Strong (A One Direction fan-fic)

Chapter 16

Chapter 16: Packing POV- Kara

I shoved everything back into my suitcase, thinking about Lilly Ana. I stifled a sob as I held the picture I brought of my family. I normally don’t pray for anything, not even the time I broke my leg in third grade just before the spring band concert that I was performing in with my clarinet, but that was different. Please let Lilly Ana be okay. I flopped down on one of the hotel beds, dropping my packed suitcase on the floor. Just as I closed my eyes, a dream washed over me.

 “Kara,” a man asked me. “Do you want to say any last words to your sister?”

I looked around. What did he mean by “last  words?” I wondered. Then, I saw the coffin. Lilly Ana was in her pink dress that she wore to our cousin’s wedding, and her closed eyes were dusted with makeup. I stood, frozen, were I was as they closed the coffin top and lowered Lilly Ana into a hole in the soft ground.

“No! No, you can’t! She’s not... she’s not...!”

Dad came over to me. “I know this is hard for you, honey. It is for everyone,” he clapped his hands over my shoulders. “It’s okay...”

I yanked free of his grip. “No. You are wrong, Lilly Ana is not... she shouldn’t be here!” I yelled. Everyone turned to look at me. Just as a mean-looking man came up to me, I was jolted awake.

“Kara! Kara, wake up!”

I looked over to see Niall’s worried face look at me from the edge of the bed. “Are you alright? You were calling out for me in your sleep,” he asked me, sitting on the edge of the bed.

I blushed at the thought of me calling for him. “Yeah, I’m okay now,” I answered, sinking lower into the mattress and staring up at the paneled ceiling.

“Do you want to talk about the dream?” Niall asked, flopping down beside me.

“No,” I mumbled, twirling the bed sheets with my pointer finger.

“Kara, I know it’s hard for you, but I don’t like to see you screaming in your sleep. Maybe if you talk about it, you won’t have that dream again,” Niall said, turning his head to look at me.

I know it’s hard for you, the same line from that horrible dream. I grit my teeth and clutch the bed sheets tightly, trying not to scream. Niall flies from the bed.

“What’s wrong?” he asked; a worried expression on his face. “Was it something I said?” He looked wide-eyed at me. “Um, maybe I’ll just leave,” he said, blushing and turning away. Just as he puts his hand on the door knob, I call out to him.

“Niall, come back,” I whisper feebly. Niall comes back to my side. “Don’t worry about what you said. It’s just... It was in my dream. I know it’s hard for you. I hate that line,” I mutter into his shirt. Niall, now back on the bed, turns to face me.

“I...I’m sorry. I guess I should’ve known...”

“No.” I stop him by putting a hand on his chest. “Don’t blame yourself. Nobody should blame themselves. What happened was something nobody could control.”

Niall smiled at me. “Well, at least you aren’t blaming yourself,” he said.

I smiled back at him. “Thank you, Niall.”

He wrinkled his brow. “For what?”

“For just being here. Listening to all my problems when you have everything else to do in the world. God, what am I doing? I’m being so selfish. Maybe you don’t want to hear all my problems and are just being nice to me,” I said, shaking my head, trying to brush away the tears that formed at the corners of my eyes.

“No, no, no. I care about you, I really do,” Niall said, his eyes looking sadly at me. And as if to prove his point, he reached over and pecked me on the cheek. I stared at him, searching his deep blue eyes. Was that just him trying to be friendly? Because I think he meant that to be more than a friendly kiss.

“Niall...” I lead off.

“Yes?” He grabbed my hand and started playing with my fingers.

“Even though  it’s been just a week since we met, I’m gonna miss you,” I blurted out.

He froze, slowly looking up at me.

“Me too,” he answered, smiling tentatively.

“What?”

“Wha-?”

“You have a weird look on your face,” I snickered.

He blushed.

“Oh, I- uh... have no idea what you’re talking about!” His cheeks reddened.

He dropped my hand and hopped off the bed, walking quickly to the door.

“Uh, no no no!” I said, causing him to turn around. I then chose that moment to leap on him. “You are NOT getting out of here without a hug, Mr. Horan!” I laughed as he yelped, my arms flying around his shoulders.

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Hello everyone! Keep voting and commenting c:

So... what do you think is going on with Niall and Kara? Maybe a Nara moment? Or do you have a better ship name? See y’all later and I’ll try to post the next chapter asap... this was kind of a filler ♥

Goal in order for me to post next chapter: 10 reads and 5 votes. How fast can we meet my goal? c: