For Lovers Only - [A Zarry Stylik]©️

CLOSED CHAPTER

NOW

The van door slammed shut making all of them tremble in fright.

The blue lights served as proof that the decision to go over the house hadn't been the best one. There would be consequences to this little act of rebellion and bravery. Handcuffed with hands behind their backs, the four friends sat on opposite sides: Louis and Liam vs Niall and Zayn. Together sitting in the back of the darkened van, with darkened windows, preparing to go to the nearest police station.

Louis sat pretty calmly, with his eyes closed, while Niall was a ball of stress unable to keep his knee still. Both Liam and Zayn were quiet, pondering what was to come. Around them, the neighbours stood on the sidewalks watching the sad spectacle of a perfect home now involved in some dramatics. Zayn felt a wave of regret and shame, trying to keep away from the peering eyes of his neighbours.

He knew every one of those faces; The old lady and her dogs. The old couple with four loud adult kids and equally loud grandchildren A young couple with a baby on the way. The widower and his cats. All of them watching and judging. He wondered what were they thinking of him. That he was a bad father? An even worse husband?

His eyes caught Cheryl who still held Jaimie in her arms while talking to a police officer who listened attentively. She looked visibly upset about everything, with tears rolling down her eyes and stammering away.

It was easy to hate her, but Zayn understood her motivations: Jaimie had witnessed a violent act between his parents. He had been crying and fussing, unable to understand what he had seen and she would do everything to make sure he was okay. Zayn locked eyes with Cheryl, who quickly looked away from him, turning her back. The woman handed Jaimie to the housekeeper who went inside with him. Great. If his chances of seeing Jaimie were slim before, now they are close to null.

Things had gone from bad to worse. He closed his eyes, replaying the entire scenario. Fuck! When would he learn to do things properly?

A high-pitching sound cut through the air indicating that the ambulance was about to move and needed a clear route. When the paramedics arrived at the house, Harry was alert and talking to Zayn. After a quick retelling of events, the paramedics made a quick assessment, taking care of the wound on his head and wiping the ones on his face.

They asked Harry if he could stand up. He did and immediately came down in a dizzying spell. The paramedics asserted it was best to go on the stretcher to the hospital for further assessment. The last thing the couple shared was a meaningful look and a brush of their fingers as Harry was pushed away. At the same time, the police walked into the house and, with little grace, had all four of them in handcuffs at Cheryl's request.

Now, here they were in the back of a police van like common criminals. The handcuffs pressed hard against Zayn's wrists -as he was beginning to feel the results of punching Liam in the face, stretching alongside his fingers. The police officer came, knocked on the door of the van and off they went. The van rolled out of their driveway with lights flashing overhead in front of the entire neighbourhood, following the ambulance. While the emergency vehicle turned left to the hospital, the police van went right to the police station.

The four friends stayed quiet inside the van. There was nothing to say, only accepting the consequences of their actions as such. Zayn kept his eyes on his shoes, with his head lowered, cursing how quickly he had lost control. Liam was quiet too, with his head against the van and eyes closed. The paramedics had attended to his superficial wounds, but there was still dry blood on his face and a headache was peeking around the corner for him.

After a few seconds of quiet that seemed to go forever, Niall stomped his feet on the ground.

"Shit," He exploded. "You two are fucking idiots!"