Thorn (n.h)

XLIV

chapter songs: "Hometown" -Eric Church "Hey Brother" -Avicii "Delta Dawn" -Tanya Tucker

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Rolling out of bed after 10 am has become a bad habit for me. I used to wake up nearly at the crack of Satan's ass to do anything, but here lately I just get up later and later. Ever since Niall's little accident I don't seem to have the gumption to even carpe diem anymore.

Zayn texts all morning and is obviously pretty anxious to get Niall home today, a total opposite from me. I had prayed he'd go home to his brother for a while, but did I honestly expect him to? In honesty though, I am a bundle of nerves over it.

2pm rolls around and I eventually get dressed into something other than running shorts and a low cut tank top and head out to meet Zayn at Niall's. The entire ride over is silent, dead silent except road noise. I dont bother to turn on the raido, my thoughts subside as my heart pounds against the inside of my ribs. What will I do? Will I hug him or be stiff? Will he kiss me or will I kiss him? Will I ignore him or will he lose his crap?

Will Niall even be Niall?

When I had visited him in rehab we hugged but it was awkward, sometimes he would kiss my cheek but it was so stiff and no emotion involved that it was like he hadn't even kissed me.

I pull into a parking space and see Zayn's car a row over. Stepping out the warm wind hits my face, a shock to my freezing cold cheeks.

"Rose," I hear Zayn behind me he stomped out a ciggarette. He had picked up smoking again, not that he ever really quit.

"He here yet?"

"Not that Ive seen, I haven't seen his new car yet so I wouldn't know it if he was anyway," Zayn sniffed and rubbed his nose, the smell of nicotine wafting twards me with his gesutre.

"Let's head up then and see."

The apartment is exactly the same as I last saw it. When Niall was first put into rehab, Liam and I came back to pack up his clothes and bring them to him, in the process I cleaned the place. Everything was cleaned, almost everything sparkled like in a cartoon and there was no sight of Niall.

"I hadn't known you'd cleaned," Zayn says slowly, his hands shoved into his pockets.

"I couldn't help it," my shoulders sag as I walk farther into the apartment, my fingers grazing a lampshade as my eyes fall on the coffee table, not a single book or magazine on it.

"I guess we just wait it out for him to show," Zayn speaks up from the kitchen. He sits at the dining table as I continue to look around the apartment, almost as if I was looking for something. I couldn't help but feel out of place in the apartment, like I didn't belong or like I was returning to it after being unwelcome for a long time.

I mosey down the hall when I hear the front door opening slowly. I turn at the sound and see Zayn stand from his seat.

"Hey," Zayn's accent fills the silent void before I see the back of Niall rushing over to Zayn, engulfing him in a hug. "How you doin' mate?"

"Better," I can tell he's smiling,

"Good, I'm glad," the hug lingers longer, "I've missed you."

"You too bro," Niall is the first to let go of the hug, his hands shoved in the back pockets of his jeans. Zayn eyes me from across the room and Niall turns to follow his gaze.

His eyes fall on me, he looks exactly the same as he had before any of this started. A white shirt with the sleeves rolled up to reveal as many tattoos as possible, he's got chucks on and covering the ends of his pant legs.