Like Dreamers Do (Niall Horan Fan-Fiction)

Chapter 2

I woke early the next morning, the birds chirping through the window. My eyes wore sore from crying the night before and my head hurt a lot. I dressed quickly in an old jumper and jeans, slinking down the stairs quietly and making myself a cup of tea. 

I hadn’t actually eaten anything in about a week now, every time I tried I would completely lose my appetite. I wandered out the front with my tea and sat on one of the old couches my grandad had set up on the balcony, taking in the view of the street. 

It really wasn’t too different to back home. It was a normal suburban neighbourhood, just like my home in Australia had been. A few dog walkers walked past, the occasional jogger.

Everything was so – normal. Inside, my life was spiralling out of control, but there was nothing I could do about it. I could still picture that night so clearly in my mind, I had been dreaming about it the past two weeks. 

I was lying in bed trying to get to sleep. I had been at my friend’s place only hours before, watching movies and playing monopoly. I was such a light sleeper, so I figured there was no point in trying to sleep now. I got out ‘The Hunger Games’ and started reading from page 108.

That was when I heard footsteps coming from down the hall. I heard them stop when they got to my parents bedroom, the light creaking of their bedroom door being forced open. A few moments passed. My heart had started beating at a million miles an hour. There was silence and I thought I was safe. I thought it was just my dad getting a midnight snack. I went back to my book.

That was when I heard my mother screaming. I reacted quickly. I threw the covers off me and was suddenly torn between rushing to see what was wrong and getting out of the house as quickly as I could. 

My decision was made for me when the quiet footsteps started making their way for my room, and I ran as quickly as I could to the open window. I was lucky it was a hot night, the window was unlocked. I clambered out, not entirely sure what I was doing or where I was going, but before I knew it I was inside the kitchen of my neighbours house, screaming at the top of my lungs. 

But that wasn’t it. Before I climbed out the window, I got a fleeting look at the person who had ruined my life. It was a man, I could tell from the build. He was wearing a balaclava so I couldn’t see his face, but his eyes stood old, cold, mean and full of spite. 

I had run for my life then. 

Moving here wasn’t a choice, it was something I had to do. I couldn’t bear set foot inside my house again. Each time I tried, I broke down and fell to the floor crying. 

I didn’t have any siblings, only my mum and dad.

And he had taken them both away from me.

My friends understood what I had to do. They knew me so well, they knew that I wouldn’t be able to move on if I lived in the same place. I was already an emotional person, it just wouldn’t have worked. 

I left everyone behind. I was starting a new life from scratch. Only this time, my life was empty, soulless. I had nothing. All I had was the constant fear that he would come back and find me. 

My grandad joining me on the porch snapped me back to reality. I wasn’t completely alone. He had taken me into his home, in England. He still cared. 

Grandad lived in another country for Gods sakes. The killer wasn’t going to find me.

My grandad had come out with another cup of tea, handing to me and remaining completely unaware that I had already made myself one. He was getting too old, it scared me.

“I was hoping you would come and join me at the greenhouse today.” He mumbled, fumbling with the tie on his old tartan dressing gown. “The kids are all expecting you, they can’t wait!”

My grandad ran a greenhouse about a mile down the road and he had school children come in every week day to help him plant and grow. I smiled to myself. Maybe it was exactly the kind of distraction I needed. School hadn’t gone back yet, the students of England were still on break. 

“Yeah, sounds good.” I smiled up at him, replacing my own tea with his. 

We arrived at the greenhouse an hour later, a swarm of children waiting by the front gate.

“Jerry!” The all called out to my grandad, running up and hugging him. He was like Santa Claus on Christmas day.

I watched on as the twenty or so children followed grandad into the greenhouse, each running to a different spot that they had clearly marked as their own. They gave me shy looks as they wandered past me, one little girl tugging on the hem of jumper.

“Excuse me, are you Elli?” She asked hesitantly, looking up at me through big blue eyes.

“That’s me.” I smiled down at her and let her grasp my hand and pull me over to a small corner that was slowly beginning to sprout some shoots from the dirt.

“These are my flowers. They will grow big one day, can you help me grow them?” She had dirty, matted blonde hair and big blue eyes, she was probably about 7 years old.

“I’d love to.” I answered, taking a watering can that she handed to me. 

“You gotta fill it up. That’s how they get bigger, you put the water on it. I’m Lucy.” She grinned a toothless smile, and I delicately shook her little hand and bowed down to her.

“I’ll get you some water.” I added, passing my grandad as I walked over to the tap. He smiled, turned away from the parents he was chatting to and put a hand on my shoulder.

“Lucy comes in everyday. Her parents are on holiday in Tibet so she’s living with a nanny right now, sour old woman she is. Look after her for me.” He finished, a twinkle in his eye as he turned back to the children’s parents. 

I turned to look at Lucy, her eyebrows knotted in a very concentrated way. She was busy digging into the dirt planting one final flower.

I have never had a sister before.

(A/N: Please tell me what you think! Thanks! Twitter:Zayn_Malik018 Kik:ZaynsWifeyXx-Zayn-Malik018)

-October 25,2012