Drowning || niall horan au

twenty-one

Hannah took a few days to herself, heading back home to visit her mother and her sister. She needed a break from London, from the city life and even Niall and Marisa. She told them not to accompany her because she wanted some time alone. She had spent the past couple of months grieving on Marisa's and Niall's shoulders that even they deserved a break from her. Hannah also liked the idea of having her family to depend on again.

The night she arrived home, she immediately wanted to talk about her father and everything her mother knew about him. And while Hannah was waiting for the pain to hit her, it never came. She felt a calmness, a clear head of knowing about her father's secret life of poor decisions. It was as if her father was telling her not to beat herself up over what he had done to himself. It was no use to hurting herself and everybody around her. Nothing could bring him back; all she could do was learn from his mistakes.

On the other hand, Lauren took the news the opposite way. Being unaware of why her father ever left in the first place, she hated knowing that she spent her adolescence without father, who chose drugs over his own family. So, Hannah decided the best medicine was to take her sister out on a shopping trip. She felt that it was better being upset over her bank account dwindling in a short period of time than being upset with herself in the long run.

With Lauren still browsing, claiming to be a very indecisive person, Hannah went ahead to check out. She laid her clothes on the counter, not bothering to look up at the cashier yet to look for her credit card. She realized she never received a greeting from the cashier, so she lifted her head to see if she was by herself. What she noticed was the woman taking the clothes off of the hangers as she stared at Hannah curiously.

"May I help you?" Hannah asked, feeling like the roles were suddenly reversed.

The woman shook her head, and Hannah raised an eyebrow at her. "I'm sorry, I don't mean to be rude. You're Hannah, correct?"

She nodded.

"And you dated Bradley Wright?"

Hannah's heart fell to her stomach. She had almost hoped she could have recognized her as being Niall's girlfriend because it would save her the trouble of going down memory lane again. She narrowed her eyes at the woman. "Can I ask who you are?"

"My name is Megan." The cashier told her. "I used to date Bradley."

As intrigued as Hannah was to know all about her relationship, she couldn't asking any questions. "This is still a touchy subject for me-"

"Please, just hear me out. I know what it's like to be in your shoes."

The blonde paid the amount for her clothes, and considered leaving as soon as she received her receipt. However, the look in Megan's eyes convinced her to stay. She could only assume that this woman had been through hell and back like she had, and had the whereabouts of Bradley.

"I have a restraining order against him that is about to expire, and I know he's getting out of prison soon."

"How soon?" Hannah panicked, feeling her heart rate increase.

"Give or take, a few days or weeks. I've been keeping track of him ever since I heard he was in jail. I know the whole story, and one of these days I was hoping I could run into you."

"Oh, my God." Hannah placed a hand over her mouth and leaned against the counter.

"He's relentless, you know that." Megan told her. "It's why I've had three different restraining orders against him. Just be careful, and be aware."