Hurt

Chapter 27 [Part 2 of Zayn's P.O.V]

ZAYN'S P.O.V

CHAPTER 27

My phone was vibrating on the nightstand. I groaned and reached for it. "Hello?" I said. I heard a girl voice on the other end, but it wasn't very clear. 

"I hate you! I hate you! I hate you!" I heard someone say. But it didn't sound very sincere. It sounded like a joke of some sort. I looked at the Caller I.D. on my phone. Bella. 

"Thanks," I said groggily. I was about to hang up until I heard voices on the other end of the line. I heard Bella laugh. "What do you want?"

"I don't know! I'm having fun, Zayn. You should come!" 

"Don't invite him!" I heard a snobby girl voice say on the other end. Something was going on, but I didn't know what it was. Bella sounded unsure and giggly. She was always happy and bubbly, but something about the tone of her voice made me question exactly what she was doing. I knew she was at a party by the sound of the background.

"Alright. What's the address?" I said, slipping on a white t-shirt and my jeans. I put on a belt because I knew Bella liked it when I wore a belt. I took it off when I realized she wasn't my girlfriend anymore. I also didn't put on any socks and put on some boots. 

"178 Faxon Ave. Am I right, Darla?" Bella said.

"Yeah, sure. Just make sure he doesn't end up crashing the party."

I hung up. I had heard enough. I opened up my GPS app and typed in the address. I was at the house in fifteen minutes. There were people sleeping on the lawn, but there were more people inside. I smelled smoke. I walked inside and saw Bella sitting on a boy's lap, leaning over a red chair and drinking a can of beer. "Zayn!" she yelled when she saw me. Then she pointed to the table. "Get something to drink and join us!" I looked at Bella. She looked like she was having fun. I walked up to her and grabbed her hand. "We need to go. Now."

"Why?" she groaned, letting go of my hand. "I'm having so much fun. This is the best party I've ever been to!" She threw her hands up in the air and laughed. I rolled my eyes and made it clear to the boy she was laying on top of to make a move or I'd severely hurt him. 

"What are you going to do about it, skinny boy?" he asked me. I gave him another look. I squinted my eyes and looked him up and down. He wasn't very muscular himself, and he had scrawny white arms and stringy blonde hair. Attractive, but Bella could do better. "You don't control her anymore. Not like you should've before when she was your actual girlfriend."

I looked away from them both and back at the drink table. Everyone looked like they were having fun. I ran my hand through my hair and ultimately made a decision. I picked up Bella and ignored her  thrashing. "Zayn, let me go!" she said, all of a sudden getting really mad. 

"Hold on, what do you think you're doing?" I heard a vicious voice say from the other side of the room. I turned around, Bella still in my arms. "It's for her own good," I said. "She doesn't belong here. She doesn't need to be hanging around with you guys."

"Last time I checked, you were out of her life forever," the blonde-haired boy snapped at me. I looked towards him with glowering eyes. "She told us she hated you and never wanted to see you again." I looked at Bella. She shook her head no. 

"Doesn't mean I can't still help her," I said. I walked towards the door and heard someone clear their throat. A girl stepped in front of me. It was the same girl that questioned me when I tried to take Bella. "I'm Darla," she said.

"Hi Darla," I said. I blinked hard. She was pretty, I guess. Not much to see, but it was almost like you couldn't stop staring at her. I looked at Bella. She seemed totally calm, and started to realize why I was here. She was smart enough to realize that she was doing the wrong thing to start off with. 

"I suggest you drop Bella back off on the couch and leave before I call the cops." She had a sharpness to her voice.

"Oh yeah? What are the cops going to do?" I asked.

She shrugged. "I don't know," she said. Then she winked. "Just a threat." Then she reached in her tank top pocket and pulled out something. "This is free if you want it." She handed me a lighter. I shook my head. I had just stopped smoking, and I really didn't want to get pulled into it again. 

"No," I said. Then I took it without thinking. I dropped Bella back on the couch and ran out the door. I sat on the lawn and pulled out my lighter. I smoked for the first time in weeks. Days. However long it was. I inhaled and exhaled and couldn't stop. I smoked until it was a stub. I laid back on the lawn and exhaled as far as I could, watching the smoke float up into the air. I closed my eyes and fell into a deep sleep, not even thinking twice about Bella and her safety.

I woke up in the same place I fell asleep. There weren't anymore cars in the street, and the same people passed out on the lawn were all gone. The house was still crowded with sleeping people, though, and I saw a tired Bella looking out the kitchen window. She saw me wake up and fled, sitting at the counter, her back facing me. I stumbled to get up, running my hands through my hair. I looked at the lighter in my hand and threw it on the ground, remembering the mistake I had made last night.

I entered the unlocked house. There were a couple people laying on the floor, but Bella was the only person that was awake. I peered into the kitchen. Bella's long brown hair was pouring down her back, her makeup was smudged, but she still looked as beautiful as she started. "Hey," I mumbled, walking up next to her. She stared at the wall in front of her, spacing out. 

"I am a horrible person," she said, burying her face in her hands. I heard her start to weep. "Why did I do that? Why did I have to be so stupid?"

"Bella, I don't blame you," I said, sitting in the stool next to her. I got a little choked up watching her cry. Her tears came down fast, her makeup getting more and more smudged, and her hair getting more and more out of place. "I made the same mistake. I was dumb. I should've just taken you home."

Bella looked up, wiping the tears from her face. "You... came for me?" she said. "I thought you came for Darla... apparently, she's the little slut, I've heard. And seen."

We both laughed. "You don't remember calling me?" I asked, wiping another tear from her cheek. I probably shouldn't have done that. I probably wasn't allowed to touch her yet. Or ever. 

"No," she said quietly. "What... what did I say?"

"You told me that you hated me three times in a row," I said. 

Bella gasped. "Zayn, I am so, so sorry," she said, putting her hands over her mouth. She shook her head. Then she looked at me. "This is, um, your shirt," she said. I nodded. I knew that ever since last night when I saw her.

"I guess this is when I leave," I said. I waved goodbye and watched Bella's tired face stare at me as I walked out.

"Bye, Zayn," she said.