ready to let me go. Give in to me and let me have you. I need you so much. Fix me, baby, don’t let me go.” Niall whispered, his eyes becoming soft and his voice portraying his need.

“I can’t. You left me! You made love to me and left me while I was asleep! Niall, what the actual hell? You could have just said Greg was threatening you and we would have worked past it as a group because we care!” Sabella snapped, all her feelings of hurt, betrayal, and heartbreak bubbling to the surface.

“It wasn’t just him, God damn it! He was nothing more than a nuisance, there were other threats and I couldn’t let them have you or kill you. Don’t you understand that you are everything to me? You are the reason I breathe, the reason I wake up, the reason I am alive even through all that hell!” Niall snapped back, his hand in her hair tugging her head back to meet his eyes.

“What are you talking about? Niall, stop, you are hurting me. I am not a toy and you need to let me go.” Sabella hissed, punching him hard in the chest.

            The hit caused him to let go of her hair and he stepped back, shaking his head as if to clear his mind. When he looked back at her Sabella saw nothing but pain. The look knocked the wind out of her and caused her to slide down the wall. She felt as if everything was once again spiraling out of control.

“I won’t let him have you, Sabella Mallory. You are mine, I’m in your blood, and you’ll never be rid of me. I’ll see you tomorrow, at my house, for lunch.” Niall said, kneeling before her to brush his lips tenderly against hers.

“I love you so much.” Niall whispered before standing up and jogging down the stairs.

            Sabella stayed where she was, frozen, until she heard the front door close and lock. They had all forgotten Niall had a key, how stupid of them. Sucking in a breath, she slowly got to her feet and shuffled into the room to find Harry just leaving the bathroom with a towel around his hips. He looked at her and immediately noticed her swollen lips, mussed hair, and teary eyes.