Little Things (A Niall Horan Fanfiction)

Chapter 22: Taking A Stand

When we finally arrive at the airport, I wipe the makeup from under my eyes. The boys cannot see that I've been crying; I'll just make up some bullshit excuse for why I have to leave, and I'll never have to see Niall again. After how he treated me on the ride here, I'd actually love never having to see him again.

As soon as the vehicle comes to a halt beside the curb, I jump out of the car and retrieve my suitcase from the trunk, leaving Niall behind. As I made my way through security, I could feel Niall's eyes on me, burning a hole through my temple. Somehow, I could sense that what he said to me wasn't true, like what he said was disguising something else that he felt. But I wasn't going to ask him what was really wrong; he didn't deserve that.

"Ma'am?" One of the security officers was waving a hand in my face. Clearly, I had spaced out.

"Mm, yeah, sorry," I mumble as I pick my shoes up off the conveyor belt and slip them back onto my feet. I turn to look behind me and see Niall is going through the same line as me. Within a few seconds, I'm walking down the terminal as fast as my feet could take me. The last thing I want is to make eye contact with him.

"Brooke! We missed you," Louis cheers as he pulls me into a hug. "Where's Nialler?"

"I don't know," I respond, voice monotone and void of emotion. 

"Whoa, what's gotten into you?" Harry asks, his smile disappearing immediately.

"I have to go home," I tell him, looking at the ground. I can't let him see my eyes, or else he'll see through my lies.

"Why? What's wrong?" Zayn asks.

"I--Sarah needs me," I blurt out. 

You dumbass, I think to myself. This isn't gonna be believable. You should have though this through, moron.

"Is she okay?" Harry asks, pulling me from my argument with my conscious.

"Yeah, she's fine...she just...said she needed me to come back."

"For what?" Liam adds.

Shit.

"I don't know, okay?" I yell out of frustration. I finally look up from the floor to see Harry putting his hands up in defeat.

"Why are you getting so--wait, have you been crying?" Harry questions as his eyes meet mine.

"No," I whisper as I tuck a piece of hair behind my ear and revert my gaze to the tile floor.

Harry puts his finger under my chin and lifts my face to his. "Yes, you have. Now what the hell is going on, Brooke?" 

"Hey mates!" I hear that Irish voice call from behind me.

"What did you do?" Harry interrogates Niall as he removes his finger from underneath my chin. "Brooke's been crying, I can tell."

"Brooke needs to go home," Niall responds coolly. "She said she needed to talk to her parents and try to smooth things over."

"You're lying, Niall," Harry responds sharply. He turns to me. "And I know you are too, Brooke. Now somebody just tell the truth."

I let out a sigh before continuing. "Fine, fine. The truth is, Niall is making me go back home. He says all of this has been a mistake," I say, tears welling up in my eyes.

"Why? Did we miss something?" Louis asks.

"This isn't any of your business," Niall spits. "Brooke is going home, and that's it."

His words tore through me. I can't explain it. The way he's treating me and the whole situation just changed something in me, like a switch. The sadness evaporated from within me, only to be replaced by burning anger. I raised my head up and turned around to be face-to-face with Niall.