What Makes You Beautiful (A Niall Horan FanFic)

Chapter 71: This Isn't Easy

Tara's POV

The doctor comes out with a clipboard in his hand and sorrow written all over his face. I stand up, wipe my sweaty palms on my jeans, and take a step towards him.

"This is...never easy," Dr. Cohen starts off. My heart sinks a thousand feet below the ground. I want to block out what the doctor has to say next, but I force myself to continue listening. "Your mother...is dead."

That's when I lose it. The tears fall down my cheeks so fast my hands can't wipe them away quick enough. Dr. Cohen tries to give me a hug, but I step backwards and turn around. Before I leave, though, I take a deep breath.

"Thank you for doing everything you could," I say, my voice so soft I doubt he actually heard me. Dr. Cohen sighs audibly and walks away. I wipe my eyes again and start walking to the bathroom.

As soon as I get in, I lock the door so no one else can come in. I go into a stall and lock myself in that. My eyes fill with more and more tears. I stop trying to wipe them away. Instead, I pull my phone out and open up Niall's contact. My heart says I should call him, but logic says I couldn't even get out the first word without breaking down in even more tears. I decide to just text him for now.

Tara: My mum died

I turn off my phone and sit on the ground, the cold tiles seeping through my jeans. My whole body shakes as each sob escapes from my throat. I feel like the world is just crashing down on me. Mum was my rock. Who am I supposed to hold on to now?

Ring!

Ring!!

Ring!!!

I pick up my ringing phone without looking at the caller ID.

"Hello?" I ask. My throat is scratchy from all the crying I've done.

"Tara! Are you okay?" someone asks on the other end. I pull my phone away from my ear and look at who has called me. Niall, I read.

"Who is this? You don't sound like Niall," I say.

"It's Zayn. Are you okay!?" Zayn asks more forceful this time. I nod my head before realizing that he can't see me.

"Yeah. I'm fine," I lie. Zayn sighs loudly before responding.

"You're lying. Tell me the truth...now," Zayn demands.

"Fine. I'm sitting in a bathroom stall crying my eyes out trying to figure out what I should do now that my mum has died and I'm all alone and, Zayn, I'm so scared," I say hurriedly. There is a bunch of shuffling around on the other end.

"Tara, it's Liam. We're here at the entrance. Come on out so you can clear us," Liam tells me. I nod my head again and get up. I glance at the mirror as I pass by and stop. My reflection is hideous. My hair is greasy and tangly. My clothes are wrinkled and stiff. And my mouth feels disgusting. But, I don't care anymore. What does it even matter?

I walk down the long corridors until I reach the entrance. I see a black van sitting farther down the street.

"I see you guys," I say. Liam says okay and we hang up. I start walking towards the van. As I get closer, I notice things about it that seem different. The license plate is different. And it's missing the clover hanging from the rear view mirror. I scrunch up my nose and stop. What if this is the wrong car? I think. I stare at it a little bit longer. Then, I see someone with big curly hair and someone else with black hair in a quiff. I release the breath I didn't realize I was holding and take a step towards the van. The windows are too dark to see who is in the driver's seat but it looks like Louis. I lightly knock on the window and the person sitting there visibly jumps. He turns around and slowly rolls down the window. I watch the window slowly show more and more brown, messy hair.