My eyes open, but a glare from the sharp light pierces my eyes. I blink, once, twice, at least until I can see straight. I sit up and let my feet hang off the bed. I look around at the surroundings. The room is very modern; gray walls, white ceiling and a finely finished white-tile floor. I look up to see a crystal chandelier. My mouth goes to an agape just looking at the way it glistens in the sunlight. The bed is all different shades of gray, and a white blanket tops it off, not to mention gray and white striped pillows. There are two nightstands against the wall on each side of the bed. The floor has a huge gray carpet under the bed which spreads to the majority of the room, a smaller black carpet lies on top of the huge gray carpet. There are two windows on the left side of the room, right behind me. The two windows go up to the ceiling, separating the two windows is a drawer for undergarments I assume. Above the drawer lies and rectangular mirror with a thin outline. I look in the opposite direction of the bed to see a black flat-screen television; below it is a beautifully presented fireplace with a gold gate casing it against the wall. A leather black chair is fixed on an angle to face the bed rather than the television. On the right side of the room; in front of where I sit; are two doors, might as well go check where the hell I am.
I stand up and realize I am no longer wearing what I wore last night. I look down at my feet and wiggle my toes in the soft gray carpet. I am only wearing a white tee and underwear, nothing else. I turn around and look at the bed. I ruffle the blankets and soon find a NFL snapback. I instantly remember last night, the snapback, the white tee--
“Shit, Niall.”
I drop the snapback on the bed and rush to the doors. Which one, Julia? Which one? Right or Left? I feel my hands start to shake. The left door has a crystal doorknob and the right door has a gold one. In a swift move I grab the right door’s golden doorknob; I couldn’t risk breaking the crystal. I push the door open, but only to find what I was afraid of. A shirtless Niall stands in his beautiful bathroom with a towel wrapped around his waist. Even though I am afraid of Niall, I have to admit that this wasn't one of his worst states. He was about to brush his teeth, that is before I ran in. His hair hangs over his forehead in an unkempt, damp fashion. He puts his toothbrush down and turns his attention to me and smiles.
“Hello darlin’, did ya have a nice sleep?”
I let out an annoyed huff and storm out. I push the door closed, yet I hear no slam? I whip around to find Niall stopping the door with only his foot and his right hand. Yet almost astonishing to me, I am still annoyed. I find myself in a dupe state with my feelings. I stand with my arms crossed, but an impressed smile. Niall comes walking out of the bathroom and leaves the door the way it is. Niall smirks at me as he seems to notice my smile. I instantly shift the corners of my lips down, to prove I'm still annoyed at him.
"Hm, so darlin ya like the room?"
"Oh please Niall, cut the crap. What did we do last night? And why the hell am I not at home?" My arms still crossed as I tap my foot continually on the floor.
A smirk appears on his face again, but this time his entire face gives a different reaction to me as a spine tingling feeling strikes through me. "You don't remember princess?"
I look at down at my foot, which abruptly stopped. As my teeth gritted I spoke, "No." There was a short pause before I looked up at Niall. "All I remember was that we were in your car and you rather harshly put a pill in my mouth, then I passed out!" My quiet tone escalated.
"Ha! You must've been dreamin sweetie, at least that's not the way I remember it!" Niall beings to chuckle.
"Hm," I say not wanting to deal with him. "Where's the kitchen?"
"Changin the topic, now are we?"
"Fine. Since you won't tell me, I'll find it myself."
****
As I tiptoe around the first floor, each step makes the wood creak. As I walk into the front entrance room, the door window shows luminous light that scans down to the floor. As if I'm in a dream I breezily step through it. My body makes a small shadow behind me that quickly disappears as I push open the front door. It swings open and soon enough I'm free. My eyes begin to adjust to the bright sun that strikes through the small cuts between the leaves and branches of the huge willow trees. Niall's front yard was an exact replica of a forest filled with willow trees. As amazed as I was for those measly moments, it was too good to be true.
Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!
"Shit shit shit shit shit." I murmur to myself as the safety alarm goes off.
I panic and head straight behind the nearest trunk to one of the willow trees. As if on cue, the beeping alarm stops and Niall's footsteps are heard. He must be wearing shoes now considering I heard every step he made.
"Oh shit!" Niall curses at wind.
I peek my head out a sliver, to see if he'll be gone soon. I watch as Niall paces back and forth, running his fingers through his hair; as if he's lost something dear to him, ha! Yeah right! Niall sits on the pavement and rests his elbows on his knees. His hands close together, making his fingers twine together. His head drops down onto his hands as he murmurs short nothings that are no longer my problem. Just when I think he's not paying attention, I make my move. I take one simple step that only someone with my luck could mess up.
Snap.
The sound of me stepping on a twig echos through the forest-like front yard. Short and simple, but very assuring to Niall that I'm still here. I lift my foot off the twig and hide behind the farthest trunk from my original standing. I no longer hear Niall's feet, what a smart ass. I peek out again to see him with no shoes on. He creeps over to where the noise was heard.
"Julia?" He calls out, making the 'a' sound travel long until his pale pink lips close together.
I take cover again, not wanting to make myself any more noticeable. A soft breeze comes in. My messy hair flows with it and I become calm. I close my eyes as thoughts begin replacing the peaceful silence. My muscles begin to relax. My beaming headache begins to rest. My mind is put at peace.
"Julia, don't think I don't see you."
My eyes are open, just like that. I take a sharp breath in as my heart rate begins to go up. I suddenly remember I have bright red hair. Shit. I try to gather every piece of my hair and hold it tightly in my hand. My pulse begins to threaten. My hair must've been blowing past the trunk just so Niall could see. How wonderful. Why do I have to have such noticeable hair? Why am I even here in the first place? If only Niall just goes back in his pretty palace and forgets anything ever happened then maybe, just maybe I'll be able to get my shit together.
