At First Sight

Chapter 12- Through the Dark

"Ooh I love this song!" Natalie turned the volume up a few notches. As if reading her mind, Niall rolled all the windows down. He liked the wind on his face.

"We are going to go to my house for awhile and then later I am surprising you." He said. She nodded while singing along to That's My Kind Of Night by Luke Bryan. He liked to watch her being who she is without anyone caring. He liked how she was so confident in herself. He liked that she seemed tough on the outside, but she really had deep feelings for everything and hid them well. What he liked most was that she loved him back.

They pulled up to his house and he turned the engine off. They sat for a couple of minutes, both staring out their windows.

"I have something to show you." Niall smiled slightly while staring at her. He got out and opened her door for her. He held out his hand to help her climb down. She smiled back at him. 

She asked, "What is it?" 

"You'll see. I like surprises." He smiled coming back to himself again. 

"You are just full of awe today." Natalie laughed. 

"I always am." He smiled, seeming more serious than she expected. Why was he acting so strange suddenly? 

"Ok wait on the back porch. I'll be right back." Niall showed her the back door than ran upstairs. He came back with an acoustic guitar in his hands. He strapped it over his shoulder and sat down across from Natalie.

"You play the guitar?" Natalie asked while her eyes grew big. 

"Is..is that a bad thing?" Niall requested. 

"No! Not at all. I've just never dated a boy who knew how to play any instrument, for that matter. Which is surprising because I've dated a ton of guys." The moment she said those words, she knew they stung Niall a little inside. His expression changed, but he hid it well. "I'm sorry..I didn't mean it, it sli.." 

"It's fine. I was just going to play you my new song I've been writing since the day I met you." His eyes met hers and she blushed again. Realizing that, she let out a little, shy laugh. 

"I love you so much, Niall." With that he began to sing a song called Little Things. He couldn't tell, but he thought he saw her eyes turn glassy. When he finished he asked, "Well, what do you think?" 

"Needs a few improvements but with the right fans you'll make it big time." He thought she was being serious until she jumped on him and kissed him. "I thought it was beautiful."

"I think you're beautiful." He kissed her on the forehead. "Now you want to go meet my parents?" He asked. She got really excited, but she was nervous and he could tell. She had nothing to worry about though.

"Where are they? Are they here?" She kept asking a bunch of questions about them. 

"No, no. They don't live with me. You'll see." He slung his arm over her shoulders and led her inside. "I'm just gonna grab a few things before we go." He walked into the living room and grabbed a few pillows and blankets. Then he packed a basket with nothing but junk food. Then he grabbed a 12 pack of Coronas and a bottle of Skyy Vodka. 

"Vodka and beer? Just what I like." Natalie giggled. She grabbed a few things from him then they threw everything in the backseat. She glanced at the clock. Quarter till six. Six o'clock already?! The sun would be setting in a few minutes. They drove past the cafe where they ate lunch, drove past her house, and drove past the Town Hall. They almost reached the edge of town. She decided to not ask him any more questions about where they were going because it was a surprise. 

"Almost there." Niall reassured her and grabbed her hand. She felt his warmth and squeezed his hand. She looked out her window and saw the Beaufort River; the sun descending behind it. He pulled into the driveway of the cemetery and suddenly Natalie went pale. She looked over at Niall but he didn't say anything. She had a million different thoughts racing through her mind. She couldn't know what to think. Altogether only one memory was clear in her mind, her older brother Kyle. The effects from both of their pasts will be submerging out into thier emotions. 

They started walking along the path, hand in hand. Near the middle of the cemetery were two tombstones. One read, 'In loving memory of Maura Horan.' The second read, 'In loving memory of Bobby Horan.' Bobby. Her mind flashed a billion images from earlier. The way he acted after he met her parents, her dad Bobby. 

"Oh God.." Natalie wanted to hug Niall, but he was just staring down at them. She wondered when they died and why they were buried here. 

"You can ask anything you want." His voice sounded detached. 

"Are you sure?" Her voice cracked a little bit. She knew why he brought so many beers and that vodka. 

"Yeah." He answered. 

"Well...when did they.."

"Die? When I was fourteen. My grandparents lived here. We would visit a lot until we moved here when I was twelve. After they died I stayed in Ireland with my dad's parents until I was sixteen. And then I came back here and lived with my mom's parents. Everyone thought they should be buried here because it's where they died." Hs voice grew quieter as he talked more. He finally sat before continuing. She sat next to him, holding his hand. "They were hit by a drunk driver on their way home from their date. I was supposed to be in the car with them, but I didn't want to go to dinner with them that night. I was at my grandparent's house when they got the call. I remember my grandma picking up the phone, and although I couldn't hear the other end I knew it was bad from just the look on her face. She dropped the phone after saying ok; she rushed over to me and we got in the car with my grandpa. I could see my grandma crying in the front seat. No one would tell me anything, so I stayed quiet the whole time. The time I realized they were gone forever was the moment we showed up at the hospital. I realized what had happened. But, I felt numb. Like I didn't belong anywhere. It was all a blur, that day. The next day though, that was even worse. I remember waking up, well I never fell asleep, and going downstairs to turn the TV on. I flipped through the channels till I got to the local news. I watched for a few minutes until the story of my parants' death came on. They never found the person who hit them. Not even to this day. But the sad part is, if all four people in the accident died how could they not know?" The whole time Natalie stayed silent. Until she realized he said four people died.

If you tell the truth and it wounds the other person for awhile, it is still better than lying and having the person be hurt for a longer time.