Beautiful

Chapter 22

Chapter 22

Zayn's POV

•The next day•

It almost seems that I can't get through to her. Everything she tells me is worse than anything I imagined she's been through. And it's far beyond my help. I don't know what more I can do for her.

"You can't be scared anymore," I tell her. She twirls her hair and is silent for a moment, thinking of what to say.

She sighs. "I know," she whines.

"Okay. So why then?" Elle buries her face in her hands.

"Ugh. I don't know, Zayn. This is so... Frustrating..." I look at my phone. I've been getting the same number calling me for the past two hours. It's getting annoying.

"Elle, I'm just going to tell you this. Whenever you're ready, talk to me. Okay?" She nods her head.

"Okay." I stand up and stand over her as she sits on the sofa.

"I've got to go. I love you." I lean down and kiss her quickly, hoping to make it linger a while longer. She smiles.

"I love you too."

I get outside and walk a few walks. I then call the number again. It rings a few times before someone answers.

"Hello?" I ask.

"Are you Zayn Malik?" a rough voice asks.

"Who wants to know?" I begin to have many suspicions of who it could be. Who else would have my number?

"Look. All you need to know is what I'm about to tell you. If your girl spills the whole story, someone will pay. Maybe you, her, anyone."

"Wait. The whole story? What do you mean?" I ask.

"Shut up! Just keep her quiet or I'll shut her up!"

"If you lay a hand on her, I'll track you down. Who the hell are you anyway?!"

"You know me, but then again you don't." He laughs deeply, sending waves of panic through me. "See you soon, Zayn. Just watch your backs." The line goes dead.

I run back to Elle's house and open the door. I begin locking the doors and windows, calling her name. I run upstairs to find her approaching to confront me. I turn off my phone and hers just in case.

"Zayn, what's going on?" she asks, the fear obvious in her voice.

"I need you to tell me everything."

"Everything? What do you mean?"

"I don't know. You tell me. I just got a call telling me that if you tell about something that happened, we're both in trouble."

She begins to pace, holding her hand on her forehead. "Oh my gosh," she mumbles. "Zayn, I can't even tell you. I'm sorry. You shouldn't have been caught up in this."

"Elle, please." She sits on her bed and sighs loudly.

"Last night when you didn't stay, someone came in my room late at night. I thought it was my mum, but it was the same person who gave me the scar. He always comes here at random times. He always says if I call the police, he'll kill me. And last night, he gave me a list of everything he wants. He even suggested letting me run away with him because I remind him of someone. And that thing is, I can't tell who it is. They look different every time they visit. But I'm just stuck. What do I do?" she explains.

I stand there in shock as she hands the note to me. I read it, questioning the things requested.

"Why would he think you have all of this money?" I ask, reading the amount of $100,000.