Motel 6 // n.h

[55] The Magazine

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  Avery Holmes

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  The ride home was silent.

  Nobody spoke, not even Aimee, who usually had a lot to say. Back at the hospital Niall just started crying and throwing things around and I think it just scared us all, but we understood why he did it. 

  I felt guilty. I knew that I should have explained what exactly happened to me those few weeks that I was gone, but I was still in the healing process. I wasn't in any rush to relive those situations that I had been put in and I didn't think that someone would tell him before me.

  "About fifteen minutes minutes yet." Sam called from the front of the bus. Nobody answered.

  I felt weird. Everything felt strange and out of place and I wanted to speak to Niall, just not in front of everyone. I wanted to make sure that he was at least a little bit okay, because after that little incident at the hospital I wasn't sure if he was.

  "Can we talk in the back room?" I whispered to him. He wiped his puffy eyes and nodded, heaving a big sigh. I had never seen him this sad in my entire life, not even when I was in the hospital. 

  He stood up and grabbed my hand, pulling me out of the front room and through the long hallway. I honestly didn't know what I was going to say to him- what was there to say? Everything that Marcus said was true and I couldn't lie to Niall and say it wasn't.

  I closed the door behind us when we entered the back room. He sat on a sofa and I sat beside him, both of us completely silent. The silence was enough to make me second guess this- should I have even asked to talk to him? But I knew that I had to. 

  "Niall, I'm sorry he put that so bluntly." I said, chewing on the inside of my cheek.

  "But that's what happened, wasn't it?" He laughed bitterly. "He kissed you?"

  "He wasn't stable." I mumbled. "Niall, I know it's bad. But it's over and I'm here now and that's not going to happen again. I was the one that went through it and you're the one losing it. I need someone to be the stronger person for me and I don't have that right now."

  "I know." He sighed. "Just- hearing that all at once, actually hearing what happened, it makes me..." He trailed off. "So that's what happened to you." He shook his head and looked out the window, everything outside moving rapidly.

  "It's over." I repeated. "I've got you and Aimee and the boys and Darcy and my parents and Sam and Ollie. Nothing bad is going to happen again, promise." I touched his shoulder and he finally looked me in the eye.

  "Does everyone think I'm crazy?" Niall asked.

  "No." I said. "You just had to let it out. Granted, it was in the middle of a hospital, but it's whatever." I giggled, trying to lighten the mood. "Look, I say that we just move on from this and not talk about it anymore.

  He smiled lazily and nodded, leaning against me and bringing me closer to him. He smelled like one of those drier sheets you put in the wash mixed with some cologne. His hair was a mess again, but I didn't mind.

  "I think we're back at Motel 6." He whispered. I groaned and looked out the window- he was right. I was sort of enjoying the little weird moment, but it seemed that everything nice was always short-lived. "I think I'll take a nap."