Taking Chances (Niall Horan Punk Fan-Fiction)

Chapter Twenty-Two: "A Little Note"

I zoomed out of the parking lot without paying any attention to who almost got hurt, because at the moment I just didn't care. Hell, I couldn't even think straight.

I burst through the hotel room, interrupting a very serious conversation between Harry and Claire. They glanced up in surprise at my haste, but I gave them no time to ask questions.

I slammed the note on the table, glaring at it painfully.

"He's got Niall."

Claire's face went pale in a split second and Harry grabbed the note in his hands, reading over and over as if he couldn't believe the words he was reading.

I knew exactly how he felt.

"Brielle, who gave this to you?" Harry asked immediately, standing up with a very serious expression. Even though I could see the fear and confusion swirling around in his emerald eyes.

I could feel my heart pounding, and every image of two nights ago and the feel of his lips on mine felt like a ghost, haunting me with the ache in my chest that continued to grow with each second.

"I don't know," I choked.

He squinted at me, confused and frustrated. He didn't need to ask me the question that was running through his mind for me to know. How could I not know?

"I don't know who it was, whether it was him directly or if it was someone delivering it for him, but it was in my car, shoved in my sun vizor. All I know is when I opened it, it felt out," I replied frantically, still trying to gather my thoughts. How could he have taken Niall? Why? I thought he was convinced that he was on his side? Nothing made sense, and it scared me more than anything. More than knowing Niall was missing.

"Why would he have taken him?" Claire mumbled, her face still pale, asking the same question that haunted my mind.

"We weren't convincing enough," Harry muttered as he continued to stare at the words as if there was a code behind it. "He knew Niall wasn't truly on his side - he knew that Niall was in love with you, so he took him."

"He's going to use him against me," I cried, feeling the tears already as I pointed accusingly at the note. I wanted to blame it for everything, even if it was only an object that was used to give me another message.

"Calm down, we don't know that," Claire tried to assure me, getting up from the chair she sat in and gently grabbing my shoulders. But I shrugged her off and tried to pace back and forth to think.

It wasn't helping a damn thing.

"It's in the note, Claire," I almost shouted. "He thinks this is a game, and he's going to use Niall to get to me. As if everything he's done wasn't enough."

"Brielle, listen to me," Harry demanded, his green eyes boring into my own. It made me scared to see how focused he was, how determined. But at the same time I was hoping he was going to tell me he knew where Niall was to go get him. To rescue him and bring him back to me.

"We will find him, okay? I don't care what it takes, you won't lose him either."

I tried to nod in response, but I felt numb.

He'd set out to ruin my life once more, striking me in the worst way after hitting me on my family. The family he so obviously didn't care for anymore.

It amazed me how he could be so cold and heartless, and not care about anything but himself.

Slowly, I thought about all that he'd done. Everything he'd done to me, to my family. Everything that made me feel depressed and angry, upset and numb. He continued to ruin my life, to hurt me no matter what he did. Everything seemed to fuel his cold heart, especially when it came to me.