Take Me Home

Chapter Four

Niall stood by the car, wearing a new light blue t-shirt and a pair of tracksuit bottoms that Zayn had bought for him since he had no other clothes. They were slightly too big, and the neck of the shirt exposed the collarbones that protruded as if they were about to burst through his pale skin. His head still had stitches that were hidden beneath his blond hair, and beneath the shirt he still wore the bandage around his middle, the cuts and scars along the base of his stomach not covered by the bandage.

He had his rucksack on his back, though it was completely empty now that the stolen goods were gone. The doctor had been right, he had gotten away with just a small talking to.

Four days had passed since he had been admitted, and with each day he grew more and more nervous that Keith was going to come and get him. The man always told him that he owned him, like Niall was some sort of possession. And Niall kept thinking that perhaps he should run away and find Keith himself so that he wouldn't be in so much trouble.

But the thought of living in a real home with other kids his age and food for every meal made him want to stick around, if only for a little while.

He was still terrified though.
Terrified that the other boys would hate him.
Terrified that he would do something wrong and get punished for it.
Terrified that Keith would somehow find him and steal him away, and then he would really be in for a punishment. Maybe even worse than just the knife this time.

He winced at the thought, but he was determined not to let it show.

Because Niall knew that showing emotion was a sign of weakness, and he would be punished for it. So he set his features in a frown, though the way he knawed at his lip was a dead giveaway of the butterflies in his stomach.

Then Liam walked over, wearing his usual striped t-shirt and plain jeans, alongside Zayn, who was still wearing his blue scrubs shirt with his normal trousers on his bottom half.

Niall watched as they both talked as they made their way over to him. Zayn had his hands in his jeans pockets, smiling lightly as they chatted, and Liam had his gaze planted on the ground, glancing up every now and again to let out a soft laugh.

The seven year old frowned a little harder, this time in confusion. On the streets, he had never seen people laugh with their eyes too. They only ever let out loud, cackles of laughter that never climbed any further than their gaunt cheeks. He crossed his arms firmly over his chest, his stomach turning as another bout of nerves swept through him.

He liked Zayn, though he wouldn't admit it. Whenever the doctor was around, he felt safer than he ever had in his life, and he couldn't quite place why. The man was kind enough, though firm handed and stern at times, Niall simply felt a little better when he came into the room.

He didn't know what to think of Liam. He was a softer man, gentle handed, he liked to try and make Niall smile and had so far been unsuccessful, though Niall would be lying if he didn't secretly like it when the social worker would tuck him into the hospital bed softly and push his hair softly away from his face when he thought he was asleep.

Overall, he was glad that the two men who were taking him to the home were nice. But he constantly reminded himself that Keith could be nice sometimes too. He was like Niall's father, and despite how much Niall hated him for the punishments he couldn't help but believe he deserved, he also loved him because sometimes he would tell Niall stories to coax him to sleep when they were staying in a particularly rough area and other times he would give up his own food to make sure that Niall ate enough to keep him well.

As much as Niall was terrified of Keith returning, a part of him hoped he would because he missed him.

He was extremely conflicted and confused, the seven year old never knew what to think so mostly, he refused to think about the situation at all.