[COMPLETED]
❝Death is inevitable. It's a promise made to us at birth.❞
Arielle is a studious young woman striving to be a chef. Her life is full of going to class, reading textbooks, and hanging out with her friends, until she meets Zayn. Zayn's an...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
➳ ARIELLE'S POV
When my eyes open, I instantly reach for my head, waiting for the imminent pain but it's not readily apparent. I realize that I don't entirely recognize where I am until my eyes find the clouds that have been drawn onto the ceiling. I don't remember coming here, or much of last night.
Until it all comes back in a flurry.
And then I'm able to recall everything. I remember my party. Ezra telling Zayn and myself that the reason he was attacked was because of his mother. I can recall getting drunk off my ass, telling Zayn that I love him. I remember the gift, and how it caused my heart to swell, and how the words just came out like vomit as I told Zayn everything I've wanted to say for weeks now. The worst part is that I can also recall him saying he doesn't love me. That he doesn't even entirely remember me—just parts of memories that we've shared.
I'll admit that it hurts like hell. Knowing that he isn't in love with me makes my heart ache, but there's nothing I can do about it. It's not like I can force him to fall in love with me, nor can I force him to fall for me any quicker than he naturally would. Only he knows what he feels, and that can't be compelled. I can't fault him either for not loving me. I can't get mad at him for being nothing but honest with me, and I've always had that mentality when it comes to Zayn.
When I look at the clock beside the bed, I realize that it's already later in the afternoon. I'm not sure how I possibly slept as long as I did, but I'm oddly thankful because I feel so incredibly well rested. The second I hear a ringtone begin to play, I jump out of fright and clutch at my chest for a moment before realizing it's just a text message.
Lazily, I toss the covers off my body and saunter over to where I believe the sound came from. I find my purse carefully placed beside my nicely folded dress. When I bring the screen up to my face, I find that it's just a missed text message from Rae and I decide to ignore it for now.
I take a good moment to think about what today will entail for Zayn and I. We've finally gotten over the massive hump that is Kit. She was the one that was keeping us apart, and now she seems to be long gone. It seems like she's going to jail, which means that for now, my secret is locked up safe with her.
But what happens if Zayn asks about her? What if he asks about why we weren't together after the accident? Why he was with her instead of me? I can't tell him what I want to tell him. So, what do I say to him? Do I make up some fib that we'd broken up right before he suffered the beating?
I don't know what to say to him because I don't know what Kit has or hasn't told him. I don't know what sorts of lies she's spun, nor the opinion of me that he's formed because of the things she's said. I'm sure she told him that I'm the one who was crazy and stalking him—even though that's totally opposite—but who's to say that he didn't believe that for a while? I mean, obviously he doesn't think that anymore since he's somewhat with me now, but I'm sure it's still tainted his vision of who I am a little.
