GUNSHOT ➪ Zayn

ғɪғᴛʏ ᴛʜɪʀᴅ

Chapter 53: "as he always did"

'Alyssa, sweetheart, are you sure he doesn't have a problem with alcohol?'
'What are you implying?' She said with a backward movement
'Look, I'm not implying anything. I'm just saying that your boyfriend is having a shot of Corocco at 9 am!'
'So he must be an alcoholic?' She laughed nervously.
'I'm just wondering, that's all.'
'He fucking did that because of you!' Alyssa claimed.
'Are you telling me that I'm the reason your guy is getting into trouble?' He replied in the same tone.
'Look, I don't have the strength to fight you right now. So I'm going back to bed, and you're going to leave Zayn alone because the last thing I need is to see you two fight.'
'Yeah, you're right.' He agreed.

James had not had any contact with any of the team members since his little outing with Spoon.
He thought it was so strange but, at the same time, so logical. His mom, his uncle, Jenifer, and Asim, all made sense.
And then this whole little investigation had taken his mind off Selena. He was still mad, but after all, who wouldn't be?
James was feeling overwhelmed by all that: he learned a lot about his mother, about Selena, about the first 854 emergencies.

'You'll start with mental toughness. The training will last only one hour. You will have to face situations that could hurt you a lot, but that is the purpose of the exercise. You will come out stronger mentally.' The humanoid announced.
'Yeah, yeah, I know.' He quickly said.
'Place yourself on the simulator.'
Zayn climbed on the grey platform. He stood with his arms outstretched while Jordy connected him to some electrical wires.
'Wires?' He blew.
'To have physical sensations.'
He nodded as he tried to forget the stress growing inside of him.
'Starting in three, two, one.' Jordy counted.
Zayn was now surrounded by black pixels, about to face his biggest fears.

James opened the door of his house. He held his blue jacket in his left hand.
He entered his kitchen, made a coffee, and turned around.
He let his mug go off his hand.
'James, oh my god. I've been trying to reach you for weeks.'
'Maybe I don't want you to reach me, Selena.'
'I know, I know I messed up, and I shouldn't have done things that way, but no matter how mad you are, you deserve an explanation, don't you think?'
He answered nothing and sat down in front of her.
'I, I never talk about my mother, never. the slightest memory of her can put me in terrible conditions, as you have seen.' She laughed nervously. 'I know that our parents have history, huge history! But, even if I loved my mother from the bottom of my soul, I would never, ever use you to get back at her or whatever bullshit you've got in your head! You had absolutely nothing to do with my mother's disappearance! Yes, your uncle is responsible for it, that's a fact. But I am the best person to know that unfortunately, we don't choose our parents and have to put up with their bullshit all our lives. I-'
The young man had heard enough.
'I believe you.' He whispered.

It felt like a few weeks had gone by. Zayn woke up on his own bed, in his own room.
It was like they never were a thing.
He -as he always did- opened his fridge, grabbed an old pizza, put it on a plate, and put it in the oven.
He had been repeating his mechanical movements for years.
He was waking up at 7 pm, taking the pizza he ordered two days ago out of the fridge, putting it in the oven for 5 minutes, eating, and finally going straight to the club.
He picked a car randomly, and 20 minutes later, he was entering the club.
Today no beautiful girl poured their drink on his shirt.
Zayn walked towards the VIP area, as he always did, and eventually joined Spoon.
He beckoned him to sit by his side and kept staring at him.
'Do you know what value is necessary for our job?'
'Discretion?' Zayn replied.
'Trust. Trust is the key. That is why I need to be able to trust my agents. At all cost.' Spoon said, looking at him straight in the eye. 'Can I trust Zayn? I mean, do you consider yourself as a trustworthy guy?'
'I think I am, yeah.'

'Oh well, then there are lotta things we need to talk about.' Spoon smiled.
Zayn nodded, not knowing -- nor expecting what was going on.
'You know what? There's just one thing.'
'What thing?' The Pakistani asked, confused;
'The fact that I've been protecting you from the other side, you and your mom, for about 12 years now, and you fucked my chick, I mean, is that a way to thank me for all the things I've done. For you?'
'What the fuck? I didn't fu--'
'Baby, come on here.' Spoon yelled.
Zayn turned his head towards the crowd. He suddenly felt his heartbeat racing.
'Alyssa?' He huffed and puffed, dumbfounded;
'Keep her name outta your mouth.'
'You two are getting married?' he nervously laughed.
'Yes.' Alyssa whispered, looking down to the floor.
'Alyssa, darling, can you confirm the facts?' Spoon demanded, grabbing her waist.
'I, hum...' She hesitated;
'Don't bother; I don't need confirmation. Pick him.'
'Pick what?' Zayn claimed.

Zayn felt himself fainting, then nothing but the cold floor and a terrible headache.