Then There Was You

Love Me Tender

It wasn't that he had wanted to leave, he didn't, but Niall knew that he couldn't stay in that house any longer. He was beating himself up the whole ride back to his place, the balmy night air stinging his face as the thoughts of Vivian ever thinking any of what happened was her fault, crashed through his head. None of it was her fault. But seeing her cry, watching the tears well up in those gorgeous green eyes of hers, he had caused that. He had made her hurt in a way that he never intended to, that he knew was irreparable. But he was hurt too. His heart felt weak and inadequate, as if it wasn't enough for Vivian, for her family. That he wasn't enough. That he would never be enough.

Niall tore off his fancy button up shirt the second he returned to the shop, and tossed it towards the back of the garage, leaving him in a simple white tank and his only pair of dress slacks. He didn't even bother changing out of those, he just didn't care. Niall lit up a cigarette as he started to pace the dingy concrete floor, over-agonizing thoughts clambering around in his brain and an uneasy feeling rumbling in his gut. He really hated knowing that he had upset Vivian so much, that he had hurt her so terribly to the point that he knew she would never want to talk to him again. His chin quivered as he tossed his head back and blew the smoke out past his rounded lips, his eyes squeezing shut. If he never got to see that sweet beautiful girl again, there would be no way he could keep on living. Not without her. There would be no reason to. Letting out a deep growl at his own cowardliness, Niall rubbed the heel of his palm against his watery eyes before roughly combing his fingers through his hair and shuffling over to the long workbench against the wall.

His head hung low between his hunched shoulders as he placed his palms on the old worn down top. "Fuck!" he bellowed, smashing his curled fist against the wood.

Grabbing a ratchet, Niall clicked on the small transistor radio that sat next to him before stepping over to the customers car that he had been in the middle of fixing up earlier that day. Niall got right to work, the only thing that could keep his mind from going crazy with the increasing thoughts of Vivian. Nearly an hour went by, Niall not uttering a single word as he stayed hovered over the engine of that car, a cigarette hanging from his lips and grease smeared across his sweaty forehead. A slight scowl rested on his face as he kept himself busy, his hair misplaced and disheveled and his skin glistening from the damp heat of the warm summer night.

"Niall?"

His heart stopped. Was that her voice? Niall's hands froze within the open chassis of the car, as if he was afraid to move. But then he heard her again. Softly saying his name as her shoes faintly clicked against the concrete floor of the garage. Niall carefully leaned his body up and peeked around the hood of the car. And then he saw her. Still in her lavender party dress, still looking like the beautiful angel he had left crying all alone in that house.

Niall swallowed hard, like he couldn't believe what he was seeing and plucked the lit cigarette from his lips as he shifted away from the front of the car. "Viv?"

Their eyes locked, Niall's mouth falling open slightly as he stared at her. Vivian gave him a soft smile. "You left your jacket," she said, taking a step closer to him and holding out his leather coat.

"Uh..." Niall stuttered, quickly putting out the cigarette and grabbing a small towel from a stool to clean off his hands. "You, um...came all the way out here to bring me this?" he asked, taking the jacket from her.

Vivian took in a deep breath and shot her eyes around the cluttered garage before quietly lifting her shoulders in response. "I thought you might want it back."

She was acting very nonchalant and Niall nodded at her answer. "Thanks," he said, walking back over towards the workbench. He set the jacket down on top before turning around and resting his bum against the edge. Peering down at his feet, Niall ran his hand up through his hair. "Listen, I wanna apologize, Viv," he said, keeping his voice low, "for...leavin' the way I did. I shouldn't've done that to ya..."