Drowning

Hannah took a few days to herself, heading back home to visit her mother and her sister. She needed a break from London, from the city life and even Niall and Marisa. She told them not to accompany her because she wanted some time alone. She had spent the past couple of months grieving on Marisa’s and Niall’s shoulders that even they deserved a break from her. Hannah also liked the idea of having her family to depend on again.

The night she arrived home, she immediately wanted to talk about her father and everything her mother knew about him. And while Hannah was waiting for the pain to hit her, it never came. She felt a calmness, a clear head of knowing about her father’s secret life of poor decisions. It was as if her father was telling her not to beat herself up over what he had done to himself. It was no use to hurting herself and everybody around her. Nothing could bring him back; all she could do was learn from his mistakes.

On the other hand, Lauren took the news the opposite way. Being unaware of why her father ever left in the first place, she hated knowing that she spent her adolescence without father, who chose drugs over his own family. So, Hannah decided the best medicine was to take her sister out on a shopping trip. She felt that it was better being upset over her bank account dwindling in a short period of time than being upset with herself in the long run.

With Lauren still browsing, claiming to be a very indecisive person, Hannah went ahead to check out. She laid her clothes on the counter, not bothering to look up at the cashier yet to look for her credit card. She realized she never received a greeting from the cashier, so she lifted her head to see if she was by herself. What she noticed was the woman taking the clothes off of the hangers as she stared at Hannah curiously.

“May I help you?” Hannah asked, feeling like the roles were suddenly reversed.

The woman shook her head, and Hannah raised an eyebrow at her. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to be rude. You’re Hannah, correct?”

She nodded.

“And you dated Bradley Wright?”

Hannah’s heart fell to her stomach. She had almost hoped she could have recognized her as being Niall’s girlfriend because it would save her the trouble of going down memory lane again. She narrowed her eyes at the woman. “Can I ask who you are?”

“My name is Megan.” The cashier told her. “I used to date Bradley.”

As intrigued as Hannah was to know all about her relationship, she couldn’t asking any questions. “This is still a touchy subject for me-”

“Please, just hear me out. I know what it’s like to be in your shoes.”

The blonde paid the amount for her clothes, and considered leaving as soon as she received her receipt. However, the look in Megan’s eyes convinced her to stay. She could only assume that this woman had been through hell and back like she had, and had the whereabouts of Bradley.

“I have a restraining order against him that is about to expire, and I know he’s getting out of prison soon.”

“How soon?” Hannah panicked, feeling her heart rate increase.

“Give or take, a few days or weeks. I’ve been keeping track of him ever since I heard he was in jail. I know the whole story, and one of these days I was hoping I could run into you.”

“Oh, my God.” Hannah placed a hand over her mouth and leaned against the counter.

“He’s relentless, you know that.” Megan told her. “It’s why I’ve had three different restraining orders against him. Just be careful, and be aware.”

Hannah bit her lip and took a step away from the counter until she retreated back in a heartbeat. “Can you let me know and please keep me updated? It’s been two years, but I still don’t think I can take another traumatic experience.”

They traded numbers just in time for Lauren to approach. Not even two minutes later, they were out of the shop. Lauren watched her sister fidget with the car keys to get the doors to unlock and even in the ignition.

“Who was she?” Lauren asked.

Hannah looked up at the shop windows to see Megan hanging clothes back on some of the racks. “She’s somebody I went to school with. Ready to head back?” She turned to her sister, hoping she would agree because she now couldn’t wait to get out of Winchester.

Lauren knew not to intrude on her sister’s life, only if she was in desperate need of help or if she approached her with the problem herself. She chose to let it go and not read too far into Hannah’s lie.


Her mother packed a bag full of homemade food for Hannah to take back to London. One by one, she took out each dish, realizing there was a meal for every time of day, including a few little snacks on the side. At the very bottom of the bag, she found an envelope with a post-it note on the front of it.

The handwriting on the envelope was the first thing that she noticed, soon taking a seat on one of the kitchen chairs, feeling as if she was going to pass out.

I did not throw it out because it is your mail, but I’ll let you be the judge if it is trash or not. Love, Mom.

The white envelope was played with in her hands for a few moments before her thumb decided to tear through it, releasing notebook paper that was hardly scribbled on. And what feared Hannah the most was that less wordy he was, the more threatening his letters got.

Ms. Hannah Elliot,
Only a few weeks left until we can be reunited again. We have a lot of making up to do.
Hope to see you waiting for me when I get out. I love you with all my heart.
Bradley

Hannah told herself not to panic. He was still locked away, and he was unaware that she was in London. All she had to do was let her family know when it would be safe to leave.

She had a week or two left, maybe even at the end of this month if she was lucky.

Negative thoughts made a much larger impact than the positive thoughts. While thinking of ways to get her family to escape Winchester, she couldn’t help but imagine that she came too late. The last of her family she had left would be gone. He would then gain knowledge of her address and soon come after her.

The door opened, and Hannah jumped with a scream. Marisa gave her a concerned look as she removed the keys from the lock.

“I didn’t mean to scare you.” She told her and noticed by the look on Hannah’s face, she was truly spooked. “Han, are you alright?”

Hannah glanced at her best friend, only seeing nightmares. In her mind, the roles were switched, and Bradley was the one breaking in to the apartment while Marisa was frightened half to death. And her nightmares were not going to let Marisa get out of alive.

“Hannah.” Marisa spoke sternly, getting her attention. She grabbed her arm and made Hannah look her in the eye. The eye contact didn’t last long, and Hannah shoved the envelope at Marisa’s chest.

“I need a shower.”

The door was immediately shut and locked. Marisa was aware of what happened, but she was caught up in reading the quick letter Bradley had sent. After rereading it three times, she glanced up at the bathroom door, and then back down at the paper.

Marisa walked to the bathroom door, knocking a couple times. “Hannah, everything is going to be alright.”

The water was running, but Hannah had yet to get in yet. Her clothes were still on while she sat on the toilet seat, silently sobbing at the stress building up.

“Can I be left alone for a little bit?” She begged, her voice making it obvious she was crying. “Please?”

A little bit turned into being over an hour later, and Marisa couldn’t help but to be worried. She tried knocking a couple of times, but received no response every single time. The last thing she wanted to do was call for help, but she felt she had no choice. She grabbed Hannah’s phone off the kitchen counter and began to call.

“Please tell me you’re back in London.”

“Marisa?” Niall narrowed his eyebrows in confusion.

“Yes, Niall. Are you in London?”

“Yeh, we’re on the bus right now.” He responded, his mind running wild about Marisa calling off of Hannah’s phone. “What’s wrong?”

“Another letter came in for Hannah today, and-”

Her name rolled off her tongue in worry, and he didn’t know if he wanted to hear anymore.

“I’ll be over as soon as I can.”

“Please hurry, Niall. I don’t want her hurting herself.”

He hung up the phone and made eye contact with Paul in the back of the bus. He moved seats so he was sitting next to the body guard, a hand clasping onto his shoulder.

“Can you tell the driver to drop me off separately? I need to get to Hannah.”

Paul nodded as he stood from his seat to walk towards the front of the bus. Niall was biting down on a fingernail as he looked through social media to see if it would ease his anxiety. Time seemed to pass by slowly when he worried about getting off the exit more than browsing through tweets on his phone. The rest of the boys were either sleeping or not paying attention to the minor havoc happening on the bus.

Liam looked away from the window and giving each of the boys a glance before stopping on Niall, who was still looking at his phone and biting his fingernails. He appeared to be a nervous wreck.

“You alright, lad?” Liam asked and scooted closer to his friend to keep their voices at a low volume.

“It’s just Hannah.” Niall replied with a sigh, trying to keep an even tone. “I don’t know what’s wrong.”

The two sat in silence for what seemed like forever. He had felt Liam’s hand rest on his shoulder for quite some time, massaging it to relieve the stress.

“You’ll get through it.” He told Niall. “You guys have made it through plenty of times.”

Niall knew Liam was right. He had been there to hold Hannah’s hand through all her panic attacks, her outbursts, and sticking by her side through her rough past that will haunt her for the rest of her life. He couldn’t be more convinced that she’d be okay, but he was always going to worry about her.

The city of London started to come into view, and it wasn’t long until Paul had escorted Niall up to her building. He pressed the buzzer eight times before the lock clicked and he gained access into the building. Steps were taken two at a time up the staircase to her floor, and his hands instantly made contact with the door, impatiently banging.

The eyes of Marisa held a dark brown with concern as she opened the door. Niall dropped his backpack to the floor in the hallway and made a beeline to Hannah’s bedroom.

“Bathroom,” Marisa called. “She’s in the bathroom, Niall.”

Still no words were spoken out of his mouth when he moved out of her room to the hallways just outside of it, fist locking with the bathroom door. There was no reply, just the sound of running water from the shower.

“Hannah, open the door.” All he got was silence. Panic replaced with an upset look on his face. The fist knocked louder, the sound almost promising to knock the door down. “Hannah, can you hear me? Unlock the door, love. I’m home.”

There was no hint of the running water shutting off any time soon. Hallucinations took over his train of thought. A liquid would be spreading all over the tile that eventually would lead to it coming from underneath the door. The clear liquid would swarm his worn out shoes and soak into his socks. The idea of the bathtub filling the beautiful blonde girl became the ultimate nightmare.

He couldn’t give a damn about blasting the door open with a loud thud, but nothing he could do would make the lock break. He glanced over at Marisa, silently begging for her help. With the combined force of their kicks and shoves into the door, they were successful in breaking it open. Niall ran into the bathroom while Marisa stayed put in the hallway. Seeing the scene in front of her, she was more worried about the health of her friend than the cost of a door.

The tub had yet to reach its maximum capacity of water, but with the added weight of the girl would surely fill it faster. She was fully clothed with a tank top and a pair of skinny jeans her body nearly covered in the water with her eyes closed. She bobbed her head a few times above and below the surface of the liquid. Her ears remained below the surface, the reasoning behind her silence. Niall caught on to the discoloration in her face. It was pale and her lips were turning blue.

After taking two giants steps into the bathroom, he shut the water off and grabbed the towel hanging from the shower curtain bar. He lifted her out of the water, watching as she gasped for air. Only her legs stayed submerged in the water when Niall gripped her cheeks with rough, wet hands.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing? You could have killed yourself!”

Sheer terror flashed in his bright blue eyes as tears threatened to fall from the truth of his statement. A little relief came over him when her grey eyes connected with his in the same terror.

“God! Anybody else want to scare the hell out of me today?!”

The look she gave him amplified the intensity in her voice, showing how angry and frightened she was at the same time. Niall looked for any uncertainty in her face, seeing if she was covering up the fact that she almost drowned herself in the bathtub, but there was nothing. He glanced back at Marisa, silently scolding her for giving him a heart attack.

“Are you alright?” He asked.

“Yes. I’m alright. I fell asleep. I’m sorry.” Her sarcastic apology was enough for Niall to know she was alright. With that, Marisa left the hallway and headed for her bedroom.

So much had happened in the time he’d been gone that he didn’t know how he could keep up with it, especially with getting false alarms like these. However, on a serious note, although there was no need to, Niall started to feel that he was being selfish for going on tour while Hannah remained put for most days. She needed him more than he needed her – a point he had to get across his mind.

“I got another letter today.” She told him softly, now appearing distant.

“I heard.” He said. “What did it say?”

“He’s getting out very soon.” Hannah looked at Niall. “I’m so afraid, Niall.”

He didn’t say anything, just distracted himself by her cold shivers. He finally pulled her out of the tub and wrapped a towel around her shoulders. She took her pruned fingers to the end of the towel to keep it secured around her body, but that was already promising with Niall’s arms wrapped around hers. He led her to her bedroom.

“Just, please tell me you weren’t trying to drown yourself.”

“God, NO.” She hollered. “I just got so stressed out, so I took a bath to calm me down, and I fell asleep.”

“With clothes on?”

She glared at him. “Niall, I would never.”

“Okay, I’m sorry. Can’t blame a man for being worried.” He closed the door behind them with a light kick from his heel.

Hannah stood in the center of her room, her teeth still chattering. The discoloration on her lips was finally going back to normal. Chills shot through her body every few seconds as she waited patiently for Niall to finish rummaging through her drawers. A crewneck, shorts, a new bra and panties were collected in his hands before the items were placed on the bed. Niall had left the room for a moment for her to get dressed while he changed the room temperature on the dial. It was a slow process for her to get dressed, but all she had left was the crewneck by the time Niall walked back in the room. Her eyes were staring at the hardwood when he appeared in front of her again. Fingertips touched at the bottom of her chin, making her gaze into his blue eyes. She slid the crewneck over her head right before their lips connected. His hands rubbed up and down her arms slowly, trying to warm herself up as fast as possible.

“How did you get here so fast?”

“I was already in London.”

Hannah reprimanded herself for falling asleep. The rush of the warm water hitting her body felt relieving, even on a hot day in July. The noise was peaceful, calming her nerves almost instantly that she thought a quick nap would do her good. She couldn’t blame herself for falling into a deep sleep since she hadn’t gotten a proper eight hours of sleep in years. Now she was getting the consequences over an hour later: a minor case of hypothermia.

“Niall, what if he comes to London?” Hannah asked out of the blue in a panic.

“Millions of people live in London.” He said. “It’d be impossible to find you.”

“But what if he does? I’d almost rather die at that point.”

“No.” He shook his head firmly. He held a tight grip on her cheeks and grazed his thumbs across them. “If you were to die, then he would have to kill me too. I couldn’t live my life without you, Hannah. You know that. And you know I would never let that happen to you.”

“You don’t know what he’s capable of.” She said. “He can and he will kill you. I don’t need you dying because of me.”

“So, you’d rather die?” Niall flung his hands in the air, not helping how harsh his words flew from his mouth. “You’d kill yourself just to let him have the satisfaction of your submission. It’s not saving me or anyone else, babe. It’s just…stupid.”

He physically saw her shoulders sink in defeat, absorbing the truth of his statement. Niall took the opportunity to take the vulnerable girl in his arms, head resting on his chest. Time passed what felt like hours while remaining in this position. The room seemed to warm up as well as her skin, calming Niall.

“I just want you to think of how many people you would be hurting. He gets to walk around with his sweet revenge he didn’t have to commit while Marisa, your family, and myself will sit in our misery.”
Hannah didn’t respond, just a nod of her head gave him the affirmation that she heard him.

“Come on,” Niall let go of her, but let a hand linger to hers and guided her to the bed.

“What are we going to do, then?” Hannah asked quietly.

Niall rubbed her hand with his thumb, staring out the window only to see city lights flickering on as the sun went down. The question flooded his thought of anything and everything that could be done whether it was impossible or not. Nothing reasonable came to his mind quick enough, making him grow impatient. He gave her palm a good squeeze.

“I don’t know yet.”


He hoped Marisa was a night owl because it was urgent to see her at twelve thirty at night. His fingers tapped on the steering wheel sometimes until he got extremely anxious and began biting his fingernails. The streets were never dead in London, not even at night, so red lights were not the only thing he was worried about. The cars piling up in each lane made him aggravated. He’s usually pretty patient when he’s on the road, but then again, he was never the one driving.

Once out of the heart of London, Niall sped down all the roads in order to get to the flat before midnight. Soon enough, the correct street sign came into view, and he took the first parking spot open before making a beeline for the door.

His thumb pressed down on their doorbell buzzer three times before he gained access into the building. He locked eyes with the elevator, taking it to the third floor. The whole hallway was empty, and he was grateful for that. It was less for him to be distracted by.

It wasn’t long before Niall’s knuckles made contact with their door. Three simple knocks were all it took for Marisa to answer ten seconds later. She was wearing pajamas, but the look on her face told she was far from preparing for a good night sleep.

“Niall, I wasn’t expecting-” The brunette stopped abruptly to observe Niall. “Are you alright?”

“I need the whole truth about Hannah. Every single piece of information you have, I’ll take it.”

Marisa could sense the urgency behind his demand, so she let him in to the flat. Her hand rested on his bicep to grab his attention. His blue eyes looked into her brown ones.

“Would you like a cup of tea or a glass of water?” She asked gently. “You look a bit flustered.”

“No, thanks. I would like to make this as quickly as possible before she finds out that I left.”

“Alright,” She said in a quieter tone. “Follow me.”

Along the way to her bedroom, Marisa picked up her cup of tea. She pushed the door open and turn on the lights. While telling Niall to take a seat on her bed, she brought the cup to her lips before placing it on the desk next to her laptop. The screen lit up when she slid her finger over the mousepad, and then she reached into her drawer for the flash drive. At the sound of the flash drive being plugged in, Niall stood up.

All the files from resumes to research papers, a couple files particularly caught Niall’s eye. They had a couple words attached to it, but “evidence” and “court” were always there. Marisa hesitated to click the button, but faced Niall first.

“I don’t know who Hannah will hate more, me for showing this or you for asking, but I am warning you. She is extremely sensitive about this, specifically this. I am showing you so you can see why she is so difficult because I know half of the things she told you was most likely sugar coated. This is the main attraction to a majority of trust issues, people issues, and her panic attacks.”

Niall nodded, fully understanding the seriousness of this, but couldn’t help to feel utterly anxious. Being able to see the root of her problems was another step forward to figuring her out, another step forward in their relationship. All he hoped for was that this wouldn’t backfire on him.

It was clear Marisa was still unsure about letting Niall see the inner depths of Hannah’s past. What she was about to present was raw footage of the night that even Marisa was terrified for her own life.

She clicked the video, instantly bringing them to an empty living room.

“Oh God, this still makes me sick to my stomach.” Marisa chuckled, and Niall turned his head at the sound of her sniffling. “I’m fine, really, but this is just as hard for me to relive it as it is for her.”

“We don’t have to watch this if it makes you upset.” Niall spoke, true to his word. What she said only made him more apprehensive about what he was about to witness.

“No, we have to. It’ll explain everything.”