Troubles (Kissing The Devil)

We were both in silence inside the car. Not that I cared since the most awful sound on mother earth, to me, was his voice. I think I can’t listen to him without feeling anger boil in my body, so I just leaned in to turn the radio on. I heard a unknown music coming from ad unknown station, but as soon as I was turned it on, he turned it off.
“Don’t touch anything!” He ordered
“What is your problem?” I asked, frowning.
What was his problem? Besides being and stupid, mean and idiotic person?! He’s rude, selfish and a brute. He doesn’t even know common courtesy and has no standards. Again… WHO THREATNS THE LIFE OF A CHILD?!
“I don’t like music!” He said, shrugging
“Who doesn’t like music?” I asked, frowning even more.
“It’s mu fucking car!” He bursted, making me cringe again the car’s door even more than I was before “Suck it up!” He growled, tightening his grip around the wheel.
What did I tell you about being a dick and rude and brute?! I freaking hate him, but I’m also afraid of him so I just cringed in my corner and looked outside, ignoring the rude specimen sited by my side.
His grip in the wheel was so tight, I easily heard his movements over it. Talk about anger problems! I tried to ignore the tension inside that car, but it always felt like a comeback to reality, like it was something too heavy to let me fly in my own conscience.
Normally I just ignore the tension in a place I am at, like my house, or school, but something was making my insides weight a pound more than they usually do, and I felt uncomfortable with it. I felt uncomfortable being with him like this… with tension. Probably because I’m afraid he’ll do something to my baby brother.
I took a good look at him. His eyebrows were furred together as he drove, his grip on the wheel as tight as it could be, his knuckles white thanks to the strength applied. His eyes were focused on the road even though I could tell he was buried in his thoughts till his head. The shirt he had on allowed me to see his tattoos and suddenly, I wanted to know the meaning to them. The flag I knew the meaning to, it wasn’t too difficult to understand, but I mean all the others. The names, the meaningless stuff scattered around his arms, the smallest small drawings… all of them. But it was stupid of course, just my curiosity showing.
I noticed him moving uncomfortably in his seat, and that’s when I found out I was staring at him for too long. I shifted in my seat too, turning my gaze outside where the sky was starting to get darker and darker, making the smallest rays of sun incapable of reaching us.
Suddenly, I heard a buzz coming from his side of the car and quickly looked. He uncomfortably slid in the bench, raising his body from the bench and keeping one of his hands in the wheel, the other uncomfortably reaching for his phone in the pocket of his jeans. When he grabbed it, he returned to the initial position and looked at the phone. He frowned f a second and then picked up.
“Horan!” He simply said “What’s wrong?” He worriedly asked “SHIT!” He yelled, making me jump in my sit from his sudden outburst “I’m coming!” He hanged up, grabbing the wheel with both of his hands an turning it around immediately.
Careless driver-boy on the move everybody! Again!
I squealed as the car almost turned immediately turned around. I held myself to the sides of the car’s bench, completely forgetting for a second that I had the seat belt on.
“Shut up!” He ordered
“You shut up!” I yelled “Are you crazy or something?! Who does that in the middle of an open road of a Monday morning?!”
“I’m serious Thea, Shut the fuck up of I’ll do it for you!” He threatened
I did as he pleased, even if smoke was practically coming off my ears. I knew I shouldn’t piss him off too much, or cross the line because he would harm my brother, and he wouldn’t feel bad about it. I have to think about Jesse first, only then think about my anger for this guy next to me. Only then I realized
“Jesse… I mean, school… I…” He cut me off
“I have more important stuff to do right now Thea!” He growled “I don’t care about you getting to school, I’m in the middle of an emergency!”
I swallowed. What got his panties in a rush?! And where was he taking me anyways? I hope it doesn’t take long till we get there, so he can solve the problem and I can go home. If I’m lucky, I’ll slip by without a warning, claiming it was my first day here and I got lost. I know it’s lying, but I can’t exactly tell my teacher where I was right? Niall sighed
“I’ll get you back as fast as I can, I promise!”I looked at him and nodded, even if his eyes were fixed on the road
I turned my eyes back to the road to notice we were taking the way back to the house. I frowned. What happened? Did someone get hurt? Did someone I ‘met’ back at the house had any problem? Trouble seemed quite worried and all, even I, who didn’t know what’s going on, could tell there was something more to the reason of all that stress.
I stood silently till we got to the house. A chill went down my spine when I saw the garden of Niall’s house. I his myself behind car door so no one would see me. I started rocking back and forth like a lunatic.
“I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die, I’m gonna die!” Was what I repeated to myself.
In the garden of Niall’s house were about five guys with guns in hand, probably ready to fire. I had so much time to live before he even came to my life. Why do I attract the wrong crowd, seriously, I attract troubles… Oh, the irony!
“Thea, calm down!” Trouble ordered, his voice steady as a rock “You’re not going to die!”
“In case you can’t do math, they’re five, and we’re two… well, one! I can’t do anything to protect myself from creeps for that matter!” I said, giving him a look that told him I was including him in the ‘creep’ category
“Do you really want to argue about this here?!” He asked, running his hairs through his hairs, calmly
“I can’t do it anywhere else!” I explained
“In the house, now!” He ordered
“Stop giving me orders, or I swear I’ll slap you!” I said, the stress of the moment taking the best of me
“Shut the fuck up before I do something I don’t want to!” He threatened, making me swallow
“Okay, okay!” I grumbled
“In the house!” He said again
“What?!” I asked “No, they’ll kill us Niall!” I said
“Don’t call me Niall!” He growled “I didn’t give you the permission to do so!”
“Do you really want to argue about this here?” I asked, using his words against himself
“Don’t test me Thea!” He threatened
I decided to not go any further, after all, he still had my baby brothers life in his hands. He sighed once more and ran his fingers through his hairs once more, before he opened the car door and got out. I took another glance outside and suddenly I was paralyzed by fear. What if they killed me or Trouble? What if I wouldn’t be capable of seeing my brother ever again, or go shopping with Kendra, or spend my Sundays at home with my family and my best friend watching movies? I wanted to live, I wanted to take in all the small little details of each and every one of them before I died… And I wanted to go peacefully, not like this.
My door was opened and I looked up to find Trouble looking at me. He made a signal with his head to the house and I furred my eyebrows.
“Look Thea, if I leave you out here, they will hurt you!” He said, and I knew he was talking about the other guys immediately.
I took my seatbelt off and jumped off the seat, pushing the door closed. Trouble surrounded my waist with his arm, pulling my hip closer to his. I looked up at him, frowning.
“If they even think you’re here alone, they’ll cut you, just go with it Thea!” He rolled is eyes
“Okay!” I said, wrapping one arms around his waist
He nodded and we both started walking towards the house. We were the receivers of multiple whistles and rude comments that made my hand that was holding Niall’s shirt tight, clench even more. He pulled me closer and growled to the guys, noticing my discomfort. Why he cared was a complete mystery to me, but maybe he was sorry he had to bring me in this.
When we reached the door, he opened it and we both got inside, Niall closing it behind us. He didn’t let go of me when we got inside, neither did he when we reached the living room.
The first thing I saw was a guy with big blue eyes and beard, brunette and relatively tall compared to Trouble, who immediately stiffened at the sight of that man. But he wasn’t the one who got my attention the most.
In the middle of the living room stood a man I knew too well. He was an investor on my dad’s company. I saw him once when I had to go pick Jesse up at school and dad promised we would go out for ice cream. But he ended up having too much work and was in the middle of a meeting when I bursted into his office. Of course, no one actually told me he was in one. And that is how I first met Jordan Taylor!
“Thea!” He smiled friendly at me
Jordan was a gorgeous guy with caramel brown hairs and practically the same color eyes. He was muscular, but not buff. His face didn’t change the slightest bit since the last time I saw him. My grip in Niall’s shirt tightened even more.
If he is here, it means he is involved in gangs somehow. It means my dad has practically invited a gangster into our home. Did he know what he was getting himself into? What does he have to do with any of us anyway?
“Do you remember me?” Jordan asked and I swallowed, nodding “You turned into Horan’s little bitch hu?” He asked, giving me a side smile. I stiffened at the name called to me.
I was about to answer him back when Niall’s grip on my waist tightened. I took that as a sign I should keep my mouth shut and not talk to him.
“How is little Jesse doing?” I pulled all the air I could inside.
Jordan had met my baby brother when he met me, Jordan knew where I lived, Jordan was allowed to come inside since my mom knew him too, Jordan couldn’t be involved in this gang stuff could he?
“I was told he was doing better!” He said “The last time I saw you two he had a lung problem didn’t he?” I closed my eyes tight, stiffening even more by every word he spoke “Your dad told me about your moving here, and I am invited to inner latter today!”
“Oh, hell no!” I said, earning a icy stare from Niall
He seemed a bit confused as his attention was fully on the other man before I even spoke. I think he didn’t even acknowledged mine and Jordan’s conversation entirely before I spoke. But I wasn’t going to keep my mouth shut when he indirectly made threats about my family. I could see I in his eyes, I saw something I didn’t see the day I first met him, I saw rudeness, I saw cruelty, I saw viciousness.
“Excuse my friend here!” Niall said, glaring at me “She’s a bit on edge lately!”
“New on town and already attracting troubles hu?” Jordan stated, getting closer. I stiffened “One Trouble in particular!” He said, taking a look at Niall
“What do you want from here?” He asked “And don’t take long choosing your answer because I can throw you out any minute!” Trouble wrapped his hands around me in fake protectiveness.
I knew he was trying to keep me out of troubles with Jordan, I knew he was thinking that the less he knew about me the better, what he didn’t know is that Jordan knew more about me than I would like him to.
“I know you can take any of my men down Trouble, go ahead, kill them, I don’t care about any of them!”
That made me shiver, and I understood that, even if Niall is a stupid, cold and asshole son of a bitch, Jordan is way worst. Niall cared about his people, I remember him saying it when I heard him talk to those people back in the party. And, remembering the way he talked to them this morning, when I came running down the stairs, I know their his friends.
“Tell me what you want and leave!” Niall growled “Or I’ll make you!”
“Okay, okay!” He rolled his eyes, snapping his fingers.
My attention darted to the other man in there I hadn’t saw this morning once he moved towards us. Troubles attention turned to him too, but his glare was much more intense than my own, somehow vulnerable. Who was that guy?
When he came closer to the both of us, that guy gave Niall a small, caring smile and took something from his pocket. A paper, folded in two. Swallowing, he unfolded it and gave it to Trouble as he gave me the same smile, somehow, apologetic and sympathetic at the same time.
Niall’s hand around my waist came to such a tight grip that I sucked my teeth, cringing away from him. I looked up at him, seeing his red face, crazy with anger. He was breathing heavily and his nostrils were wide, I think if it was humanly possible, he would shoot steam from his ears too.
“If you don’t leave them alone, I swear I’ll …” Trouble was cut of by Jordan
“What do you swear Niall?” He practically spat his name, venom and disgust mixing in his tongue
“I’ll cut you! I swear I’ll cut you!” Niall threatened, walking with firm steps towards Jordan.
Jordan didn’t expect this as he looked around for something to defend himself. But there was only the four of us there, not even the other people in Niall’s gang were present. The other man stood still, the expression in his face was of frustration, making me notice he wanted to do something but he couldn’t.
Niall reached Jordan applying a punch in his nose, making him fall back. Jordan took his hands to his nose, groaning but not stopping his movements. Only when he reached the kitchen’s door I understood what he was trying to do.
A kitchen is a dangerous place if people know where to look. The place where you keep the silverware for example. Knives and Forks are one of the most dangerous stiff in a common house. I knew this because once Jesse almost stabbed himself in his arm while trying to make himself a toast, luckily, I got there fast enough to save him.
Widening my eyes, and knowing Niall was too distracted with his anger to notice, I ran after them in the kitchen. Niall tried to punch Jordan again, but Jordan blocked it and punched Niall back, in the jaw. He growled, pulling all the air inside, and punching Jordan in the stomach, making him hit against the counter.
Niall took several deep breaths to calm himself, but I noticed how he opened a drawer and took a fork out. Niall was approaching him again when Jordan held the fork high, ready to stab Niall in the eye when my arm came in front of it.
The three silver and pointy teeth of the fork dived in my flesh, burring till the end. I yelled, my hand holding to the counter as my fingers tightened, trying to keep the pain to myself.
I have no idea why I did this, maybe because the idea of someone being blind thanks to a fork is the stupidest thing I have ever heard of, plus, those gorgeous blue eyes need to remained intact.
Okay, forget I just called his eyes gorgeous okay?!
I took a deep breath as two thick tears ran down my cheeks. An aching groan was stuck in the middle of my throat as I saw Niall looking curiously at me. He grabbed Jordan’s shirt and dragged him from the kitchen, leaving me there. I have no idea what happened, only that Trouble returned to me a few seconds after I heard the front door slamming.
With a bit of difficulty, I sat myself in the counter, grabbing the fork. I took a few deep breath before I pulled it off my arm, groaning thanks to the pain. I let the fork fall to the ground and held my wrist tightly, as if it would make the pain go away.
Looking down at my arm, I found three perfectly similar wholes, now pouring blood. I cried loudly, groaning and almost growling at him once Trouble held my wrist.
“PERRIE! ELEANOR! SOPHIA!” He bawled and soon enough, three girls were coming inside the kitchen.
“What the hell happened here?” The girl, who I remembered being Eleanor asked
“No time for that now!” Niall yelled “I need help with Thea!” He said, giving them enough space to see my arm
“Oh dear!” A girl with blond hairs and blue eyes said
“Grab me the first aid kit!” Niall demanded and soon enough a white box with a red cross was next to me in the counter
Niall opened the box, grabbing the alcohol and a bit of cotton. He tried to come close to me with it, but I slowly pulled back, afraid. I knew it would hurt once it connected with my skin, and right now, I guess he got to call me a pussy. But he didn’t. He just looked at me, apologetic and grabbed my writ tightly, pouring alcohol into my skin.
I yelled thanks to the pain, letting only one tear run down my cheek. I was acting like a child, but hell, I got to act like this when I just got hurt for him. He wrapped my arm in some sort of weird bandage I never saw before and looked up at me.
“T-Thanks!” I said, he just shrugged
“I’ll take her upstairs! Can one of you take care of her brother?” I widened my eyes at the mention of my little brother
“No, I’ll be fine in a minute!” I said, jumping from the counter and standing on my own two feet
“Don’t be stubborn Thea!” He growled “You need to rest!”
“I’ll be fine! I just… need to go out there and take my brother to school!” I said to myself. I was a bit disoriented, I admit, but I gave myself a nod once those words made sense to me “Yes, that’s what I meant to do!”
I took two steps towards the door when someone slipped their hands under my knees, pulling me up. I snorted.
“And I’m the one who’s stubborn right?” I mumbled, annoyed
“Shut up!” He growled “Two of you go take care of her brother, one of you stay’s here okay?” The three of them nodded
Niall started walking to the living room and then to the stairs. He took me to the room I remembered I exited before and opened the door. I saw the exact same room I had saw when I woke up today. He put me in bed and sat in his chair again.
After uncomfortable silence, he only said:
“Today, I’ll go to have diner in your parents house!”

Notes