Canon

Niall’s Point of View

The weight of my eyelids eventually overpowers me in the wee hours of the morning. I could hear the guard’s talk radio playing in the background as I toss and turn against the shitty mattress. When I wake up, Lizette’s dad is standing in the doorway talking on his phone. He repeats okay over and over, while anxiously pacing in the hall. A small smile plays on my face as he mutters go back to class, Lizette before hanging up. He unlocks the cell and leans against the brick wall.

‘How’s it going?’ He questions and I could see that he was equally uncomfortable. At one point, this guy was my archenemy. He tried his damnedest to keep me away from Lizette, or more specifically, her away from me. It almost worked too, I’ll give him that much credit.

‘As you would expect,’ I shrug, not meeting his eye contact. Part of me wondered if he was glad that I was finally out of his way. Lizette was now free to go off to Georgetown and meet somebody with the Mercedes Benz and six figures as Damon prophesized. ‘I mean it is jail, right?’

‘Yeah, I guess you’re right.’ He stifles out an amused laugh in return, ‘Listen – I know the DA and I have her coming down here later on. She’s going to listen to your story and we’ll go from there. I just need one thing in return from you though.’

‘What would that be?’ I finally meet his ongoing stare.

‘Tell me about this Damon character.’ He cuffs his sleeves up to his elbow, ‘Lizette filled us in somewhat but I could tell that there was plenty she was still holding back. Like I told her, I need full disclosure if this is going to go anywhere.’

‘Anything but that.’ I answer, holding back the groan resting in my throat. As much as I wanted to see Damon get bit in the ass, I wasn’t about to implicate myself in the sick shit he’s constructed over the years.’

‘God,’ He blurts out, taking me by surprise. I watch as he slides down onto the floor right across from me. ‘Listen, I assume that you care about her in your own, personal way. I hope that you wouldn’t want to intentionally get my daughter hurt or involved in whatever this shit. I know my little girl, I read her like an open book before she even opens her mouth. I could tell that she was shaken and bothered by all of this. I can’t protect her if I don’t know what I’m up against.’

The room goes silent. He was right. I do care about Lizette – definitely more than he either thinks or knows. She’s been involved in this whole thing with Damon for too long, which is my fault. I needed to be the one to end it because Damon never would. Right now, it’s my play. I get to decide how this goes. I could get even. If only I could get out of this hellhole.

‘I guess I’ll give you some time to think about it. I mean, it is your life – you decide how it goes. If you want me to help you, you gotta help me. If you want to sit in here and be tried for something you apparently didn’t do, then I suggest you get comfortable.’ He speaks up, as if he was reading my mind.

Lizette’s Point of View

I continuously glance back at Niall’s empty seat in Trigonometry. Constantly sensing his absence. I made my dad promise to check in on him as soon as he got to work this morning. I even slipped out of home room to call him to make sure he actually did it. He was up all night trying to piece together what he could about Damon which partially worried me. Damon wasn’t the type to go down without a fight. ‘Earth to Lizette.’ Rose waves her hand in my face, once were in art. ‘Where are you this morning? You’ve been a little off all day.’

‘I’m just tired,’ I shrug, looking up into the concerned eyes of Rose. ‘Sorry, what were you saying?’

‘I was asking where your boyfriend is. He wasn’t in homeroom this morning and I wanted his help on the chemistry assignment before class. Do you think he can help me during lunch?’

‘No, he’s not coming today. He has a stomach bug.’ I lie, feeling guilty. I hated keeping Rose in the dark but I didn’t want this to spread around the school like wild fire. ‘He can’t even sit up right now without throwing up.’

‘Ew, TMI.’ Rose scrunches her nose while pulling out her paint supplies. ‘I guess I’ll have to wing it then.’

‘Hey, why didn’t you ask me?’ Zayn scoffs, playfully offended looking over at Rose under his impressively long eyelashes. I envied his eyelashes.

‘Because I know you suck at chemistry which is fine because you have many more qualities that I love and adore.’ Rose chimes with a smile, sneaking in a quick kiss.

‘Fair enough.’ Zayn smirks while directing his attention to the blank paper in front of him.

‘So, do you want to get lunch with us today since you won’t be able to get to your beloved McDonalds?’

‘Could I maybe get a rain check? I’m just going to stop by Niall’s and check on him.’ I speak, not bothering to look up.

‘Isn’t she the greatest girlfriend?’ Rose singsongs before finally focusing on her own blank page.

The moment it was time for lunch, I hurry out to the main parking lot to my car. My hands repeatedly grip the steering wheel, the more I drive. Yet the more I drive, the more I had to keep going. I pull out in front of John’s house and press the voice memo button on my phone before slipping down carefully into my jacket pocket. As hard as my dad was working, I figured he could use a little help. I give the door three long taps before stepping back on the nonexistent front porch. John opens the door with his dark hair sprawled over his head. He glares down at me before shifting over so I could see Damon sitting in the chair making out with some blonde. Damon nearly pushes her from his lap to stand up with a wicked smile.

‘Lizzie.’ He whispers intriguingly, causing the blonde to narrow her eyes at me. ‘What do I owe this glorious visit?’

‘I know what you did.’ I hiss, as John moves aside allowing me to come into the tiny living room. I keep my distance and stand near the door, just in case I needed a quick exit. ‘I just wanted to let you know that there is no way that you’re going to get away with it.’

‘Johnnie, take you sister to the back, will you? I will be right there.’ Damon shoves his hands down into his pocket and inches that much closer to me. Neither one of them move, causing him to grit his teeth. ‘Now.’ With that single word, the two of them shuffle towards a back room and close the door. ‘I can’t say that I know what you’re talking about, Lizzie.’

‘You set Niall up. You and I both know that there was no way he would have a gun or drugs in his car. I think that you did it – or you had John do it just so you can keep your grimy hands spotless.’

‘Oh yeah, I did hear that Irish found himself in a rather tough spot. Can’t say I had anything to do with it though. Maybe it was his brother, he’s always had a certain temptation for those pesky drugs, right?’ Damon speaks calmly. He wasn’t breaking, not even in the slightest. ‘Enough about that, let’s talk about you, love.’ Damon takes one long stride to where he has my back against the wall. ‘I find it quite admirable that you are here trying to clear your boyfriend’s name. He’s real lucky to have someone as resilient as you. The looks are just extra.’

‘I’m not sure how long you think you can keep this up,’ I retort, stepping away from him and closer to the door, ‘I’ll make sure you pay for it. For everything.’

‘Tell me, Lizzie – how is Jacky boy doing?’ Damon questions through an arrogant laugh, catching me off guard. He senses the tension in my face. He devours it. ‘I’m sure that he could be a bit of help at a terrible family time such as this one.’

‘How?’ I demand, feeling not so confident. Niall was extra careful when it came to his time with Jack. We only went outside the city when he was here. We stayed in the apartment behind locked doors.

‘Oh please, Greggy and I used to be best mates. With a little liquid courage, you can get him to tell you just about anything. I knew long before Irish did yet I kept my distance respectfully. How am I treated in return? I have Irish and his lovely girlfriend constantly spitting in my face. It’s quite unfortunately really. I thought Irish was like a brother at one point.’ Damon moves to stand in front of me once again. He places his tattooed covered arms on each side of my shoulders. I hold my breath as I turn my face. ‘Would you like to sit down so I can tell you about that man he killed all those years ago?’ He speaks loudly, pulling my phone from my pocket to place the screen in my face. ‘Quite clever, Lizzie. I don’t know how I continuously underestimate you.’

‘Give me my phone.’ I snap as he deletes the voice memo with an ongoing smile.

‘I don’t have any interest in this any longer. Now run along, get back to class before you’re late. Also, be sure to give Irish my best.’

With that, I snatch my phone out of his hand and retreat back to my car. I give the house one last glance to see Damon cockily waving at me from the porch. Damon was always one step ahead. I make it back to school before the tardy bell and rush to class. My dad sends me a text saying that he set up a time that I can see Niall before the district attorney comes. I impatiently go through the rest of my classes before speeding to the jail. My dad is waiting by the same familiar cell once I make it to the back. ‘Be quick, the DA is on her way.’

‘Hi.’ I murmur sitting down beside Niall on the floor. I copy his stance and press my back against the wall and extend my legs out alongside his.

‘Hi.’ He repeats running a hand through his thick brown hair. ‘How was school?’

‘Are we really doing small talk?’ I force out an uncomfortable laugh, looking around at the harshness of the cell. Everything was metal so it made the room feel that much colder. ‘The little boring parts about my day.’

‘Please baby,’ Niall replies, placing his eyes on me. ‘I’ve stared at these goddamn brick walls all day so I could definitely hear it right about now. Every single boring part of your day.’

‘Okay, well, homeroom was the same I guess. Mrs. Jameson got on Rose and Zayn for coming in late. She said she’d give Zayn detention for a week if he was late again. Trigonometry was boring without you. I missed your cracks about Dr. Werner. We had to finish as many problems as we could in twenty minutes. I think I did okay; I made it through sixteen of them. I’m pretty sure you would’ve gotten all of them with time to spare. I painted this really nice landscape of a field in art today. I can’t wait to show it to you.’ I ramble on as a small smile plays on Niall’s face. He nods his head attentively as he follows along my boring story, ‘I skipped lunch and went to John’s house.’ I whisper, twirling the coordinates bracelet Niall got me for my birthday around my wrist several times.

‘You what? ’