Affection | N.H

Chapter 50

("Just close your eyes and enjoy the roller coaster that is life. :) x" -Zayn fucking Javaad Malik.)

This morning when I woke up Niall wasn't beside me on the bed. He wasn't in the toilets or downstairs. Then Maura told me that she saw him going out with his joggers on.

"We might as well go for shopping while the men stay back for their manly talks and drinks." Maura suggests as I put the dishes in the dish washer after everyone except Niall finished breakfast. (I dodged breakfast by saying I have a terrible stomach ache.) I dry my hand with a tea towel and sigh. Maura exactly knows what that sigh was for. Therefore, she puts her hand on my shoulder. "I know what you're thinking. But Niall needs to talk to Robert. He is not the same person he was all those years ago." She finishes her sentence with a gentle squeeze on my shoulder.

"I know. Maybe you're right too. But I am scared he will get too angry and say or do something very bad." I explain as I look out to the main door and wonder why Niall still isn't back.

"Sweety," Maura smiles. "He will have Greg here. I know he went off at Greg last night and it wasn't pleasant. Just the way you calm him down now, Greg was the only one who used to calm him down before. I assure you, he will not do anything that will cause him to end up in jail." Maura says and tugs her hair behind her ears.

I nod and give her an assuring smile. "You're right then. I will go get changed."

"I'm ready ladies!!" Denise appears at the kitchen in a pair of jeans and a sweater. She widens her eyes at us and puts her hands on her hips. "You guys are still not ready?! We will miss out on all the good clothes if we don't show up early enough!" Denise stomps her foot on the ground.

"We were just about to split up and get dressed honey," Maura smiles at Denise's childish behaviour. "Oh and where is Greg?"

..

~Niall's POV~

Greg texted me this morning saying he wants to meet me at the park we always used to go to when we were younger. I was going to slam my phone against the wall and go back to sleep but then I realised how cruelly I acted towards him last night. My anger was worth it but perhaps he didn't deserve the anger. He was the wrong person the aggressiveness came out on.

I got out of bed, got dressed in my joggers and took a last glance at Tarisha, hoping that the sight of her face will keep me calm if I get angry at Greg again.

As soon as I stepped outside the house, the morning air chilled my spine. I slid my hands in the pockets of my jacket and started walking down the street. Every house in the block is still familiar to my eyes. Nothing has changed in all those years when I avoided Ireland as much as I could. The trees, the benches, the lawns, everything is the same. I wondered if the people living in the houses were still the same habitants or not.

In no time at all, I reached the park. The park where I played the most in my childhood. The park where I ran to and cried when Robert came home drunk and hit me. The park where Greg and I sat for hours in silence thinking about life. The sea-saw, slide and swings are still there. I slowly walked towards the rides and felt it with my fingers. The iron was rusted but it still looked the same in my eyes.

"Lots of memories aye?" I hear a familiar voice call from behind me. I turn around to face Greg who is smiling hopefully at me. I hold onto my cast and wait for him to tell me whatever he wanted to tell me. He gestures for me to follow him and I know too well where he is heading. He leads me behind the park, to the same old creek with the same old rocks. The rocks seem a bit smaller due to erosion but the look of the creek, the smell and the surrounding, is still the same. I might sound crazy but I feel like nothing has changed for me. It seems like this place was waiting for me to visit since a long time.