On Tuesday, I spent my afternoon with my friend, Macey in the gym.
Macey loved working out, and I felt like a fatass from being unable to work out in awhile, so I forced myself to go with her that afternoon. Macey is cool, although she tends to complain a lot about her life, and I feel like I do more consoling than anything when I'm with her.
But nonetheless, I felt a whole lot better walking out of the gym when we finished, even though I was sweating. Normally I brought a towel to wipe my face, but I forgot to bring one, and I hated using my hands to wipe my face.
"...so he tells me to pay for my own meal." Macey complained about her current boyfriend for the 10th time that afternoon. I wondered how long she and this guy would last. Macey is prone to date a lot of guys, but none of them lasted very long, at all.
"That's douche of him." I commented dryly, fishing for my car keys in my purse. I honestly hated carrying around a purse, though I had to. I always lost things inside, no matter how hard I tried to keep everything in order.
"So then he gets mad at me for giving him the cold shoulder - but duh, why would I even talk to him after he was totally a dick?"
"Guys will be guys." I pursed my lips, resisting the urge to sigh in frustration as I continued searching for my keys. I had them to drive here, obviously, so I knew they were in here.
"And the sad thing is that he shouldn't even have to ask me why I'm mad, you know? It's like he doesn't know how much of a douche he can be. It's just - hey, I'm going to go ahead and head to my car now, alright? What're you looking for?"
I forced a smile as I withdrew my hand so I can hug Macey. "I'm just trying to find my god damn
keys. They'll turn up sooner or later. Anyway, good luck with Drake."
Macey giggled. "Dean."
"Huh?"
"You mean Dean. My ex is Drake."
Oops.
I laughed. "Yeah, him, too. I'll see you later."
"Bye."
My smile dropped as soon as Macey left, and I hurry to my car and set my purse on top of it. I'm about to just dump the contents of my purse when I realize something.
I'm an idiot.
Before I went into the gym, I put my keys in the outer pocket, so I wouldn't have to spend so much time looking. I completely forgot I did that.
I silently berated myself as I got in my car after unlocking it. Looking at my reflection, I openly laugh at how awful I look. My cheeks are flushed and sweaty, and my hair is pulled tightly out of my face. But despite my appearance, I feel pretty damn great.
I turned my music on loud and sang to it at the top of my lungs as I drove back home. I wondered what Niall decided to do while I was gone. He stepped into the shower when I left, and I had a feeling he'd still be there.
I smiled.
Niall seemed to be getting so much better after Louis' suicide. It's such a relief to see him improving in moods because like I've said before, I hate seeing Niall in a depression. Especially when I can't do anything to help.
His car is still parked in the parking lot, and I pull mine next to his. I lock my car and head up the stairs, wanting nothing more than to take a well-needed shower and eat some dinner. Maybe I'll heat something up tonight...no, I'm probably just going to end up making cereal or something.
I knocked on the door, listening intently for any signs of the TV. But there's silence. I didn't want to have to fish out my keys, but -
That was when I noticed that the door was open.
Confused, I pushed against the door. It was barely open, but open nonetheless. I heard the crackling sound of the TV as I stepped into the room, and I have this horrible sense wash over me when I found the living room perfectly clean. Had Niall spent his afternoon here, it wouldn't be clean. There would be some kind of mess, if anything.
My foot stepped on something that cracked. I look down to see I stepped on a framed photo. Confused, I pick it up and gasped.
It's the photo of me and Niall - the one where I have the blonde highlights. The one that went missing.
Suddenly, I felt cold and like I was being watched. Maybe I've seen too many scary movies, but I had a feeling Niall wasn't here.
But someone else was.
I instantly pull out my cellphone and dash back into the hallway. I have goose bumps rising on my arms. I shakily dialed Niall's number and listened as the phone rang and rang -
-and rang.
It eventually went to his voicemail and I growled under my breath. Why wasn't he answering? Niall always had his phone with him. For some reason, I felt panicked as I clicked on his number again. But like before, it went straight to voicemail.
Something about this situation didn't seem right.
Why was our door open?
Why was our photo there?
Who took it?
Did the person who took it bring it back?
Why did they take it?
Where was Niall?
My mind was full of questions that were in desperate need of answers as I dialed the second person I could think of - Denise.
"Hello?" Thank god she answered.
"Hey, Denise, have you heard from Niall?"
"No, why? What's wrong?"
"I..." I glanced back at our door, still ajar, and I could still hear the static of the TV. I don't like the sound of it. I forced myself not to think about it and looked out over the railing, seeing a group of teenagers laughing as they walked down. "I think my apartment's been broken into."
"Oh my god, are you serious?"
"Yeah, I came home from the gym, and the front door's open. It's freaking me out because I can't find Niall, and he isn't answering his phone."
"Well, maybe he took out the trash and left the door open? You know how Niall can be. Did you look in your room?"
I bit my lip. "No."
"Well, maybe you should check first. But be careful. If someone did break into your apartment,
they could still be there."
Well, no shit.
Although I can't imagine why someone would linger after they break into someone's apartment?
"Alright, I'll call you back when I figure out what's happening." I said in a hushed tone before swiftly hanging up.
I'm normally not a chicken. I'm normally daring and blunt, but I felt afraid standing outside the door. I could feel like someone did break inside. But wouldn't I have already seen them?
Shaking my head, I forced the thoughts from my mind and stepped inside. This was my apartment, god damn it. If anyone should be afraid, it should be the person who broke inside, not me. But just to be safe, I stopped in the kitchen to grab a kitchen knife, clenching my fingers tightly around the handle. I listened for any sounds, but the static from the TV is all I can hear.
Gritting my teeth, I stepped in front of the TV and turned it off.
Silence.
Exhaling deeply, I made my way down our hallway. As I passed by the bathroom, I could see that it was heavily humid, though the mirror wasn't clouded up. Niall's towel from showering was on the floor, but it was obvious he took his shower a few hours ago. And there was no sign of him in the bathroom.
I opened the door to our room, and for a moment, I was taken aback.
I couldn't believe my eyes.
No.
Niall.
Why - who would do this?
I screamed. My scream echoes all throughout the apartment. Losing sight on everything and everyone all around me, I dropped the kitchen knife and lunge for Niall's figure lying on our bed. I started crying, trying to speak but only strangled noises coming out as I saw all the blood and Niall's lifeless eyes staring up at me.
This can't be real.
No, it can't.
Why?
Who - why did this happen?
So many questions with no answers. But in the midst of my chaotic distress, I only had one conclusion:
Niall was dead.
