*Emma’s POV*

Haley and Hannah chatted on the way to the first dress shop on our checklist. I tried to pay enough attention to throw in some small talk, but my mind kept wandering to the way that Harry looked at Hannah, and the way that she felt safe enough to look back at him. This thought brought consciousness to the fresh bruises. I tugged the sleeves of my jumper over my wrists and checked my cheek in the rear view mirror, seeing if my makeup was doing its job.

“Right Emma?” I looked over to Haley in the passenger’s seat.

“Sorry, come again?”

“Oh my goodness, what’s up with you guys today? Hannah still doesn’t think that she’s right for this…”

“Hey, hey now, none of that kind of talk. You have to admit that you’re gorgeous. If we pick out a rocking dress and some sexy heels, no one will even know that it’s not Haley standing up there.”

“Well, I wouldn’t take it that far,” Haley teased before smiling back at Hannah.

“Well, I think that you’re going to go as pale as her if you don’t get a little sun. Try to get a little bit of color while you ditch us for a week, alright?” She playfully smacked my bicep and I muffled the wince that threatened to escape my mouth. Damon had really taken it out of my ass for getting home late last night. Which reminded me – I needed to pick up some more cigarettes and a six pack on my way home.

~

Six shops later, we had found many dresses but none of them were ‘the’ dress. For every woman, there are a select few dresses that fit perfectly and shine through with their personalities. I was determined to find Hannah’s. We had given up on my car due to rush hour and were now traveling on the sidewalks by foot, mapping out where we needed to go next. Being a few paces ahead of Hannah and Haley, I hardly noticed that they had stopped behind me. Looking back, I saw Hannah mesmerized by something beyond the window of a small shop. Just by looking at the sign, I knew that the fashion level was quite low.

“Hannah,” I began walking back to her, “I’m sure that there’s nothing from in there that…” I paused, following her stare. On the mannequin in the front display, there was a beautiful, rich, red high-low. It was ruffled at each layer all the way down to the train in the back. The only place that wasn’t red was and intricate band of rhinestones around her lower ribcage. It was strapless and Hannah’s eyes sparkled as she looked into the window at it.

“Do they announce names?” She caught me slightly off guard with her question.

“I’m sorry, what?” She turned to me, looking ultimately hopeful.

“Do they announce our names when we go up to be auctioned off?”

“Oh… erm… I don’t think so, no.” Where was she going with this?

“And Harry’s going to be the one bidding on me anyways, right?”

“That’s the plan.” Her eyes were suddenly fueled with excitement.

“We have to get this one!” Hannah was suddenly running for the doors of the small, rundown store.

“Hannah…”

“Trust me, Emma! I have to get this one!” What was her deal? Complying anyways, I followed Haley into the store and we found Hannah already at the counter, asking for the dress in the window in her size. The old woman behind the counter happily complied as she disappeared into the back of the store. She returned seconds later and handed Hannah the bag before Hannah was lost into a fitting room. All that we could see of her was the back of her head and the bottom of the dress fall around her heels. “Emma?”

“Yeah?”

“I think that I need this dress. Like, this is the one that I have to wear.”

“What do you mean?” With that, Hannah stepping barefoot out of the fitting room and I didn’t have to look at Haley to know that her jaw was on the floor as well. Out of all the dresses that we had tried on today, none looked as well as this one. It showed off her cleavage perfectly and the deep red made her skin tone look to be tan even though the London weather was not kind to her coloring. Turning to Haley, I found her looking at me hopefully. I smiled and nodded, approving her choice, silently praising Hannah for having such an eye to find the type of dress that I had been searching for all day.

Looking the older woman, she was beaming at the dress that clung to Hannah’s body. Her hands covered her mouth and when she caught me staring, she began nodding vigorously. I know that it is the jobs of most sales women to tell their customers that they look beautiful and that the customer should buy their clothing, but this was different. The woman, Marcy – her name tag read – seemed so genuine to be in love with seeing Hannah in this dress. I couldn’t deny it. Either she was being for real and I was going to pay for the dress, or she was a damn good actress and was going to be paid stealthily for her acting abilities. Asking her how much the bill came to, I began to write out the check while Hannah went back in to change into her street clothes.

“Emma, you really don’t have to pay for it, I can,” Hannah said from inside the dressing room.

“Darling, this is your first event. It’s the least that I can do.” She walked out, changed and ready to go, with a smile on her face. She came over and hugged me. I was taken a little by surprise, but hugged her back none the less.

~

Once we arrived at the boys’ flats, we all went to Harry and Louis’ place. At first, it was just the girls and Harry and Lou, but soon the rest of the boys showed up and we all sat around talking. Every once in a while I would catch Niall looking at me, observing me, but I tried hard to ignore it. Damon would have killed me if he knew that this was going on… that I was having these types of feelings for someone. I rubbed my arm in a downward motion when I caught Ni staring at my arm and realized that my sleeve had ridden up slightly.

Standing up casually, I began walking towards the kitchen for a drink of water. When I heard footsteps behind me, I didn’t have to think about who it was. I already knew. Setting my glass back on the counter, I turned around to lean on the surface and look at him. My eyes focused on his rich blue green ones, but his were concentrated on my arms. If he only knew how many there really were. Walking towards me, he let his eyes drift up my body. When he was close enough, he rested his hands lightly on my waist and I held in the wince that threatened to fall out of my mouth. I attempted to move away. I felt a gravitational pull towards him, but this was wrong. He would kill me if he knew. Niall allowed his grip to tighten slightly as he used one hand to move my chin so we were face to face.

Our foreheads pressed together and there was no way that I could have stopped myself, but I didn’t want to anyways. With a slight urgency, I let our lips connect. At first it was subtle but there was soon much more intensity. Before I knew what was happening, his hands cupped my backside, lifting me onto the counter.

*Niall’s POV*

She didn’t resist this time. Actually, she made the final move - gave me the ‘go’ sign. Mindlessly, I let my hands wander up her sides. It wasn’t until I felt cold skin that I realized that I had taken her shirt to crumple just above her belly button. Letting my eyes wander, I saw it. Before my mind could wrap around what I was seeing. There was a dark tint to Emma’s blue eyes as she tugged down her top and jumped off of the counter. There was something about the way she walked, probably that it was away from me instead of towards, but I couldn’t just let her. Grabbing her wrist, I spun her around to face me. There was a look in her eyes. It was fear, but it didn’t seem to be a fear of me. My hold still on her wrist, I used my other hand to move her sleeve up her arm. I just saw the bottom of a fading bruise when she grabbed me by the wrist, mentally pleading for me to stop.

“Emma, let me see.”

“Why? It’s not a big deal,” she shrugged it off like it was nothing, but there was still something about her.

“If it’s not a big deal, then just let me see.” Her wrist helplessly dropped towards the floor as did her face, knowing that she was defeated. I felt slightly guilty for defeating her, because once I lifted the material from her arms, it was plain to see that she had been defeated before. Long bruises wrapped around her forearms. Carefully, I aligned my fingers with the fading marks. They didn’t match perfectly, but it wasn’t my hands that left these. “Who did this?” She didn’t respond. Her face stayed towards the floor and I watched a tear stain her shirt as it fell from her eyes. I let go of her arm and pulled her chin up to face me once again. The circumstances were terrible, but the blue in Emma’s eyes overpowered everything else when they showed through the tears.

She would look anywhere except for at me. “I really have to go.” Attempting to pull away from me, I could hear her swallow, attempting to stop her tears.

“I’ll drive you.”

“I have to take my car,” she made the excuse.

“We’ll just take your car.” She looked up at me through long lashes, looking hopeless.

“You can’t stay Niall.” Her eyes closed, trying to hide the pain that was more than obvious.

“Then I’ll take a cab home. I’m not letting you drive while you’re like this. That’s it. There’s nothing more to say.” Even if she wouldn’t let this – us – happen, I still wasn’t about to see her next on the news in an astounding car accident. She wasn’t fit to drive in this state, with her mind clouded with whatever horrors she had faced. Knowing that she wouldn’t win, she didn’t argue anymore, but she didn’t say anything either.

We walked out the door and I caught Hannah’s eye. “I’m going to drive Emma home.” My voice was sullen and Hannah looked at me curiously before winking at me. I couldn’t help but blush, even though I knew it wasn’t like that.

The car was absolutely silent, but there was nothing awkward. The car smelled like smoke and I tried not to notice. “Oh, we have to stop at a gas station.”

“You nearly have a full tank,” I double checked the meter, making sure that I wasn’t wrong.

“It’s not for gas.” That was all that she said until I pulled up into the parking lot. “Wait here.” I ceased my actions of reaching for the buckle of my seatbelt and slumped back into my seat as she was already walking away. There was something about her walk that was very much like a model, but I lost my train of thought as she sat back into the car. Had I really been day dreaming about her for that long? I guess so. In one hand, she held a six pack and in the other, there was a bag that was obviously holding cigarettes. She hadn’t smelled like smoke before. Was she just really good at hiding it?

“You smoke?” All that she did was shake her head. I glanced between her and the road, waiting for her to elaborate. She looked like she was going to talk to me, and I almost got excited.

“Turn right up here.” My heart sunk when I realized that those were the words that I was waiting for. I had hoped for something different, but when was I ever that lucky? That was it. I had to know. Pulling the car to the side of the road just before the turn, I put it in park and looked over at her – I’d create my own luck. She looked at me, astonished that I had just stopped. “Why’d we stop Niall? I really have to get ho…”

“Not until you tell me.” My words came out a little harsher than I had planned and my heart dropped as I realized that she had flinched back because of the hardness of my tone. I forcibly softened my expression and reached out for her. Emma let me take her hand in my own as I made my eyes plead to her heart. “Emma, tell me what’s going on.” She looked down at her arm and I could see tears starting to form in her eyes. Slowly, I took my other hand and pushed her sleeve up her arm. “Does he smoke?” I didn’t know who he was, but I had to assume that there was another man in her life, and that he wasn’t treating her right. My suspicions were confirmed when she remained silent, but helplessly nodded her head. I looked out the window, putting my left hand back on the wheel while still holding hers in my right. “I can’t take you back there.”

“You have to.” I looked over to her and her eyes battled with mine. “Niall, we’re in his car and he’ll be pissed as it is that I’m coming home so late and…”

“And what?!”

“…And I love him,” she choked out before soft sobs began escaping her lips.

“I know.” I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, giving her hand a small squeeze. She wouldn’t still be with him if there wasn’t more to this story. “If he does anything to you – puts his hands on you, hurts you – call me. It’s not a question. If he takes your phone, run away. Find someone that does have a phone and I’ll come and get you.” I looked back at her. Emma’s expression seemed totally okay with the idea, soaking in each word I spoke. I knew that there was more to this story and I knew that I had to figure out what it was, but now wasn’t the time, nor the place. I could tell that she wanted for me to know everything, but apparently everything wasn’t so easily spoken. Right now, I had to accept that. Putting the car back into drive, I couldn’t think of anything else to do. There were no more words that I could say, so turned on the radio:

I’m broken, do you hear me?
I’m blinded, ‘cause you are everything I see,
I’m dancin’ alone, I’m praying,
That your heart will just turn around.

And as I walk up to your door,
My head turns to face the floor,
‘Cause I can’t look you in the eyes and say,

When he opens his arms and holds you close tonight,
It just won’t feel right,
‘Cause I can love you more than this, yeah,
When he lays you down,
I might just die inside,
It just won’t feel right,
‘Cause I can love you more than this,
Can love you more than this

If I’m louder, would you see me?
Would you lay down
In my arms and rescue me?
‘Cause we are the same
You save me,
But when you leave it’s gone again,

And when I see you on the street,
In his arms, I get weak,
My body fails, I’m on my knees,
Prayin’

When he opens his arms and holds you close tonight,
It just won’t feel right,
‘Cause I can love you more than this, yeah,
When he lays you down,
I might just die inside,
It just won’t feel right,
‘Cause I can love you more than this,
Can love you more than this

I’ve never had the words to say,
But now I’m askin’ you to stay
For a little while inside my arms,
And as you close your eyes tonight,
I pray that you will see the light,
That’s shining from the stars above,

And I say,
When he opens his arms and hold you close tonight,
It just won’t feel right,
‘Cause I can love you more than this,
‘Cause I can love you more than this

When he lays you down,
I might just die inside,
It just don’t feel right,
‘Cause I can love you more than this, yeah,

When he opens his arms and holds you close tonight,
It just won’t feel right,
‘Cause I can love you more than this,

When he lays you down,
I might just die inside,
It just don’t feel right,
‘Cause I can love you more than this,
Can love you more than this

By the end of the song, I was singing along and I didn’t care what Emma thought of it. My thoughts swam at the cliché aspect of it, but I didn’t really care about that either. It fit perfectly and it almost started to look like my luck might be turning. What were the chances of that coming on right when I needed it most? That was exactly what she needed to know.

*Emma’s POV*

By the time that the song had ended, I was choking back tears. I knew that it was incredibly miraculous that that song had come on, but I didn’t even mind. I didn’t want to have to go home, but I had no other choice. Damon would find me if I didn’t come home and he would hurt me if I did. I might as well not make him have to find me first.

Absent mindedly, I gave Ni the directions to my house. Thoughts raced through my mind, thoughts about Niall’s pleading eyes and angelic voice, and then thoughts of Damon’s hard muscles and harsh hands. I knew that I had to find a way to get away, but right now, there was no light at the end of the tunnel and I knew that it was entirely my fault. I deserved this, and for years I had been facing the music, but there was nothing that would ever repay what I had done.

“It’s three houses up.” It came out as a whisper but the speed of the car decreased so I was sure that he had heard me. Once Niall had stopped the car, I instantly tried to get out, but he grabbed my hand first. When I looked back to see what he wanted, his lips were on mine. They were plump and sweet and I liked the taste. I wished that I could stay here forever, but we both knew that that wasn’t an option. Slowly, we both made our way out of the car before he came around to engulf me in a tight hug. I ignored the pain in my torso and pulled him in just as deeply. “Remember to call if anything bad happens.”

“Being here on its own is bad, Ni.” My voice cracked and he hugged me tighter.

“Ssshhhh… it’s going to be okay. If he does anything I’ll be here in the blink of an eye.” I nodded against his firm chest before we released each other. He ducked down and cupped my face, wiping away my tears and running makeup with his thumbs. His eyes darted to all parts of my face as he did so, as if he were memorizing it. Then he stood back to his full height and leaned to press his forehead to mine. He kissed my nose once before releasing me. Slowly, I walked up the steps to my front porch, looking back at the blue eyed boy that had wiped away my tears – he was now walking and waving to catch a cab.

Walking into the house, I noticed that it was abnormally dark. Maybe he was still passed out somewhere… as if I were so lucky. “Hello?!” he bellowed. I cringed at the sound of his voiced aged by years and too many cigarettes. “Emi? Is that you?” I cringed at his nickname for me - he knew that I hated it. His voice sounded closer now and was coated with a false sense of kindness but laced with menace.

“Yeah, Damon,” I couldn’t see as I walked deeper into the front hall, away from any windows, “I brought you a six pack and some cig…” I was suddenly forced against the wall, a hand around my throat and the other pinning my wrist to the wall that held the back of cigarettes.

“We talked about this before sweetheart.” His breath was already drowned in alcohol and I silently cursed myself for feeding his addictions. “I. Am. Your. Father,” he banged my head against the wall slightly with each word, “and you will address me as such.”

Notes

Oh me gawd you guys! I'm so sorry I haven't posted in like a year - or at least it feels like it lol. I was on vacation with my dad's side of the family for way longer than I thought that I was going to be and have been writing like a maniac all day long. I made the chapter a little longer for you guys to make up for it. I haven't seen that side of the family in like over a year so I was really just trying to like enjoy being there, ya know?
Okay, now that my explanations outa the way... WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK! I think my story's getting less popular and it's cutting deep you guys. But don't worry. There's still WAY more drama and love and craziness to come.
Comment, rate, subscribe and remember that I love you all!
xoxo Hannah <3