The song for this chapter is Vipers - Dylan Fraser.
Celeste
"Are you fucking kidding me right now, Zayn?"
Our time in paradise, naturally, was cut short by a forced intrusion from Zayn. In all honesty, he looked like he hadn't slept much in the few days that we'd been cooped up in Harry's condo. The bags under his eyes were much darker than usual and I could see the tension in his shoulders when he sat hunched over on his chair in the balcony. His fingers were running through his hair in an erratic fashion, shortly followed by him pinching the bridge of his nose when I yelled at him for bursting the sacred bubble that had been comfortably engulfing me for the few days prior.
Harry wasn't too pleased by the intrusion either, however, I guessed he'd been expecting it at some point by the way that he knew that Zayn was the one at the door. He stood next to me on the balcony, his arm wrapped around my lower back as he exhaled some smoke from his cigarette before passing it over to me. I kept my gaze fully locked on Zayn as I took an inhalation of the nicotine and waited expectantly for an explanation.
"Hello to you too, Celeste. I hate to burst your perfectly formed bubble here but whilst some people have been playing a game of vacation, some of us have actually been working. Now, if you'd care to take a deep fucking breath, I have something that you'll want to see."
The words came out of Zayn with a sharp cutting edge, one that would have left someone bleeding with the sharpness of the tone. I took another inhale of the cigarette before nodding once in understanding. I did feel a twinge of guilt for going off on Zayn; I should have known that he wouldn't have shown up without a reason, but I couldn't help wanting to keep this fantasy that Harry and I were living in hidden for as long as possible.
Zayn nodded back quickly before averting his eyes from the two of us to his hands that were resting on his knees. I sensed his knuckles whiten ever so slightly from the force of his grip that he had; his jaw also clenched as he contemplated his next words very carefully. Observing his mannerisms, I knew that whatever was coming next wasn't going to be a baring of good news. I flicked the cigarette out of my fingers and kept my gaze on him, my stomach twisting in tight knots as I waited for him to come out with whatever he had bottled up inside. Harry squeezed my back slightly in comfort as we waited patiently for Zayn to collect himself.
Zayn cleared his throat once before he leaned back in his chair and began with, "Okay. So, there truly isn't a simple way to come out and say this to you, Celeste. I just want you to know that everything that I'm about to tell you has been hidden from you for a reason."
My jaw clenched instantly at the mention of the word 'hidden'; my throat closed up and forbid me from responding to Zayn's statement. I simply stood there with my jaw clenched and my gaze fixed entirely on his as I awaited to have my heart shattered by someone I care about, again.
When he gathered that there wasn't going to give him a slither of a response, Zayn continued.
"There's been an operation going on behind your father's back for some time now. It's not an operation run by the police or any other law enforcement so as far as I'm personally aware there's no set-up to be concerned about there, not that I've heard of anyway. The operation was originally set up by your mother, Celeste. I was involved in the later stages of the operation, shortly before she died. I wasn't involved in the major discussions, nor the intricate details that went on between her and other families, but we did exchange conversations a few times. In one of the conversations, she confided in me about her worries that surrounded you. She was concerned that you would end up tangled in your father's web of deceit; that you would end up falling off the deep end because you were too trusting of him. She gave me a letter to pass onto you in the event of her death, Celeste. She knew she was going to die. I know that this is a lot to take in right now, and again I need you to know that I was carefully instructed as and when to give you this letter, but I need you to understand that what we're walking into isn't as simple as we may have thought. The hits, the lies, the malice, the deceitfulness of this entire operation is so much more complex than we ever could have anticipated. If we continue down this path then your safety is automatically jeopardized and the bounty that's on your head is only going to increase to a higher price. We need to plan strategically for what could happen. I understand, Celeste, if you never want to speak to me again after all of this is done but you need to know that my only priority has been keeping you safe. I made a promise to your mother. One that I vowed I would never break."
