Chapter Text
Niall was curled up tight under the bed, his knees pressed against his chest, using both hands to cover his mouth. His body trembled at the sound of every footstep.
Heavy and steady.
Ruben entered the room. The floor creaked under his weight, a sound that sent a chill straight down Niall’s spine. Cold sweat trickled down the younger boy’s temples, stinging his eyes, which he kept tightly shut.
“Hmm… I wonder where my little Bambi is hiding, huh?” Ruben’s voice floated through the room, laced with a false amusement that made Niall’s stomach churn. “Bambi? Aren’t you going to come out?”
The footsteps stopped right next to the bed. Niall held his breath, his chest aching from the effort. He didn’t dare turn his head, but out of the corner of his tear-filled eyes, he could make out the silhouette of Ruben’s worn black sneakers, just inches from his face. The world seemed to have frozen right there. He was petrified, praying to become invisible.
A muttered curse of frustration escaped Ruben’s lips. Then came the sound of footsteps receding and the loud slam of the door.
Niall flinched at the impact, but slowly pulled his hands away from his mouth, letting out a shaky sigh of relief. The worst seemed to be over.
But then…
“Gotcha!”
A shriek tore from Niall’s throat as Ruben’s firm fingers closed around his ankle. Niall’s heart pounded against his ribs so hard it actually hurt. In one quick, rough motion, Ruben pulled him out from under the bed, dragging his body across the bedroom floor.
“Did you really think you could hide from me, Bambi?”
“No! Let me go!” Niall began to struggle, kicking at the air, tears finally spilling over. “I don’t want to! I don’t want this!”
“Stay the fuck still before I break your arm!” Ruben spat the words through clenched teeth. Niall sobbed as Ruben used his own weight to pin him down. He pinned Niall’s wrists in an “X” against the boy’s chest, eliminating any chance of defense.
Sitting on top of him, Ruben leaned forward. His face was inches from Niall’s, wearing a frighteningly calm smile. His eyes, fixed on Niall’s, seemed to read every layer of his panic.
“This will be over soon,” Ruben whispered, his soft voice contrasting with the stiffness of his hands.
“...all… Niall!”
The scene changed in an instant. The oppressive darkness of the room vanished, replaced by the diffuse light of a car’s windshield. Niall jolted upright in the passenger seat, gasping for breath as if he were surfacing from drowning. He glanced quickly from side to side, his fingers fumbling for the seatbelt. There was no room. There was no Ruben. At least, not there.
“Are you listening to me?” his mother’s voice brought him back.
Niall blinked, trying to clear his vision and shake off the tactile sensation of Ruben’s hands on his wrists.
“Yes… I mean, what were you saying?” His voice came out weaker than he intended. Niall was hoping he had heard wrong.
His mother let out a long sigh, taking one hand off the steering wheel to run it through her hair, showing her impatience.
“For God’s sake, Niall, what have you been thinking all this time? I just told you that Ruben is coming to stay with us. He’s going to live with us from now on.”
For a brief second, Niall’s heart simply stopped. When it started beating again, the impact was so violent that he could hear the blood rushing in his ears. His fingers clenched around the leather of the seat so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
“No. He’s not going,” he murmured, his voice trembling with sheer terror.
“Yes, he is. And please, be nicer to him, okay? He needs our support.”
“No!” The scream escaped before Niall could stop it, startling her mother, who gave a slight jolt at the steering wheel. “He can’t stay with us, Mom!”
“Excuse me? And why not?” She frowned, defensive.
“Because… because I said so! Because he’s crazy, an animal!”
“Oh, Niall, he’s not that bad,” she replied, downplaying the situation with a naturalness that made Niall’s stomach clench.
“He bit another boy’s nose off with his teeth!” Niall recalled, his desperation driving his words.
“Oh… that was a mutual fight. Ruben was just defending himself,” she shrugged, keeping her eyes on the road.
“What?! Are you even listening to yourself?” His voice faltered, a mix of anger and a deep sense of helplessness.
“Niall… argh…” She rolled her eyes, her patience clearly at its limit. “It’s already been decided, okay? Besides, you don’t need to be so worried or scared. He’s changed. That time in the detention center helped get his head straight.”
Niall opened his mouth to argue, but the words seemed to get stuck in his throat. Part of him said he should just shut up and accept it, but the physical panic rising in his chest was impossible to ignore.
“But why does he have to stay with us? Didn’t he live with his dad?” he insisted, gesturing into thin air.
“Niall!” This time, his mother shouted, slamming her fist down on the steering wheel. The sharp crack made Niall shrink back against the door, clutching the seat upholstery even tighter. “Don’t talk about things you don’t know or understand! Ruben is staying with us whether you like it or not. Period!”
The silence that followed was suffocating. An intense wave of nausea hit Niall’s stomach. His eyes burned, and he desperately tried to swallow back the tears rising along with the acid in his throat. It felt like he was on a rope that was tightening around his neck more and more. He felt as if he were being led straight to the slaughterhouse.
The nausea got the better of him.
His hands began to shake uncontrollably, covered in cold sweat.
“Mom, stop the car.”
“Huh? What do you—”
“Mom, stop the car now!” Niall exclaimed, his voice choked with urgency.
“Jeez!” She slammed on the brakes.
The tires screeched softly on the asphalt and the car came to an abrupt halt, jolted both of them forward before the seatbelts pulled them back.
Niall didn’t even wait for the car to come to a complete stop. With trembling, clumsy hands, he struggled with the seatbelt buckle. As soon as he was free, he pushed the door open hard, threw himself out, and collapsed to his knees on the shoulder of the road, vomiting up his entire breakfast.
“Jesus, Niall!” His mother quickly unbuckled her own seatbelt and leaned over the seat, reaching out to gently pat his back. “What the hell did you eat?”
The gentle touch of her hand on his back sent a shudder through Niall’s body. The thermal shock of fear triggered another wave of spasms, and he vomited again until there was nothing left, feeling an unbearable burning in his throat.
He remained hunched over for a few moments, resting his trembling hands on the grassy shoulder, waiting for his stomach to settle. When he finally managed to gather his strength, he pushed himself up and let himself fall back into the passenger seat, gasping for air in short, labored breaths.
His mother watched him, her irritated expression now replaced by genuine confusion.
“Are you okay?”
Niall looked straight ahead, staring at the dashboard. No. He wasn’t okay at all. Every cell in his body was screaming at him to open the door, run toward the trees, and disappear. To run far, far away from everything.
Most of all, away from Ruben.
Niall was absolutely terrified.