Little Misunderstandings [Sequel to Little Steps]

Aria's P.O.V.

Sun was a beautiful creation. It brought light to the dark world, and made everything glisten with liveliness. Yes, it was so darn beautiful, except when it was shining in my fucking eyes while I tried to sleep.

I groaned, pulling the covers over my eyes to block out the unwanted light, but it didn't seem to do much of anything. After trying deperately to go back to sleep, I finally gave up. I threw the stupid, useless covers off of my body and realized that Noelle wasn't in her crib. I sat up quickly, the blood rushing to my head, but I was in too much alarm to care. Where the hell was my daughter?

I deadpanned the room, and noticed a bright green sticky note attached to the closed bedroom door. I walked across the room and plucked the sticky note from the door, reading it.

Babe, you slept in VERY late. My mum took Noelle out for a walk, and I've gone to go pick Nate and Colette from school. Don't freak out if you find the house empty. Love you!
Niall

I sighed in relief and folded the sticky note, tossing it on the bed. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and contemplated what I could do on such a free day. Perhaps I could watch a movie. Then I began to feel icky, and decided I would take a quick shower first.
I stripped free of my clothes and let the warm shower water wake me up, relaxing against the shower wall. I shampooed my hair slowly, smiling to myself as I recalled the date last night. I never imagined I would go skinny dipping in dirty, mucky water and actually like it. Not that I would ever admit it to Niall.
Ever.
I towelled myself off and got changed into my clothes for the day, even though the day was practically done. I opened the blinds and let the sun seep in, then left the bedroom, heading downstairs.
I rummaged through the refridgerator and found some fruit and yogurt, as well as some coconut shavings. I grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and mixed the fruit and yogurt together, then topped it wit hthe coconut shavings, a meal I had invented one day when I had been jobless. I shoved the sugary goodness into my mouth and took the bowl with me to the living room, switching the television on with my free hand.
I flipped through the channels while snacking on my brunch, scrunching up my nose at the choices. Seriously, there was nothing good on. However, next channel over, it projected Grey's Anatomy, a show that I used to watch quite often when I was younger. I set the remote control down and put another spoon of my fruit and yogurt mixture into my mouth, snuggling into the pillows on the couch while I watched the television.
Currently, Meredith and Derek were fighting, like they always did. God, those two lovesick idiots always kept stupid secrets from each other. Then there was the black doctor with the gorgeous eyes that I couldn't stop gawking at, considering he was a gorgeous human being and I just had to stare. Whatever, Niall's eyes were just and gorgeous.
As Meredith and Derek gave each others mean glares while working on an open heart surgery, I looked down and my bowl and frowned, realizing that I had finished eating my fruit. I pouted, standing up and heading into the kitchen to grab something else to eat.
I nearly gagged when I found some pickles, remembering my short lived pregnancy craving for those green pieces of nastiness. I didn't understand how one could shove a whole pickle in their mouth and say it tasted good. Those things were disgusting, not to mention peverted looking.
Dirty pickles.
I snorted at my odd thoughts, and ended up making myself a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. I added extra jelly, because why not, and grabbed another cup of fruit on the side. I headed back to the living room and plopped down on the couch with my new meal, continuing to watch Grey's Anatomy. It grossed me out slightly that they were showing blood and guts being pulled out of the human body, even if it wasn't real. I was eating, for god's sake.
As the Grey's Anatomy episode came to an end and the credits started rolling, I began to wonder where Niall was. It didn't normally take this long to pick the kids up from school. Just as I was about to pick up the phone and dial his number, the phone rang. It was Niall.
"Hello?" I answered, picking up the phone.
"Hey." Niall replied. "I just wanted to make sure you had woken up. You doing okay?"
"Yeah," I nodded, though he couldn't see me. "but where are you? It's been nearly an hour since I woke up and you must have left to pick the kids up before."
"Sorry, it's a really long line for some reason." Niall explained. "I think there's a car accident up ahead, which is probably why there's so much traffic. Plus, Nate took a while to get out because his art teacher kept him back a little longer to ask if he wanted to be in an art show."
"Cool," I grinned. "Did he say yes?"
"Yeah." Niall laughed at something that Nate said it the background. "Nate says that his teacher said his artwork was the best in the class."
"That's great, honey!" I shouted, hoping Nate would hear.
"Thanks, mum!" Nate shouted back.
"Well, just hang in there." Niall chuckled roughly. "We'll be home as soon as we can. My mum said she was taking Noelle down to the park. She thinks Noelle isn't getting enough fresh air." he snorted.
"Yeah." I giggled. "I saw the note on the door. Did she say when she would be back home?"
"No, but it'll probably take a while if she's going down the trail that cirle's the whole park. Give it another hour or so. My mum walks slow."
"I'm so telling her you said that." I teased, taking a bit of my sandwich.
"Sure, whatever babe." I could picture Niall rolling his eyes. "I'll let you go, then."
"Okay." I smiled. "Drive safe."
"Alright. Love you."
"Love you, too."
I hung up and smiled giddily, realizing I would never get over how happy Niall's voice made me. I swear, even when we were in an argument and I wanted to slap the life out of him, I still wanted to hear his gorgeous voice.
I began walking aimlessly around the house ,trying to find something to do. The house was extremely boring when my kids weren't around to drive me crazy. I stopped walking when I came across the wall of photos that Niall and I had hung up over the years that we had known each other. There were pictures of us from the first time we went to Paris together, while Niall was on tour and I was working as a makeup artist. I snorted at the thought of being a makeup artist, since I had barely done anything in the first place.
I came across one picture that caught my attention. It was a photo of Niall and I sitting on the beach with Nate and Nicolette as toddlers in their terrible twos. It was more of a candid, where Niall was in the middle of laughing at me while Nicolette pushed sand into my eyes. I remembered that day quite well, considering it took me five hours to clear my eyes of the painful sand. I also remembered it as the day that Niall promised that he would do his very best to protect our family. He promised that day that he would give his life up if it meant that we should live. I told him that it wouldn't be necessary. I was so sure that nothing bad would ever come our way, after my dad was killed.
And sure, Niall had done everything he possibly could the protect our family. He had kept his promise. He had absolutely nothing to be guilty of, because he had done his part, and continued to do so. I could only imagine how protective he would become when Nicolette started seeing boys and Nate wanted to bring girls home. But on the other hand, I had ever reason to feel guilty. I told him that he would never need to give his life for us. I had given him the false assurance that everything would be okay.
I was so used to Niall always expecting the worst, so I always tried to talk him out of it.
I made myself look so strong in front of him, but as soon as the worst came along and poisoned ourlives, I had cowered back. I hadn't really done anything to make myself seem stronger, even if Niall thought so. But there was Niall, still standing strong, still trying his hardest to protect us to the point where it hurt him emotionally. There was absolutely nothing that we wouldn't do for me and our children. There were no limits when it came to our safety.
I felt so sorry for him. And more than sorry, I felt guilty.
I ran my fingers over the protected photograph, wanting to remember this day forever and ever. From now on, I was going to be a stronger person, not only for my kids, but for Niall. To give back to him for everything he had done for us.
I headed upstairs, trying to shake away the sad feeling. I stood up straighter, and as I reached my bedroom door, I had myself convinced that I was going to be different. Until I opened that door.
Dark brown hair, pale skin, devillish crystal blue eyes, crossed legs, lean figure, sitting on my bed as if she belonged in my bedroom. As if she owned this place. And I couldn't quite miss the object she twirled oh so skillfully in her hand.
A shiny, silver dagger.
I was too shocked to scream.
So many thoughts were rushing through my mind. So many questions. How did she get in? How did I not notice? What the hell was she going to do to me?
"I shut down the security system." Candace giggled menacingly, standing up. I took a step back. She took a step forward, twirling and twirling and twirling her dagger. Suddenly her false grin disappeared, replaced with a devious smirk. "You really should have gotten that changed. It was like you were asking me to come and kill you."
"No..n-no please." I shook my head, trying my hardest not to break down in front of her. I was supposed to change. I was supposed to be different, stronger. But all I felt was weak. I just wanted to run.
Run, run!
I turned and dashed out the door, while Candace chuckled from behind me. Get to the phone. Get to the fucking phone. I heard her footsteps, and knew that she was gaining on me. My heart was pounding loudly, as if it was about to plunge out of my chest. Suddenly, something dug into my shoulder, right where my father had cut me so many years ago when I was trapped in his little dungeon. I screamed a blood curdling scream, falling to the ground with the dagger stuck in my shoulder.
"My aim's pretty good." Candace grinned at me, all kinds of crazy circling in her eyes. She was demented. She was mentally insane. She was a monster. She spat on my face and kicked me in the back. "Don't try and fucking run from me, little Ri. There's really no point."
Then she pulled out a gun.
"I was going to wait longer." she circled me slowly like a hawk. "But then I realized that you and your useless little husband knew more than I thought you did." she dug her heel into the gash from the dagger, pushing the dagger harshly out of my skin. I yelled at the pain. "You fucking called on wittle Granty-poo to help you out, didn't you?"
"I..don't...know... what you're fucking talking...about." I gasped through gritted teeth.
"Sure." Candace snorted. "Told him to gather up all the information he could, didn't you? He told you everything he could, and fed us lies. Well, he's dead now."
I felt my body go numb. We had caused the death of Grant? At first, I figured the Candace was lying, but this was Candace. Candace wouldn't hesitate to kill a baby if it so much as made eye contact with her.
"Why would you kill him?" I coughed, holding back tears. "Are you that insane? He didn't do anything to you."
"He fed me lies!" Candace boomed, stamping her foot on the ground. "No one lies to me! No one!"
"You're sick." I spat. "You're absolutely fucking sick."
"I just don't understand." Candace laughed manically. "Why couldn't you just mind your own business? Let us track you down without interfering? God, things would've have been so much easier if I had just told Amber to kill her as soon as she saw you."
"You sick bitch." I spat, glaring at her. "You manipulated her. You used her, tricked her into thinking that I was the reason that your parents left you. You want to know why they gave you away? Because you're the devil. You're sickening. You disgusted them."
Candace reached back and punched me in the face. "Shut up!" she screamed, pounding the heel of her shoe into my gut. "Want to know why your dad hated you? Because you're a whore! You gave yourself to him because all you wanted was someone to fuck, like the slutty whore that you are!"
"He raped me!" I screamed back at her. "God dammit! Why are you doing this to me!"
"Blame your sister." Scarlett scoffed. "She's the reason that you suffer."
"What did you do to her?" I cowered back at the mention of my sister. "What did you fucking do to her!?"
"KIlled her just before I came here." Candace smirked, picking at her nails smugly. I felt my heart tear at the words. Scarlett, no, she couldn't be dead. I hadn't even gotten to see her one last time. "Figured she'd seen enough torture. I was actually nice enough to end her life. She was practically begging me to kill her so she didn't have to watch your life get ruined. It was quite entertaining, for me personally."
"She was watching?" I gulped. "The entire time?"
Candace giggled. "Yup, had her strapped to the wall, threatening her everytime she tried to look away. God, she was crying like a baby when Nate and Nicolette almost got shot."
The nerve of this crazy bitch.
"Why are you doing this?" I screamed, banging my fist on the carpet. I regretted it instantly, the pain rushing to my bloody shoulder. "What did Scarlett do to you?"
"She was the perfect child. "Candace answered simply. Right, this was good. Stall time until Niall came home and called the police. "Everything she did was perfect. Every smile she gave had one coming back at her. Everyone loved her pretty little face. Which is odd, consdering we're twins and everyone hated me."
"I wonder why." I muttered under my breath.
"My parents sent me to the shittiest adoption agency." Candace continued, ignoring my comment. "They sent Scarlett to the number one rated agency in the state. Everyone at the agency treated me like shit. That's where I met Amber. " A smirk grew on Candace's lips. "Coincidentially, she got out of the agency and befriended Scarlett, which was perfect for me. God, she was so damn stupid. She should've just stayed away from Scarlett and she would've been alive, I swear to you."
I saw what Candace was doing. I realized what she was thinking. She was trying to make Scarlett, her perfect, sweet sister look like the bad guy. Everything about Candace's mind was just so undeniably twisted as fuck.
"We were both sisxteen, Scarlett and I." Candace began twirling the dagger in her hand again. "I kidnapped her, got one of my friends who was suicidal to die in a car crash so I could fake Scarlett's death. I stole Scarlett right from under their noses." Candace boasted, as if that were something to be proud of. "My friend tortured her for me, raped her, hit her, did everything imaginable. But nothing seemed to be affecting her. Until she started begging me not to hurt her family." Candace winked at me.
"Oh, Aria." Candace laughed. "Torturing you was a whole different story." she shook her head. "You were so nosy. You always got in my way. You managed to figure things out that your stupid sister Scarlett never could have. Everything you did seemed to aggravate me, yet it excited me. Honey, your life became my favorite game to play. You misunderstood so many things, I mean seriously? You thought Scarlett was the one behind all the attacks! You amused the hell out of me!"
I clenched my fists.
"You are going to go to hell, Candace Grace." I cursed her. "Whatever you do to me, you will rot in hell the way you deserve."
"Oh honey." Candace pouted, kneeling down beside me. "How can I rot in hell when I'm the one who rules it?"
I clenched my teeth.
Candace grinned, baring her teeth. "I am the devil, afterall."
She raised her fist and shoved it into my temple, deleting my vision and knocking me out of consciousness in a second. The last thing I managed to remember was her lifting my limp body over her shoulder and dragging me out of my bedroom window.

Notes

Notes
Well. that was intense. And Aria's been kidnapped, the most anticipated scene of the entire story. There are only one or two chapters left, so brace yourself for the next story.....