Missing You

Her heart broke every single time she had to kiss him goodbye at the airport, and those moments happened more and more often. ”Are you sure you don’t want to come?”, Niall asked with his irish accent.

”You know I want to, Niall. But my boss is already mad after all those times I’ve followed you on tour.” This time he wasn’t going on tour. Niall was missing his family back in Ireland and had planned to go there for a week. The poor guy had begged his long term girlfriend to go with him, but she couldn’t. She had a job to go to every single morning. ”Okay.”, Niall said with a forced smile. ”I need to go. I’ll call you once I’m in Dublin.” Nicole nodded before kissing him goodbye. She didn’t cry. She was so used to this. It was almost like an every day routine. They woke up, Niall packed his stuff, they went to the airport, she hugged all of the guys goodbye, she kissed Niall goodbye, she went home, laid in the couch all day feeling the emptiness of their flat, the time passed and Niall returned back home. Her eyes followed the blonde as he waved at her one last time before disappearing in the crowd. Nicole dragged a hand through her hair before turning back and exiting the terminal. She shot Zayn a smile as he sat in the small Nando’s restaurant, eating his strawberry frozen yogurt. Niall loved Nando’s ...

Zayn and Nicole made their way out to the airport’s parking lot in silence. Niall’s car broke down a couple of days earlier and Nicole had absolutely panicked when she couldn’t drive her boyfriend to the airport. Being the nice guy he was, Zayn had offered to drive. The ride back to London from Gatwick was silent. The silence didn’t bother any of them, though. It wasn’t awkward, it was rather comfortable. When Zayn, an hour later, pulled up to Nicole’s apartment, she gave him a hug and thanked him several times for driving her.

Lying on the king size bed alone was something Nicole hated. Niall was always there, either cuddling with her or making her smile. The loud boyfriend of hers always made sure that there wasn’t a single moment of silence, and sometimes he could be rather annoying when he didn’t shut up. But now when he was gone, she missed the loud lad over everything else. After what felt like three eternities, her phone finally started ringing, the chorus of ”Rock Me” literally blasting from the phone’s speakers. ”Hey, babe.”, Nicole answered.

”Hi, love. I am safe and sound at home now. What’s happening back in London?”

”Nothing. It’s so quiet without you here.” Niall laughed, ”I have an idea! Why don’t you take fake me on a dinner date? I know fake me would die for some Nando’s.” Nicole ran over to the small walk in closet where she and Niall had stuffed things they didn’t have enough space for. And there it was, the fake Niall. Niall’s mom had bought a full sized paper Niall as a joke. The fake Niall was from the ”Up All Night” era, and it was a couple of years ago. ”Should I suit up fake Niall too?”, Nicole chuckled, closing the door, leaving the fake Niall behind.

”Yeah. He has a terrible fashion sense. Anyways, I gotta go, love. My family says hi.” Even if he wasn’t present, he always put a smile on Nicole’s face. ”Okay. Tell them that I said hi back. Call me tomorrow.” Before hanging up, she kissed the microphone. God, she missed him.

The days rolled by pretty easily without Niall there, but every day was exactly the same routine. Wake up, work, take a coffee at Starbucks, receive a call from one of the guys asking if you want to hang out with them and their partner, thank them for the offer but you’d rather stay home and sleep. But this Wednesday was different. As Nicole had her usual routine, walking by Starbucks on the way home and take a coffee with herself for a while, she ran into someone she hadn’t seen in years. ”Nicole, is it you?” Her body stiffened when she heard his voice. She turned around and faced her ex, Alfie. ”Hi, Alfie.”, Nicole replied nervously. In one single second the whole story about her and Alfie’s relationship was pictured in front of her eyes.

It had started out well in 2009, when Nicole was only 16 years old. She and Alfie, who were 2 years older, had this typical teenager romance where you couldn’t be apart for more than 5 minutes without the whole world crashing down. Nicole could honestly say that she loved Alfie. He helped her through hard times. In the beginning of 2011 they moved in together, and a year later in the early 2012 it all started go down hill. Alfie started partying and drinking a lot, and Nicole were never the party type. Of course, she never stopped him from partying but when the drinking got more important than their relationship, she had enough. That was when she met Niall.

She stood in the kitchen cooking some lunch when Alfie came into the room. ”Do you have any pain killers?”, he asked.

”In the cupboard over there.” He went over and swallowed two without water. ”I am sorry for last night, babe.” Alfie had come home pissed, again, and they got in a huge fight and he kind of slapped Nicole. She knew he had a temper, especially when he was pissed, but she never thought he would hurt her physically.

”You should be.”

”I’m gonna make it up to you. An exclusive dinner at Nando’s tonight at 7? I’ve already booked a table so you can’t say no.” Nicole wasn’t usually stupid and wouldn’t had forgiven him, but when she stared into those deep green eyes, she remembered how much she loved him and of course, she forgave him. ”Okay. I expect you to be there at 7.”

Later that night she entered the Nando’s restaurant. ”Hey, my boyfriend booked a table for two. The name’s Alfie. Is he here yet?”

”No sorry, miss. But I could show you to your table while you wait.”

”Yes, please.” Nicole was placed by a table close to the window. The restaurant wasn’t crowded, but there sat a few people. A few families and a bigger group of what she assumed were friends. She patiently waited on her boyfriend while glancing out through the window on the street where cars drove back and forth and people chatted.

”Sorry, miss. It has been 45 minutes since the table was booked. If you’re not going to order we have to give your table to someone else.” Nicole was shocked. She had lost track of time, and she certainly hadn’t noticed that the restaurant was now full. Then it came to her conclusion that Alfie was probably out, ruining his head with alcohol and he had totally forgot about her.

”Oh, sorry. I’ll just take a caesar salad.”, Nicole replied with a fake smile on her face. As soon as the waiter had left, the girl buried her face in her hands.

”I’ve never seen someone eat alone at a restaurant.” Nicole looked up to the sound of someone’s voice. In front of her stood a cute, blonde guy with beautiful blue eyes. He looked like he was in her own age. ”Well, my boyfriend is supposed to be here but it doesn’t seem like he’s coming.”

”Too bad. Where is he?”, the blond guy asked in some weird accent.

”Probably out, getting pissed, forgetting about me.”

”I don’t understand how someone could forget a pretty girl like you.” Nicole blushed slightly. ”I’m used to it. I’m a fool for even thinking he would show up.”

”If you want to, you could come and sit with me. It’s just me and some other lads, they’re nice.”

”Thanks for the offer, but I don’t want to bother you.”

”You’re not bothering, come on. I’ll tell the waiter that you’ve changed table.”, he shot her a smile. A smile that she would never forget. ”I am Niall by the way.”

”Nicole.”

”So, you’re still together with that blonde leprechaun?”, Alfie asked with a smug smile on his face. ”He’s not a leprechaun. In fact he’s a better person than you’ll ever be. At least he doesn’t hit me.”

Alfie really hated Niall. His temperament rose just by hearing Niall’s name. It was Niall’s fault that he lost Nicole.

The girl curled up to a ball in the corner of the cream coloured bedroom, tears streaming down her face. Alfie came home pissed daily, but it had gone too far this time. He had hit her. Not a slap, but his fist had collided with her eye, leaving her with a nice blueish purple colour around it. Nicole pulled up her phone and dialled the number to one of her closest friends.

”Nicole?”, she heard Niall’s calming voice on the other line.

”Niall? Can you please come over?”

”What happened? Has he hurt you?” She nodded, knowing that he couldn’t see her. ”He hit me, Niall. I’m too afraid to get out of the bedroom. He’s so mad. You need to help me.”

”I’ll be over any minute.” Those ten minutes it took for Niall to take a taxi to Nicole’s flat felt like ages. When she heard the front door open she rushed out of the bedroom and into Niall’s safe embrace. ”Where is he?”, Niall asked, holding Nicole close to his body.

”Where is who?” Alfie entered the hallway, and Nicole swear that he could’ve killed Niall in that moment. Why was there a blonde guy embracing his girlfriend? Niall let go of Nicole before slowly walking over to Alfie. ”You should be happy if I don’t press charges against you for abuse. If you so touch her in any kind of way one more time and I will personally strangle you. Got it?” Alfie let out a chuckle before shoving the blonde guy out of his sight. ”So this is the guy you’ve been sleeping with behind my back? A leprechaun?”

”I haven’t slept with anyone behind your back! But maybe I should have! Because then you would have left me and you would never be able to hurt me!” The tears streamed down the girl’s face uncontrollably as she yelled out those words. ”Whatever. Go and fuck the little leprechaun! I don’t care anymore!” He left the flat and slammed the door behind him. The girl turned to Niall, who was standing straight a few yards away and stared at the door with wide eyes. ”Wanna know what the worst part is?”, Nicole asked, looking at Niall with red, puffy eyes. He nodded slightly. ”He’s gonna come back tomorrow morning and beg me to forgive him.”

”Too bad for him that you won’t be here in the morning.” Nicole frowned, ”Where else would I be?”

”You’re not staying here, have you gone completely mad?!”, Niall hissed. ”Where am I supposed to go, Niall? I only have this place and you know that finding a new flat in London can take months!”

”Then there’s only one solution. You’re staying at my place until you find another flat.”

Nicole couldn’t turn Niall’s offer down. She knew she needed to get away from Alfie, and she didn’t have an option but to stay at Niall’s. That was one of the best things she had ever done in her life. During her stay at Niall’s, they got closer, like a lot closer. So close that they ended up as a couple. She would never be able to thank him enough for helping her and being such a good friend when she needed it the most. And now, here she was, face to face with the alcoholic Alfie, and Niall was thousands of miles away, unable to help her.

”Sorry, Alfie. But I have to go.”, Nicole excused herself and walked away. She was stopped by Alfie grabbing her arm. ”I will get you back, Nic. And not even your dear leprechaun can stop me, because I know that you still love me and you’re dying to get me back.” She was afraid of him, but she didn’t dare to show him that. It would only turn him on in some sick kind of way. When he let her go, she literally rushed away from him, half sprinting all the way home to the flat where she was safe. Or so she thought.

It all started half past eight. There was a loud banging on the door, and of course Nicole went to check who it was. Peeking through the small peek hole in the door she spotted Alfie, who was clearly pissed, banging loudly on the door. She made the clever decision to not open the door. Then the yelling started. It started of as a plea. ”Open, Nic. Open the door, please. I am begging you on my knees, please Nicky nic.” The girl leaned against the wall, silently praying that he would go away and leave her alone. That wasn’t the case. As time passed, Alfie got more mad when she didn’t open the door. The pleas soon turned into threatening insults. ”Open the god damn door, Nic, or I’ll fucking kill you! Open the bloody door! You skank, open up! If you don’t open soon, Nicole, I’ll kill the leprechaun!”

The fear rose and her breath got stuck in her throat. What if he succeed to break in? Then she would be dead meat. Her shaky hands pressed against the wood as she leaned closer to the door and yelled, ”Go away, Alfie! You’re pissed. Go home and we’ll talk tomorrow!”

”I will kill you if you don’t open up. You will regret it when I break in!” Nicole whimpered and stepped back as he started yank the door handle and kick on the door. She swore that she could her the door crack a little. As the pissed man continued screaming, Nicole ran into the living room, grabbing her mobile and called Louis, knowing he was the closest one, living only a few blocks away. ”Hello, it’s Louis.”, he answered.

”Louis? Can you come over?”, Nicole asked, her voice shaking. ”Has something happened? You sound scared.”

”It’s Alfie, Louis. He’s trying to break in. He says he’s going to kill me if he gets in. You have to get here.” At the end of the last sentence, she could feel the tears starting to stream down her face. ”Hang on, I will be there in a few minutes. I’ll hurry.” While waiting for Louis to come and help her, she grabbed a kitchen knife, ready to defend herself if she needed to. After a short while, the banging stopped and she could hear the faint sound of yelling.

Meanwhile outside of the flat Louis and Liam looked at each other as the pissed man flipped them off and walked down the stairs. Louis unlocked the door with the extra key he had gotten from Niall when he moved into the flat. ”Nicole?”, Louis yelled. The two men found the girl sitting in the kitchen corner, crying with a kitchen knife in her hands. Liam walked over and helped her up from the floor, her body shaking violently. ”You’re staying at Liam’s over the night. You can’t be here by yourself.”, Louis said. Nicole nodded in response. The two lads and the girl made their way to Liam’s house while Louis desperately told them the worst jokes. Nicole, who was still pretty shaken up, couldn’t hide her smile as Louis came up with the worst joke of the 21st century.

”What kind of music doesn’t Liam like?”, he asked. Nicole shrugged and Liam looked at him with a confused look. ”The music from spoonify!”, Louis burst out. Nicole burst out in laughter and gave Louis a high five while Liam glared at the two of them. ”That wasn’t even funny.”

When they arrived to Liam’s flat, the blonde girl hugged Louis goodbye and thanked him for his help. Then she and Liam made their way up to his flat where he quickly arranged a bed for her in his tiny guest room. ”Thank you, Liam. You’re great. And thanks for everything.”

”Anytime. That’s what friends are for right. Now you should relax. Just call for me if you need anything.” She nodded and shot him a smile and buried her body beneath the warm, comforting covers. The tears rolled down her cheeks as she laid alone in the dark. She wished Niall was here to comfort here. If he was here, nothing of this would’ve happened ‘cause he would’ve been there to protect her from her ex. Never in her life had she missed the blondie as much as she did this moment. Her Niall ... if only he was here, nothing bad would ever happen to her. She was very thankful of Liam and Louis, though. If it weren’t for those two, she wouldn’t be safe at this very moment. The last thing that crossed her mind before she drifted off to sleep was how happy she would be when she picked Niall up on the airport on Saturday.

The bright light hurt her eyes when she woke up the following day. The light made it hard to see, and the only thing that she saw were two figures a few yards away from her bed. She didn’t know who, and she couldn’t see what they were doing. After blinking a few times she could distinguish the two figures. Niall was sitting on an armchair and Liam was standing next to him. They were chatting casually with each other, and hadn’t noticed that the girl on the opposite side of the room was awake. ”Niall.”, Nicole whimpered.

Niall turned his head to see his girlfriend looking at him with big eyes. He rushed over and hugged her tight. ”Are you okay?” She nodded and hugged the man tighter. ”I missed you so bad, Niall.”

”I’ve missed you too, babe. I’ve pressed charges against him and he will receive a restraining order. He won’t bother you anymore. I wish I was there last night, though, so I could personally bash his face in. I’m happy Louis and Liam were there to help you. But I promise if I ever see that punk I’ll strang-” Nicole interrupted him, ”Calm down.” The blonde man let out a loud sigh before leaning down and pressing his cold lips against his girlfriend’s. ”I will stay home for now, so you won’t be missing me for a while.”