Promise

chapter 23 - Adrian?

     When Zayne woke up, he was lying on a bed in one of Astrid's guest rooms. He stayed like that, staring at the ceiling, contemplating whether or not to go back to sleep. He hasn't slept properly the past few days.

     Then someone appeared at the door which made Zayne sit up. "Adrian...?" Zayne mumbled as he squinted his eyes to make sure it really was Adrian. "I must be dreaming." Zayne continued to mumble as Adrian leaned sideways against the door frame.

     "Hey, how are you feeling?" He asked. Zayne's breath caught in his throat. It's been so long since he's seen Adrian or heard his voice. He shook his head. "I can't believe you're here." Zayne sniffled as he felt his tears fall.

     He brought his hands up to wipe them away. These tears were different from the ones in the hospital, these were happy tears. Zayne was so glad to see Adrian, it was like all was forgiven. If only it was so easy.

     Adrian realised that Zayne was crying and walked into the room, grabbing a box of tissues for him and sitting down on the ledge of the bed. "Are you okay? Why're you crying?" Adrian said, his voice filled with concern.

     He handed Zayne some tissues to wipe his tears. "It's all your fault." Zayne sobbed like a baby. "I can't believe you. How could you do that to me? You promised, you promised to stay by my side didn't you?" Zayne said with much difficulty.

     Adrian just sat there listening and feeding Zayne tissue after tissue. "I'm not suppose to be happy to see you, you almost ruined my life. You hurt me so much, you lied to me, you tricked me, you used me. But I can't let go of you." Zayne continued, his thoughts coming out word after word with no filter.

     "You almost had me killed but when I saw that explosion, I thought you died or got hurt and I got so worried, I couldn't stop thinking about whether you were okay. I just... I just missed you so much."

     "When I was in the hospital, I kept wishing you would come through the doors. That you would come in and tell me it's over now, that you're sorry. And I'd forgive you just like that." Zayne wasn't done, he figured since he's said so much, he might as well just continue.

     "All you had to do was show up and I would forgive you for everything, and we could start over. I asked myself why was I giving you another chance even after what you did. I thought about that every night since I last saw you. Do you know why?" Zayne paused as he looked up at Adrian. His crying had calmed down already but he was still sniffling.

     He didn't wait for Adrian's answer. "It's because I love you. I fell in love with you, even though I told myself not to." Zayne confessed as he looked down at his fingers. He could feel his heart beating so quickly in his chest and he was pretty sure his face was burning up.

     "Uhm.." Adrian hesitated as Zayne looked back up at him, waiting for an answer. "I'm really sorry, but I think you've got the wrong person. I don't know you." He apologised.

     Zayne stared at him. "You're joking. Do you really hate me that much?" Zayne's face twisted up in pain. This was so much worse than being rejected.

     "I'm serious, I really don't know you." Adrian said again. Zayne could feel his heart literally shatter as the waterworks came on again. He completely broke down and just let himself cry.

     Zayne didn't even realise when Adrian left the room or when he fell asleep.

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     When Zayne woke up, he was lying on a bed in one of Astrid's guest rooms. He sat up just as he remembered the horrible dream he had. It felt so real but he was glad it wasn't, it really would have broke his heart.