Captivated

Ashley-Chapter Nine

Zayn and I stayed like that for a while. His forehead on mine and my heavy breathing being audible for miles. His hands were still on my cheeks. I could smell his minty fresh breath against my lips.

"Zayn," I whispered.

Suddenly we were brought back to reality. He released my head. His arms falling down to his waist.

"Come, I want to show you something." He said for the second time that day.

I looked up at the sky. It was beginning to get dark. The sun was no longer in the middle of the sky. I wondered how long we stayed breathing against each other for?

I took Zayn's hand again and followed him mindlessly. As he led me through the garden, I looked all around me. Colorful flowers were everywhere. The black lamps were shining a yellow hue around us. We walked on the cobblestone path, it hurt my bare feet. The sound of his shoes tapping filled my ears.

We followed the path until we got to a clearing. It was a big open space. Different kinds of flowers bordered the chain fence that was surrounding the garden. In the grass-filled land, was a few picnic tables and a huge tree shading one of the tables. Zayn pulled me to the tree. "Sit." He commanded.

I let go of his hand and rested my back against the bark of the tree.

"Are you going to sit with me?" I asked.

Looking up into his eyes, I tried to read his expression. Once again, he gave nothing away.

Zayn glanced down at me like he was contemplating whether to sit next to me.

"Sure." He shrugged.

I watched him bend down and lean back on the tree. He didn't sit close to me. He sat a few inches away. I wonder why he sat so far away, after the moment we shared.

"What did you want to show me?" My voice was small. I was confused. Why was I in a garden with him, my kidnapper? Wasn't I supposed to be getting abused instead? And why did he kiss me?

Mike turned to me. "Just look up."

I did what he told me to do. I looked up past the tree that we were sitting under. Past the blanket of leaves shading us. When I did look up into the sky, I saw the sun was setting. The once blue sky was now orange, yellow, and pink. The sun was a dark orange with a hint of red. The sky was broken up into all these beautiful colors. I watched the sunset behind a mountain far into the distance. This was something new to me. I never saw the sunset before. Once the sun was gone, it started getting colder and darker. I was only wearing a dark green ripped up shirt and sweatpants. The same clothes I was wearing to bed when Mike took me. I was shivering.

"Here," Zayn said. He shrugged off his black leather jacket and revealed his black short sleeve shirt. From the lack of light, his tattoos blended in with his olive skin.

"Aren't you going to be cold?" Taking his jacket, I put it around my shoulders.

"I'll be fine. Let's head back inside." Zayn stood up. I waited for him to extend his hand but he never did. Eventually, I got up without his help. Zayn led the way back to the underground cave.

It was a long and quiet walk until I spoke up. "Zayn, why did you kiss me?" I genuinely wanted to know the answer.

He stopped dead in his tracks. "It was just a spur of the moment kind of thing. It won't happen again." Somehow, I didn't believe what he was saying.

"Okay," I mumbled.

Still following Zayn through the dusk, we made it back to the door. He opened it and silently we walked down the stairs. I wanted to speak up. I wanted to say something. So many questions were running around in my head. Why did he bring me to the garden? Why did he actually kiss me? Why did we watch the sunset together? I'm so confused.