An Angel Named Niall

Chapter 5

NIALLS POV

I watch her wash her hands and she scrubs quickly. I see her body wince when the soap runs over her hand. Her long, brown hair falls at the middle of her back. When she turns around, I look down at the unfinished sandwich. 

Her movements are very slow, and I want to tell her to stop being so careful. It's obvious she won't break anything. I just really want her to feel comfortable. 

I put her plate in front of her, and she softly says, "Thank you." She starts with the mayo and wipes it on the bread like it's a fine delicacy. I need to say something to try and break her out of her thoughts..out of her bubble. 

"Are you from around here?" I ask. It takes her a second to reply. I'm done with making my sandwich so I eat and watch her finish hers. 

"This area, no." Open-ended questions are no good when I want to get someone talking. She closes the sandwich and brings it to her mouth. "Did you just move in?" She asks. I'm startled just by her saying something. I instantly smile. 

"Yeah, as you can tell the place looks empty." My eyes wonder around just as hers do. "I'm getting lazy to put things in order, or else this place would've been done already." 

"The only room done is the living room," she remarks. She's making conversation and her eye contact has increased. Yeah, she still holds a low composure, but she's talking to me. I can see that her eyes are finally dry, so that's progress. I want to ask her why she was crying, but that'd be getting into her business. 

But there's that voice in the back of my mind, practically begging me to do so. If I do, she'll either stay quiet or flat out tell me. I decide against it.

"Where are you from?" She asks. She places the last bit of the sandwich on her plate and grabs a napkin. 

Walking to the fridge, I say, "Ireland." Her head immediately snaps up at the mention of my home country. 

I place a water bottle in front of her and she smiles. "I know hard to tell cause of my accent," I joke. She smiles again and takes the water bottle in her hands. 

"Does your scrape hurt?" She opens her hand right in front of me. I lean forward to get a good look and I say, "Looks gross. You should get it checked out." Her eyes meet mine, and my smile slowly fades. Two gorgeous hazel eyes stare into my blue ones. The red in her eyes is now vanishing. Her eyes bring me into this hole of wonder. I suddenly want to wrap her in my arms. Her skin looks soft and when she notices how I'm gazing at her, she looks away. 

Just now I had the opportunity to really look at her. The light colored freckles are just barely seen across her nose. 

"I'm joking about getting it checked out. Just cracking a joke." I'm relieved when I see her smile. She's closed off again, not that she was opened, but I can see just by the way she's sitting. Her fingers intertwined on her lap, her hair falling to cover her face, and avoiding to look at me. 

Scratching my head, I think about something. 

"Can I run something by you?" She takes her lip in between her teeth and nods. I run to my room, and grab my guitar before running back down. 

Sitting on the stool, I adjust the guitar on my lap. 

"Okay, i've been working on something and I want your opinion." She looks from the guitar to me. Her shoulders straighten a bit, and her head lifts up, giving me her attention. 

My fingers start playing the familiar chords. I've played this a couple of times already, and she's the first one to be listening to it. I haven't ran it through the boys or management, but I hope when I do, they like it. This is one I really want to see go through. 

A phone rings and my fingers come to a halt. When I look at her, she's reaching for her phone. 

"Sorry," she quickly apologizes. I see her read something and she grips it tight. Her knuckles turn white, and when she looks up, her eyes are glossy. 

"Everything okay?" She gets up, avoiding eye contact. What did she read? 

"I have to go. I'm sorry, and thank you for your help," she says in one breath. Before I can say anything, she's out the kitchen. 

"Wait, hold on!" She leaves the door open and when I reach it, she's already out on the sidewalk. She's really fast. "Juliet," I say one last time, although I know she can't hear me. 

What was in that text?