“I’m familiar with the house, Mollsie. Question is, why’re you so familiar? Hmm?”
“Pardon?”
“Are ya neckin’ my captain, yank?” He seems to find whatever it is he’s saying amusing. I’m not sure I like the sound of it.
“Am I what? I don’t even know what that—” I trip on the bottom step since I hadn’t been looking, making JJ drop Niall and hit his head.
“Jaysus, Mary, and Joseph. Good thing this fucker’s got a thick noggin.”
“Oh my God,” I whisper in horror, trying to pick him back up. JJ was a bit busy losing his shit, bent over laughing. I check Niall over for blood, hoping he doesn’t have any internal bleeding.
Once JJ gets over his laughing spell, he’s able to help me half drag, half carry Niall up the stairs and to his bedroom. Comet abandons us once we reach the top of the stairs, probably headed for Claire’s room.
Once we get him onto his bed, rolled onto his back, he starts whimpering like he’s having a bad dream. I’m by his upper half in a second, seeing if maybe I can get him conscious enough to calm down.
“Hey, hey. It’s okay, bud,” I say, trying to comfort him the way I would Lorraine after having a bad dream.
“Aw, look at him. Look his nose is twitching—”
“Shh. Shut up. What happened to not waking Claire?”
“He’s like a little bunny rabbit.” JJ reaches out and boops Niall’s nose. I slap his hand away, glaring at him. “Aw— ow, jeez, fine. Possessive much?”
“Oh my god—” I’m cut off by a thumping from down the hall, and JJ and I look at each other.
“Molly? Where’d you go?” I hear Claire call out, and I go to get up but JJ holds out his hand and shakes his head. He points at Niall, telling me to stay and goes to check on Claire himself.
“Claire—” Niall calls out in his half-conscious state.
I look away from the doorway, back down at him. I sit on the bed next to him, stroking his hair. “Shh, Niall. JJ went to go see her. He’ll make sure she’s alright, yeah?”
He doesn’t respond, but his face looks like it relaxes just a fraction. Though not enough to put me at ease.
“You can hear me, right, Niall?” I ask, running my hand down his face and softly stroking his cheek.“Can you open your eyes?”
“Sorry,” he mumbles quietly, and it took a moment before I saw the deep blue of his eyes. Blue isn’t enough to describe their color. Blue’s too soft, too little of a word for the bottomless depth in the oceans of his eyes, full of hurt and sorrow. “M’sorry I lost it.”
I don’t say anything. I’m assuming he’s apologizing for beating that Stratford guy’s face in earlier at the game, but who knows what else he’s done tonight. Or maybe he’s apologizing for the drinking in the locker room.
Then all of sudden he’s trying to bolt upright, and I quickly push him back down so he doesn’t go flying off the bed.
“Don’t move,” I warn. “JJ said you could barely walk from Fitzy’s truck to the curb.”
“Jonathan Jarlathis unsupervised with my sister, and that’s a big problem,” he says, his lips quivering as if he’s cold. I debate on trying to wrestle the duvet out from underneath him to cover him up, but that seems like a lot of work.
“He’ll be fine,” I say, trying to calm him back down again. “Believe it or not, he’s not as bad as he seems. Someone once told me he’s all bark and no bite.”
Niall starts to giggle like a little girl at a slumber party. “Mmm, he is... I told ya that.”
“Yeah, silly goose,” I say, unable to contain my own laughter. “You did.”
Our laughs dissolve out, and Niall’s fizzles into a frown and a whine as I roll him onto his size, laying his head on the pillow. “Nooo...”
“Yes, you have to lay on your side or you’ll choke on your own vomit.”
“No, no, I don’t want to sleep,” he whispers pitifully. “I don’t want to lose you.”
I frown, as I find a blanket at the foot of his bed, unfolding it to drape over him. “You won’t, Niall. I’ll be here all night long. Like you said. You can’t get rid of me.”
