Again «ZM» ✔️

Part Twenty Three

Lilith

   She comes out dressed up now. She's still crying, but it looks like she's forcing herself to stop. She's in a simple sports costume. I carefully look at her as she comes back to bed.

"I shouldn't have signed those documents," she whispers when she's back next to Zayn. She cuddles up to him. He looks down at her and frowns. I'm surprised that she's really not scared of Zayn though. I wouldn't be so sure if something like that happened to me. I mean, I don't know... Maybe.

"What did you sign?" he asks, "It can't be that bad, can it?" he whispers. She takes his hand and brings it up to her cheek. She's quiet for a moment. Looking in his eyes.

"There were three rules if we break the contract before time. First, he and his family can sue us for breaking the contract early. Second, neither parties can talk about what happened during the relationship which means my hands are tied and I can't tell anybody about what he did to me... because these contracts aren't fully legal. And third, he gets the final word of our breakup, why, when and literally anything he wants to add. If I interfere, he can also sue me for breaking the contract rules," she quietly explains. I frown. He can't possibly do that! He's going to spin off this madness onto her!

"Wait, so that means, he can just go out there and tell everyone that he broke up with you because you were abusive or whatever?" I ask her. She slowly nods. Well, shit... That sucks.

"It doesn't matter what he says about you. You know that me and Zayn will always be there for you," I tell her. She gives me a small smile. I'm surprised that she even found it in herself to smile. Though, it might be less traumatising if she knew and once loved the guy, right? No, no, no... That's bullshit, it couldn't be true...

"Not how it works," she whispers back, "But thank you, that means a lot to me," she thanks me. Thanks us. I look at Zayn. He's awfully quiet, but I'm not sure whether he's still very angry or not. His eyes are usually saying a lot and right now there's something in his eyes that makes me scared of him. Then again, I've never seen him so protective over someone. The way he holds her, looks at her. How he wants to protect her at all costs.

***

Isabelle

I open my eyes. Lilith is not here anymore, but Zayn's still here with his arms around me. I feel safe now that he holds me like this. The way he even asked for permission at first made me feel safer already. Though having him here with me is more than I deserve. I look up at him to see him sleeping. For a moment I just adore this man, but then I carefully get out of his embrace. I get out of the room, go downstairs to the kitchen. I'm surprised to see my mother here snacking and talking to Ronan. She looks at me when she notices me going closer.

"That Zayn boy... Do you like him?" she asks when I've passed her. I put the kettle on and make myself a tea while I take my time to absorb the question. Why would she ask?

"Yes. Why?" I answer and question her curiosity. She shakes her head, meaning that it's nothing. I give her a frown though. It's not nothing if she's asking about him.

"It's just that I saw how he took his time to stay with you rather than go down to the rich people. Or Liam for that matter. Heard they're best friends," she comments. I nod. The water begins to boil, so I turn it off and make my tea. It's the one thing that they let me do in the kitchen without supervision.

"He was my best friend. Not anymore," I hear Zayn correct my mother. I turn around and look at him. "I warned him not to hurt her. He didn't listen," he frowns and comes closer to me.

"You want something? Tea, coffee?" I suggest him. He nods, mumbling a quiet 'coffee'. I make him some and then turn to my mother with my cup. She has a concerned look on her face. But it fades and she puts on a curious look. Looks at Zayn, so I'm guessing she's going to question him,

"I heard you've signed papers with Amanda," my mother starts up a conversation with Zayn. He looks at her, a bit confused. Right, I should've told him that we might know quite a lot of people.

"Yes. I heard that she's the best," he answers. She nods and smiles. That's not a lie. Amanda really is one of the best.

"Well, good luck on getting out there. I really hope you do," she calmly says, then looks at me. I give her a look, warning her about whatever she might have planned. She lowers her chin and looks at Ronan. So nothing then.

"We'll go to my room now," I say and take Zayn's hand as we go back upstairs. At first it's just a grip that I don't even pay much attention to, but then I slow down a bit and soften it. He immediately locks our fingers together. "Thank you for staying," I tell him, "Where's Lilith?" I ask him. He slowly rubs his thumb over mine.

"Her dad picked her up," he answers, "Was that you sending me home?" he asks. I look at him and shake my head. I don't want him to leave me alone. Not now. I need him.

"I want you to stay," I tell him. We get back in my room where I let go of his hand. I get comfortable in my bed and look at him. He's leaning against the doorframe. For some reason, he looks so much like a father. That makes me smile. He cocks an eyebrow at me. "You look like a dad," I whisper to him making him chuckle. He closes the door and comes closer. He puts his cup on my nightstand. I do that as well. He gets in bed and crawls on top of me. My heart begins to beat much faster as fear sets in. He leans in and kisses me. I kiss back out of fear that he'll force me anyway. I don't generally like coffee, but when it's from his lips I don't really mind it that much. Instead, I'd like some more. Though... I feel trapped right now. He must've noticed.

"I'm sorry..." he apologises when he pulls away. I look in his eyes and frown. He's apologising? What did he do? "Don't give me that look, you know why," he whispers. I close my eyes and sigh. Right. The same thing I just ran through my mind. Feeling trapped. He lies down next to me and sighs. "I really missed kissing you," he quietly tells me. Does he even remember kissing me? I frown a little.

"We only kissed when we were drunk. You even remember that?" I ask him. He chuckles. He looks at me for a brief second before looking back up at the ceiling.

"No. But I know I did, so that's why I missed it. If we hadn't I'd say I really wanted to kiss you for a while," he explains why he said it. I smile and slowly shake my head at him. What a dork. "I talked to my mother, she said she's noticed us hanging out. She thought you're my secret girlfriend, so she tried to out me on it," he tells me. Oh, I hate to laugh right now, but I can't stop it.

"What did you tell her?" I ask him, "Did you say I'm Liam's girlfriend or you lied that I am and she got you?" I look at him. His eyes are closed and he looks so beautiful right now. I see a smile appear on his lips. My sweet loverboy.

"I told her you're just my friend. She said she'd say it to you and you two would laugh about me," he answers and opens his eyes to look at me, "She likes you. Well, she knows Doniya doesn't really like you, so she's a bit protective of me, but even Doni has grown to like you lately," he mentions his sister. I look back up at the ceiling. "I'm guessing it all started with what you told me... About not taking her care for granted," he takes a guess. I grin. So it did work on my behalf.

"But I was serious. Appreciate her. She worries about you. I wish I had a sister or a brother who cared for me like that," I tell him. He sighs taking my hand and holding it without any other word.