Eight Years Gone

I grab the clothes from Liam, pulling the white curtains around my bed as I undress. The hospital gown drops to the floor with a small thud. I pull out a pink T-shirt with the words Love in white cursive. I slip the shirt on, then pull out another piece of clothing I’m unfamiliar with. I blush, feeling incredibly dumb.

“Uh, Liam, what’s this?”

I peek around the curtain, holding up the black piece of clothing that has two cups. Liam flushes a deep red; glancing around to be sure no one is here. He comes towards the curtain, dropping his voice low.

“It’s called a Bra. You put it over, your uh, boobs.”

I tilt my head to the side, confusion flittering through me. I bite my bottom lip thoughtfully.

“Wait, do you mean these?” I ask, pointing towards my chest.

Liam casts his eyes downwards, but nods. “Yes.”

I pull the curtain all the way closed again, grabbing my jeans and slipping them on before lifting the shirt off. I spend a good two minutes struggling before sighing. I can’t clasp it, that’s for sure. I hope Liam won’t mind helping.

“Liam, I need, uh, help.” I say softly, grabbing the shirt and hiding the front of me.

I hear the curtain open. His hands brush against my back, grabbing either side of the bra and strapping it. He pulls away again and I hear the whooshing as he hides me again. I pull the shirt back over my head. I run a hand through my hair. It’s a lovely deep reddish brown color. It never was this color when I was younger, then again, who knows what all has happened to me over the last eight years.

I open the curtain for the final time, standing fully dressed in front of Liam. He smiles approvingly.

“I wasn’t sure if you would be Harry’s sister’s size, but I guess we got lucky.”

Who’s Harry? I wonder if he’s going to explain or not. When he came this morning it was to sign me out and finish the paper that gives him legal guardianship of me. He is nineteen, which makes him legal. I knew he was eighteen or nineteen.

“Alright, so we’re going to go out to eat first. I can only assume how hungry you must be. I’ll explain the lads to you when we get there.”

I follow him out of the room, feeling uncomfortable in the bra. How do girls get used to this? Liam waves politely to a mob of girls standing outside the hospital. They are screaming his name, and then there are people with microphones shouting questions towards him. He wraps his arm protectively around my shoulders, pulling me into his side as we dodge the people. We get to his car. I climb into the passenger seat. He says something to the people before taking his place behind the wheel.

I keep quiet. Honestly, it scares me a little. Just what the heck was all of that? Why were they all screaming Liam’s name? Why were they shouting at us? Liam looks over at me quickly, taking in my frightened expression. He puts his eyes back on the road, reaching over to grab my hand.

“Hey, don’t worry. It’s okay.”

I nod numbly, taking comfort in his hand in mine. It’s been eight years since I’ve had to feel. Eight years since I’ve had to deal with everything. I just want to crawl into someone’s arms and be held. Of course, I’m a sixteen year old girl though, so I have to act like I am. I don’t know how they act!

Liam pulls up to a fast food place, going through the drive-thru. He glances over at me, a small smile on his lips.

“What do you want?”

I glance around him, taking in the menu. There are so many different choices. How do people decide?

“Uh, I guess I’ll just have the chicken sandwich.” I respond, pressing back into my seat.

Liam orders our food, pulling up to the second window. He pays and grabs the bag, pulling into a parking space. He keeps our windows rolled up, and the air conditioning on low. It’s not that hot outside, but it’s still pretty warm.

He hands me my sandwich and we eat in silence for a few minutes.

“Alright, so I should probably tell you about the lads.” He begins, pulling out his phone. He hands it to me after a second, a picture of five guys on the screen.

“That’s me and the lads. We’re a band. I don’t necessarily live with them, but they all live near me, kind of like living in a complex.” I pretend to understand. “Anyway, next to me are Harry, then Louis, then Niall and finally Zayn.”

They are all insanely handsome. I stare at the picture with wide eyes. He lives with these boys? He gets to spend every day with these boys? Wait, I get to be with these boys every day too?

“Wow.” I breathe and he chuckles. He pulls his phone back and puts it into his pocket.

“Anyway, we’re a famous band called One Direction. That’s why those girls were screaming my name. They’re my fans, and the people with the microphones are reporters trying to get some gossip. You don’t have to worry though; I’ll protect you from them.”

I try to take all that in, but it’s kind of difficult. And then I think of something that hasn’t crossed my mind.

“Liam, what’s my name?”

It’s the one thing I don’t remember. Well, I mean, I sort of do. It’s on the tip of my tongue, but I can’t quite pinpoint it. Liam’s eyes widen as he stares at me. His eyes are such a lovely shade of brown, so warm and beautiful.

“You don’t remember?”

I shake my head. “You’re name is Suzanne.”

“Suzanne Holt.” I say out loud. He nods. “Okay, well then call me Suzie.”

Liam nods thoughtfully, throwing his trash into the bag we got. I finish my sandwich and put the trash in there too.

“Suzie, are you okay with all of this? I don’t want you to do something you are uncomfortable with.”

I glance up at him and then out of my window. “I don’t quite understand it all. I’m trying. I’m okay with anything that happens, because I really don’t have anything left for me.”

Liam sighs. He pulls out of the parking space and we start down the road again. It goes silent. I’m okay with that though. I’m thinking of the lads. I hope they’re as nice as Liam makes them out to be. If they spend almost every moment together working as a band, then if Liam didn’t like them, he wouldn’t stick around. At least, that’s what I think he’d do.

We pull up to a house. All around us are different houses and this is where I understand what he means by a complex. They all live in separate houses, but all together at the same time. I wonder if he lives with one of the lads or if they all live by themselves.

We both get out of the car. I follow him up to the middle house. He opens the door, closing it behind me.

“Harry, I’m home.” Liam calls out.

A few seconds later, Harry stumbles down the stairs. He looks sleepy; his curly dark brown hair is a mess, his green eyes bright as he takes me in. I blush under his gaze. He smirks slightly, standing up straighter and turning his attention to Liam.

“I didn’t know you were bringing a pretty girl home. I would have cleaned a bit.”

Liam rolls his eyes, wrapping an arm around my shoulders. “Harry, this is Suzie. Suzie, this is Harry. She’s off limits, Haz. She’s going to be living with us for a while.”

“Aw” Harry whines.

I raise my hand and wave shyly. “Hi.” I whisper.

Liam squeezes my shoulder with his hand. “I’ll tell you and the lads everything later. As of right now, I want to help Suzie settle in.”

“Well, it’s nice to meet you Suzie. I guess I’ll be seeing you around.” He winks at me and disappears through a doorway.

“That leads to the kitchen.” Liam explains, leading me up the stairs. We walk down the hallway and he points out which room is his and which is Harry’s. Then he gives me the very last room down the hall. “We’ll go buy paint and stuff you can decorate with. I know Zayn will probably take you shopping for clothes later. He has a thing for shopping.”

I nod. He shows me my bathroom, which is in my room. I’ve never had that. He continues to explain how if I need anything, I can come to his room whenever I need to. Then, he leaves me to adjust and relax for a bit. I know he’s gathering the lads and telling them the story. I just don’t know how I feel about that.

It was explained to me by the Doctor what my virginity was and how it was taken. That was obviously supposed to be given to someone special. I sigh, falling back onto my bed. Everything is so new and fresh. There’s still so much I don’t understand, like a bra, and boobs. I get off the bed, wandering out of my room and down the hallway.

I hear hushed voices downstairs. I sit on the top step, listening in on the conversation.

“You mean to say, that all these years you just go off on your own, you’ve been visiting her?” Harry asks incredulously.

“Well, yeah. I saved her eight years ago. I wanted to be sure she would live. She’s been through a lot guys. Imagine having an eight year gap in your life.” Liam responds softly.

“That has to be tough.” an Irish voice floats to me.

“Zayn, will you take her shopping later?” Liam’s voice again.

“No problem, man.” An unfamiliar voice speaks, but now I know its Zayn.

Another voice speaks up. “So, when can we meet her?”

“In a bit, Lou, I want to let her settle in before we all trample her.”

“Aw, but I wanna meet her now.”

I crawl down the stairs, being quiet so they won’t hear me. As I reach the last step, I turn to see Liam hovering over me. He chuckles, holding out his hand for me to take. I grab it and he pulls me up, shaking his head slightly.

He tugs me with him as we enter the living room. All the boys turn to gaze at me at the same time. I flush under their intense gazes. They are all even more incredibly handsome in person.

“Lads, this is Suzie. I was going to wait to introduce her, but I guess she got curious.”

I giggle, waving my hand at them. “Hi.” I respond quietly.

“I’m Louis.” A boy with shaggy brown hair says, and light blue eyes.

“Zayn Malik.” The boy with spiky black hair and beautiful hazel eyes says next.

“Niall” the blonde boy with bright blue eyes says.

“And then you know Harry.” Liam adds in.

Zayn roams his eyes over me, then instantly he throws his jacket on. It’s a red and black varsity jacket with a giant M on it, most likely standing for Malik. Zayn comes over towards me and grabs my hand, pulling me towards the door before stopping.

“I’m taking her shopping. Niall, do you want to come?”

I hear a happy shout. A few seconds later, the blonde boy comes scampering into the room, a grin on his lips. I giggle at him. Niall grabs me around the waist, pulling me to him. Zayn scoffs, letting go of my hand.

“I guess Niall is going to play nice today.” Zayn comments as he leads us to his car.

Niall laughs loudly. His personality is bubbly and I find myself enjoying his company. I like Zayn too though, with his dark and mysterious appearance. It makes him quite attractive. Niall and I clamber into the back while Zayn takes the driver’s seat.

“You guys ready?”

“Yeah!” Niall shouts and Zayn can’t help but smile.

I smile to myself. I think I can get used to this kind of life.