Taken

Chapter 16

Thursday 13th January 2014

I stare around the small, dirty room in shock and amazement. It's like a prison cell in here. The room itself is no bigger than a child's playhouse, yet it most definitely lacks the light and airy feel of one. The walls are made from a dull, grey stone, and the only window is so small and high up, that all it shows you is a tiny strip of fading blue sky.

I turn slowly, to face the narrow bed, and what is on it. A frail, drooped, weary looking woman sits slumped on the bed against the cold wall, looking like she's half in this life, and half already in the afterlife. Her long blond hair which once shone like the last rays of sunlight on a summer's eve, hangs limp and matted just past her shoulders, which are hunched over in exhaustion and discomfort. I notice that the ill-fitting clothes are in fact the ones she was wearing when I last saw her, yet now they hang far too loose around her fragile body.

She looks up at me, almost pleadingly, with hooded, weary eyes, which have seen far too many horrors to keep their mischievous twinkle.

"Eve..." She is so quiet that I'm not even completely sure that she said anything. But the idea of that one word pulls me to my senses, and I grit my teeth in determination. They won't get away with this, not anymore. I lean in closer so that I can whisper in her ear without the guards, waiting not so patiently outside the room, hearing anything.

"Don't worry, I'll get you out of here, I promise. Stay strong mum..."

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6 hours later

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"Niall I want to see my mum" well there was no point beating around the bush, I think to myself as I pull a plate of toast towards me. I'm currently sat in the kitchen with Niall, having breakfast, while the other boys are off at some charity thing. Haven't people noticed that the boys are never seen together anymore yet? They're always one short, and that one is whoever drew the short straw to have to stay with me. Today it's Niall, although he doesn't seem too upset about this...in fact, he's positively thrilled and hasn't stopped grinning since I woke up, which was at least an hour ago.

Until now, that is. Those 7 simple words are all it takes to wipe that childlike grin straight off his face, and replace it with a troubled frown.

"I...don't think that would be appropriate Evelyn" His words come out cold, hard and calculated, with absolutely no emotion behind them either. He spits them out like a rehearsed script, as a machine would recite a rather tiresome message. He has frozen beside me, moving less than I thought possible, I swear he hasn't even blinked. I fear that at this rate, if I reach out to touch him, my hands would just come into contact with hard, cold stone. I knew this would be difficult, but I didn't realise it would be quite this tricky.

When I finally open my mouth to speak again, Niall jumps up surprisingly quickly, causing his chair to go flying across the room and end up balanced precariously on two legs.

"I'm going to shower. You probably should too." That's all he says before storming out of the room without sparing me a glance. His voice, which usually comes across soft, beautiful and feeling like a lullaby does to a child, is stony and emotionless. How can he change so much from just one question? He could have just said no, rather than leaving me here feeling rejected and alone.

I begrudgingly finish my toast and head upstairs to shower, deciding that I may have better luck persuading him later. I will get round him though, that much I'm certain of, because I know that Niall will want to do everything in his power to make me happy. With this thought in mind, I get ready for the undoubtedly confrontational day ahead.