Way out of my league

Chapter 8

Zayn

It’s dark and I can’t make out where I am. I’m standing somewhere and I can hear noises. I start to run and that’s when I notice that I’m in the woods. I don’t know what do to or how I got here, all I know is that I need to run. I can hear my heart beating really fast and my feet pounding on the ground. I trip over something and fall on the ground. I try to stand up, but pain shoots up my ankle. I hold my ankle and look around. It’s dark and I’m sitting in the middle of the woods alone. I see no one and I can hear the wind rustling through the trees. I make another attempt to get up, but I hiss in pain and fall back down.

‘Oh my god Zayn, are you okay?’ a worried voice asks and I look around trying to locate the voice. I see Ariana running to me and she kneels down next to me. ‘Thank god, you’re here,’ I sigh in relief. ‘What happened?’ she asks worried. ‘I was running and I tripped over something. I think it’s sprained,’ I tell her and she removes my hands from my ankle. ‘Zayn, it looks swollen and bruised,’ she gasps. ‘We need to get you home so you can put some ice on it,’ she continues and stands up.

She holds out her hand and I take it. She pulls me up and I hiss in pain when I’m standing. ‘It hurts,’ I whimper and she throws my left arm around her neck. ‘I know it does babe, we just need to get you home,’ she responds and she starts to walk. I hiss in pain every time I put too much pressure on my ankle and a few tears manage to escape my eyes. ‘Babe, everything will be okay,’ Ariana reassures and she wipes my tears away. I manage a small smile and we continue walking.

We make it out of the woods and immediately it’s lighter. I’m able to see where we are going right now and it makes me feel at ease. ‘What were you doing in the woods?’ I ask. ‘We were supposed to go to the movies. I went to your house and Doniya said you weren’t there. I went to look for you and found you in the woods,’ she explains and I nod my head. ‘How much longer?’ I whine and the pain in my ankle is getting worse. ‘Just a few more minutes,’ she responds and relief washes over me.

In just a few minutes I can sit on the couch with Ariana pressing a bag of ice to my ankle. We reach my house and Ariana opens the door. We walk inside and Ariana gently lowers me down on the couch. ‘Stay there, I’m going to grab some ice,’ she says and walks away. She returns a few moments later with an icebag in her hand. She gently presses the ice to my sprained ankle and I smile at her. ‘That feels much better,’ I sigh in relief.

It’s quiet in the house and normally my sisters would have greeted me by now. They can be really loud and it’s not like them to be quiet all of a sudden. ‘It’s quiet. Where are my sisters?’ I ask and I don’t ask about my parents because I know they were going out tonight. ‘They went to your grandparents to sleep over,’ Ariana responds and I sigh in relief. I’m glad they went to my grandparents instead of going to woods to search for me. It’s too dark in the woods and you never know what’s lurking in the dark. They could have been raped or killed but instead they’re safe at my grandparents house.

‘I’m thirsty,’ I say and I’m about to get up but I’m gently pushed back on the couch. ‘I can get it for you. Your ankle is sprained and you shouldn’t put too much pressure on it,’ she responds with a reassuring smile. ‘Thank you,’ I smile and she walks away. She returns a few seconds later with a glass of water in her hands and she gives it to me. I take sips of my water and we sit in a comfortable silence. ‘It’s late, we should go to bed soon,’ she says and I nod my head. ‘I’m gonna put my glass in the dishwasher,’ I say and stand up to walk to the kitchen.

I enter the kitchen and I see a sight I didn’t ever want to see. My sisters are laying on the kitchen floor dead. The glass drops to the ground and I let out an ear piercing scream. Ariana comes running into the kitchen and by that time tears are streaming down my face. ‘Oh my god!’ she says in horror and she covers her mouth with her hands. ‘T-They a-are d-dead,’ I choke out and my knees buckle under me and I fall to the ground. I crawl over to Doniya because her body is the closest to me and I put my head on her chest. ‘I-I-I w-w-wasn’t t-there t-to p-p-protect t-them,’ I choke out before breaking down completely. ‘Zayn,’ she says softly and I look at Ariana.