Turning Pages (Niall Fanfic)

Chapter Forty-Nine

Cat’s POV:

I woke up next to Zayn. He was lying on his side, his face towards me. I watched his eyelashes flutter and the muscles in his shoulders tense. His breathing was slow and deep. Maybe it was creepy that I was watching him sleep, but I honestly didn’t give a shit.

His eyes shot open as he stared blankly while he realized he was back in reality. He turned towards me and saw that I had been watching him. “We’re you watching me?” He asked. A smile formed on his lips and he slipped an arm underneath me to drag me closer to him. I told him to shut up and he laughed.

My phone went off while he and I were kissing for a long time. I reached over my shoulder for it and tried to glance at it while Zayn’s lips were all over me. “Could you stop for two seconds?” I giggled. He shook his head and hummed what sounded like no into my skin.

-

I eventually got Zayn to stop and I ended up at Eleanor’s about an hour later. Danielle unlocked the front door for me and I hauled bags upon bags of supplies in. I set them in the middle of the baby’s room and looked around. “Hey,” I called out to her. “Did you paint all of this by yourself?”

“Yeah. I had a little breakdown yesterday and I just finished the last coat before you got here; so don’t touch the walls.” She replied while she walked towards the doorway.

“A breakdown, huh?” It was chilly out, but carrying all of those bags in made me sweaty. I peeled the sweater off of me and stretched out on the floor. Danielle came in and laid down next to me.

“Yeah.” She replied. We stared at the white ceiling.

“You wanna talk about it?”

She didn’t say anything for a long time but then let out a long breath. “Niall bought two plane tickets for Christmas to Hartford and back. He had me call my mother because he wants to meet my family.”  I knew that I needed to not take this moment for granted. I had found that Danielle didn’t always open up. It was just between the two of us… well, and Niall.

I waited a little while to reply. “Did she call you back?” She shook her head and bit on her fingernail. “My mum was a nurse.” I started out. I wasn’t sure why I was sharing a story with her. “She worked long hours all the time. She was a good mother, really. Maybe even great.” I paused and sucked in a breath. “Most of my childhood revolved around asking when my mum would come back home. My grandmother used to live with us and she would take care of me after school…” I glanced at Danielle. I knew she was listening even though her eyes weren’t on me. “One night she came home really late. My grandmother hadn’t been there that afternoon and I don’t really remember why… that’s not important. But I heard the creak of the door and the familiar jingle of my mother’s keys and jumped straight out of bed. I scurried down the hall in an attempt to jump around the corner and scare her, but I saw a man walk past and into the kitchen. He didn’t even see me.” I still had no idea why I was telling her the story. “He came back around the corner with a roll of duct tape and I heard her telling him to stop… To cut the story short, I watched my mom get raped and beat by my dad. I didn’t even know it was him at the time…” Danielle turned toward me and hugged my arm. She curled her legs up and her knees touched my legs. I felt so stupid for sharing such a deep event with her.

“My mom is a nurse too.” Was all she replied. Somehow, I felt like that was the perfect thing to say to me.

We were quiet for a long time, just lying on the floor of someone else’s house. I finally spoke out what was rolling around in my mind. “I think that’s why I was with Dalton for the longest time. I’m sure you could tell he was the nicest person.” She kind of scoffed at what I said.

“I don’t think you should live with him.” She replied.

“I don’t think I should either. But, I can’t leave Maria. She’s all alone.”

“Both of our boyfriends are popstars. We could brainstorm and figure something out!” I knew she was trying to lighten the mood. She sat up and brought her long hair to one side. She then turned around to look me in the eyes. “I’m sorry.” She blurted. I knew she meant it.

“Yeah, me too.”

-

I called Zayn after Danielle and I were done for the day. I told him about wanting to move somewhere else and bringing Maria with me. I didn’t need to live in that part of town because I wasn’t what most people would describe as a whore anymore. “I never liked that Dalton guy anyway.” He replied after I finished telling him how I felt. It was odd. I had never been as honest with someone as I was with Zayn. It kind of scared me. “It’s a little early and all, but you practically live at my house. Why don’t you just move in? We’ll figure out something for Maria.” He was so sweet. Moving in didn’t bother me one bit.

“I’ll go grab my shit right now.” I replied.

“Call me back when you’re on your way.”

-

I pretty much threw everything in the backseat and boot of my car. I couldn’t fit the dresser or the bed (for obvious reasons) and decided I would just leave them there. I went over to Maria’s usual spot and hunched down next to her. I explained what was going on and that I wanted her to leave this part of town with me. She stared off into the distance for a long time, but I knew she was thinking. She eventually stood up, nodded her head, and walked to her tiny living space to grab her things. I kept the car unlocked for her.

She sat silently in the passenger seat while I finished stuffing clothes and my mirror in the back. I jogged inside again for the last box but felt a hand attach to the ends of my hair as I made it through the doorway. “Where the fuck do you think you’re going?” I heard his stern voice. He brought me down to the ground and I got up to race down the stairs. I fumbled down them and grabbed the last box. I whipped my keys out of my back pocket just in case. I had experienced his drunken anger too many times before. From the moment I hit the doorway, I smelled the hard liquor on his breath.

I jogged back up the creaky stairs and kept a key pointed away from me. “Look at me when I’m talking to you, cunt! You’re not going anywhere. I didn’t say you could just leave!” His hand reached out for another section of my hair, but I lashed my hand out and hit his stomach as hard as I could with my key. It was the only thing I had that was sharp and also near me.

He stumbled back and I knew he wouldn’t be disoriented long; it wasn’t like my key could really do any permanent damage. I used the clicker on my key chain to start up my car and opened the door to run outside. I heard the engine running just as I turned the knob. I felt his large hand grab me by the shoulder and spin me around. His fist made a connection with my jaw and lips. I felt the area swell instantly.

As he swung for another hit, I lifted my foot up and wrapped it around his leg. I kicked him in the back of the knee with the heel of my foot and jogged back outside. I turned and watched him stumble to the floor. “You dirty little whore! You’ll regret this!” He yelled and cursed at me until I shut the door on the driver’s side of my car. I blocked out his words. Maria was still looking off into the distance and I didn’t even buckle my seatbelt before I sped off.

After I turned a few corners and put more than a couple miles between us, I felt relieved. I couldn’t help but silently cry to myself as I drove to Zayn’s house. I wasn’t sure if I was crying because of the throbbing in my jaw, or the fact that I had finally gotten away from Dalton. Maybe it was a little of both.

It was bittersweet.