Adopted by that OneBand! | ✔️

Don't Cry

Cheryl's POV -

The next day was a school day.

“Act surprised if people think you’re Emily, OK?” Liam said as we were eating our breakfast before school.

“I know, Liam.” I said for the tenth time that morning. “You do not need to worry.”

After breakfast, Liam and I got into the car, pulled the shades down, and started our journey to school. I muttered a quick bye as I slid out of the car, then immediately closed the door behind me. People stared at me as I walked through the hallways, much more often than they usually do. I had a hard time ignoring them and was relieved when I met up with Lily by our lockers.

“Had an interesting weekend, didn’t you?” Lily asked me cheerfully.

We couldn’t talk about it with all the other kids milling around, so I just shrugged.

“As far as weekends go.” I finished taking stuff out of my locker and we made our way to first period, just to find our way blocked by none other than Katie Harvey. The vicious, nosy Katie Harvey.

She ran her eyes over me, like she was looking at me for the first time.

“What.” I said to her bluntly.

“Tell me, are you Emily? The one that Harry Styles had being seen with?”

I just knew that this would happen. All the other kids were listening attentively too.

I rolled my eyes. “Do I look like I’m someone who will hang around Harry Styles?”

I didn’t wait for them to answer. “C’mon, Lily, let’s leave these maniacs alone.” I held onto her elbow and pulled her away.

“Let's.” Lily said, as we move away from them. “But the paparazzi got some photos of you guys, didn’t they?”

“Unfortunately.” Many students in school seemed to have saw them too, and people kept shooting curious glances at me throughout the day.

So this is must it must feel to be One Direction, I thought when a girl dropped her books when she saw me. She gazed at me open-mouthed as I walked past her.

“No, I’m not Emily.” I called out to her over my shoulder.

I managed to survive all those curious looks directed at me throughout the day, but I was glad when school was over and I could be at peace.

Lily and I walked out of the front gates. We saw Lily’s parent’s car parked there, but Louis’ convertible was nowhere to be seen, as it was his turn today to pick me up.

“Oh, I forgot I had to go somewhere tonight!” Lily exclaimed when she saw her parents. “Gotta dash, see ya!”

I waved at her forlornly, annoyed that I had no company while I waited for Louis. I wandered off to the dark corner where the rubbish bins were, so less people would notice me. Nosy students were already bad enough, but nosy paparazzi that found out which school I went to would be disastrous. I stood there in the shadows, alone.

At least I thought I was alone.

Someone suddenly came up from behind me and clamped a hand over my mouth. I didn’t even have time to scream. I struggled against his grip, thinking of how stupid I was to be hanging around a dark corner where there was almost zero possibility of someone noticing me.

The hand pushed me onto the floor and I caught a glimpse of who my attacker was. That raven black hair and familiar blue eyes. My uncle. I gasped when I saw him, but was soon cut off as he cupped his hand around my mouth more firmly. He had blocked my nose too, because his palm was so big, so I had no means of breathing.

I tried to stay calm, because I knew that if I panicked I would lose air more quickly, but I couldn’t. He let go all of a sudden and I took gulps of breath, thankful for the oxygen. I tried to stand up, but his hands clawed into my shoulders and I sank back down. My uncle knelt down in front of me, staring into my eyes with his own piercing, murdering blue eyes, completely different from Niall’s kindly ones. When he opened his mouth to speak, I could smell alcohol.

“You stupid girl.” He said threateningly. “I know what you did to my sister. I’ll make you pay for everything you did.”

I inched back, frightened. He came closer, the putrid, acid smell of his breath going straight up my nostrils. The November afternoon suddenly felt ten degrees colder, and I shivered.

“I didn’t do anything.” I protested weakly, but I already knew it was no use. He stood up and kicked me on the head, hard. I sank onto the ground, my head spinning. He aimed another kick at my nose, so it broke and blood started to flow freely.

“Like the pain, huh?” He sneered, then fumbled in his pocket, taking out a gleaming, sharp object. I vaguely saw the glinting of the point of it flashing dangerously in the sun. It was a knife.

Horrors of my past memories flashed through my head. Recalling the countless times my dad had hurt me with a knife, I started trembling in fear. I tried to move away, but the world was still swaying around me, so instead I banged my head on one of the metal rubbish bins, making everything sway even more. I had no escape.

He approached me with the knife in his hand, his mouth open wide into a malicious grin so like his daughter’s. He gripped my wrist with one hand and held the point of the knife close to it.

“Louis.” I called out weakly, but he had no way of hearing me.

“Don’t you dare cry for help.” He muttered, then without warning, ran the blade across my skin. A red streak of blood appeared. I whimpered at the pain. The last time someone had hurt me like this was almost 3 years ago. I had almost forgotten the sensation of being cut, but now the pain was fresh in my mind again.

“Nice, wasn’t it?” He said, then repeated the action again. More blood came out.

“Louis.” I cried out again, tasting my own blood on my tongue as I said the word. Blood was still pouring down from my nose.

“I told you not to cry for help!” He said, and this time ran the blade across the other wrist. Another streak of blood appeared to match the one on my other wrist.

In my peripheral vision, I could see a black car pulling up by the school. I looked at it desperately, willing Louis who was most certainly inside to look in our direction. My uncle seemed to sense something, so he followed my gaze and saw the car.

“Those mindless people who adopted you.” He muttered to himself. “Well, I’ll give you one last treat before I get out of here.”

In one sudden movement, he plunged the knife into the spot right below my ribs. I took in a shuddering breath. The pain almost made me unconscious but I was determined to stay awake, stay alive. I bit hardly on my lips and tried to direct the pain to there instead, but it was no use. He released his hand, leaving the knife still stuck in my body, and slinked off into the shadows.

I yanked the knife out of my body with trembling hands, just to see a continuous flow of deep red blood. The pain was so unbearable I wanted to cry, but I forced myself to keep the tears. Niall had told me he didn’t like me crying, and I wasn’t going to cry. I took in deep breaths, knowing that death was near if help didn’t come soon.

My eyes caught some movement which my half-conscious mind interpreted as Louis getting out of the car. That sight gave me a little hope. I struggled to remember every single detail of the boys’ face to keep my brain still working. I kept telling myself, I need to stay conscious until help comes. But I had lost too much blood, the images that formed in my eyes were getting hazier and hazier.

“Louis.” I called out feebly for one last time. He turned around and saw me, his eyes growing wide. Once he saw me he would go and get help, I thought. I probably wouldn’t die, after all. I moved my hand slightly and felt the puddle of blood around my body.

There was more blood than I expected. But Louis wouldn’t let me die. He was a superman, he would save me. With that thought in mind, I lay my head back down on the cold cement floor and drifted away from the world.

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