On the Edge

I close the door quietly quietly behind me, hoping that my father would be asleep so I wouldn't have to deal with what he would do to me.

However, such hopes quickly fell as I walk into the living room to find him standing there, arms crossed over his chest. His eyes were narrowed to the point where they looked like slits, watching my every move.

I. Was. In. Trouble.

"Madelyn, just where have you been? You said you'd be home by four. It's four thirty." my father says, his voice getting slightly louder with each word, anger evident in his tone. I begin to shake, for I knew all to well what happened when I made my father mad.

"S-sorry, sir. It took me longer than I thought it would. P-please don't hurt me."

"I wouldn't have to if you were a better child. Good boys and girls don't tell lies to their
parents. You know as well as I that you need to be punished, Madelyn."

No, I didn't know. I hadn't done anything wrong. Why my father is like this, I can't say. But when he did get in one of his moods, there was no getting out of it.

Ever.

I had tried before, several times actually, and it had only resulted in him leaving twice as many bruises as he normally did.

"Yes, father."

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"Everything okay, Maddie?" Niall asks, casually throwing his arm over my shoulder. I whince at the at the pressure of it against the fresh bruise there, silently begging for him to move it. He looks at me confused, then shrugs it off like it's no big deal.

I take that as a chance to quickly move to the other side of the couch, beside Liam. There was no way that I could take Niall's icy stare, which I knew he would be using against me even if he suspected something was going on. Probably through the entire rest of the movie, not that I was paying much attention to it.

I didn't even remember the name.

"Maddie, can I talk to you for a minute?" Niall asks, grabbing my wrist and yanking me off the couch before I could protest. Great, now he was mad at me too.

I look back to see suspicious looks on the rest of the boys faces as he dragged me up the stairs and into his room, closing the door.

"Look, if you brought me here to scream, yell, or fuss at me, don't bother. I already know that I'm a horrible, stupid, lying child who has absolutely no respect or manners for anything." I say, feeling slight dampness on the corners of my eyes, tears threatening to spill over any second.

"Who told you that?"

"My Father."

"What?"

"Yes Niall, my father says things like that. Though that's not near as bad as the marks he leaves on my body. Bruises, scars, scrapes, they're all over me. I didn't tell you because he threatened to kill me if I ever said anything to anyone." I barely manage to choke out. But it felt good to finally admit it someone, almost like a huge weight had been lifted off of my shoulders.

It was about time that I come clean. About time that I stopped hiding what really went on in my life. About time that I stopped pretending I was fine, putting on fake smiles, forcing myself to laugh when I wasn't happy. I couldn't do that anymore. I wouldn't. It was time to let someone know what I really felt. Because when you keep things bottled up for so long, not letting them out, it causes more hurt anything else. It's better to share things with at least one person. It helps you from feeling so alone. That's how I feel when I'm around Niall. I've known him almost my whole life, so I know I can trust him.

"H-he does that?" he asks, looking shocked.

"Yes, Niall, he does. There's also something else that you don't know." I say, rolling up my shirt sleeve, revealing the aftermath of what I had done. I wasn't going to hide anything now, there was no point.

"Madelyn, why?"

"I don't know, I felt alone. With my father the way he is, and my mother not caring, I guess I just lost it. When you were here, you kept me grounded. But when you left, there was no one else to comfort me. No one to make me smile or tell me it would all be fine. What was I supposed to do?"

"I don't know Maddie. Just please don't hurt yourself. I can't lose my little buddy."

"I'm four months older than you, Horan."

"Yeah, but you're short."

"And you're mean."

"Okay, okay. Let's stop. Listen Maddie, if you feel lonely, you don't have to talk to just me. You could talk to the boys too. They're pretty fun, and I'm sure they'll like you."

"I'm not sure if that's the best idea."

"And why not?"

I look at him confused. Had we not been over this?

"They just seem really loud and... annoying. Especially Louis. And you know I hate that."

"Come on, Maddie. Give them a chance. You might end up liking them more than you think." he says, smirking and walking out of the room.

Oh boy, he was planning something...