"I Will Always" » Zarry* ⚠ ✅

♠️ 17: tale.

WARNING: This chapter may be triggering. Proceed with caution.

*****

Zayn had always come back. Every time he left when he was angry or upset, he came back. Every. Single. Time. It was like clockwork. And it was dependable.

"He just needs a day or two."

That's pretty much what Harry told Niall. Just one or two days and then Zayn will remember he can't live without everything Harry gives him and he'll come back to him on his hands and knees, begging for his forgiveness and promise to never do it again.

But then two days passed and still, Zayn hadn't come home. That's when Harry had started to worry. He'd kept a frequent check on the tracker and saw that it hadn't moved. Zayn was still at his parents' house. Why?

By day three when Zayn hadn't come home, he was annoyed. What did he think he was doing? Was he really going to stay away for good?

On day four, he drove by the house to see what was happening. Zayn's car wasn't there. But his phone was still there. Had he gone somewhere and left his phone? Maybe? But at least that was a sure sign he would be back there. So he left to give him more time.

The next day, day five, Harry didn't go to work. He missed Zayn like crazy so he sat at home and jerked off to the thought of him sucking him off. But even when he came, it wasn't nearly as satisfying as having the real thing. So he got so pissed off that he went out to the shed and ripped open four teddy bears until he felt better. Then he just slept the whole day.

Day six though... well, not only was it Christmas Eve. It was also the day that he started to get the feeling that maybe Zayn was never coming back. Maybe his parents had taken him and somehow convinced him that he didn't need Harry. That Harry was a bad person and that he could do better. Well, that thought surely pissed him off.

And he went through six more teddy bears, meaning he went through all of the ones he had left.

Now this was something Harry had never done before. He'd never been so mad that he went through that many bears at one time. Clearly this anger was different now. It wasn't going away. It was only marinating inside him. Getting stronger.

He tried to call Zayn, but there was no answer. It went straight to voicemail, forcing him to leave a threatening message.

"Zayn, I don't know what your parents are telling you but you need to come home. I am waiting for you because I need you to be here. Do you understand? You can't leave me. I meant what I said. I won't let you leave me. So get the fuck home!"

But when he's done, he doesn't end the call, he just chucks his phone so hard it breaks against the tile floor.

Now comes the seventh day. A week, and Zayn still hasn't shown up at his door. But there's more going on inside Harry's head today. Why? Because it's not just that Zayn isn't here. This is Christmas Day, which means it's also the anniversary of Kevin's death. And with Zayn not here and no teddy bears to murder in his place, it's all he can think about.

The Christmas tree.

Kevin's open eyes.

The blood around his body, flowing from the open chest wound.

The knife beside him.

He would have never seen that.

He would have never seen that if his mother had never sent him out to get bread that day. But she did send him out because she was drunk and didn't want to see him that day. She was a fucking drunk who only cared about herself. And it was her fault. It was her fault that Christmas was forever cursed for him.