"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Niall asked, pulling on a t-shirt. I nodded for the millionth time, rolling my eyes at him. He shook his head in mock despair and sat down on the bed. I was lying there, wearing my pyjamas. He traced the pattern on the trousers, a thoughtful smile on his face.
"What?" I asked, cocking my head at him.
"I'm just thinking about how I'd rather spend tonight with you," he admitted, licking his lips. I laughed and pushed him away, rolling off of the bed.
"Go and get drunk, Niall," I told him, walking over to my wardrobe. "Besides, I'm going out with Sian and Jen tonight."
"Ah, the gruesome twosome," he muttered, standing behind me with his hands over my stomach. "Enough to make any man run for the hills." I slapped him playfully and tried to look for something to wear.
"Don't be such a prick," I scolded, pulling out a pair of jeans.
"Well," he said, kissing me on the head, "I still haven't got round to forgiving them for leaving you in that fire, darling."
"Niall, that was a month ago," I murmured. "Maybe you should let it go?" Niall shook his head stubbornly and I giggled, throwing the jeans down on my bed. I turned and wrapped my arms around his neck, crushing my lips to his.
"Well if this is the goodbye I get, maybe I should leave more often," he teased.
"Don't you dare," I replied in the same teasing tone. He grinned at me before pulling his phone from inside his pocket and looking at the time. Then he looked back to me with a disappointed look on his face.
"I've got to go," he mumbled reluctantly. "But phone me when you need a lift home."
"I thought you were going out boozing," I said distractedly, going back to my clothes hunting.
"Nah, I'll leave that to Billy; I've got a feeling I'll be the designated driver tonight." The thought of him as any sort of designated driver made me snigger and, moments later, Niall had grabbed me by the waist and had whirled me around to look at him. I bit my lip, smiling up at him.
"What's so funny about that?" he demanded jokingly. I shrugged, popping my lips.
"Nothing," I whispered. "Absolutely nothing." Niall growled and kissed me quickly again, before walking towards the door.
"I love you," he called, leaving the room.
"Love you too," I shouted after him. I listened to him slamming the door behind him and then, smiling to myself, went back to trying to get dressed. I had only changed into my pyjamas because my school trousers were starting to get a bit tight over my stomach. I mean, they had always been a bit big; I was sort of known for having to haul up my clothes because they fell down, but now the shoe was on the other foot, and I hated it.
Once I had decided what I was wearing, I turned back to the messy pile that I had created on the rumpled bedclothes. I pulled off my pyjama bottoms and started to get dressed but, as much as I strained and swore, there was no way in hell that these jeans were going to fasten up. I flopped down on the bed in defeat, groaning. Oh God, this was it; I was finally at the stage where I would have to buy maternity clothes. This was catastrophic. I actually felt like I was going to cry. I was officially fat and frumpy. I rubbed my stomach.
"This is all your fault, Peanut," I growled, looking up the ceiling. Niall was out with Billy and his friends doing something for Billy's eighteenth, which meant that I was going to the cinema with Sian and Jen. Well, I was supposed to be but given the fact that I could no longer fit into my jeans, meant that I was going to have to find something else to wear.
I rolled off of the bed and went back over to my wardrobe, looking for something other than jeans. Niall's clothes were mixed in with mine; his t-shirts touching my jumpers and my tops touching his trousers. It was like it had always been that way.
"Evie!" mum called up the stairs. "Sian's here!"
"Just send her up," I shouted back, still deciding what to wear. I heard the thundering of Sian making her way up and moments later, the door burst open. I looked around and saw, to my despair, that Sian didn't looked dressed for a night to the cinema. She was wearing her shortest skirt, accompanied by her highest heels. Her long dark hair had been scraped away from her heavily made up face, and her top was so low that you could see more than an eyeful.
"Sian," I said slowly. "What the hell are you wearing?" She looked down at herself, a smile on her face.
"D'you like it?" she said, giving me a twirl. "I thought the top was maybe a bit much." Too much had been reached and passed before she had even thought about putting on her top. No, what I wanted to know, was what she was intending on doing in that get up.
"We're just going to the cinema Sian," I said, going back to raking for clothes.
"Yeah," she exclaimed, jumping on my bed, "On a Friday night. In the shopping centre. Where there'll be loads of fit lads with their girlfriends."
I rolled my eyes. She may have been my best friend but she had absolutely no morals. Every R.S. lesson had been completely wasted on her; to think, we had both failed that morality test.
"So you're going boyfriend poaching?" I asked her, disbelief saturating my voice. I turned just in time to see her nodding vigorously, a massive grin on her pretty face. I snorted and pulled out a pair of leggings. This was what I was reduced to; I was no longer able to wear anything that buttoned up or had a zip on it.
I began to pull them on, only to be stopped by Sian's gasp.
"What?" I asked wearily.
"You look pregnant!" she squealed.
"Sian, I don't know where you've been or what you've been on these last few months," I said, trying not to sound reproachful. "But I am pregnant...Have been for a while now."
"Yeah," she dismissed, shaking her head. "But I just hadn't noticed how pregnant you looked."
Because that made me feel a hell of a lot better. I continued to get dressed. Listening to Sian's ideas about how men were all wankers. Fair point; the ones she had come into contact with hadn't really given her much reason to think otherwise. I put my hand on my bump and smiled coyly.
Once I had got ready, all we had to do was wait for Jen to grace us with her presence, which took forever because she was the queen of procrastination. I mean, if there was an award for it, she would win it hands down and then wait until the last minute to claim it. So when she finally rang the doorbell, Sian was practically falling asleep on the sofa, her head lolling on the armrest.
"I'm so sorry I'm late," Jen gushed, pushing through the front door. "I don't know where the time went." I rolled my eyes and pulled on a pair of shoes. I heard Sian and Jen talking in the living room, their voices muffled.
"Are you too coming?" I moaned. I could have sworn Sian muttered a "That's what she said" quip. I pursed my lips and leaned against the wall, patiently waiting for my friends to get ready. Why was it, that as soon as I actually wanted to go somewhere, everything seemed to go backwards? It was like luck of the fucking draw with them.
"Okay," Sian screeched, coming into the hallway. "Let's go." She linked arms with me and Jen and frogmarched us out of the house, only letting go of me long enough for me to shut the front door.
When we reached the shopping centre, it was bustling. Every single time a boy walked past, Sian would stare after him, shouting out her rating out of ten. After it happened for about the eighth time - "I would give him a seven but his taste in girls is a bit lax, so he's a five!" - I tuned out, looking in the windows of the shops. They were still open; some big Friday night promotion that they had going on. Jen stopped, which meant that I had to as well because we were still joined at the elbows.
"Can we go in here?" she whined. I looked up at the big letters and let out an awkward sigh. Why was it that every single time we ended up at this Godforsaken Shopping Centre, I ended up being dragged into a baby shop? Jen was already cooing over little felt booties that were in the window.
I began to shake my head but Sian took out her phone to check the time.
"Yeah," she said, stuffing it back down her bra, "We've got enough time before the movie. Come on, Eves, just a quick look." Before I could object, they had already gone inside, making me look like a right weirdo. I groaned and then followed in after them, telling myself not to get involved with their silliness.
"Evie!" Sian squealed, "You should get this." She was holding a pink dress with a matching pair of tights.
"Sian," I whispered. "I'm having a boy."
"So," she said, putting it closer to my face, "you should be more open-minded, Evie!" I just rolled my eyes and cast an eye over to what Jen was looking at, hoping that she wasn't as caught up in the baby-buying as Sian was. She seemed to be rather engrossed with some of the clothes up the back, alongside the prams. I shuffled over to her, fed up with Sian's ranting.
"You should get a pair of these," Jen murmured thoughtfully, holding out a pair of jeans. Only, they weren't like normal jeans; they had a stretchy bit at the front. Oh Yeah! Whoever had invented these bad boys needed to be awarded the Nobel Prize!
I took them from her and held them up to me. They were a bit long but I was sure that I would manage; just having something that would fit over my stomach would be a start. I looked around to see where Sian was and, to my surprise, it looked as though she was actually purchasing something. Oh God, please tell me that morning after pill had worked. But when I took the jeans to the counter to pay for them, she was already stuffing something into her handbag.
"So what movie are we actually seeing?" Jen asked. Sian looked at me, a huge smile on her face. I sniggered, looking down at the ground.
"What?" Jen asked, looking fearful. I licked my lips and let Sian explain to her that, the movie we were in fact seeing, was a very violent slasher movie, and not the rom-com that we had previously told her. I watched as Jen's mousey face clouded over and she glared at Sian.
This was going to be a long night.
***
We had to leave halfway through the movie; Jen looked like she was going to throw up. And I thought that I was meant to be the one who felt nauseous. We were in the toilets, listening to Jen retch in one of the cubicles. Sian and I were sitting against the wall, our backs to the heater that just happened to be there.
I was comfortably warm, my head resting against the wall. I was tracing circles around my bellybutton, feeling my stomach through the material of my jacket.
"I had fun tonight," Sian mumbled, trying to stifle a yawn. "Did you see Jen's face when he cut the girl's head off? Fucking class." I snorted. I missed this. I missed spending time with my friends, like we had all the time in the world for being kids. Because, no matter what anyone said, that was all we were; kids. No, that just made me feel even worse. I was a kid, having a kid. But, even though this wasn't a plan, and even though I felt ever so slightly out of my depth, I couldn't deny that I had grown attached to the little bugger. I would often find myself fantasising about life for me and Niall with the baby. And then I would wake up from the fantasy, only to realise that reality was going pretty well right now.
Jen re-emerged from her toilet, her face tinged green. Sian roared with laughter, rolling around on the floor. Jen sighed and stepped over her, aiming a swift kick as she went. Sian creased up again, her giggles becoming slightly hysterical. Her laughter was infectious, and soon we were all at it, including a worse-for-wear Jen. Suddenly, it felt like it had done last year, before any of this shit with Denny had started and we had just been three teenagers just having a good time.
"I want to go home," Jen whinged, staggering to the bathroom door. "I'll phone my mum to come and pick us up." Jen hardly looked capable of telling someone her name, let alone making a phone call, but we just had to watch as she left, trying desperately hard not to fall over.
"Did you spike her drink?" I demanded, as soon as she was out of earshot. Sian nodded shamelessly, inspecting her cuticles.
"Thought it might lighten her up a bit," she muttered uninterestedly. "Might have gone a bit overboard though." I sighed and closed my eyes. And then my phone began to ring.
"Hello?" I said into the receiver, begrudging them a bit for disturbing my relaxation.
"Hallo Evie."
His voice made my blood run cold and butterflies flutter in my stomach. But they weren't the good sort of butterflies I got when I was with Niall. These were like demon butterflies who were trying to claw at me and rip my insides to shreds.
"Denny?" I choked. Sian's head whipped up and she stared at me, her face shocked.
"How's yer heed?" he asked, chuckling to himself. I felt tears rolling down my cheeks. I wanted to hang up. I wanted to hang up and forget about him but I couldn't; the fear of him was stopping me from ending the call.
"How the fuck did you get this number?" I growled, sounding a lot more confident than I felt. My breaths were coming in great shuddering gasps, my hands shaking so much that I was struggling to hold the phone.
"You know as wael as I do, how easae it is tae find somethin' oot," he muttered, his voice full of venom. Sian made a movement, as if she was about to snatch my phone away from me, but I got to my feet, gazing at my reflection in the mirrors. I had gone pasty white from the shock of it all.
"Leave. Me. Alone," I snarled through gritted teeth. Tears of pure anguish were cascading down my cheeks.
"It's too late, Evie," he said. "Because I'm right behind you." I whipped around, staring at the door of the bathroom. I dropped the phone in the sink, making it land with a clatter.
Denny was standing there, leaning against the wall, his face menacing. Sian moved closer to me, her eyes wide. She had never like Denny. Even when we had been together, she had always moaned about how much she hated him.
"Fuck off, psycho," she hissed. Denny stood up straight, walking towards us. He pressed up against me, his weight crushing my body against the sinks. I winced and flinched at the same time, which probably made me look like I had a nervous twitch, but, funnily enough, I was more concerned with the prick who was probably about to kick my head in.
"Either leave," he told Sian, looking at her through the mirror, "or shut yer fucking mouth."
I didn't want Sian to see what he was going to do to me, so I shook my head at her, my lip trembling. She looked from me to him and then, her eyes full of tears, left the toilets, closing the door behind her.
I was trapped. I was in a room on my own with the bastard who had ruined my life. He looked down at me, his cold brown eyes boring into mine. I felt that all too familiar lump rise in the back of my throat as he lowered his hands to my stomach. I shuddered under his touch, trying to block out the feeling of his breath on the skin of my face. I could, yet again, smell the drink on his breath. Oh God. Oh God, he was going to kill me. I would have screamed for help but I knew that would only enrage him. I knew Denny well enough to know how his sick mind games worked.
"So, you and this loon; serious is it then?" he asked lightly, running a finger down my cheek. He had me pinned against the sink, the basin cutting into my back. I stayed silent, trying to look anywhere but him.
"Answer me!" he bellowed, grabbing my chin between his forefinger and thumb and twisting my head up to look at him. I whimpered involuntarily, finally letting the fear of what was going to happen overcome me. How had he known I would be here? How had he known exactly where I was? What about when the Shopping Centre closed? Surely someone would come in and clean the toilets. Perhaps someone would save me. Perhaps someone would come and rescue me from his grasp.
"I see that he's no' been teaching you right," Denny hissed in my ear. "See, you would hiv niver talked tae me like that when we were tigither. So maybae I should teach you a few manners."
My heart hammered against my chest as I realised exactly what he meant by manners. Shit. Shit. Shit. I sniffed back a fresh wave of tears that were in danger of spilling over. I wasn't going to let into the satisfaction that it gave him to see me scared. It was a cheap shot but I hoped that, if he saw that he wasn't getting his intended reaction that he might, you know, bugger off.
"Ah've missed you, Evie," he whispered, kissing me below my ear. I stood rigid, trembling. The tears may have stopped but my whole body was betraying me in the pure terror that he was putting me through.
"I come back, and you're seeing anither lad; it's just nae fair," he breathed, running his sweaty hands all over my body. "And then I find out that he got you pregnant!" He shouted the last sentence, striking me across the face as he did so. I gasped in pain and my hand flew to spot where he had hit me. He was glaring at me with complete contempt. Okay, maybe prison had made him rethink his tactics.
"When are you gonnae get it in yer thick heed, Evie?" Denny screamed. "You're mine, you're always gonnae be mine! No matter faur yeh go, I'm gonnae find yeh."
I punched him in the eye, my lips curled up in a sneer. He just looked at me, dazed by my sudden power. Then he gave me a sadistic smile and took a fistful of my hair in his hand, pulling it right back until I was looking him straight in the eye.
"You're just a dirty wee slut," he muttered brutally. And instead of it hurting like it would have done when we were together, it just made me smirk.
And I spat in his face.
"And you're a bullying arsehole."
Denny was just about to slam my head into the sink with the hair he had in his hand, when the bathroom door burst open, and he turned around, still holding me by the hair. Sian stood in the doorway with...Niall and Billy?
It only took a second for them to react. Suddenly, I was being thrown across the room, landing at the other side of the bathroom. When I looked up, I saw that Niall and Billy were giving Denny one hell of a kicking. I got shakily to my feet, just thankful that I wasn't bleeding from this particular run-in with him.
"Niall, stop!" I sobbed, grabbing onto his arm. He turned around so quickly that I was surprised he didn't lose his balance. He cupped my face in his hands urgently, checking over for injuries.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice little more than a whisper. What was the truth? I wasn't particularly hurting, but I was shaking like a leaf. My heart was pounding in my chest and my legs had completely turned to jelly. Niall moved his hands to mine, trying to stop me from slumping down on the floor. I could see that Billy was still fighting with Denny, who was giving his best back. Sian was screeching encouragement; she came into her element when someone was getting beaten up. I looked back up at Niall, tears flooding down my face.
And I shook my head.
Niall let go of me and I just looked on as he went back to Billy and Denny. I stood there, numbly taking everything in, until someone grabbed onto my arm. I jumped into the wall, looking around in a blind panic. It was like everything was going in slow motion.
"Evie," Sian whispered gently, taking hold of my hand. "C'mon." I led her lead me past the three men trying to tear lumps out of each other and out of the bathroom. The Shopping Centre was almost empty now; there was nobody on the top floor. The shops were closing and the cinema had just let in the last audience. No wonder no-one had heard the commotion. I slid down the wall, my head buried in my hands. Sian stood over me, concern on her face. I didn't want to speak. Actually, I wanted to throw up but I sure as hell wasn't going back into that bathroom. I began to rock backwards and forwards, trying to gain some control over my thoughts. That had been too close. That had been far too close. If Niall and Billy hadn't come in-
"How?" I choked out, startling Sian. "How did they know?"
"I phoned them," she murmured. "They were only round the corner at the pub on March Street." I nodded, staring at the opposite wall. I wanted to go home.
"Where's Jen?" I asked, my voice sort of coming back to its normal regions.
"She's outside, still phoning her mum to come and pick us up."
I was glad that she had missed this. It was bad enough knowing that Sian and Billy had seen what Denny was capable of, even though they both probably already knew just about everything. I closed my eyes, trying to stop my tears escaping again. My breathing was erratic, like I was having a panic attack. I had had a few of those last year. I put my hand over my stomach, hoping that the fall hadn't hurt the baby. Almost as if he was trying to tell me something, I felt a light fluttering and I breathed out a long sigh of relief. At least that was something.
After what felt an age, Niall and Billy walked out of the bathroom, their faces pale and tinged with blood. Whose blood, I wasn't sure. Billy seemed pretty roughed up and Niall's lip had been split again.
I looked up at them both, my eyes wide. Sian whispered something in Billy's ear, and she took his hand, leading him towards the main Shopping Centre. Niall sat down next to me, his jaw clenched.
"Are you alright?" he asked. I could tell that he was trying to keep his tone even.
"The baby's fi-" I started to say, but he cut me off.
"No, Evie, I need to know if you're okay."
I wanted to tell him that none of this had affected me, that I was completely fine and happy. I wanted to tell him that, if he hadn't come bursting through the door, I would have been able to fight Denny off myself.
Instead, I began to sob, crumpling into his newly awaiting arms. He hugged me as close as he could, pulling me onto his lap.
"What did you do to him?" I whispered, pulling away. My eyes were cloudy from all the crying, but I could make out the pain that flashed across his face.
"He's still alive, if that's what you mean," he spat angrily. Then he softened when he saw me shaking his head. "He was drunk, darling. It didn't take much to knock him out."
I shuddered and tried to get to my feet, holding onto the wall for support. Niall jumped up and grabbed me, but loosened his hold on when I flinched. He said nothing, but the look of hurt in his eyes told me that he knew this might take a while to bounce back from. He hesitantly reached for my hand, and I let his fingers intertwine with mine, my face blank. We walked - Well, he walked, I just followed in a daze - out into the fierce glare of the lights. He hurried along the cream coloured tiles that lay on the floor, occasionally looking back to see if I was alright. No, I wasn't alright. I was actually scared out of my wits that Denny would wake up and come after us.
Niall took me along a darkened street, towards a small car park behind the pub. I stood, rooted to the spot at the start of it, peering down the pitch black alley. Niall turned and looked at me, his eyebrows raised.
"It's fine," he murmured. "I've got you." I bit my lip before grabbing his hand even tighter and letting him take me down the street. I tried to stay as close as I could, keeping my eyes fixed on the light that was at the end of the alleyway. I had no idea where Sian had gone but right now, I wasn't focusing on her. The only thing that was on my mind was Denny. And not in a good way. Eventually, we broke out into the car park, street lights basking us in a warm glow. Niall unlocked the car and then opened my door for me, waiting until I got in before shutting it. I sat, staring through the windscreen while he got into the car as well. Once he was, we sat in silence.
"I thought I was going to die," I said hoarsely. "I thought he was going to kill me and that no-one would come." I chanced a look at Niall, instantly wishing that I hadn't. His whole body was trembling and he was glaring out of the window.
"Don't tell me that," he breathed raggedly.
"Why?"
"Because if I know anymore, I swear to God that I'll go back and finish him off," he growled. I curled up in the seat, licking my lips.
"You need to go to the police, Evie," Niall muttered. "Because if that bastard ever comes near you again, I'll kill him. I don't care if it puts me in prison, I'm not having him threatening you and fucking you up like this." I closed my eyes and started to cry again. Jeez, I hated this. I hated the fact that I couldn't do anything but bawl my eyes out because that wasn't the sort of person I was. I was the type of person who just brushed themselves off and fought back but there I was, weeping like there was no tomorrow in front of Niall. I felt him wrap his arms around me, even though it was pretty awkward considering we were in a car. I sobbed into his shoulder, drenching his t-shirt with salty tears. So much for a nice girly night out.
"Okay," I whispered. "I'll go to the police."
Despite my reservations, I knew that Denny wasn't going to stop until he was behind bars again. And I couldn't live my life in fear anymore, especially with Baby Peanut on the way. And I owed it to Niall to try and get him out of our lives; I loved Niall too much to lose him over someone like Denny.
"You don't have to do it on your own," he murmured into my hair. "I'll come with you."
"No," I said forcefully, looking at him. "You need to stay out of this. You and Billy beat him up; if he finds out who you are, then he'll report you."
Niall looked like he was about to protest.
"Niall," I whimpered. "I don't want you to leave me. I don't want you to go to prison just because of me and my stupid past. I just want it to be the three of us; you, me and Baby Peanut, that's all."
"Fine," he replied grudgingly. I listened to the steady hum of his heart, and the ups and downs of my breathing. We sat there for a while, just trying to dilute the last two hours.
"I'm sorry for pulling you out of Billy's birthday," I mumbled weakly. Niall let out a dry laugh.
"Trust you to say sorry for nearly getting your head smashed in," he muttered darkly. His voice was humourless and sad. But I was sorry. I was sorry for all of the shit I was putting him through. And that was why, in the morning, I was going to report Denny. And I was going to do it without remorse because, at the end of the day, he had tried to break me one too many times.
Now, it was my turn.
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Oh, I felt so sad writing this chapter :'(.....it actually made me feel a bit depressed. And I'm alredy sick so I didn't really need the added miserable-ness....do you think that Evie will report nasty Denny to the police? Or will she decide against it? And where did Billy and Sian go? :P And poor Jen; they just left her on her own....teehee...
And, you know, it can't always be happy and everything seemed to be going so well...I have this awful affliction with making my characters rather miserable when they're at their happiest...so, you know, I'll just have to write more...
comment, vote and fan please??
thanks for reading
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