Niall’s P.O.V.

Two days later, I’m cleaning out the back of my car, trying to find the paperwork Simon had given me to complete for some gig. I frown when I see a dark blue cardigan hanging on the headcover of the passenger seat. I remember this being on Luke. Then again, she is the only girl that has ever been in my car lately.

I take it off the headrest and the shocking smell of her hits my nose. It sounds a bit odd, but she smells so amazing, like citrus and chocolate, or somewhere in between. It’s nearing nine o’ clock at night, but for some reason, I’m crazy enough to get back in my car and drive to Luke’s to give her cardigan back.

I think it’s just an excuse to see her again.

When I reach her doorstep, I put my finger to the doorbell and I’m about to press it when I hear something shattering. It sounds like glass. Then, it’s followed by a yell of pain that sounds too much like Luke. I began ringing the doorbell vigorously, yelling her name. Damn it. She’s not answering. I can’t hear anything happening on the other side of the door now, and I’m worried something may have happened to Luke. I put my hand on the doorknob and twist it.

Of course it’s not locked.

I push open the door and my eyes have to adjust to the darkness of the house. I hear light sobbing coming from somewhere.

“Luke?” I call. “I have your cardigan.”

I just hear more sobbing. I follow the sound until I enter the living room. There is stuff everywhere. Luke is curled up in a corner by the television. There is glass everywhere from a broken vase. Her leg is bleeding. I gulp and set her cardigan down on the couch.

“Luke,” I croak, “what are you doing to yourself, love?”

“Leave me alone,” she barks, keeping her head down. I sigh and squat down to meet her height in a curled up mess.

“You can’t take your pain out on everything in the house, Luke.” I whisper, holding her cheeks. “You’ll just hurt yourself.”

“But that’s what I want.” She sobs, looking up at me. She is shaking so bad. I feel terrible.

“No,” I say. “That isn’t what you want. You think hurting yourself is going to get rid of the pain. You think throwing things around is going to take away our anger, but it’s only going to make matters worse.”

Luke doesn’t answer.

“Come on,” I encourage, standing up. I pull her up and help her to the kitchen. I scoop her weak, frail body into my arms and set her down on the counter.

“Where is the first aid kit?” I ask, beginning to go through the cupboards.

“Last cupboard on the left,” she answers, pointing to a specific one. I open it and fit a white box. I take it out and walk towards her turning the kitchen light on it the process. I then see her face. She looks so much worse than in the dark. Her eyes are so red from crying and blood is slowly seeping from a cut on her arm as well.

I take a power towel and run it under the water in the sink then rubbing it to Luke and dab the two cuts. She hisses in pain.

“Sorry,” I apologize, wincing a little. I don’t mean to hurt her.

“It’s okay,” she says.

I take out some disinfecting liquid from the first aid kit and pour it onto a cotton ball.

“This is going to sting a lot,” I sigh, looking at her. “Just squeeze my hand really tight or something.”

Luke grabs my hand as I press the cotton ball to her cuts. She yelps loudly, squeezing my hand.

“Ow,” she whimpers, squeezing her eyes shut. “Ow, ow, ow.”

I do the same for her other cut, to which she replies with a same reaction. I remind myself that I am not hurting her. I’m helping her. After cleaning off her cuts, I apply some special cream onto the cuts that supposedly helps heal them, then cover the cuts up with bandages.

“All done,” I smile, dusting my hands off. Luke grimaces, looking at the bandages.

“I have so much cleaning up to do,” she sighs, rubbing her eyes.

“How about we do that tomorrow,” I suggest, helping her off the counter. She looks up at me and tilts her head slightly.

“We?”

I smile. “Yes, we. I’m not going to let you touch glass by yourself. Plus, you still need to recover and I am a good person so I’m going to help.”

Luke tries to protest against me but I shush her and take her hand, leading her up to her room. She stumbles on the stairs once or twice, but I’m sure to catch her. Once she’s in bed, I turn the light out and close her door gently. When I exit her bedroom, Hotshot runs up to me, whining softly. I smile and pick him up.

“Hey, buddy.” I grin and pet him. He gives a short bark and attempts to lick my face. I laugh and dodge just in time, setting him back down. When I turn on the other lights in the house, I’m shocked. Broken vases and pictures frames are everywhere. Books from Luke’s room have been thrown out into the hallway, and some are ripped.

I’m glad Luke forgot her cardigan in my car.

I shake my head in disbelief of what pain can do to such a wonderful person. It can make them a monster. I start to pick up the books and pile them in a corner. I then go to the kitchen and get a broom from the closet, sweeping the glass into a bag. By the time I’m done cleaning the two hallways upstairs, I’ m exhausted. I crash onto the sofa and let sleep take over me in the blink of an eye.


Luke’s P.O.V.

I wake up to the sound of the vacuum running. Glancing at the clock, I see that I have slept past noon. Dang it. I was supposed to help Niall clean.

I hurry out of bed, tying my hair up. I stumble into my bathroom and quickly brush my teeth, splashing some water over my face at the same time. I shower as quick as possible and change into sweats and a random graphic tee. When I get downstairs, Niall has finished vacuuming the entire downstairs, meaning he has practically finished cleaning up everything.

“Good morning,” he grins, unplugging the vacuum. “How did you sleep?”

I glare at him, but I can’t help the smile approaching my lips. “I was supposed to help you clean.”

Niall laughs. “I was going to wake you, but you seemed so peaceful when you were sleeping so I just left you there.”

I roll my eyes and smack his shoulder playfully. “Slept pretty well for the first time in three days.”

Niall smiled. “I’m glad.”

I look around the house. It looks the same as before, except something is different. It smells good. It smells like my mother.

“Niall, did you spray scent around here or something?”

Niall blushes, letting out a chuckle. “Yeah. I found some scented spray when I was looking for a trash bag. Smells good, don’t you think?”

I nod. “My mum always used that spray once she finished cleaning.”

Niall’s smile drops. “Oh, I’m so sorry.”

“Oh, it’s okay,” I assure. I walk t the vacuum and begin rolling up the wire. Niall watches me as I do so. I pretend that I don’t notice him staring at me.

“You definitely look a lot better than yesterday night,” he says. I’m not sure whether that’s a compliment or an insult, but from the smile on his face, I decide on compliment.

“Thanks,” I giggle lightly. I drag the vacuum back into the closet where it belongs, then make my ay back into the living room. Niall is seated on the couch, typing fast on his phone.

“What are you doing?” I ask, coming to sit beside him.

“My mum was just worried about me, he shrugs. “I came here so late last night and I didn’t tell her I was leaving.”

“Niall, you should go back,” I tell him. “You’re only away from tour for so long. You shouldn’t be spending your time here.”

“I know,” he sighs, looking up at me slowly. “But for some reason, I just can’t stay away from you. You’re such a great person. I consider you one of my best friends and it’s only been what, a week and a half?”

I smile wider than I should, knowing that someone thinks of me as a friend.

“Hey, by the way, I got a call from Dr. James while you were asleep.” Niall brings up, and my smile is gone.

“What did he say?”

“Hey,” Niall chuckles. “Smile a little. You’re dad is doing a lot better. His heart rate is moving at a normal pace and he’s able to converse with the nurses quite easily.”

“Oh thank god.” I exhale, letting a happy tear escape my eyes. I hug Niall for no reason, or maybe it’s because I’m so happy that my father is alright. Or maybe it’s because I like Niall’s hugs.

“But,” Niall pulls away. “He says that we need to discuss the funeral plans for your mother.”

“Oh.”

The room fills with silence before I bring up a question.

“Will you go with me to the funeral?”

Niall squeezes my arm gently. “Of course I will.”

“Thank you.”

---

Today is the day. I let out a breath and stare at my dress in the mirror. It’s black, with lace on the top and full fabric on the skirt portion. My black bra is barely visible through the lace. It’s my only black dress, and I don’t plan on buying another when I’ll be crying all over it anyway. I apply a bit of waterproof mascara and pink lip gloss and I’m done with the makeup. What’s the point when it will be marking my face when I cry?

The doorbell rings, and I really want it to be my father, coming home in a wheelchair, saying he’ll be at the funeral. But he won’t. The doctors won’t let him get out of bed. My father will miss his wife’s own funeral.

I slip on some pretty black flats and put my phone inside one of my mother’s black clutches. She loved the clutch.

When I open the front door, Niall is standing at the step looking too good for a funeral. He has on a white shirt topped with black slacks, a black suit and black tie. I blush and turn away when I notice I’m just staring.

“Hello,” Niall smiles slightly, pulling me into a hug. “You look nice.”


“Thanks,” I blush. “So do you.”

Niall smirks a little and we just stare at each other. It’s the first time I’ve really looked at him other than a friend. He’s extremely good-looking. I notice now how bright his blue eyes are against his blonde hair. He’s got a little dimple in his chin when he smiles, and the suit shows how slim and fit he is.

Oh god. What am I thinking?

I clear my throat and Niall’s eyes meet mine. His cheeks have a tint of red to them and he’s biting his lip.

“Shall we get going?” he asks. I nod and lock the front door from the inside. Niall leads me to his car and opens the front door for me. On the seat is a light purple envelope. I turn to Niall who is standing behind me and give him a smile. Once inside the car, I open the envelope while Niall gets into the driver’s seat. I read the letter as Niall drives.

Dear Luke,

Let me just start by saying that you are truly an amazing girl. I’m very sorry for the loss of your mother and it must be so hard to cope with. I don’t know how hard it is to lose someone that I love to heaven, but I have gone through losing my father through a divorce. It’s heart wrenching, and so I understood why you became so mad the other day. I wish that I could do something, anything, to make you feel better but I know it doesn’t exactly work that way. You have to let yourself heal and it takes a while, trust me, I know.

I know that you blame yourself because that is what I did when I found out my parents divorced .I thought they fought because of me, that I was the cause of them splitting. Now I realize that the world doesn’t revolve around you all the time. People have their own problems, their own incidents. So as much as you tell yourself that you could have stopped that car crash from happening, would you really have stayed behind to argue and stall them from leaving? Would you really have stayed even if they wouldn’t have gotten in a car crash? I’m sure you wouldn’t have. You were mad at them and wanted to get away from them. I know this because your emotions make it so easy to read you. I guess I’m just good at reading people.

Luke, I really, really just want you to know that I’m your friend. And friends are there for each other. Know that I will always be there for you. You’ve distracted me from a life of paparazzi and screaming girls. You’ve showed me the woods and how to live a life away from people. All in less than two weeks. I think that’s exactly what I needed to feel like a normal nineteen year old boy again.

So now, as you read this, we are driving to your mother’s funeral. And I knew I had to come, not because I was obligated to do so, but because I care for you. I care for you so much. I swear we do have some sort of secret connection that neither of us know about, because I don’t think I’ve ever become such good friends with someone so quickly. Luke, you deserve the best, because you are the best. What makes you more amazing is that you don’t seem to realize what a great person you really are. I think I’ve said it one too many times in this letter already. Don’t ever forget that, and don’t let anyone make you think otherwise.

Your best, best, best, best, best, best, friend,

Niall

P.S.: Don’t cry when you read this!!! It’s not sad! And I hate it when you cry.


I set the letter down on my lap and look at Niall. His eyes are on the road but there was a small smile on his face. I feel two tears drop from each eye and I quickly wipe them away.

“Niall, I’m crying and we aren’t even at the funeral yet,” I laugh. He grins, glancing at me for a split second.

“Did you not read the P.S.?” he asks, licking his lips while he laughs.

“Yes,” I shrug. “But that can’t stop tears.”

Niall smiles softly and faces the road again. Niall is probably the only person who can make me even smile on the day of my mother’s funeral. It’s amazing how bright spirited he is. He can make anyone smile just by looking at him. How is that possible?

We pull up on a gravel road. There are a few cars already parked at the funeral home. It’s people off the list of people my father had told me to call. Niall turns off the ignition and looks over at me.

“You okay?” he asks, setting a hand on my shoulder and rubbing the exposed skin.

“I think so.” I nod, but I can feel a storm of tears coming onto the radar. Niall reaches over and gives me a warm hug before pulling away and getting out. We head into the funeral home together and find a small group of people gathered around. I recognize very few faces. The only ones I recognize are people that have come to my house to talk about work matters with my mum.

Those people won’t be coming around to my house anytime soon now.




Niall’s P.O.V.

Luke sits in the chair beside me, sobbing quietly into her little grey handkerchief as the priest reads out quotes from the bible and all that other shit. Luke isn’t even listening. She was just trying to contain her tears. One at a time, people such as Luke’s mum’s boss, and a fellow co-worker go up and talk about Luke’s mum. Luke cries even harder when they talk about her. I want to tell them to shut up, but I can’t. Instead, I take Luke’s hand and squeeze it, not letting go. I think it helps, because she shudders a little but stops crying and rests her head on my shoulder.

“Lucilia Aesbury.”

She looks up and wipes her face on the handkerchief before standing up. She smoothes her dress out and I give her an encouraging smile. She just gives me a flat stare and turns to walk up to the front.

She clears her throat and begins to speak. “Hello.”

People respond to her.

“I’m Ellie Aesbury’s daughter. The morning of the day my parents got into a car crash, I had stormed out early and left them to wonder where I was. I had gotten into a fight with them the night before and I didn’t want to speak with them. As an eighteen year old girl going on nineteen it’s natural to hate your parents when they are trying to do the best for you. My mum was truly an amazing person. Though I sometimes accused her of not being a good mother, I realize now that I am wrong. She raised me, taught me how to cook, and attempted to teach me how to sew.” Some people laughed.

“But most of all, she taught me that in order to be someone in this world, you have to be good. My mother was so funny and it crept me out when she acted like a teenage girl, but now I would give anything for her to be here, acting like she was a high school punk. She always pointed out different flowers that she liked, and had an amazing sense of fashion. She was always laughing with my father and making the lamest jokes to try and lighten the mood up when I was having a bad day. Now, I’m not good at speeches, and the last thing I would ever imagine is speaking like this in front of all you people. But right now, I want any one of you with children to go tell your children to be careful with every word said to their parents. Because what I feel worst about as of now, is that the last word to my mother was “No.” Not “I love you”, or “I’m forgive you.” I said “no” to a question filled with her concern for me. On that night, I treated her like a stranger on the street, and I regret it so much. Nothing feels worse that regret.”

I wipe a tear away from my eye. Luke’s speech has silenced everyone. I hear sobs coming from different corners of the room. Luke is crying, too.

“Thank you,” she whispers hoarsely before walking back to her seat.

When the coffin is lowered into the ground, we all stand. Luke looks like she is going to collapse. My arms are wrapped around her from behind, her back to my chest. She’s crying so hard that the priest gives her a look. I glare at him and he turns away.

Then comes the section of the ceremony where people bring flowers to the area. Luke spreads out a bouquet of tulips across the dirt. I stay back and watch her. Her long brown hair sweeps across her face and she bend down. Her dress hugs her body in all the right places. She doesn’t know how attractive she is. I can feel the eyes of younger men on her and it makes me protective of her.

I walk towards her and gesture for her to give me some flowers. She smiles a tiny bit and hands me five or six tulips. I spread them out and then take Luke’s hand. I don’t even know why I’m holding her hand, but it feels right at the moment.

It’s a late funeral so by that time it’s over, its around eight at night. After the funeral is over, Luke is holding too many tears in to stay for the after gathering. She pulls my hand and drags me to my car, tears spilling out of her eyes.

“Niall hurry and unlock it,” she begs, gesturing to the car. She furiously wipes tears off her face. Instead, I walk up to her and wrap my arms around her waist. Her arms fall around my neck and she buries her head into my shoulder. I feel the shoulder area of my suit starting to dampen. I pick her up and sit against the front of the car, still hugging her.

“Oh my god. I’m being ridiculous,” she gasps in tears, pulling away from my shoulder. Her eyes are dull but at least they aren’t bloodshot.

“No you aren’t,” I shake my head. “You’re being human.”

Luke sighs and takes her hands away from my shoulder. I unlock my car and she gets in. She’s quiet the whole ride back to her place. When I pull up by her mailbox, she starts to unbuckle her seatbelt when she stops, staring at the house.

“Niall?”

“Yeah?”

“Would it be terribly selfish of me if I asked you if I could stay at your place tonight?” she asked quietly. “I don’t want to be alone tonight.”

“That’s not selfish,” I tell her. “And of course you can stay at my place.”

“Can you give me a second to get a change then?” she asks. I can tell she’s relieved I’m letting her stay with me.

“Sure,” I nod. “Take as long as you need.”

Luke smiles gratefully and gets out of the car. I watch her unlock the front door to her house. Less than five minutes later, she comes out with a bag on her shoulder. She reaches the car and gets back inside.

“Sorry I took so long,” she says in a rush. “I had to give Hotshot his food.”

“Long? Luke, you didn’t even take five minutes,” I laugh. Luke blushes so hard that I can see it in the darkness of the night.

It’s about a ten minutes drive to my place. All the while, Luke stays silent. She’s still recovering, so I don’t bother her. When we reach my mum’s place, where I’m staying, my hand falls to the small of her back as we make our way to the front door. I search for my set of keys and unlock the door. I hear my mum talking to someone, but it’s just she and I in the house normally, so I assume she is on the phone.

“Mum!” I call. “I’m home!”

The talking stops and she answers with an, “I’m in the kitchen!”

I take Luke’s wrist and set Luke’s bag down by the stairway. Luke follows me into the kitchen. My mum turns from putting the phone down and her eyes fall to Luke. My mum’s eyes widen and she gives me a small grin.

“Niall, who is this?”

“This is Luke,” I smile.

“Hi,” Luke says, shaking my mother’s hand. “It’s such a pleasure to meet you.”

“You too, sweetheart,” my mum coos, giving me a look of approval. I roll my eyes from behind and stand as Luke and my mum officially meet each other. Once that’s over, Luke yawns and excuses herself, claiming that she’s tired. I show her the guest room and then come back downstairs to get her bag. My mum is near the stairs when I come down. She smiles and whispers into my ear,

“Is she the one who lost her mother?” my mum asks. I nod. My mum sighs and looks up the stairs which Luke has gone up. "She doesn't seem like someone who deserves something like that."

"I know," I agree. "She really doesn't."

Notes

heyyyyyyyy no long end note today. hope yo uguys like it! thanks for the seven votes! lets see if i can get to ten?