Never • Say • Never § a Niam Horayne collab fanfic [AU]

Chapter Twenty - "Niall, help me!"

(by butterfliess)

Liam's POV

I laughed lowly and dug into my pockets, coming up short. "I hope you've got money, because I'm now completely broke. I'll have to sneak home later and get some money, when my dad isn't home. He's always gone at night, and my mom is always sleeping. She's a heavy sleeper, so... Yeah. I still have my key," I said, pausing to grab it out of my backpack. "So she shouldn't even have to know I'm there. She won't know I got money, she'll think it was my dad. Besides, we need to go home to get clothes." 

I blinked, watching as Niall's eyes shined. "I've got money, no worries."

"I guess we're really doing it. I've thought of running away before, but I never knew it'd happen." I continued. He shoved his hands in his pockets, letting his thumbs stick out, and smiled.

"Yeah... It's amazing to finally get away."

I nodded. "Let's go. I'm almost dying of hunger - and thirst." We shared a laugh and left our room, making our way down to the lobby, then outside.

---

We'd went to a nearby Wendy's; Niall was complaining that there were no Nandos here, but I eventually got him to quiet down. 

We'd went back to our room, it getting fairly dark out. We'd been out longer than I thought, and I knew my mom would be asleep by then. It was around 9:57 when we got to the hotel. We must have really been having fun...

"Niall, let's go sneak back to my place. I need a phone charger too, my phone is gonna die." I said. He nodded and we snuck out of the hotel, running towards my house. 

When we got there, I told him to wait at the bottom of the steps. He waited as I stepped up the squeaky stairs, which made a lot of noise. As I fumbled with the door, I realized it was open. I shrugged, shoving the key into my backpack. 

I opened the door, sneakily creeping inside. It was completely dark. Suddenly, the lights flickered on and there stood my mom, and my dad, with angry expressions. Both had their arms crossed, my mom tapping her toes on the floor.

My mom held my dad back for a moment. "Where have you been?" She demanded in a frightening tone. I stammered, almost unable to speak. "Um... Out."

"Out where?" Dad growled coldly. "I've just been out." I quietly made my way to the staircase. I was pulled back; my dad had grabbed the collar of my shirt and dragged me into the living room. He held me close to his face. He smelled of sweat, and his breath was horrid; it fashioned the disgusting smell of alcohol.

The door was left wide open. Niall, I could tell, didn't know what was going on. I immediately teared up, which only made my dad grasp my shirt tighter. "Stop crying, you little bitch." He said, forcing me closer to his face which hadn't met a razor in a long time. 

I couldn't help it. He readied his hand and it closed into a fist. He was bringing up suspense, only to punch me in the face. I screamed, though words unable to form. 

I ended up slipping away a little and he punched me in the neck, which then throbbed and hurt uncontrollably. He punched me again, this time in the side. Then the shoulder. He was too drunk to get good aim at my face. He actually the readied his punch once more and, in almost slow motion, he had eventually punched me straight in the cheek. I felt my jaw come a little out of place, and it hurt a lot immediately after.

I noticed a jar of money - pure bills, there must have been around two hundred dollars in it, which was precisely the money my dad was saving to spend on beer - on a shelf behind me. I managed to get my hands on it and shoved it into my backpack, which I had managed to grab with my long arms. My dad drunkenly stumbled around the room; I kicked him in the knee, sending him to the floor. I tossed my bag to the side near the door, so no one could touch it. My mother was in the other room, not even wanting to see this, yet she didn't care one bit. Kicking him in the knee only made the drunk man angrier, which wasn't a good thing. 

Yet, clothes didn't matter anymore; with the money we could have, we could buy clothing.

Finally, something slipped out of me. I screamed at the top of my lungs, making sure I was loud enough for him to hear. I pleaded and begged as loud as I could, tears vanishing. 

"Niall, help me!"