The Bodyguard » Niall Horan

27 » We've all got our troubles

I went viral, Niall told me the next morning. I wasn't in my own bedroom but in Niall's.

" What do you mean, viral?" I turned around, looking at Niall. He was holding his phone in his hands. " Well, viral as in Twitter trending, headlining most newspapers and those things." I lifted my eyebrows.

" They declared you hottest policewoman on Earth. And, they loved your interview." 

I wasn't sure what to think of these developments. I didn't understand that I, apparently, got so much attention for a simple press conference I barely spoke three sentences at. Niall, however, couldn't stop smirking at his phone. At least he enjoyed it.

" How can someone look hot in a monkey suit?" I muttered as I stared at the ceiling.

" No one but you. You wear the uniform, rather than the other way around." 

He was way too happy for it to be real. I turned my head to him. " How are you feeling today?" I asked. Niall lowered his phone and turned his head to me. I had noticed how he left the bed several times. 

" I'm alright," He lied. He even dared to look me in the eyes while he did so. " Don't lie to me," I spoke, my tone strict as I narrowed my eyes.

Niall sighed deeply and looked away. I searched his hand, which I found beneath the covers and squeezed it gently. It took a while until Niall started talking.

"Every time I close my eyes," he started, looking up at the ceiling," I see how you stumble and fall, in that narrow alley up in the City." He swallowed.

" And all of a sudden, he's there, emptying his entire chamber on you, right through my body without injuring me." He looked back at me. " And when I turn around, all that's left of you is that bloody dress." 

I suppressed a shiver, though the hairs on my arms rose. " I'm still alive, Niall," I whispered. Niall smiled and put his other hand on my cheek. " And I'm very glad you are." 

I smiled and closed my eyes.

" I have heard you scream, once," Niall said all of a sudden. My eyes flashed open, Niall's face apologetic. " I get down to get tea if I can't sleep," he explained.

" What is it you dream about?" Niall asked quietly. I sighed.

" About seeing my mother getting stabbed to death," I answered after a while. " It's something my subconscious hasn't yet processed. At least, that's what my therapist once said," I explained.

" Sometimes I am my mum, where I feel the metal continuously enter my body. Sometimes it's from my own point of view, from the stairs." I spoke. Niall bit his lip, as sorrow filled his eyes as he stroke my upper arm.

" What a kooky couple, we are," Niall said after a while. I smirked. " When the going gets tough, the tough get going."