"Dammit, Niall if you shit yourself on my bed I'm making you clean it," I grunted as Niall laughed at the atrocious smell he left in my room.
"Hey, it was your idea to get ice cream, I'm lactose intolerant you know," he argued. I scoffed and sprayed my room with Lysol. I knew for a fact that he wasn't lactose intolerant. He just had frequent bowel movements. Niall's laughter dialed down as he looked around my room. He had gotten to my house a little early so we could hang out a little bit. I set the can of spray down and caught Niall holding a picture frame of my dad and I. I smiled. He caught me looking and put the picture down.
"That's my dad and I in fifth grade. We were on a field trip to an animal farm and a goat took my popsicle right out of my hand," I chuckled at the memory. I felt like I could trust Niall with so much even though I've known him for only a week. It wasn't hard talking about my dad, but it was hard knowing that I won't be able to relive those memories with him. Talking about him actually helped me cope. No one wanted to do that when he died, though. They all thought I'd get triggered or upset and become angry with them. All I wanted was for my dad's memory to still be alive and the only one that was living that through was me and my aunt and uncle.
I moved across my room and sat on the bed next to Niall. He looked at me patiently while I was struggling to find the words to describe my dad. He was everything a little girl could want and more.
I'm sure he drew some conclusions as to what happened, but I knew he deserved the real story. He seemed like he was going to be in my life a long time and if he was, he'd have to find out sooner or later, "He died last April, stomach cancer. It was just me and my dad. He was my best friend," I explained. Niall looked at me with no hint of pity. I respected him for that, most people just pity me and it's annoying. I didn't want to be the girl whose dad died. It helped to talk about him and I think Niall noticed that.
"My mom left when I was younger," I continued, "Not really sure why, but I'm sure she's either in jail or dead. The only thing I remember about her was snorting lines while my father worked his ass off to pay rent. When he got sick, I spent all of my time in the hospital with him. I missed a lot of school, they considered holding me back, but the doctors convinced them not to. In addition to school, I worked part-time as a sign language interpreter to help with hospital bills. The day he passed away, I remember reading Dr. Suess with him and some younger hospital patients. He didn't even look sick that day, he seemed so lively. Later that day, I left to go meet my jackass now-ex boyfriend for dinner. I was hesitant to go at first, but the little bastard had me so wrapped around his finger. He blackmailed me into going and when I went back to the hospital," a tear fell down my cheek. Niall pulled me into his side and rubbed his hand up and down my back. I wiped the singular teardrop from my cheek and continued.
"He was dead. His organs had started to shut down. My aunt and uncle were the only ones there. Before they got custody of me, I stayed with some family friends, nice people, but I had to get out of that horrible town. It's memories still haunt me, which are stories for a different day," I let out a shaky breath and clung to Niall's waist. We sat in my room in silence letting me cry my tears. It was the first time I had cried since he died. I was never one to stop myself from crying, but I didn't cry often.
"Thank you for telling me El. I know it can be hard talking about things like this. You're a good person," he gripped me tighter. I sniffed. I was anything, but a good person. I feel like I failed everyone especially my dad. I should've been there with him. Instead, I was at some chain restaurant with someone who treated me like shit. I knew he did too. I have no clue why I didn't leave him sooner.
"Why are you thanking me?" I chuckled, "I should be thanking you for staying with me. Promise me you won't go?" I stuck my pinky out. He glanced at it and took it.
YOU ARE READING
1985 (h.s.)
Fanfiction[COMPLETED] After getting over his initial facade I felt as if I was getting to know the real Harry Styles. I learned the little things about him like how he likes his bread toasted golden brown or that he always has to eat his salads with a certain...
