Destiny (Zayn Malik FanFic)

Chapter 50

chapter 50

I blinked a few times, wondering if the fatigue had gotten to me and if this was all just a dream. This can’t be–he couldn’t be back.

“Al…” I croaked, my voice sounding similar to a toad’s.

He stared at me, refusing to look away.

So much had changed in the past few months – it was unbelievable. With a shrug, he snapped out of his trance before clearing his throat.

“I’m sorry about your granddad.” Al said, prying his gaze from mine. I nodded, continuing to gaze at him. “So, I just, er, is your gran home?” He asked, raising his eyebrow.

“Yes.” I said, blinking a couple of times before he frowned.

“Are you going to let me in?”

“Oh. Yeah. Yeah, come in.” I held the door open and he smiled gratefully as he closed it behind him. I continued to stare at him, scrutinizing everything about him. He’d changed – his hair was longer than I’d ever seen it before. It was no longer blonde. It seemed he’d gotten taller too, his business-like outfit attending to the feeling of estrangement.

Al looked around the house and smiled. “Just like I remembered it…” He muttered to himself before examining a picture of my mum and dad that had hung above the fireplace since time. I couldn’t help but notice the bags under his eyes as I stood uncomfortably, not moving from the door.

“How are you, Eliza?” He asked suddenly, his gaze neither shifting nor fluctuating from the fire.

“I’m fine.” I snapped. “Why wouldn’t I be?” Al shook his head, rolling his eyes as he continued to look at the pictures that he probably knew better than I did.

“You lie in vain,” He said, absentmindedly. “I know you better than you know yourself.”

“I’ve changed, so have you–”

“Nothing’s changed.” His voice was sharp, his eyes sharper as he flung around to look at me. “Nothing has changed. Things are different, yeah. But you’re still you… And I’m still me.”

My gran came strolling in, clearly wondering whose voice had disrupted the silence in her home. Her eyes widened when she saw Al and a huge smile covered her face as she walked up to him. He was a few heads taller than my gran, reminding me of my grandfather.

The expression on his face softened as he noticed my gran. Al pulled her into a hug before smiling down at her.

“I’m so sorry for your loss,” He said.

My gran didn’t care for his words. She pulled away from him, grabbing his shoulders and smiling. “You disappeared off the face of this earth. Where have you been, boy?”

He shrugged, throwing her a half smile. “I’ve been around…”

“You’re taller than Benjamin.” A sad smile crept on her face, stealing the happiness from her face.

“It’s good to see you,”

A tsunami of aching memories hit me then – the laughter, the picnics, the easy times when nobody cared too much about life. I realized then that I missed him. Al was right. I was lying to myself, lying to my heart. I missed his friendship more than I thought I had.

“Gran…” I said, interrupting the conversation they were having. Al looked up at me and I saw the disappointment in his eyes when I made my way to the coat stand. “I think I’m going home. Jose should be back soon… I need to sleep.”