Take Me Home

Chapter Seven

The next morning, Niall woke up to the smell of food. A momentary lapse made him think that maybe he and Keith had found a place to settle that was close to a hotdog stand. Then he opened his eyes and the events of the past week came rushing back to him.

He sat up, seeing that he was back on the lower bunk and felt his breath catch in his throat at how closed in he was. He quickly scrambled out of the bed, landing on the ground with the quilt tangled around his feet. He winced as his ribs hit the ground but didn't cry out. He couldn't behave like a wimp, he would be punished. Even though Harry and Louis had told him yesterday that nobody ever got hurt in this place, he wasn't sure he could believe them - though, he did trust Harry. He couldn't help it, he had taken a sort of shine to him.

He bundled his covers up on the floor and glanced around the room, squinting at the sun that was clinging to the curtains. His gaze landed on Harry's empty bed, then moved to where Louis was still buried beneath his sheets fast asleep, and decided to leave the room.

He padded down the stairs on bare feet, following the strong smell of food and the sound of light chatter as his stomach rumbled. When he reached the kitchen, he saw Liam cooking at the stove, the twins munching on a bowl of cereal each at the table, and Harry sitting up on the side whilst talking to the man.

His eyes landed on Niall and Niall looked away quickly, using the long sleeve of his pajama shirt to wipe the sleep from his eyes.

"Morning buddy, did you sleep okay?" Liam asked as he scooped scrambled egg onto three plates that were already filled with bacon and sausages.

Niall's gaze focused on the food as he nodded, mouth watering. Liam chuckled and set down two plates on the counter.

"Go ahead," Liam told him, as Harry sat on a stool in front of one of the plates.

Niall stared at him with wide eyes. "That's all for me?" he asked, stunned. He had eaten so much last night, he didn't expect to have anything else to eat for a while. Sometimes he had to go for days without food, he couldn't understand how he could eat so often here. Liam and Harry smiled and nodded at him and Niall furrowed his brows, wondering if this was some sort of a trick. "It's okay. I eated lots last night," he said, eyeing the brown haired man suspiciously.

Liam looked surprised but tried not to show it for too long. "Sweetie, it's okay. You can eat whenever you're hungry here, alright?"

Niall still didn't look convinced. He crossed his spindly arms over his chest. "Is this a trick?"

Liam offered him a smile that looked kind of sad and crouched down to Niall's height. "Buddy, listen. I know you're not used to any of this, but from now on, if you're hungry, you get to eat. The cupboards are never empty, neither is the fridge. If you want something hot then ask me or Cal and we'll cook something up, if you're thirsty you can have a drink, if you need help then you can speak to us. You're safe here, we care about you," he murmured to him, smiling gently when Niall chewed his lip and allowed his bright blue gaze to meet the man's.

It was a lot for him to take in. He'd lived on the streets his entire life, his hunger had been never ending, his water had been caught from the rain and if ever he needed help for any reason then it was his own problem. He wasn't sure why he felt the need to cry all of a sudden but he did, and it frightened him. He blinked hard and looked back down at his grubby fingernails instead.

"You promise?" he asked, letting out a small cough when his voice wobbled.

Liam leaned in a little closer and Niall was surprised at himself when he didn't move away. "I promise, sweetheart," he whispered, before standing up to his full height again. "Now, eat up. You're going to need the energy for school today," he said.