Drowning || niall horan au

fifteen

"Evelyn?"

Marisa stepped aside to let her in. She noticed a distraught look on her face, which made her worry instantly. There was also an envelope in her hand that looked like it had already been opened.

"Hi, Marisa. Hannah wouldn't happen to be here, would she? She hasn't answered my calls."

"No. She's out for now. Is there something wrong?"

Marisa led Evelyn to the couch where the both sat on the loveseat very close as if the neighbors could hear the gossip through the walls. Evelyn pulled out the envelope so it was more in sight. The writing was small, so Marisa couldn't get a good look at the name. Suddenly, the envelope was placed in her hands, and she could see why Evelyn came in with that look on her face.

"Give this to Hannah and have her call me when she gets back."

"How bad is it?"

Evelyn glanced at Marisa very seriously. "It makes me wish he received more than just five years."

Marisa nodded. Not only was Hannah not free from this nightmare just yet, but Marisa felt like she had to fear for her life too.

_____

She felt like a bunch of weight had been lifted off of her shoulders. Not all of it was completely gone, but part of her felt as if she could breathe again, like she wasn't trying to hold so much back anymore.

Although her visit didn't go as planned in the beginning, the rest of the afternoon went by like it never happened. Niall was great when it came to times like these. He was easy to talk to, especially to get off the topic of something she didn't want to talk about anymore. So, he cleared her mind with a television show he enjoyed and somehow got Hannah to be very intrigued by it. They watched four episodes in a row, and they probably could have finished an entire season if it wasn't for Marisa's text to come back to the flat tonight at a decent hour.

Hannah didn't think anything of it. She had not been in this great a mood in months, so she was going to take advantage of it. Her drive back was peaceful, and she couldn't help but to keep feeling around her mouth. A smile couldn't seem to wipe off of her face.

She didn't want to wait any longer to spill the news to Marisa. This was the first time she was actually willing to tell stories about her day to her best friend, and Marisa would be proud with the progress she made today. The expression that Marisa wore on her face was not the kind of look Hannah was expecting.

"Hey," She dropped her keys on the counter, speaking breathlessly. The cold nearly knocked the voice right out of her. "Are you alright?"

"Yes." Marisa answered, heading towards the kitchen where she kept the envelope. "Did your mother call you?"

"Oh yeah, she did. I would have answered, but I decided it could wait. I wanted to tell both of you about my afternoon." The blonde said with a smile.

The brunette didn't want to kill her mood, but the letter had been eating her inside for hours.

"You should call your mother, though. It's important."

Hannah's smiled faded when she realized Marisa wasn't sharing her enthusiasm. The serious look on her face and the importance of her news was now worrying Hannah. The envelope appeared from out of the drawer and in Marisa's hands, and Hannah immediately knew who it was. Nobody else had any purpose to be sending her letters.

The small print of his handwriting made her hands shake as she held it, tracing over the words written in pen. His name alone was enough to make her panic. She wondered how she was going to be able to handle the words on the inside of the envelope.