Seeing Blind |NH|

Chapter Twelve

I was sitting by the pool, my legs half in, looking down as the chlorinated water lightly lapped against my shins.  Everything had started to die down about an hour ago.  The music had stopped.  The talking had quieted to whispers.  Louis and Danielle had long since gone to bed.  Harry was on the phone.  Kendall and Liam were playing cards.  I had seen Zayn walk inside and head in the direction of the toilet.  And, Esta, well, I wasn't entirely sure where she had disappeared to.  She hadn't gone inside with Zayn.  That much I knew.

I stood up, wobbled a little, and started to walk around to look for her.  I was ready to go.  She wasn't in the backyard and she wasn't on the ground floor of Louis' house.  I started to walk upstairs to see if maybe she had gone up there for whatever reason when the front door opened. 

I turned and saw Zayn finish putting his cigarette out and walk back in.  He looked up at me, gave me a strange look and then a smirk.

"Have you seen Esta?" I asked.  "I'm about ready to go."

"She's out front," he said, giving me that odd smirk, again.

"Oh, okay, great.  Thanks," I said, making my way back down the stairs.

I tried to get past him but he wouldn't move.  Not in the mood for whatever shit he was up to, I brushed past him and out the door.  Shutting the door behind me, I didn't see her.

"Esta?  You out here?" I asked.  Silence.  "Esta!" I yelled a little louder.

I heard rustling and saw her as she walked around from the side of the house.  Her arms were up, fixing her hair.  She brought them back down and brushed the back of her pants with her hands before reaching me.

"Hey, Niall," she said, softly.  "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, I kinda am.  You?"

"Yeah," she said, smiling at me.  "Let me grab my keys from inside real quick." 

She walked past me and into the house.  I sat down on the stoop, to wait for her.  A few minutes later, the door opened again and she walked out.

She sat down next to me.  Looping her arm through mine and resting her head on my shoulder.

"You asked for a good night.  Did I deliver?" I asked, quietly.

"Mmhmm," she sighed.

I looked down at her and saw that her eyes were closed.  "You gonna make it home?"

"Yeah.  You ready?"

She lifted up her head and looked at me. 

"Yep, let's boogie."

We both stood up and she started moving towards her car.  Walking behind her, I noticed her arms looked red and she had a leaf and a twig stuck in her hair.

"Hold up," I said, coming up behind her.  "You got some stuff in your hair."  As I pulled the pieces out of her hair, I noticed that the red on the back of her arms was from scratches. "Damn girl, did a tree attack you?  Or a bush?" I said, laughing a little.

She looked down at her arms.  "Ha! I guess so."  She rubbed her arms before stepping back out of my embrace of her arm.  She opened her car door and climbed in.  The ride home was fairly quiet.  Both of us in our own worlds, I guess.

When we got back to our complex, we quietly rode the elevator; quietly walked down the hall to our respective doors, and quietly unlocked our doors.

"Night, Niall," Esta whispered before walking towards me and wrapping her arms around me for a hug.  "I had fun tonight."

"Good.  Hey, uh, we've got our album launch party next week.  Wanna come?"

"Yeah, Zayn and Danielle were talking about it and Zayn officially invited me.  Said he'd make sure I was on the guest list.  But, I imagine you should probably make sure that happens," Esta said, giggling a little before she pulled away from me and looked up at me.  Her eyes were glossy.

"Will do.  Night, Esta."  I kissed the top of her head and let her go.

We both walked into our own apartments and shut the door.