After the final bell rang at school I met Niall at his locker.
"Well I'm driving you so you can't back out if this" I stated
"Okay I'll have to come back and get my car tonight though" he replied sounding annoyed.
With that we went out the doors at the end of the hallway and walked to my car. I opened up the hatch in the back and threw in my backpack while Niall did the same. We both climbed in, the cool leather causing goosebumps to rise on my skin.
In about 20 minutes we were pulling in my drive way. I went to the back of my car again and grabbed my backpack messily slinging it over my shoulder. I walked ahead of Niall so I could unlock the door to my house. I held it open to let Niall walk past me and shut it while throwing my back pack to the ground.
He awkwardly stood there so I walked past him and into the kitchen. He followed. I grabbed two cans of Pepsi out of the fridge while sliding one across the island to Niall.
"So spill the beans."
The smirk on his face half way eased the worry and half way made it worse.
"Well Em..." he said while clearing his throat. "I used to live in Texas..And well if you don't know a lot about Texas the area I lived in had small..little gangs, I guess is a good word. They weren't serious, most gang members never killed anyone they just messed with small crimes like robbing gas stations and fighting on street corners. I watched this guy named Josh fight some asshole 2 blocks from my house. Josh was doing really well he was fit and had the means to knock the other guy unconscious with just a couple punches. He almost had the other guy to that point, he was stumbling backwards with a steady stream of blood coming from his nose while his white tank slowly turned blood stained. I thought Josh would win until the assholes gang member popped up from behind a trash can and shot Josh. It killed him on the spot, right through his heart. The ambulance didn't even have time to get there."
Niall's voice cracked slightly making me believe this was touchy subject for him.
"Emerald.." he stuttered "Josh was my brother."
By the time he managed to get that out he had a tears welling up in his eyes. I didn't really know what to do so I circled around the island and grabbed Niall. His larger build hovering over me. He leaned his head to my shoulder while I comforted him with my fingers in his hair.
"Niall I never would have guessed." I muttered out with no answer from him. "you can cry on me if you need to, I'll be here.always."
I felt a tear trickle down his face and land on my shirt. I knew of nothing to comfort someone at a time like this so I just held him tighter, gently playing with his hair at the base of his neck. After a couple minutes passed he looked up at me.
"I...I..gotta finish this story Emerald." his voice was shaky.
I laced my fingers between his and directed him toward the couch in my living room. We had a large distance between us, Niall taking one end of the large couch and I taking the other. He fiddled with this finger for a couple seconds before looking up at me with hurt in his eyes.
"After that happened" he softly spoke "I made it my goal to find the man who killed my brother and make him go through the pain I felt. I didn't care if I was put in jail or killed in the process, he just needed to feel hurt, to know the emotions that flooded my body while I watched my brother die. I easily found his name. Adam Swanson. God that name make me cringe to even say it."
Niall swallowed hard and grabbed a pillow from behind him to hug for comfort.
"Ni you don't have to say it anymore.. I'll know who you're talking about."
"Alright. Well once I knew who I was after I trained relentlessly every day and night. My body ached some times but I knew what I had to do in order to accomplish my goals. I also bought a gun that was kept with me at all times incase I came across him. And to my advantage I did. I was walking home from my friends one night when I heard rustling in an alley. It was Adam and a girl. I didn't even think through my actions I just went up to him shooting his foot making it a difficult task for him to run. I watched him hobble through the alley while his girl looked on with tears streaming her face. I proceeded to pistol whip him having no mercy whatsoever. I yelled obscure words towards him while reiterating the fact he killed me brother. Something so fresh I'm my mind I'd never forget. He was slowly breathing when I left. I thought I killed him but later that night I got a call. I was taken into custody by the police. I faced charges and the possibility of going to jail. Adam lived, so my charges were dropped since there were more serious crimes that had to be delt with. Therefore my family just up and left Texas. Not even thinking twice and that's how I ended up here in Idaho. they figured it wasn't a busy town, not many residents. I do feel bad for what I did in a way but he deserved every painful hit given to him. I decided to adopt a new personality when we moved. I wanted to leave my dark past behind me. So I did."
