Look After You- Niam Horayne

The Nightmare- Chapter 1

I was wandering around an old, gloomy house I didn't recognise.

It had dusty, bad-smelling furniture everywhere crowded around the cramped dark room so much that you could hardly walk. It was pretty disgusting, but I didn't focus on the surroundings much. I was focusing on the dark shadow creeping towards me.

I wanted to run, but my feet seemed glued to the dark red crumbly carpet. My instincts were yelling at me to escape now while I could but I couldn't. I was stuck here. I felt controlled by some sort of force, something stronger than gravity pressuring me to the hard floor. My eyes felt controlled, too as they just couldn't trail away from the giant silhouette becoming closer and closer by the second.

I gulped. I knew who it was. My Dad. My abuser.

The room became recognisable now, even though it was getting darker and darker. This red carpet- the one my Dad shoved me down on the day before. The tumbled-over green sofa- the one he had lay me down on the day before that before connecting his fist with my stomach.

Escape! my subconscious yelled at me. I couldn't. I was glued to the floor.

The silhouette brightened and brightened until His face was clear. His grinning, smug face was right in front of me, staring down at me as if I was a piece of crap.

"Come here, my son," he purred, clenching his hands until they balled up into fists.

And he stepped closer, the room turned pitch black and all everyone heard was my ear-piercing scream as I felt the pain.

"Niall! Niall, wake up, buddy! Ni, please!"

I fluttered my eyelids open and jolted awake, shivering and covered in sweat. My blue eyes were traumatised and bewildered as four people hovered over my bed in worry, expressions mixed with relief and exhaustion. I swallowed hard, my hands trembling violently in a dangerous speed.

They eventually stopped as a warm hand covered mine, hushing and stroking my hair back soothingly. I glanced up to see Liam Payne, smiling encouragingly at me, though it didn't touch his chocolate brown eyes. He was horrified.

I took my eyes away from him and saw that my friends Ed Sheeran, Darcy Star and Jace Morgan were also glaring at me, frightened but also showing that fake smile, probably trying to make me feel like I hadn't done one of those stupid nightmare-screams.

"What was it about this time, Niall?" Darcy whispered softly, stroking my arm from one side of my bed. Her smile was a little less fake than the others.

I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat, not sure if I could trust my voice. I opened my mouth to speak and then shut it again before looking up at my best friend Liam.

"Was it about him again, sweetheart?" Liam asked sweetly, his hand still cupping mine and rubbing soothing circles around my cold knuckle. I was sweating but also shaking from the chill, every inch of my body freezing. This was how my nightmares usually ended- me in an awful state.

I nodded a little too fast, gazing up at the sandy-haired boy in almost desperation. I trusted Liam more than anyone- he worked at this fucked-up care home I had to live in and it was as if he understood me more than anybody did. The care home wasn't bad at all because everyone here I got on with very well but he knew it pained me more than anyone that my parents sucked at being parents, and I ended up being in care.

I had been in this home since I was thirteen- three years of all of these nightmares. They were totally involuntary and they were always about the same person: my father.