Darling Harbor (Niall Horan)

Chapter 22: Will I?

Copyright © zylgnagnaba 2013

~UNEDITED~

Niall’s POV

I toss myself on the mattress and cover my eyes with the back of my arms so that I can block out all the images of the reality that Bree has left. But the more that I close my eyes from the reality, the pang in my chest only triples that I feel the side of my lips tremble, along with the tears that threaten to escape from the corners of my eyes.

I don’t even know how I had managed to carry myself to our room. All the vigour I had has automatically left me since Bree’s cab has taken off. I felt like I was carrying the weight of the world with every step I took heading back to the hotel—with each heavy gait is equals to a whole new level of pain. What did I do wrong this time? I thought everything was going well. And then, she just left like that, without any explanation? Fuck, this is so painful.

With few clicks on the doorknob—that I can only assume that Harry is behind it—, I quickly possess a pillow and cover my face with it instead of my arm.

“… Just in case we need something to —Niall?” Instead of Harry, I hear Liam ramble on before calling my name but I don’t budge. I press the pillow against my face even harder this time.

“Hey, Nialler. What’s the matter?” I hear Harry ask me next at the same time that I hear both of their footsteps approach the bed. I wonder where they’ve been, but it’s the least of my concern right now.

“Niall…” Liam nudges my arm before attempting to grab the pillow away from me. Sighing, I finally let go of the pillow before he tosses it back near the headboard. I can feel their intense gaze against my skin but I dart my sight up the ceiling.

“What happened?” I hear Harry speak before he sits adjacent to me on the bed.

I shake my head lightly, closing my eyes painfully before heaving another sigh and look up at the ceiling again. “She already left,” My voice comes out as a whisper than I have intended to, defeated and desolate.

“Who?” Liam asks.

“You mean Bree? Bree left already?” Harry answers for me and it takes me courage to face the truth by giving them both few weak nods. “But I thought she’s…”

“She’s going home on Monday, I know. I thought so too.” I finish his sentence for him, and finally a tear has betrayed me from long resistance of not letting it fall from my eyes. “She sends her regards for all of you, by the way.” My voice crack and before I knew it, tears are already welling up in the corners of my eyes and I wipe them right away.

“I reckon it wasn’t a nice farewell, then.” Liam’s voice sifts through my aggressive wiping of tears. I feel his hand taps one of my thighs and sits next to me, so that I am in between him and Harry.

“It wasn’t.” I tell him matter-of-factly. “She didn’t even tell me why.” I may look like a little kid who didn’t get what he wanted for Christmas but it doesn’t worry me as much when it comes to my bandmates. I can be as soft and vulnerable with them, and still they won’t judge me.

“I am just a little frustrated this time because I don’t know what I did wrong,” I start rambling with a whiney tone, shaking my head intently and I can feel my brows scrunches up in my forehead. My face is fully contorted in a frown. “We were fine yesterday, but then today she just leaves without explaining, without even telling me where I stand with her. I couldn’t stop her from leaving because I don’t know my place. I told her I love her. Maybe that freaked her out, I guess. But it’s still not clear to me.”