Assassin ( Book 3 )

Chapter 7

The conversation zones out of Niall's ears when his phone vibrates in his hand. He looks down at it and opens the message from Zachary.

She's here.

And Niall's world seemed to come to a halt by reading those two words. He read them over and over, reads over the whole conversation between them then his hand grips the phone tightly to verify that the phone was even in his hand. She's here. Steps away from him. He senses softens as the new information wakens his emotions in a deluded sense.

She's in the same building as me.

Right down the hall is Aria. My Aria.

The elevator contraption dings and Zayn steps out causing the yelling to stop as everyone looks at him.

"What are you all arguing about now?" He knowingly asks as he removes his shades.

"Louis won't take as much precautions as he can--" Harry starts.

"Precautions? We're talking about a baby, not a monster--" Louis narrows his eyes.

"So, I take the Briana situation. ." Zayn trails off, nodding.

"His psychotic mother will fill in just fine for that description! She either got you drunk or y'all never crossed paths that night!" Harry pulls at his hair.

"Aria's here." Niall speaks up only lightly but the name ' Aria ' had the ability to shut everyone silent and into a eerie silence.

"It worked, so she's here." He nods, feeling his mind fog up, and connects eyes with everyone.

I guess it was a given that everyone has missed Aria deeply and not a day went by where everyone didn't work together to find her. And even friendships--treaties, rather--formed between the most unlikely people.

Without another word from Niall, he went to the suite and accordingly saw the door cracked. Hesitation soon settle into his bones when his brows furrows and he pushes the door quietly. Zachary told him of the condition he had to follow to get her in the car so Niall knows that he wasn't welcomed in the hotel room but the last thing he will do is follow directions. Especially when they meant not seeing her after the 365 days of being apart. He doesn't know how to name what he was feeling in this moment. It was either happiness or fear. And there was a slightly blurry line between those emotions. He has never felt this way about meeting someone and he has only felt this way years ago, on his first night of being on the X Factor.

Niall's heart bruised the muscles in front of it and his skin glowed with a light red shade as he made his way out the hall within the suite and into the kitchen. He inhaled deeply when her perfume faintly made its way to him and his hands ball cause of it.

"Why did you volunteer for Aria to come with us?" Zachary asks back inside the kitchen.

Bradley, who was sitting in one of the chairs with his arms crossed, looks up and across the room and Zachary. "Because Aria needed to get rid of the bug she infected that detective with."

"No, what's your real reason?" Zachary knowingly asks after with the few seconds that went past, Bradley only looked at Zachary before a sickening grin slit his face and he turned back to Aria with no answer to Zachary.

You see, nothing's ever been the same since Ian kidnapped everyone and Niall never felt more challenged and isolated when Ian released them. With everything out in the open, no one was as close as they used to be. Everyone gives Niall the cold shoulder which makes him see just how important Aria is to him mentally, it makes him see just how precious Aria is and how vital she is to his being. No one puts his haunting past in the past--not even him--and for Aria to put every second in the forgotten and forgiving category. . .