First You Fall

Chapter 10

Maisie tried to keep her mind on her work for the rest of the day after she'd dropped Niall off at the rehab center but he was all she could think about. After the fourth check of her phone with no communication from him she rolled her eyes and stuck it in the drawer. Niall wasn't a child. He was perfectly capable of sitting in a group therapy session and handling himself like an adult without her guidance.

She was just...worried. Not that he wouldn't fully immerse himself into the program and do what he needed to do but that he would resent her for forcing him into it.

Her phone buzzed in the drawer, momentarily pulling her out of her own thoughts. She tried to ignore it and continue on with her work, but she couldn't. She pulled her phone out of the drawer and frantically tapped at the home button to get it to light up.

It was a text message from Kyle. He'd picked Niall up at the rehab center. No paps were around. They were headed to the office.

Maisie felt her whole body relax. If there had been something wrong or Niall had been angry still, Kyle would have said something. Right?

She pushed the thought out of her head and instead grabbed the buzzing desk phone to her right,

"Yes?"

"Cooper Donovan's on line two. And someone identifying themselves as your father on line one."

Maisie felt her whole body shake violently with the mention of her father. She quickly tapped line one,

"Stop calling me."

"Maggie, please...we need to talk."

"We do not need to talk. Ever again."

"Please, Baby. I just wanna tell you how sorry I am."

Maisie stared down at her desk, her head in her hands while she stared at the dark wood. This needed to stop. All of it. She had better things to focus on. She shook her head, lifting it out of her hands just as she saw Niall walk into the office behind Kyle.

She shook her head,

"I don't need to hear your sorry's. We're done. Don't ever call me again." She said, her voice sounding so dead and without emotion that it was almost scary even to her. She tapped the line again and watched while Niall made his way into her office.

He knocked on her already open door,

"Hey." He said, sounding a little more perky than he had when she'd dropped him off. He studied her for a bit, his eyebrows pulling together in confusion, "You alright?"
Maisie kept her gaze locked on him. Niall had issues. Issues that reminded her far too much of her father's issues. And that's the last thing Maisie needed.

She nodded,

"I'm fine." She suddenly said.

Niall watched her for a moment. Clearly she wasn't, but grilling her about it inside her office was hardly the way to go. He nodded,

"Alright."

She sat back in her chair, the professional Maisie suddenly overtaking her whole body,

"How was the session?"

Niall shrugged as he took a seat in one of the chairs across from her desk,

"Seemed good. Seemed...thorough. The therapist doesn't really take any shit...reminds me of you."

"Well, someone has to remind you that the sun doesn't shine out of your ass. I've seen your Twitter feed. Is there anything you do that they don't think is the cutest thing evarrrrrrrr."