Lifesaver »» l.p {AU} (Discontinued)

Memory Lane

**Chapter 06**

The car ride with Niall was long and painful. I know he knew what I did, and the fact that he wasn't talking to me made it worse. I stared out the window, watching the trees and houses fly by as we drove down the long, almost unfamiliar country road. Something about this road was familiar though; almost like I had been down it a million times before. Honestly, right now there's so much going through my head, I'm surprised I can remember my own name. That's a little bit of an exaggeration, but I think I made my point.

Soon enough we turned down another road, leading us down into the woods. I really didn't know where we were going. Nothing around us looked familiar.

"Niall, you're not going to kill me and leave me in the woods are you?" I asked.

He laughed, "No. Do you not know where you are?" he asked, looking over me then back to the road.

I shook my head, "No, not really," I said. We eventually made it to an old wooden cabin surrounded by trees. It was so beautiful and peaceful out here. "Where are we?" I asked, astounded by the beauty of this place.

"You really don't know?" he asked as he parked the car. I shook my head and stepped out of the car, shutting the door behind me. "This is the camp we used to come to all the time remember? With our families?" he said and he came around the car to stand next to me, admiring the place.

A sudden rush of memories came over me. They were all pleasant memories, which improved my mood tremendously. I smiled, remembering all the crazy things Niall and I did as kids. He took my hand and led me over to the small lake near the cabin. "Remember how we would run off the dock into the water? How we would do flips into the water and our moms always yelled at us and told us not too?" Niall asked, looking out at the lake.

I nodded and smiled at the memory, "We had a lot of great times here." I said as I looked around. I noticed the tree that my brother Jared fell by. He tripped on a root and nearly broke his toe as he chased us, making Niall and I laugh our asses off. I noticed the tire swing laying on the ground. Niall, Jared, and I decided to all swing on it at the same time which wasn't a good idea. It ended up breaking, and our parents got so mad at us. My father always said he would put it back up, but that never happened. I noticed the two rocking chairs on the front porch. "Niall, look!" I said and ran up to them, with Niall close behind me. "Do you remember how we used to climb on top of these and pretend they were horses?" I asked and laughed.

"Yeah, I remember how we would both be cowboys and ride them into the sunset. I remember getting so into cowboys and horses," he said, pausing for a moment. He smiled and looked towards me, "Remember that one movie we watched that had to do with a cowboy and a pretty lady who was in trouble, and how we would act it out afterwards? I remember having to save a pretty little lady from a bad man," He said and laughed. I looked up at him with a small smile, then back to the chairs. I could feel his eyes on me, "What?" he asked.

I sighed and turned away from the chairs. I couldn't look at them anymore nor did I want to. I walked over to the railings on the porch and leaned up against them, staring out at the lake in the distance, "I wish someone saved me from the bad man." I said, turning my attention to my knotted hands.

"Julina," Niall said quietly. He walked over next to me and put an arm around my shoulders, "He won't ever hurt you again." He said before trapping me in a bear hug. "Julina, I love you. You are my best friend, and I won't let anyone hurt you ever again. I promise."

He let me out of the hug and I looked up at him, "Don't make promises you can't keep Niall." I said before leaning up against the railing again, looking at the water, then to my hands, "That's probably the hardest promise to keep because this whole world is full of hurt. I'm always going to be hurt by someone, and there's no way that you can try to stop that." I said. I felt as he placed his hands on my shoulders and pulled me off the railing. I turned around to face him. At first, he didn't say anything. His hands traveled down to my wrists, holding on to my left wrist. He pushed up the sleeve of my jacket, exposing the band-aid I had put on. I turned away from him; I couldn't bare the disappointed look on his face that was sure to come. I felt as he lightly traced around the band-aid with his finger, humming as he did so.