Niall's POV
Noelle sat at the edge of my bed, her face pulled in worry. She was truly scared for her life, I could see the panic in her eyes. I could feel the tremble of terror through her pulse. Her father truly controlled her, and I hated it.
"Hey, I'm going to check on the kids, alright? You want a glass of water?" I ask her, she'd been silent for the past 5 minutes, lost in thought.
She nods, not even glancing my way. I sigh but leave the room, checking on both Eli and Miranda.
When I reach my living room I notice Eli covering his face with his hands, Miranda, rubbing his back trying to soothe him.
"Hey, bud, it's alright. Don't cry." I tell Eli, kneeling in-front of him. He looks up from his hands, his eyes red.
"She's just like dad." He mumbles and my brows furrow, my head instantly shaking.
"No, no, she was just frustrated. She didn't hurt me. She's not like your dad. She never will be." I try to convince him, he wipes at his eyes and wraps his arms around my neck, his face pushed against my shoulder.
"Eli, it's okay... She's just stressed. Shh." I coo at him, my hand replacing Miranda's on his back, rubbing softly to soothe him.
"Dad's going to kill her because of me." He says through a muffled cry and my heart breaks, I can't imagine going through this as an eight year old kid.
"No he's not, okay? I'm going to protect you and her, okay?" I promise him and he lofts his head to look at me, in that moment he looks exactly like Noelle, both in pain.
"It's my fault, I gave my paper to my teacher." Eli confesses to me and my eyes widen. The paper he showed me? Fuck, Noelle is going to freak.
"Shh." I try to calm Eli's cries. But he shakes his head at me, continuing to confess. "My teacher talked to me about it and I told her everything. She said she'd help, I thought I would save Nellie since she's always saving me." Eli cries and I nod, rubbing both his arms.
"It's okay buddy, you did good okay?" I tell him and he nods, wiping at his eyes.
"Here, sit and watch TV, I have to bring water to your sister okay? Hold on." I tell him and he nods, more worry etched into his features.
I grab a glass from the kitchen, filling it up quickly to go talk to Noelle about all of this. There has to be something we can do, that I can do.
I knock softly on my bedroom door, slowly opening it. I notice Noelle no longer sitting on my bed, my eyes move to my bathroom door thats shut, the light shining from the crack at the bottom tells me she's inside.
"Noelle? You okay? I have some water." I talk through the door, putting my ear against it. Nothing. No noise, no water running, nada.
I open it slowly, and am relieved when I notice Noelle staring at herself in the mirror. But this time, with no sweater on.
I gulp, this being the first time I'm exposed to everything she's ever hidden. The marks liter her entire body, the front, the back, the sides. My stomach turns.
"Daddy's little girl." Noelle whispers to herself, shes hysterical.
"It's disgusting right? He's touched every inch of my body with his fists, with his steel toe boots, even with his lips." She's staring at me through the mirror, I can sense the angst.
"And still, you want me." She chuckles, her head shaking. "You want me. That's hilarious. Who am I kidding? You don't want me! Nobody does." At this point she's talking to herself.
"Noelle, stop talking like that." I tell her and she laughs.
"My life's a shit show." She mutters under her breath, finally turning to me. I freeze in my spot when she walks up to me, she's so damaged, I can see it in her eyes. This isn't my Noelle.
"See Niall? Do you really want to deal with all of this?" She references to herself and I shake my head.
"Noelle, shut up, you don't know what your saying right now." I tell her and she nods.
"I do though." She say, wrapping her arms around my neck, pushing her body against mine. I gulp, my hands on her waist ti stop her.
"Noelle, stop, your under a lot of stress right now, I get it." I tell her and she laughs, I can hear the pain with every breath she takes.
"I remember the first time my dad told me I was only good for one thing." She continues and I shut my eyes, trying my best to not picture her with her father.
"Your dad is a sick piece of shit, okay?" I tell her and she nods, tilting her head in just the slightest.
"But I'm also his daughter so I suppose I am also a piece of shit." She says and I instantly shake my head.
"No your not, your nothing like him." I try to convince her and she chuckles.
"Eli seems to think otherwise." She huffs, walking past me and back into my bedroom.
"Eli doesn't understand the difference, he doesn't know any better." I defend him and she chuckles.
"Look, Noelle, I understand your scared but we have to do something. I'm not letting your dad anywhere near you." I tell her and I can actually see one of her many walls break down right in front of me, her eyes are frantic again as she sits on the edge of my bed.
"Theres nothing you can do Niall." She tells me and I huff.
"There has to be something, what did you tell the cops? Don't they know he abuses you?" I question her. Her top teeth sink into her bottom lip as she avoids eye contact.
"Wait," Don't get mad. "What did you tell them?" I ask her, slowly making my way towards her.
Her fingers fidget in her lap and I can't help but get impatient.
"What did you tell them, Noelle?" I tell her, kneeling directly in-front of her.
"I-uh... I- couldn't tell them the tru-"
"Why not? Are you fucking serious Noelle? You had the fucking chance to get away from that psycho but you didn't tell them?" I am furious. How could she not take the chance.
Her eyebrows are pulled tight as she stares at me in disbelief. "Your kidding me right? Do you understand what happens if I tell them the truth?! Eli gets taken away from me! I get thrown on the street and that's the end of it. If you didn't know, despite getting beaten I do have a roof over my head and food in my fucking stomach Niall! Fuck! It's not as easy as you think it is! You and Eli don't understand any of this. If it was so fucking easy don't you think I would have left along time ago? You think I like getting raped by my own father? You think I want to live this life?" She screams at me, tears running down her face and I'm left in complete silence.
She was right. It wasn't that easy. I feel like a complete asshole.
Noelle stands from her spot on the bed, running her hands through her hair. "I think me and Eli need to leave." She mutters, not giving me enough time to stop her.
"Come on Eli, lets go." She calls him from the entrance of the living room. He scurries to her, his head hung low.
I pray they both survive the night.
